APPT Manila Championship (165,000 PHP)

The turn T♥ and river K♥ finish off Edoc in 6th place.

Hand #4: From cutoff Lester Edoc raises 100,000, Thomas Ward calls from the small blind then folds to Edoc's 800,000 c-bet on the flop K♥ 6♠ 8♣ .

Hand #5: Small blind Jun Beum Chun opens 175,000, William Ysmael defends the big blind. On the flop 5♣ 9♥ T♣ , Chun checks then folds to Ysmael's 225,000 bet.

Blinds up - 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000

Hand #6: Hieu Ngo ( T♠ 9♣ ) raises 120,000 from hijack, big blind Justin Chu ( A♥ 7♣ ) calls for a flop A♣ K♣ 8♦ . Chu check-calls 100,000, then both check the turn K♦ . Chu leads out on the river 5♠ for 60,000 and wins it uncontested.

Hand #7: Jun Beum Chun ( Q♦ 9♥ ) opens 125,000, small blind Justin Chu ( A♦ 7♣ ) three-bets 225,000, Chun folds.

Hand #1: Chi Jen Chu limps in, big blind Lester Edoc raises 175,000, Chu folds.

Hand #2: Big blind Hieu Ngo gets a walk.

Hand #3: Jun Beum Chun opens 100,000, blinds Hieu Ngo and Thomas Ward call. On the flop 3♦ A♠ A♥ , Chun c-bets 8000, only Ngo continues to the turn Q♣ then leads out 150,000. Chun tank-folds.

Here are the Final 6 of the inaugural APPT Championship and the action will conclude tomorrow (Sunday, October 27) still here at the Okada Manila.

Everyone at this point is guaranteed PhP2,360,000 (~US$40,430) and the eventual champion takes home PhP11,610,000 (~US$199,100).

Hand #55: Having just 3 BBs left in her stack and facing the prospect of posting the BB and the ante soon, China's Li Xinjing went all-in from the +1 position for remaining 160,000 with Q♠ J♠ . He gets calls from William Ysmael in the CO with 7♣ 7♠ , Lester Edoc in the SB with Q♥ 9♣ and on the BB of Hieu Ngo with A♣ 9♠ .

The flop comes 5♣ 6♦ A♥ as Edoc checks his miss and Hieu bets 200,000. That's enough to make the rest fold and have it out with the Chinese player. The turn is the J♦ which suddenly gives Li some hope, but the river is the 6♣ , vanquishing Li and sending the competition to seven-handed play.

Everyone is assured PhP1,810,000 (~US$31,010).

Hand #48: Taiwan's Justin Chu draws Q♠ Q♥ UTG and raises. He picks up two callers in Lester Edoc of the Philippines in the D with 6♠ 6♥ and Hieu Ngo in the BB on a defense with K♠ 3♦ .

The flop is 3♠ 7♠ 4♦ as Edoc picks up a gutshot while Hieu has bottom pair. Chu CBets to 100,000 and gets raised by Edoc to 275,000 as Hieu folds. Chu makes the call. The turn is the J♠ and both check while the river is the K♦ . Again, it goes check-check.

Edoc pulled the brakes just in time.

With still nine players remaining, here is where everyone stands at as the blinds go up:

Everyone is still guaranteed PhP1,237,720 (US$21,205).

Hand #36: Lester Edoc raises from UTG with 7♠ 7♦ and gets called by Hieu Ngo in the +1 position with 6♠ 6♥ .

The Vietnamese player flops middle set: 3♦ 6♣ T♠ and the Filipino continues firing for 60,000. Hieu calls. The turn is the 3♣ to give Hieu a full house. Edoc goes for 100,000 but gets raised 275,000. The Filipino tanks and eventually folds.

Hand #32: After Filipino pro Martin Gonzales raised from UTG with 7♥ 7♣ , he dragged in two callers in Justin Chu of Taiwan with A♠ 2♠ on the +2 position and fellow Filipino Lester Edoc with 5♥ 5♦ in the HJ.

Gonzales immediately saw good news as the flop came 4♦ 7♦ J♠ , flopping middle set. Gonzales checked and Chu tried to make a play at it with a bet of 120,000 which was initially called by Edoc. But then Gonzales came over the top and raised to 275,000 and both opponents fold.

Hand #20: The action is folded to William Ysmael of the Philippines in the CO and he raises it to 85,000 with 3♦ 3♠ . Fellow Flipino pro Lester Edoc calls him from the SB with K♣ Q♣ . The flop is 7♥ A♦ 9♥ as Edoc check-folds his miss.

Hand #11: In a battle of pocket pairs, chip leader Thomas Ward of New Zealand min-raises from UTG with Q♥ Q♦ and gets called by Filipino pro Lester Edoc in the SB with 9♥ 9♣ .

The flop is T♠ 6♣ 3♣ as Edoc checks. Ward bets 120,000 and Edoc makes the call. The turn is the T♦ and this time Edoc donks in on the paired board for 225,000. It's Ward's turn this time for make the call. The river is the 7♦ and now both players check.

It was very careful execution by Ward against one the best players in the Philippines.

Hand #10: Australian John Edward Perry receives A♥ K♣ in the +3 position and raises and Filipino Lester Edoc chooses to defend his BB with J♣ 2♣ .

Edoc makes contact with the flop: Q♦ 3♠ 2♦ by pairing his deuces and proceeds to check. Perry CBets 60,000 and Edoc calls. The turn produces the 8♠ as both check. The river is the 3♦ as Edoc bets 50,000. Perry folds.

Hand #1: The very first hand of the Final 9 finds chip leader Thomas Ward of New Zealand making a raise from the +1 position and gets called all the way in the SB by Taiwan's Justin Chu. However, local bet Lester Edoc 3-bets to 90,000 from the BB as both make the call.

The flop is A♦ 4♠ A♠ as the blinds check. Ward fire a bet of 70,000 and gets a call from Chu, but a fold from Edoc. It is heads up to the turn of the K♠ as both players check. The river is the 2♣ as Chu fires for 30,000 and gets called by Ward.

Chu's queens hold to draw 1st blood.

Here are the last nine players who are now all guaranteed PhP1,237,720 (~US$21,205). They will play down to the last six for the official final table that will commence tomorrow (Sunday, October 27).

With 16 players reaming, here's where they stand:

Local veteran Lester Edoc opens from UTG for 50,000 and gets called all the way in the HJ by Korea's Cho Jaegeol.

The flop is J♥ K♠ Q♣ as Edoc CBets for 50,000. Cho calls. The turn is the 4♦ as once again the Filipino fires, this time for 150,000. Cho still makes the call. The river is the 6♠ as Edoc now unloads 600,000. The Korean takes almost forever to act as he uses two Time Bank cards before finally making the call.

Edoc flips over K♥ K♣ for top set on the flop. Cho mucks as Edoc nears the four million chip mark. Cho now in push or fold terrirory.

Isaia Alessio of Italy goes all-in for his remaining 265,000 with action folded to him on the HJ and right beside him on the CO, Filipino pro Lester Edoc makes the call as everyone else folds.

Edoc now nears the three million mark with his elimination of the Italian.

Former overall chip leader John Edward Perry of Australia has dropped all the way to eighth place in the first leaderboard update of the day. Fellow Australian Thomas Ward now occupies the top spot as he and Filipino pro Lester Edoc are the only ones breaching the two million chip mark at the moment.

Chip counts at end of Level 22:

Malaysia's Michael Soyza opens from the CO for 40,000 and gets re-raised by local pro Lester Edoc on the D for 105,000. Soyza makes the call.

The flop is 3♥ 5♠ 6♦ as Soyza checks. Edoc CBets to 70,000 and the Malaysian check-raises to 200,000. The Filipino then goes into the tank and in his pondering uses one his Time Bank cards to give him 30 seconds more thinking time. Edoc then declares he is all-in now putting the pressure back on Soyza. It takes two Time Bank cards before Soyza ultimately decides to fold.

Edoc breaches the seven figure mark in chips for the first time.

The 28 players remaining will reconvene on Saturday (October 26) at 12NN (UCT+8) and will play down to the Final 6 players.

Check out the Livestream that begins at 4:00PM.

APPT Manila Championship remaining players:

Event #31 APPT Manila Championship

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Venue: Okada Manila, Parañaque City, Philippines

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$1,028,270)

Entries: 416

Players ITM: 63

Total Chips in Play: 20,800,000

Average Stack: 742,857

Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)

Remaining players: 28

Justin Chu of Taiwan opens the action from the CO for 16,000 and gets callers in Filipino pro Lester Edoc in the D and Kim Kiyoung in the BB.

The flop comes 7♣ Q♥ 4♠ as Kim checks. Chu CBets to 21,000 and gets a call from both. The turn is 6♥ as Kim checks again. This time, Chu slows down and checks as well. Edoc bets 65,000. Kim tanks and uses a Time Bank card before opting to fold. Chu follows suit.

Former chip leader Kim Kiyoung of Korea starts the action from UTG with a raise to 12,000 and action is folded to the D where another former chip leader in Filipino vetean Lester Edoc makes the call.

The flop is 5♦ Q♥ 9♠ as Kim continues firing for 15,000. Edoc makes the call. The turn is the Q♦ . Kim unloads again, this time for 30,000 and Edoc still calls. The river is the T♥ and this time, but players check.

Kim turns over Q♦ J♠ while Edoc shows A♣ Q♣ and takes the pot with trip with a higher kicker.

The action is getting more tense at the PokerStars poker room at Okada Manila with the action of Day 2 at the APPT Manila Championship about to reach the bubble. 16 one-hour levels have been played so far and 75 players of 416 entries are still competing for a chance to take a chunk from the PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000) prize pool. 63 players will be guaranteed a payout, and there is still a lot of poker to go.

Australian John Edward Perry currently stands out as the chip leader from the 75 players that remain with 963,000 chips. Korean Kim Kiyoung has been consistent and ranks second with 700,000. Irishman Patrick Clarke holds the third spot with 630,000 so far.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 277,300

Blinds: 2,000/5,000 Ante 5,000

Remaining players: 75

ITM: 63

Two Day 1 flights including some last minute Day 2 registrants brought the final total entries to 416, each of whom coughed up the buy-in of PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) to take part in APPT Manila Championship main event. The total entries built the prize pool to PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000), surpassing the PHP 55,000,000 guarantee. 102 players are still competing with 63 guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP250,000 (~US$ 4,285). Of course, all eyes are focused on the grand prize of PHP 11,610,000 (~US$ 200,000).

Of the 102 players remaining, Moses Saquing of the Philippines stands as the chip leader with 744,000 chips. Flight B chip leader Kim Kiyoung is staying on course with the second biggest stack with 711,000. Rounding up the top three is John Edward Perry with 538,000. 14 Levels have been played so far with 7 more to go before the survivors bag their chips for another leg on Day 3 tomorrow. There's still a lot more poker and anything can happen.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 203,900

Blinds: 1,500/3,000 Ante 3,000

Remaining players: 102

ITM: 63

Lester Edoc made the min-raise to 5,000 from under the gun and was matched by Si Ng Pun on the dealer button. Both players were presented a 5♥ 9♦ T♥ flop. Edoc made a 5,500 c-bet which was called by Pun to see a 3♥ on the turn. Both players checked to see the A♦ on the river, then checked it down again. Edoc flipped over J♦ K♠ while Pun showed 8♣ T♣. The pair of tens of Pun was enough to win the pot and improve the stack.

Here are the present chip leader as registration is set to close after the current break.

APPT Championship Chip Leaders:

165 entries paid up the buy-in of PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) to join Flight A of the APPT Manila Championship, which is guaranteeing a prize pool of at least PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850). After nearly 12 hours of poker and 11 levels played, only 59 players remained. Lester Edoc of the Philippines stood out as the big chip leader with an overwhelming stack of 502,000. Edoc is the only one who made it to half a million in chips with Patrick Clarke further down at second with 355,000 and third-ranked John Edward Perry at 338,500.

Lester Edoc already cashed in three events in this APPT Manila Championship, including two final table finishes. His best finish so far this series was a 4th place cash at the PHP 150,000 NLH Mini High-Roller Event for a payout of PHP 765,000 (~US$ 13,304). Edoc looks on track for another huge payout and possibly a PokerStars spadie if he stays on course to become the champion. Lester Edoc has amassed over US$ 2 Million in total live earnings and is 4th on the Philippines All-Time Money List.

Flight A of the APPT Manila Championship wrapped up after 11 levels and nearly 12 hours of tournament poker. 59 hopefuls out of 165 total entries will be moving on to Day 2, inching their way closer to a payout from the guaranteed prize pool of PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850). Flight B will play tomorrow with the survivors of those joining the "Flight A Fifty-Nine" for Day 2.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850)

Entries: 165

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 139,831

Blinds: 1,000/1,500 Ante 1,500

Remaining players: 59

Here's a look at the Flight A chip counts:

Nang Quang Nguyen min-raised from under the gun and called when Lester Edoc turned it up to 9,000. The flop for both players landed A♠ 5♥ 9♥. Nguyen check-called Edoc's 6,000 bet. Both players then checked the K♥ on the turn to see a 4♣ river. Nguyen check-called the 18,000 bet of Edoc, who showed A♦ K♦ for top two pair and bringing Nguyen to muck his hand.