APPT Manila Championship (165,000 PHP)

Hand #8: William Ysmael T♠ T♥ raises 120,000, no callers.

Hand #9: Hijack William Ysmael A♠ K♣ raises 120,000, cutoff Justin Chu A♣ 3♣ calls, small blind Hieu Ngo A♦ Q♣ three-bets 800,000, Ysmael shoves 1,100,000, Chu folds and big stacked Ngo calls the difference.

The board runs K♥ 6♠ 5♠ J♣ 6♥ . Ysmael lands the first double up of the day.

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.

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 #60: Martin Gonzales in the D goes all-in against William Ysmael in the BB. Ysmael folds.

Hand #61: Folded to Korea's Beum Chun Jun on the D, he raises gets no callers.

Hand #62: Ysmael raises from the with K♠ T♥ D and gets called by Justin Chu of Taiwan in the SB with 7♦ 6♦.

The flop is T♠ 7♣ 6♣ as Chu checks his bottom two pairs. Ysmael CBets to 175,000 with his top pair with a King kicker and gets check-raised to 500,000. Ysmael calls. The turn card is the 5♣ as Chu goes all-in for 3,400,000. Ysmael folds.

Hand #63: Ysmael raise from the CO for 100,000 with A♠ 7♠ and gets called by Chu in the D with JdTc and Hieu in the BB with J♥ 7♥.

The flop is 3♠ 9♦ 8♦ to give the callers straight draws. All check. The turn is the Q♣ that gives Chu the nut straight. It goes check-fold.

Hand #59: William Ysmael raises from UTG with A♥ 8♥ and gets called on the CO by Hieu Ngo with 8♦ 7♦ .

The flop is 5♦ 5♣ 6♥ giving Hieu an open-ended straight draw. Ysmael checks and Hieu leads out on the come for 150,000. The Filipino then proceeds to check-raise it to 425,000. Hieu makes the call. The turn is the card that the Vietnamese player was looking for: 4♥ to complete his straight. Ysmael isn't stopping, though, as he fires another bet of 550,000. Hieu just makes the call. The river is the 3♣ and Ysmael puts the biggest non-shove bet of the competition: 1,000,000. Hieu calls.

Ysmael lost 2,300,000 in that pot.

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).

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 #26: This time it's the turn of chip leader Thomas Ward to make his move as he raises from the +3 position but gets a call from the red hot William Ysmael.

The flop is 8♠ 4♥ 5♠ as Ysmael outflops Ward to pair his four. They both check. The turn is the 9♥ as it once again goes check-check. The river is the 7♦ and this time Ysmael unloads 130,000. Ward tanks and uses a Time Bank card before deciding to fold.

This time, Ysmael really had the better hand.

The Filipino now takes the chip lead and earn the de facto badge as table captain.

Hand #27: Ysmael takes chips away from Beum with K♦ 2♥ on a board of 5♣ Q♦ 8♣. Beum folded A♦ T♥.

Hand #25: William Ysmael raises from UTG and get s Justin Chu of Taiwan and Korea's Beum Chun Jun to come along.

On the flop of 5♦ T♣ J♠ Beum checks and Ysmael CBets to 130,000. Chu folds but Beum with his open-ender buys one street. The turn is the 9♥ giving the Korean a pair. Beum checks. Ysmael unloads again for 275,000. Beum doesn't continue in the hand.

Ysmael is now trying to run the show.

Hand #21: In a raised pot by Filipino William Ysmael with 7♠ 7♦ in the HJ against the BB of chip leader Thomas Ward T♥ 9♦ .

The flop comes 9♠ 6♣ T♠ as the New Zalander flops top two pairs against a gutshot straight draw from the Filipino. Both opt to check. The turn is the A♠ which now adds a redraw to a flush to Ysmael's arsenal. Ward bets 175,000 for his two pair and gets a call from Ysmael. The river is the K♠ completing a one card backdoor flush for Ysmael. Ward checks. Ysmael bets 175,000 on the river. Ward quickly folds.

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 #7: William Ysmael of the Philippines gets A♥ Q♦ UTG and raises to 80,000 and gets three callers.

The flop is T♥ 9♣ 8♦ representing some form of straight draw for all of Ysmael's opponents in the hand. All check. The turn is the 9♦ and when it's checked b ack Ysmael, he bets 320,000. It's enough to get everyone chasing their draw to fold.

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).

William Ysmael of the Philippines attains his third consecutive scalp after an All-In Preflop (AIPF) situation against the last lady standing in China's Li Yan.

Ysmael's full house on the turn sealed the deal as now only ten players remain. Li becomes the first Philippine millionaire for crashing out in 11th place.

Chinese lady player Li Yan opens from UTG for 60,000 and it gets folded all the way to the blinds where Filipino pro Christopher Mateo 3-bets all-in from the SB for 980,000. Fellow local bet William Ysmael calls from the BB. Li folds.

Mateo had a chance at a bad beat on the turn when he paired his king but Ysmael now reduces the field to just 11 players left.

The action is folded to the blinds where Lee Seokjun of Korea completes his SB and Filipino William Ysmael checks his option in the BB.

The flop is4d 4♠ 6♠ as Lee checks. Ysmael leads out for 30,000. Lee calls. The turn is the J♣ and Lee checks anew. The Filipino adds more sauce and fires 60,000. This time, Lee check-raises to 125,000. Ysmael makes the call. The river is the A♦ . The Korean goes into the tank and consumes one Time Bank card before going all-in for his last 225,000. It is now Ysmael's turn to think things over as he burns two Time Bank cards before making the decision to call.

Lee shows K♦ Q♠ for a missed gutshot while Ysmael is in relief that his 9♥ 6♣ held against all that pressure.

William Ysmael of the Philippines raises from the CO to 60,000 and gets jammed in the BB by Joey Weissman of the United States for his remaining 225,000. Ysmael makes the call.

Weissman contended for the chip lead at one point but can't get the connection for his Big Slick when he needed it the most.

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

William Ysmael of the Philippines opens from the CO for 50,000 and gets a BB defense from Korea's Beum Chun Jun.

The flop is 8♥ 7♦ 6♠ . Beum donks in for 65,000 as Ysmael makes the call. The turn is the 4♥ and Beum unloads again, this time for 80,000. The Filipino still calls. The river is the 9♠ as Beum now fires 250,000. Ysmael still makes the call.

Beum turns over T♠ 8♣ for top pair on the flop and a one card straight on the river. Ysmael mucks his hand.

Beum now joins the seven figure stack club with the win.

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:

With the action folded to hm on the D, Filipino pro William Ysmael attempts to steal the ante and the blinds with a raise to 40,000. Folded to the BB of Seo Moon Ho, the Korean 3-bets all-in for his last 195,000. Ysmael makes the snap call.

Ysmael is once again moving up in chips, which is bad news for the rest of his table.

Korea's Lee Woojin swings for the fences by shoving his remaining 220,000 from the +1 position and gets called in the HJ by Filipino pro William Ysmael.

Kim busts out in 25th place, just one spot short of the next pay jump.

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

Folded to the blinds, local pro William Ysmael raises to 38,000from the SB but Taiwan's Justin Chu isn't going anywhere and chooses to defend his BB.

The flop is K♥ 8♥ 3♥ as Ysmael CBets to 24,000. Chu makes the call. The turn is the T♣ and it doesn't deter the Filipino who fires once again, this time for 85,000. But the Taiwanese player appears to also be unperturbed and still sticks around. The river is the T♠. This time, Ysmael checks and Chu decides to check behind.

Ysmael turns over K♣ 9♦ for top pair on the flop. Chu mucks his hand.

William Ysmael of the host nation opens the action from the HJ with a raise to 25,000 and gets a call from Taiwan's Justin Chu in the CO. However, chip leader John Edward Perry of Australia 3-bets to 100,000. Both gentlemen decide to stick around.

The flop is K♠ J♥ Q♣ as Ysmael and Chu check to Perry who fires a second shot for 90,000. The Filipino opts to step aside, but Chu still makes the call. The turn is the 2♠ as Chu checks again. Perry now fires for 200,000 and the Taiwanese player decides that prudence is the better part of valor.

The action gets folded to the D where Malaysia's Victor Chong raises to 20,000. William Ysmael of the Philippines calls from the SB.

The flop is 6♣ J♠ 5♥ as Ysmael checks. Chong follows up by betting another 20,000. The Filipino makes the call. The turn is the 3♥ and this time they both decide to ski a street. The river is the 5♣ . Ysmael fires 32,000. Chong makes the call.

Ysmael is first to show as he tables 9♠ 7♠ for a missed gutshot on the turn. Chong shows A♣ 3♦ for bottom pair on the turn, enough to take down the pot.

Here are the top ten stacks presently:

Taiwan's Justin Chu raises from the D to 16,000 and gets called by Filipino pro William Ysmael on the BB.

The flop is A♥ K♦ 2♠ . Ysmael donks for 35,000 and Chu makes the call. The turn is the 7♥ as Ysmael fires again, this time for 88,000. However, Chu raises to 180,000 as Ysmael calls. The river card is the K♠ . Ysmael bets 200,000. Chu goes into the tank and stays there so long that he consumes three Time Bank cards in the process.

Chu eventually makes the call and turns over K♣ J♦ . Ysmael chooses to muck but after taking a huge hit to his chip stack.

In a battle of the blinds, William Ysmael of the Philippines raises from the SB for 20,000 and gets a call from Denmark's Mads Andahl Arberg.

The flop is Q♥ J♠ T♣ and Ysmael continues for 22,000. Arberg calls. The turn is the 3♣ as Ysmael unloads 28,000. This time, Arberg goes all-in for his remaining 94,000. The Filipino quickly makes the call.

Ysmael tables A♣ K♣ for the nut straight on the flop while Arberg shows Q♠ T♠ . Needing any queen or ten on the river to stay in the tournament, the river card is the 3♥ sending Arberg to the sidelines for good.

With action folded to him in the D, Seo Moon Ho of Korea raises to 16,000 but Victor Chong of Malaysia re-raises it to 69,000. If that wasn't enough, William Ysmael of the Philippines 4-bets to 135,000.

Both Seo and Chong don't continue in the hand.

Korea's Seo Moon Ho raises from the +1 position and gets two Filipinos in William Ysmael and Moses Saquing to come along.

The flop is J♣ 7♠ 6♥ as Saquing checks. Seo CBets to 25,000 as Ysmael gets out of the way. Saquing calls. The turn is the T♦ as both players now check. The river is the Q♦ . Saquing checks and Seo fires a 40,000 bet. Saquing folds.

Filipino pro William Ysmael raises from the +2 position and gets one customer in the SB as Benjamin LeBlond makes the call.

The flop is K♥ 6♥ 3♣ as LeBlond checks and Ysmael CBets to 15,000. The Canadian calls. The turn is the 4♦ and this time it's LeBlond who comes out firing for 35,000. Ysmael now makes the call. The river is the J♦ as now LeBlond checks. Ysmael puts in a smallish bet of 45,000 to which LeBlond folds his hand.

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

Moses Saquing raised to 27,000 from the hi-jack and called the 48,000 re=raise by Will Ysmael on the big blind to enter a flop of 9♠ 4♠ A♥ . Saquing checked then folded, unwilling to match the 27,000 bet of Ysmael.

Kim Namhyung of Korea raises from the D to 10,000 and gets re-raised by William Ysmael of the Philippines from the SB to 38,000. Kim calls.

The flop is 9♦ A♠ 6♣ as Ysmael fires again for 23,000. Kim makes the call. The turn is the 9♠ and this time both players check. The river is the 5♥ and no more action happens.

Ysmael shows K♥ K♠ while Kim throws his cards into the muck.

Will Ysmael made the min-raise to 6,000 from the hi-jack and was called by Julian Warhurst on the button. Big blind Moses Saquing pumped up the flop fee to 26,000. Ysmael folded, but Warhurst stayed on to see a 4♠ 6♥ 2♠ flop. Saquing laid out a 16,000 bet and Warhurst took a moment before making the call. A T♠ showed on the turn. Saquing checked and Warhurst fired 24,000 in the middle. Saquing surrendered and awarded the pot to Warhurst.

Will Ysmael made a raise to 5,500 from under the gun and was called by Moses Saquing on the button and the big blind player. All three enter a flop of 7♦ T♦ 6♦. The big blind and Ysmael check their option to Saquing, who makes an 11,000 bet. The big blind stayed away while Ysmael made the call to see a J♣ on the turn. Ysmael check-called the 25,000 bet of Saquing to se a 3♥ on the river. Ysmael checked again and Saquing counted out 55,000 to push into the middle. Ysmael gave it some thought and eventually made the call.

Saquing showed T♣ T♠ for a set of tens. Ysmael shrugged and threw the cards into the muck.

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:

Seonggwon Kim min-raised from the hi-jack and got called by Yuki Nakada at the button and William Ysmael at the big blind. Three players went on to a flop of 7♦ J♠ J♥. Ysmael check-raised the 3,500 bet of Kimto 8,500 and it was only Nakada who called to see the 2♦ turn. Ysmael fired out 21,000 and was called by Nakada to see a K♠ turn. Ysmael shoved all-in for 121,000 and Nakada gave up.

Flight A of the APPT Manila Championshi still has 79 players standing out of 158 total entries who paid the PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) buy-in to compete for a share of the PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850) guaranteed prize pool.

After 9 levels, John Edward Perry sits on the chip leader throne with a commanding stack of 330,000 chips. Not far behind is Akinobu Maeda with 270,000 while Charles Ed Pansoy is ranked 3rd with 221,000.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

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

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

Entries: 79/158

Starting Stack: 50,000

Flight A of the APPT Manila Championship has played through 7 levels. 83 players still remain out of 133 total entries, who paid the PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) buy-in for a chance to win a share from the PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850) guaranteed prize pool.

Georgis Skarparis is the current chip leader with 186,000. Former chip leader Rishi Mehra dropped to second in chips with a healthy stack of 164,400. Edilberto Gopez rounds up the top three with 152,200.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

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

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

Entries: 83/133

Starting Stack: 50,000

5 levels have been played with a total of 114 entries making the PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) buy-in for a crack at winning a share of the PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850) guaranteed prize pool. Rishi Mehra maintains the chip lead over the 83 hopefuls still remaining in Flight A with 235,000 chips, and is the only one who has made it over the 200K mark. Georgios Skarparis is at arm's length with 193,100. Completing the top three is Nang Quang Nguyen with 166,000.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

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

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

Entries: 83/114

Starting Stack: 50,000

Three levels have passed so far in Flight A of the APPT Manila Championship. There have been 93 entries so far who coughed up the PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) buy-in to play for a guaranteed prize pool of PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,650). 83 players are still in contention with Rishi Mehra leading the pack with 120,500 in chips. Not far behind is Rocky Paradise with 117,000. Marc Anthony Joseph sits with 115,800 to round out the top 3.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

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

Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 950,650)

Entries: 84/93

Starting Stack: 50,000

Angelina Rich raised it to 700 from under the gun with both blinds making the call to see a flop of 3♦ 2♠ J♣. Action was checked to the raiser, and Rich c-bet for 800 with only William Ysmael paying to continue to the 5♣ turn. Both players checked to see a 3♣ river. Ysmael led out with 1,100 and Rich gave up the pot.

William Ysmael is on his second life, having busted out earlier.