Okada Kickoff (16,500 PHP)

After Maxwell Rosete eliminated Martin Astorga, it only took another handful of deals to ship it. Final hand saw Rosete limp in with A♣ 4♦ , Sukwang Ko shoved with 2♦ 2♥ and was called. The flip was all Rosete as the board came down T♦ A♥ 4♥ Q♠ 7♣ .

In a post win interview with Rosete, he shared his emotions,

It feels good to win. I've been on a slump for months already and having this score brings back some confidence to my game though a lot should still be tweaked.

At three handed, Rosete dropped to become shortest stack but still with a very playable 20 bigs versus 39 and 35 bigs. Rosete shared his strategy that eventually led to the fall of the leader Martin Astorga.

I was familiar with the dynamics that was happening at three-handed, aggro on my left and a little bit passive on my right... I just tried to see the flop as cheap as possible versus my left and win small pots until I've built a stack that would make him fold once I get it in. Those added chips would then give a cushion versus the shorter stack. I was also lucky to win an all in preflop situation where I was behind, and won the flip where it mattered the most.

This early win is a big boost for Rosete who recalls his third place finish at last year's APPT Manila Main Event.

I finished 3rd last year and here we go again another chance to get the main shard. I plan to just play the best as I can and hopefully luck will be on my side.

The Okada Kickoff set the pace for this year's APPT Manila with a roar of 626 entries across three flights to nearly triple up the ₱3M guarantee. 92 players returned for Day 2, each one secured a piece of the ₱8.8 Million prize pool. Czardy Rivera entered as chip leader and went on to finish in 11th place. Marc Rivera fell next to form the final table with Martin Astorga at the top of the counts.

Running third in chips, Maxwell Rosete delivered the first blow, eliminating short stacked Dominick French in 9th place. Astorga then widened his lead after eliminating Wipat Udomkanjanan in 8th place and Lance De Vera in 5th place. Rosete claimed the next out, denying Kaoru Kishimoto.

Down to the final 3, Astorga held a commanding lead but wasn't able to hold with Sukwang Ko shaving big chunks. More troubles for Astorga as Rosete landed a double up that sent him soaring and Astorga eventually out in 3rd place. Ahead 75 bb to 31 bb, it was still anyone's game. Rosete's aggression prevailed, eliminating Ko in 2nd place on a flip.

Sukwang Ko grinds back up and closes in on the leader.

Action folds to cutoff player Miyoung Cho who has 4♠ 4♥ and goes full metal to the pedal for 1,140,000 (28 bb). Beside Cho is Lance De Vera with J♠ J♣ and calls with over 2M behind. The board runs 3♠ 9♠ A♦ 6♥ 9♥ sending Cho crashing out in 17th place.

Facing a raise by Justine Talaroc of 24,000, button player Jonald Garcia looked down at 8♣ 9♦ and gave her some action. At the flop 8♥ 9♠ 7♥ , Talaroc continued for 50,000, Garcia shoved his top two for 188,000. Talaroc pondered for a time-bank then called showing A♣ A♠ . The turn 5♦ and 8♠ further improved Garcia to double up.

Dominick French defended his small blind by calling an early position raise of 17,000 by Sangyoon Kim. At the flop and turn 4♠ 3♣ 5♦ 8♥ , French check-called 25,000 and 40,000 bets then checked again when he landed the straight on the river 7♣ . Kim continued the barrage with a shove, French snapped it off. Kim turned over A♠ A♣ that was far behind French's 6♦ 6♣ .

By the end of the opening level 14 players had already dropped out.

Opening day of APPT Manila 2025 did not disappoint as players flocked to the tables at Cove Manila for the first guaranteed event of the 13-day series. Across three flights, the Okada Kickoff drew 626 entries with 92 players navigating their way to today's ITM round. At the top of the leaderboard is Flight C leader Czardy Rivera with 585,000, closely followed by Flight B leader Seonggwon Kim with 513,000.

• Date: July 23-24, 2025
• Buy-in: ₱16,500 (~USD 300)
• Guarantee: ₱3,000,000 (~USD 58,500)
• Entries: 626
• Prize pool: ₱8,816,834 (~USD 154,670)
• ITM/Day 2: 92 players

When action resumes at 12pm, everyone is guaranteed ₱26,000 in the pocket with the goal of claiming the top prize worth ₱1,600,000 (~USD 28,170).