Philippines National Cup (12,000 PHP)

Mack Lee opened the button to 320,000 and only Marco Espela called from the small blind.

Both read a flop of J♠ 5♣ 3♣ , and Espela checked the action to Lee, who then fired 250,000. Espela made the call after a short time.

They saw a Q♥ land on the turn, where Espela checked again, and Lee fired out 650,000. Espela then shoved all in for around 5,575,000, which Lee called off his remaining chips, roughly 2,000,000.

Marco Espela: K♠ Q♦

Mack Lee: Q♣ T♣

Lee still got many outs to win the hand, but the dealer slammed a helpless A♠ on the river to complete the board, meaning Lee was sent to the rail and bagged up PHP 616,000 (~$10,470) payout.

One three-way all-in hand just played out, resulting in a double elimination and a single winner of the pot.

Sunjong Yoo from the button shoved all in for 610,000, and received two callers, Mack Lee nd Sunjong Yoo from the blinds.

Sunjong Yoo: 8♠ 6♠

Mack Lee: A♥ J♠

Alvir Inocentes: T♥ T♣

The board rolled off A♠ 5♦ 3♦ Q♦ Q♠ , giving two pair to Lee and Inocentes. However, Lee bested Inocentes with flopped top pair aces and claimed a double elimination.

Ashley Patterson limped in from under the gun and Marco Espela followed suit from the next seat. When the action got to Mack Lee in the small blind, he made it 350,000 to go. Both Patterson and Espela called.

The three players went to a flop of 6♥ 8♦ 2♣ where Lee requested the all-in triangle and shoved for around 800,000. Patterson rechecked his cards and folded, and Espela also got out of the way.

Kiwanont Sukhum limped from under the gun, only to be met with an all-in shove from Mack Lee for 585,000. The rest of the table folded back to Sukhum, who made the call, setting up a showdown.

Mack Lee: A♥ Q♠

Kiwanont Sukhum: A♠ J♦

The dealer revealed the board: K♣ 4♦ 7♥ 8♦ 6♣ . Neither player connected, leaving Lee’s queen kicker to secure the win. Lee pulled in a crucial stack boost, keeping his tournament hopes alive!

The chip counts are in for the final table, and it's Marco Espela who surged up the leaderboard and holds a commanding lead over the field.

Espela is one of three local players who reached the final table, along with Maggy Cenon and Alvir Inocentes.

The average stack is 1,210,000, which is just fifteen big blinds, so expect the action to be fast-paced.

Here are the current counts with ten remaining. Lun Luo's lead has been eaten into a little, but he still remains the chip leader with a stack of 2,000,000.

The action folded around to Mack Lee in the small blind, who shoved. Antonio Abesamis was in the big blind and committed his remaining stack of around 200,000.

Mack Lee: 5♠ 5♥

Antonio Abesamis: Q♥ 9♥

Lee improved to a set on the 5♦ 2♦ K♥ flop, to all but seal Abesamis' elimination. However, a glimmer of hope emerged on the 8♥ turn as Abesamis picked up a flush draw. It wasn't to be, though, as the 3♣ completed the board, sending Abesamis out in eleventh.

Marco Espela made it 85,000 from middle position and Mack Lee shoved from the hijack for 360,000. Once the action got back to Espela, he made a quick call.

Mack Lee: A♦ K♣

Marco Espela: A♠ Q♣

In a tale as old as time, ace-queen was all-in against ace-king, with the expected result as the 4♠ 4♣ 8♥ 3♥ 9♣ runout kept Lee in the lead, and earned him a double-up.

Euryd Rivera was all in for around 95,000 from middle position and Mack Lee called from the small blind to put Rivera at risk.

Euryd Rivera K♥ J♣

Mack Lee A♣ T♦

The board dealt J♠ 5♥ 4♥ 7♠ 4♠ , improving Rivera to a pair of jacks and leaving Lee no choice but to concede the pot.

With five tables remaining, Mack Lee, seated on the button, moved all-in. After careful consideration, Frank Lillis in the small blind opted to call Lee’s all-in bet, putting Lee at risk.

Mack Lee: K♠ Q♠

Frank Lillis: J♥ J♠

The flop revealed K♣ 2♣ 9♥ , giving Lee a pair of kings and an opportunity to double his stack. The turn brought the 6♦ , followed by the 3♦ on the river, which did not improve Lillis's hand. Consequently, Lee significantly increased his stack at Lillis's expense.

Mack Lee raised to 17,000 from under the gun and Mitchell Tsang defended from the big blind.

On the 4♠ 3♣ K♣ flop, the action went check-check. Both players saw a 4♣ fell on the turn, and Tsang led out for 10,000, which Lee dropped in a call.

The Q♥ landed on the river, and Tsang fired out 45,000 this time, sending Lee into the tank. Eventually, Lee stuck around to take it to a showdown.

Tsang tabled table flopped top pair with his K♠ 9♥ , making Lee relinquish the pot.

Mack Lee opened to 12,000 from middle position, and Nikolaos Kiourntzidis called from the big blind. The flop came 8♦ 6♣ Q♠ , and after Kiourntzidis checked, Lee continued for 8,500, which Kiourntzidis called.

On the turn 3♦ , Kiourntzidis checked again, prompting a larger bet of 28,000 from Lee, which finally pushed his opponent out of the pot.