APT Main Event

Day 3 of the PHP 85,000 APT Manila Main Event concluded with 48 players advancing from the original 159 players that started the day. Leading the pack is former APT Single Day High Roller Champion and WSOP bracelet holder Renji Mao, who amassed 2,689,000 chips, one of only two players to exceed the two-million mark, along with Yuhang Chen, who bagged 2,472,000.

A total of 1,081 entries were recorded in the Main Event, making it the largest Main Event field in APT tour history in the Philippines, with the biggest-ever guaranteed prize pool of PHP 100 million (~$1.7 million) in the country. The eventual champion will take home the top prize of PHP 18,060,000 ($307,020).

Vincent Huang, who entered Day 3 as one of the chip leaders, still remains in contention but lost a significant portion of his chips to Chen in a hand where Huang held ace-deuce suited but missed his flush draw against Chen’s two-pair with queen-jack suited on the turn.

Four former APT Main Event champions remain in the hunt for the title and the coveted 24K Gold Lion trophy. Among them are two-time champions Mike Takayama with 977,000, and Lester Edoc, who has a stack of 888,000. Both players have a chance to make history as the first-ever player to win the Main Event three times.

SJ Kim won the Main Event in Macau back in 2016, and brought through a stack of 623,000 after a successful day on the felt. Renniel Galvez, a former APT Philippines Main Event Champion, is also in the mix with a stack of 255,000, determined to become the last player standing. However, he, along with Joonhee "Steve" Yea (252,000) and Ronnie Tate (242,000), who currently sit at the bottom of the leaderboard, will face an uphill battle to catch up to the top prize.

The start-of-day chip leader Zhen Chen came into the day with 1,094,000 chips, but ended Day 3 in the middle of the pack with 776,000.

Other notables to make it through were Gab Yong Kim (1,635,000), Rex David Clinkscales (806,000), Alex Chong (740,000).

The top ten stacks can be found below.

Play will resume at 11AM on Tuesday, November 5, with just over 37 minutes remaining in Level 23. The average stack sits at just under 900,000, which is around 38 big blinds.

A full APT Main Event Day 3 Survivor List can be found by CLICKING HERE.

A full APT Main Event Day 4 Seat Draw can be found by CLICKING HERE.

The action has halted for the APT Manila Main Event following the elimination of Day 3 Bubble Manh Tuan Nguyen at 49th. The remaining 48 players will be bagging their chips and will return for the Day 4 leg tomorrow on 11:00 AM November 5, 2024 to play to a final table. All 48 qualifiers are guaranteed a payout of at least PHP 316,000 ($5,370).

A full recap of Day 3 will follow.

Jae Wook Shin opened for 60,000 and got calls from Akihiro Kawaguchi in the hijack and Yuji Yaginuma in the small blind. But Kazuhiro Shirazawa had other plans, putting in a three-bet to 200,000. Everyone folded except Kawaguchi, who called to see the flop.

The dealer revealed 4♦ 2♠ 5♦ , and Kawaguchi took the lead with a 100,000 bet, which Shirazawa called. Both players checked the K♦ on the turn.

On the 9♣ river, Shirazawa checked, and Kawaguchi fired a final bet of 175,000. After a lengthy pause, Shirazawa folded, allowing Kawaguchi to scoop the pot and build his stack as the day drew to a close.

Manh Tuan Nguyen min-raised from the under the gun and called the all-in raise of Rex Clinkscales for 373,000 for a showdown. Clinkscales showed A♠ A♣ while Nguyen grumbled with A♥ Q♦ . Nguyen paired his queen on a flop of 7♥ 3♠ Q♠ , getting some "oooohs" from the table. However, Nguyen failed to improve on the 4♥ turn and 6♥ river, shipping the pot to Clinkscales and leaving Nguyen with just 84,000.

Nguyen busted on the next hand defending his big blind.

A new set of players will be taking their seats at the APT Manila Main Event featured table to show off their best poker faces for the cameras.

The actors taking their turn for the official livestream are Xiangyu Zhao of China, John Costiniano of the Philippines, Kim Enriquez of the Philippines, Tuvshintugs Batbold of Mongolia, Xiaohua Fu of China, Yuhang Chen of China, Gerardo Lubas III of the Philippines and Vincent Huang of New Zealand.

You can catch all the poker action live at the following links:

Official APT YouTube Channel

Twitch

Players are on a 15-minute break. 52 players are still playing until there are 48 qualifiers left who will advance to Day 4 of The APT Manila Main Event. All 57 players are guaranteed at least a payout of PHP 265,000 ($4,505).

Some of the recent eliminations were:

The action unfolded with Ferdinand Lu and Evan Barnett in an all-in showdown, with Barnett at risk for 301,000.

Evan Barnett: 7♥ 7♣

Ferdinand Lu: 9♦ 9♣

Lu’s pocket nines stayed ahead as the dealer revealed a board of T♦ 6♦ J♣ 6♠ . The river brought the 9♠, giving Lu a full house and securing the elimination.

Lou Marcial opened for 45,000, called by Ron Tate in the small blind and Minjeong Kim in the big blind. The flop came down 4♥ 5♥ 7♣ and all three players checked.

On the T♥ turn, Tate led out with 20,000, and both Kim and Marcial called. The river 9♦ had Tate tanking. With just 19,000 left, he used a time bank card before eventually checking, as did Kim and Marcial.

Tate revealed K♣ J♥ , but Kim took the pot with her T♣ 3♣ for a pair of tens. Marcial mucked his hand.

The very next hand after Yongseok Choi opened for 45,000 in middle position. With only 19,000 left, Tate shoved all-in from the button. Kim called Choi's raise as well Hisashi Yamanouchi from small and big blinds, respectively.

On the flop 6♠ 2♣ T♣, Yamanouchi checked allowing Choi to shoot 83,000 into the pot. At this point, Tate stood up ready to leave the premises but waited for the action of Yamanouchi and the dealer to complete the board.

After thinking of his options, Yamanouchi folded his hand and Choi scooped the side pot.

Ron Tate: 6♦ 6♣

Yongseok Choi: K♦ T♦

After seeing Choi's hand, a visible smile spread across Tate's face having caught a set on the flop against Choi's pair of tens.

The 6♥ turn gave Tate quads making him sit down with glee. The dealer dealt the river 3♦ .

With action folded to the blinds, small blind Jin Woo Choi made a raise to 40,000 and Damien Collins shoved all-in for his last 290,000. Choi went into deep thought before he counted the 300,000 from his stack and pushed it beyond the line. Collins showed a formidable 6♥ 6♦ but was an underdog to the 8♦ 8♣ of Choi. The board ran 2♣ K♣ 7♠ 2♠ 3♦ , keeping Choi ahead all the way and ending the Main Event run of Collins.

Van Thinh Tran raised to 35,000 from middle position, and action folded around to Sung Jin Yun in the big blind, who responded with a three-bet to 115,000. Tran then moved all-in, prompting a quick call from Yun, who was now risking his tournament life.

Sung Jin Yun: Q♦ Q♣

Van Thinh Tran: A♦ K♣

Yun’s pocket queens remained strong as the flop revealed 6♣ 7♠ T♥ . The turn was the T♠ , followed by the river T♣ , giving Yun a full house and securing his victory in the hand.

There was over 600,000 chips in the middle beside a board that read 8♠ 4♥ J♦ 6♥ Vincent Huang was at the small blind when he shoved all-in for around 950,000, putting the pressure on Yuhang Chen. Chen's remaining stack was covered and took his time to consider, using his last 2 time banks before finally making the call.

Huang flipped over Q♣ J♣ , making a top-pair with the jack. Huang showed an A♥ 2♥ , needing an ace or any heart for the nut flush. The poker gods gave a Q♠ on the river to improve Chen to two-pair and shipping the HUGE pot his way.

Chen now sits as the APT Manila Main Event chip leader, and is the first to cross the 2 Million mark.

The featured table has been substituted with new players for their turn to go under the cameras and lights.

Taking their seats to play for the APT Manila Main Event live stream are Ionut-Aurelian Stochita of Romania, Jae Wook Shin of South Korea, Abraham Ceesvin of Singapore, Lifu Huang of China, Hyeongjung Kim of South Korea, Yuji Yaginuma of Japan, Kazuhiro Shirazawa of Japan and Hyeon Junho of South Korea.

You can catch all the poker action live at the following links:

Official APT YouTube Channel

Twitch

Renniel Galvez opened the action with a raise to 32,000 from under-the-gun. Kunwoo Kim, sitting on the button with just 147,000 left in his stack, took his time to weigh his options.

A♠ the clock ticked down, he opted to use a time bank and eventually shoved all-in for his remaining chips. Galvez requested a count and made the call.

Kunwoo Kim: A♠ 9♦

Renniel Galvez: 8♣ 7♣

The flop came down 2♠ A♣ 8♠ , giving Galvez a pair of eights while Kim secured a pair of aces. The turn brought the K♣ , offering Galvez a flush draw to add to his hopes.

However, the river was the 4♠ , confirming Kim's double-up and leaving him elated as he continued his tournament journey.

Xiangyu Zhao made a raise to 35,000 from early position when Woojin Kim re-popped to 115,000 from the small blind. Zhao took some pause before declaring "All-in!", covering Kim's stack and daring him to put his APT Manila Main Event life on the line. Kim made the call and flipped over J♣ J♥ . Zhao turned over A♥ K♦ for a coin-toss.

Zhao paired his ace on the flop of 8♦ A♠ 8♥ . Kim had a two-outer and the turn 8♠ and the river 4♣ weren't them. Zhao took down the pot and Kim was sent to the rail.

Players are on a 15-minute break.

Lifu Huang opened the action with a raise to 25,000, and Ionut Stochita called from the big blind, bringing the players to the flop. The dealer revealed 9♦ 8♥ J♣ , and both players opted to check.

The turn brought the 2♦ , prompting Stochita to lead out with a bet of 32,000, which Huang called. When the river showed the 3♦ , Stochita fired again, this time for 55,000. Huang quickly called.

Stochita revealed his hand, showing a ten, while Huang turned over K♠ J♦ for a pair of jacks from the flop, securing the win.

The action began when Abraham Ceesvin opened the betting from under the gun for 24,000, which was called by Yuji Yaginuma. Brett Bader in the big blind then moved all-in for 110,000. After confirming the count, Ceesvin called, and Yaginuma also jammed for 320,000. Ceesvin quickly called again, covering both players.

Brett Bader: A♣ T♣

Yuji Yaginuma: A♥ K♥

Abraham Ceesvin: A♠ K♠

The flop came down K♦ 9♣ 6♦ , giving both Yaginuma and Ceesvin a pair. The turn was J♠ , providing Bader with a glimmer of hope for a straight draw to triple up. However, the river was 2♠ , sealing his fate and eliminating him from the tournament, while Ceesvin and Yaginuma chopped the pot.

Ferdinand Lu opened for 32,000 in late position and got one caller in Ashby Rivera on small blind to see a flop.

Flop came down J♥ 8♣ J♦ and Rivera check-raised Lu's 20,000 bet to 80,000. Lu flat called. On the K♥ turn, Rivera shoved all-in at risk of ending his tournament journey and Lu snap-called.

Ashby Rivera: 8♣ 8♠

Ferdinand Lu: K♠ K♦

Rivera caught a eights full of jacks on the flop but Lu got kings full of jacks on the turn giving him the higher full house. Once the dealer dealt the Q♦ river, Rivera stood and left the table.

80 players still have their seats and are assured at least PHP 222,000 ($3,775) for getting it this far.

Some of the recent eliminations were:

Rudolf Domin made a raise from the hi-jack to 25,000 and called the 75,000 re-raise by Hye Keun Park on the button to open a flop of 8♦ 9♦ T♥ . Both players checked to see a K♣ turn. Domin checkc-called the 85,000 bet of Park to show a A♣ on the river. Domin checked and Park muttered "all-in." Domin surrendered, showing his J♠ J♣ before it went to the muck.

Gabriel Goh opeend for 22,000 in early position and got a jam all-in from Rishi Mehra for 220,000 on the button. Li Ta Hsu on small blind got out of the way and, after asking for a count, chip leader Vincent Huang made the call. Goh mucked his hand to allow the two gentlemen to have a heads-up showdown.

Rishi Mehra: 9♣ 9♥

Vincent Huang: J♣ J♦

The dealer flopped K♣ J♥ 6♣ which gave Huang a set and made Mehra get up from his seat as he waited patiently for the board to be completed. The dealer dealt the turn 5♥ and the river T♦ and Mehra picked up his bag and left while Huang added more chips to his ever-growing stack.

Ronnie Tate limped in for the minimum 10,000 as did Hisashi Yamanouchi. Cheng-Lun Fang completed the small blind and Sung Jin Yun checked for a four-way family pot - which is quite a rare thing this deep in the tournament.

All players checked the board of 6♣ 8♠ T♦ T♠ J♠ all the way down for a final show and tell. Fang at the small blind didn't even bother showing his cards. Big blind Yun flashed a 9♠ 4♦ that didn't hit anything. Then, Tate showed Q♣ J♣ for a two-pair, forcing Yamanouchi to muck.

After Ferdinand Lu limped under-the-gun, Evan Barnett opened for 20,000 in middle position and got called by Edgar Antezana in late position and Lu, when action returned to him.

The flop came down K♠ 9♣ 5♠ . Action was passed to Antezana who shot out 25,000. Lu folded bu Barnett made the call. Both players checked the K♥ turn and 8♣ river. Barnett showed J♠ J♣ and Antezana scooped up the pot after flipping over K♦ Q♠ for trips.

On a pre-flop all-in showdown, Ramdrick Aznar risked his remaining 100,000 chips against Ferdinand Lu.

Ferdinand Lu: A♠ K♣

Ramdrick Aznar: A♥ K♥

Both players showed big slicks, hoping to share the pot, but the 9♣ 5♣ 8♣ gave Lu a flush draw and the 6♣ on the turn completed it, sending Aznar out of the APT Manila Main Event. The 5♦ river was inconsequential.

Just a few minutes into the day, Jun Lai realized that his Starbucks Venti was missing from the side table next to his seat. He claimed it was untouched and even called security to check the CCTV, hoping to catch the caffeine thief red-handed.

For the entirety of Level 17, Lai bemoaned the loss of his beloved coffee while surfing a short stack of 41,000, but tried to focus on his game. Fortunately, Lai was able to find a double-up with ace-king against an opponent's ace-six suited to climb back up 70,000.

Unfortunately, Lai was unable to progress past level 18, moving all-in for his last 15,000, with Ah 2s from the button, with the player in the small blind, who re-raised to isolate.

The board ran out 8♣ 7♦ 6x 5h 5s with Lai calling for a chop as the dealer fanned out the community cards.

After his elimination, Lai wished the table good luck and headed for the rail, with his total time at the Day 3 tables amounting to just over an hour.

The silver lining is that shortly after his exit, Lai discovered the missing coffee, which had been picked up by another player by mistake.

One of the tournament directors offered to buy Lai a replacement coffee, and the the player who accidentally took it was tracked down and offered an apology and a hand shake, which Lai gratefully accepted.

Just 30 minutes into Level 19 and the player count is down to 102 remaining. Some of the recent bustouts include:

Action was caught with Minh Tai Ha's shove of around eight big blinds being called by Evan Barnett.

Minh Tai Ha: A♥ T♥

Evan Barnett: A♦ K♠

Ha was behind, but looked to be laughing all the way to the bank on the 9♦ T♠ 2♦ flop, as he paired his ten. However, the K♥ turn and K♦ river gave Barnett trips, which meant Ha's tournament run was cut short.

"Dangerous guy," said one of the table to Barnett.

"Me? No, I'm harmless," replied Barnett.

Substitutions were made at the featured table after the break. The new set of players that will be shown in the APT Manila Main Event livestream are: Soo Jo Kim of South Korea, Pawanat Inthuyos of Thailand, Rex Clinkscales of the USA, Jason Magbanua of the Philippines, Jordan Westmorland of the USA, Rui Song of Canada, Eunseo Park of South Korea and Mike Takayama of the Philippines.

You can catch all the poker action live at the following links:

Official APT YouTube Channel

Twitch

While players are at their break, we had a chance to take a look around the tables and look at some chip stacks.

Vincent Huang of New Zealand sits at the chip leader throne with around 1.4 million chips. Not that far behind at the second spot is Edilberto Gopez Jr. of the Philippines with 1.3 million. Zhen Chen of China, who started today as the chip leader, is ranked third with 1.1 million.

So far, these are the only millionaires.

109 players are still in contention and are guaranteed at least PHP 200,000 ($3,400).

Players are on a 15-minute break.

Lester Edoc opened from under the gun for 17,000 and got a call from Alex Chong, seated directly to his left. The flop came A♠ K♥ T♠ , and Edoc continued with a bet of 10,000, which Chong quickly called.

The action slowed on the K♠ turn, with both players checking. However, on the river J♠ , Edoc checked again, giving Chong the opportunity to fire a bet of 25,000. After a brief stare-down, Edoc folded, and Chong happily collected the pot.

Action was picked up with Mikyung Kim all-in for 262,000 and Evan Barnett, at risk, on small blind making the call.

Evan Barnett: A♣ Q♥

Minkyun Kim: A♦ K♥

The dealer flopped 2♣ 8♥ 7♦ and with Kim still ahead, Barnett lost hope and starting fixing his things. On the 4♣ turn he stood but immediately sat down when the Q♣ was dealt on the river. A player on the table jokingly asked if he was just stretching his legs.

Rex Clinkscales opened to 17,000 and got called by Mike Takayama in the big blind to see a flop of 4♠ 6♦ T♣ .

Clinkscales continued the pressure by betting 22,000 on the Q♦ turn, which Takayama once again called. On the 5♠ river, Clinkscales shot out 42,000, which made Takayama throw in a time bank card.

After contemplating what to do next, Takayama decided to fold his hand and Clinkscales scooped the pot with no showdown.

Taeseong Park, at risk, open-jammed for 97,000 and got called by He Zhou on the button. The blinds folded leaving Park and Zhou for a heads-up showdown.

Taeseong Park: K♠ J♥

He Zhou: A♣ T♥

Zhou remained ahead when the dealer flopped 4♣ Q♠ 5♠ . The turn of 4♥ and river 5♣ didn't change the status quo eliminating Park in the process.

Tom Verbruggen made a min-raise to 16,000 from the cut-off and called the 140,000 all-in shove of Tuvshintugs Batbold on the button.

Tom Verbruggen: 4♥ 4♠

Tuvshintugs Batbold: T♦ T♥

Batbold was ahead all the way on a board of J♦ A♠ 6♣ 6♥ T♣ , making a set on the river for a bit of emphasis.

159 started the day with 121 players remaining and are guaranteed a payout of PHP 179,000 ($3,040).

Day 3 will be playing until 48 qualifiers remain for tomorrow's APT Main Event Day 4.

Here are some of the early eliminations from Day 3.

James Mendoza qualified for Day 3 twice, once via the live flights and he also qualified. His shortest stack was removed and earned him a min-cash, and his bigger stack remained in play.

Edilberto Gopez Jr. made a 12,000 min-raise from middle position and Finn Penderak defended the big blind with a call. Both players were presented a flop of 3♠ 4♠ 2♦ Penderak check-called the 10,000 bet of Gopez Jr. to see a 5♥ turn. All checked to get a free look at the 6♠ river, making the board a straight. Penderak thought a bit, threw in a Time Bank, and pushed out 100,000. Gopez Jr. folded.

Hisashi Yamanouchi opened for 14,000 on the button and Yongseok Choi responded with a re-raise to 38,000 from the big blind. Yamanouchi then shoved all-in for around 250,000, putting maximum pressure on Choi. Without hesitation, Choi snap-called, risking his tournament life with 112,000 behind.

Hisashi Yamanouchi: J♥ J♣

Yongseok Choi: A♥ A♠

The board ran out 4♣ 4♦ 7♥ T♠ K♦ , securing Choi’s aces and doubling his stack.

The short-stacked Yan Wen Yee shoved his last 63,000 all-in with Ashby Rivera re-raising to 150,000 to isolate.

Yan Wen Yee: A♠ 6♥

Ashby Rivera: K♣ Q♣

Yee had a better hand pre-fop, but Rivera paired the Q♦ 4♥ T♦ flop to go ahead. The turn Q♥ sealed the fate of Yee, who was drawing dead. The 5♦ river was just a formality.

The action picked up on a flop of 9♦ A♦ 2♣ , with He Zhou leading out for 10,000. Chaoui Roqai Mehdi, in the small blind, raised to 34,000, and Zhou called.

On the turn 5♦ , Zhou checked, and Mehdi continued with a bet of 24,000, which Zhou called. The river 4♣ saw another check from Zhou, prompting a 15,000 bet from Mehdi. This time, Zhou check-raised to 55,000, putting Mehdi in a tough spot. After a moment’s thought, Mehdi called.

Zhou revealed 8♦ 6♦ for a flush, prompting Mehdi to muck his hand.

Yukako Hiroi is the first casualty of the APT Manila Main Event Day 3. Hiroi was one of the few female players hoping to make history as the first female APT Main Event champion. Hiroi will take home a minimum payout of PHP167,000 ($2,840).

The other female players still in contention are He Zhou of China, Angelina Rich of the USA and Eunseo Park of South Korea.

There were already around 60,000 chips in the pot on a board of 8♥ 7♦ Q♥ 6♠ when Juns Leong checked it over to Edgar Antezana, who had around 90,000 in front of him across the betting-line. Leong then shoved for around 120,000, and Antezana called off.

Juns Leong: Q♦ 4♠

Edgar Antezana: A♥ 2♠

Leong's top pair was good right now, and he just needed to fade an ace on the river to double up. No three-outer came for Antezana, as the J♦ river earned Leong an early double-up on Day 3.

Two qualifiers that didn't show up to play have had their stacks removed from play, and both will receive a min-cash of PHP 167,000.

Cards are in the air and Day 3 play has begun.

Happy Monday!

It’s a cloudy morning here in Manila, but the grand ballroom at the City of Dreams luxury resort is sure to be full of sunshine as Day 3 of the APT Manila Main Event gets underway. A total of 159 players will return, each already guaranteed at least PHP 167,000 (~USD 2,840), hoping to climb the payout ladder toward the grand prize of PHP 18,060,000 (~USD 307,020).

The event began with a record-breaking 1,081 entries, each buying in for PHP 85,000 to chase a share of the 100 million (~USD 1.7 million) guaranteed prize pool—the largest guarantee in Philippines' poker history. Today, the field will play ten levels or 48 players (subject to change).

Leading the pack for Day 3 is Zhen Chen of China with a stack of 1,094,000 chips, making him the only player to cross the million-chip mark. Vincent Huang follows with 974,000, and Lester Edoc holds the third-largest stack with 777,000.

Other notable players in the field include New Zealand’s Thomas Ward (357,000), South Korea’s Joonhee “Steve” Yea (417,000), Canada’s Benjamin Leblond (422,000), the Philippines’ David “Spade” Erquiaga (331,000), and Ronnie Tate from the USA (278,000).

Two-time APT Main Event champion Mike Takayama will start with a solid 495,000, while defending champion Moses Saquing will be looking to grow his short stack of 50,000.

You can find the full list of chip counts and the Day 3 seat draw here.

Catch the live action from the APT Manila Main Event’s featured table on these channels:

YouTube

Twitch