APT Main Event (85,000 PHP)

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.

Day 2 of the PHP 85,000 APT Manila 2024 Main Event made tour history, setting a new record for the largest Philippines Main Event field in tour history with 1,081 entries.

China’s Zhen Chen topped the chip counts, amassing 1,094,000 chips and emerging as the only player to cross the million-chip mark.

The day began with 369 players, all vying for a payout spot to earn a share of the Philippines' biggest-ever guaranteed prize pool of PHP 100 Million (~$1.7 Million).

A minimum cash prize was set at PHP 167,000 ($2,840), and by the end of the day, 159 players had secured their place in the hallowed money spots.

The bubble burst quickly, wrapping up in just 15 minutes and concluding the Day 2 action with 42 minutes remaining on the clock on level 17, with Norway's Mikal Blomlie finishing as the bubble boy.

Blomlie’s all-in with pocket sevens was called by South Korea’s Jae Wook Shin, whose Ace-Ten found a pair on the flop, ending Blomlie’s tournament run.

However, Blomlie didn't leave empty-handed, receiving a PHP 20,000 ticket (~USD 340) to Event #81: Double Stack PHP 15,000,000 GTD.

By evening’s end, the remaining players had bagged their chips, all locking up a place in Day 3. With several former APT Champions still in contention, the quest for the PHP 18,060,000 ($307,020) top prize promises to be an intense battle as the tournament action unfolds.

Close behind Chen, former APT High Roller Champion Vincent Huang from New Zealand bagged the second-largest stack with 974,000, while the Philippine’s Lester Edoc followed with 777,000.

Defending APT Mini-Main Event Champion Tom Verbruggen from the Netherlands, who topped the Flight D chip counts, finished with nearly the same stack after surrendering a significant portion of his chips to Chen. Two-time Main Event champion Mike Takayama also progressed to Day 3, sitting in thirteenth with a stack of 495,000.

Other notable players advancing include Thomas Ward (357,000), David "Spade" Erquiaga (331,000), Renniel Galvez (193,000), and Richard Marquez (83,000).

The top ten stacks can be found below.

A full APT Manila Main Event Day 2 Survivor List can be found by CLICKING HERE.

A full APT Manila Main Event Day 3 Seat Draw can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Joven Huerto opened for 10,000 on cut-off to be called by Gabriel Goh from big blind to see a flop of T♥ 6♠ 6♦ .

Goh passed the action to Huerto who took the opportunity to bet 13,000 to be called by Goh again. Both players checked the turn 3♠ .

When Goh checked the river Q♣ , Huerto continued the pressure with 20,000 making Goh fold.

A few hands later, Goh and Huerto found toe to toe once again in a sick exchange.

Pre-flop, Huerto opened for 9,5000 to be three-bet by Goh to 30,000. Huerto not succumbing to the pressure, jammed all-in for about 130,000 for his tournament life. Goh snap called.

Joven Huerto: A♦ K♥

Gabriel Goh: A♠ Q♥

Ahead pre-flop, Huerto was quite happy to see the flop of 4♦ 6♠ K♠ as it gave him some security that he would win the hand.

The turn 2♠ placed Huerto in a precarious situation as it gave Goh a flush draw. Praying hard not to get sucked out of the hand, Huerto's fears came to life when the dealer dealt T♠ giving Goh the nut flush and eliminating Huerto in an unfashionable manner.

In two straight hands, Do Joon Kim had met the raises of other players, but failed to book a win. With a dwindling stack, Kim finally took one down to breathe.

Kim raised to 1,200 from the button and was called by Gabriel Jin Luong Goh at the big blind to enter a flop of 7♠ A♠ J♠ both checked to see a 7♥ turn. Goh checked and Kim bet 1,500. Goh gave up, and Kim was finallly able to bring some chips his way for some breathing room.