APT Main Event (60,000 PHP)

Ivan Govorov has etched his name in the biggest APT Main Event in Phillippines.

Stay tuned to see how he did it!

Hand 105 Or Nezer opened to 800,000 from the cutoff and Alexander Ugay shoved for 850,000 from the cutoff. When it got back to Nezer, he threw in the extra 50,000.

Alexander Ugay: A♣ J♦

Or Nezer: K♠ K♣

Ugay needed to start the ultimate of spin-ups, but didn't come much closer to achieving that after the 9♦ J♥ T♠ flop gave Nezer an open-ender. A 9♦ turn completed Nezer's straight, and left Ugay with just two outs to survive.

Unfortunately for Ugay, the Q♠ river wasn't what he needed, and he departed in fifth.

Hand 101 Or Nezer raised to 800,000 from under the gun with K♦ Q♣ and won the hand.

Hand 102 Samuel Mullur raised the small blind with Q♣ 2♦ to 1,300,000 and was defended by Or Nezer from the big blind with K♣ 9♥

On the flop of 6♥ 6♣ A♣ , Muller bet 700,000 and Nezer called to see the 6♠ turn. Mullur then fired out 1,500,000 and Nezer made the call.

The 6♦ hit on the river, where Mullur shoved all in for 17,000 and Nezer also moved all in. Two players shared the pot.

Hand 103 Samuel Mullur jammed for 20,000 on the button with A♥ 2♦ and won the pot.

Hand 104 Alexander Ugay went all in for 2,900,000 from the small blind and Ivan Govorov called off 2,100,000 from the big blind.

Ivan Govorov: K♦ 4♣

Alexander Ugay: T♥ 6♥

Govorov was slightly ahead with king-high. The board runout A♦ J♠ 2♠ 7♣ K♣ , giving Govorov a much-needed double up.

Hand 93 Ivan Govorov raised from under the gun to 800,000 with Q♠ Q♦ and won the pot.

Hand 94 Samuel Mullur raised the cutoff with A♣ 3♣ to 800,000 and Ivan Govorov three-bet with A♥ T♥ to collect the pot.

Hand 95 Samuel Mullur raised to 800,000 from under the gun with A♦ Q♠ and won the pot.

Hand 96 Or Nezer raised with A♠ T♥ from under the gun to 800,000 and won the hand.

Hand 97 Samuel Mullur limped in from the small blind with 7♦ 5♣ and was three-bet to 1,400,000 by Or Nezer from the big blind with J♠ 5♥ . Mullur folded.

Hand 98 Samuel Mullur opened the button to 800,000 with Q♥ 8♣ and was called by Alexander Ugay from the big blind with Q♦ T♦ .

On the flop of 4♥ Q♣ A♣ , Ugay checked to Mullur, who bet 550,000 and Ugay called. The turn showed a 5♦ and it went check-check.

The river showed the J♥ . Ugay checked over and Mullur shoved all in for 18,000,000. After thinking for a while, Ugay eventually folded.

Hand 83 Samuel Mullur raised to 600,000 with 8♠ 8♣ from the cutoff and Alexander Ugay called with 5♥ 3♣ from the big blind.

On the 6♥ 4♦ 9♣ flop, both checked to the T♣ turn where Ugay shoved for 2,300,000. Mullur thought about it for a while, but eventually elected to fold, and Ugay got away with one.

Hand 84 Mullur opened 8♥ 6♥ from the hijack to 600,000 and won the pot.

Hand 85 Mullur opened to 600,000 with K♣ Q♦ from under the gun and Ugay called with 5♦ 5♣ on the button.

On the Q♥ J♥ 3♣ flop, both checked to the 2♦ turn. Mullur fired out 900,000, and Ugay quickly folded.

Hand 86 Mullur got a walk.

Hand 87 Mullur raised to 1,000,000 from the small blind with K♦ T♠ and won the pot.

Hand 88 Ivan Govorov raised to 600,000 from under the gun and Ugay shoved from the big blind for 2,800,000. Govorov quickly called.

Alexander Ugay: A♣ K♥

Ivan Govorov: T♠ T♣

Ugay was flipping for his tournament life, and took the lead when the dealer put out a flop of 6♠ 2♣ K♠ . Another king on the turn, the K♦ , gave Ugay trips, but didn't change the fact that Govorov still needed to find a ten to earn the knockout.

The 6♣ river was a brick, and Ugay doubled up, while Govorov tumbled to the bottom of the counts.

Hand 64 Samuel Mullur opened the cutoff with Q♣ 2♣ to 600,000 and won the pot.

Hand 65 Mullur opened the hijack with K♠ 2♠ to 600,000 and Or Nezer three-bet to 1,700,000 on the button with A♥ K♣ . When it got back to Mullur, he laid it down.

Hand 66 Alexander Ugay made it 650,000 in the small blind with A♠ T♥ and Ivan Govorov called in the big blind holding K♣ Q♣ .

The flop came 5♠ 8♦ 2♣ and both checked to the 8♥ turn. Ugay bet 350,000 and Govorov let it go.

Hand 67 Or Nezer shoved from the hijack with A♥ 4♦ and picked up the blinds.

Hand 51 Samuel Mullur made it 500,000 to go with 5♠ 5♦ from the hijack and Alexander Ugay defended his big blind with A♦ 2♠ .

The flop came 6♠ Q♦ 9♣ and Ugay check-folded to the 600,000-chip bet of Mullur.

Hand 52 Ugay limped in from the small blind with K♦ 8♠ and Ivan Govorov checked his option in Q♦ 3♠ in the big blind.

On the Q♠ 2♣ A♠ flop, both checked to the 8♦ turn, where again both knuckled the table. A T♣ completed the board and Ugay check-called a bet of 250,000 from Govorov to scoop the pot with his pair of queens.

Hand 53 Or Nezer looked down at A♥ Q♣ in the hijack and min-raised to 500,000. Dylan Foster was in the big blind and defended holding T♥ 7♥ .

When the dealer put out a flop of A♠ 4♣ Q♦ , Foster check-folded after Nezer stabbed for 700,000 with his top two pair.

Players are on a 15-minute break.

Hand 38 Or Nezer raised with T♥ 9♥ to 400,000 in the cutoff and Ivan Govorov called from the big blind with K♥ 5♥ .

On the flop of 6♠ 6♥ K♦ , Govorov checked and Nezer bet 200,000. Govorov called to see the Q♥ fall on the turn. The action went check-check.

The river revealed the 6♣ . Govorov fired 500,000 and won the pot.

Hand 39 Dmitrii Belikov raised to 400,000 in the cutoff with 9♠ 8♠ and Aleander Ugay called on the button with 4♦ 3♦ . Ivan Govoro three-bet to 1,600,000 from the small blind with A♣ K♦ and won the pot.

Hand 40 Samuel Mullur got a walk.

Hand 32 Hiroya Iwamoto raised to 400,000 from under the gun with A♦ Q♠ and was Alexander Ugay three-bet to 1,500,00 from the cutoff with Q♥ Q♦ . Iwamoto shoved all in for 3,300,000 and was called by Ugay.

The clean board came 5♦ 7♦ 9♣ 8♣ J♠ , making Iwamoto the first to leave final table.

Alexander now is the chip leader in final table.

Hand 29 Dmitrii Belikov raised with 4♦ 3♠ from the small blind to 600,000 and collected the pot.

Hand 30 Dmitrii Belikov raised with Q♣ J♠ to 400,000 on the button and won the pot.

Hand 31 Alexander Ugay raised with A♥ 5♣ to 400,000 on the button and Ivan Govorov three-bet with Q♦ Q♣ from the small blind to 2,100,000 and collected the pot.

Hand 25 Dylan Foster raised to 400,000 from the cutoff holding 9♠ 8♠ and Hiroya Iwamoto shoved from the small blind with A♦ 9♦ for around 2,900,000. Foster quickly folded.

Hand 26 Samuel Mullur limped in from the small blind with A♥ 6♦ and Jie Zhang checked his option from the big blind with Q♣ 2♦ .

On the 8♠ K♠ K♣ flop, Mullur stabbed 200,000 into the pot and Zhang put in the call to see a K♥ fall on the turn. Mullur checked, Zhang bet 250,000, and Mullur called.

A 4♥ completed the board and both checked it down, which meant Mullur took the pot with ace-high.

Hand 27 Iwamoto min-raised to 400,000 from the cutoff with Q♠ 6♠ and Zhang three-bet with K♠ Q♥ from the small blind to 1,400,000. Iwamoto folded quickly.

Hand 28 Ivan Govorov peeked down at A♥ K♥ from early position and min-raised to 400,000. Dmitrii Belikov called from the big blind holding 9♦ 6♦ .

The all four flop of 4♣ 4♥ 4♠ saw Belikov check-fold to the 200,000-chip continuation-bet from Govorov.

Hand 14 Ivan Govorov raised the button to 320,000 with Q♦ T♣ and Dylan Foster shoved 7♦ 7♣ from the small blind. Govorov had just over 3,000,000 behind and elected to fold, earning Foster the pot.

Hand 15 Alexander Ugay looked down at A♠ K♥ and raised to 320,000 from the hijack. Nobody else wanted to play, and Ugay took the pot.

Hand 16 Or Nezer raised A♠ Q♠ to 320,000 from early position and Samuel Mullur defended with Q♥ 2♥ from the big blind.

They went to a flop of 6♣ 5♠ 7♦ where Mullur check-folded to the 255,000-chip bet from Nezer.

Hand 17 Nezer picked up A♥ Q♣ from under the gun and again made it 320,000 to go. Mullur then made it 800,000 from the small blind with A♣ T♦ , and Nezer almost immediately shoved. Mullur quickly folded.

Hand 18 Hiroya Iwamoto raised to 325,000 with A♠ 7♠ from the cutoff and won the pot.

Hand 19 Ugay raised to 320,000 from under the gun with A♣ 6♣ and Adalsteinn Karlsson shoved for around 2,300,000 with A♥ K♦ from middle position. When it got back to Ugay, he folded.

Hand 2 Dmitrii Belikov picked up K♥ T♦ in the small blind and made it 420,000. Alexander Ugay then three-bet to 1,200,000 out of the big blind with A♠ Q♥ . Belikov folded.

Hand 3 Dylan Foster raised to 320,000 from under the gun holding 8♠ 8♥ and Ivan Govorov defended with A♥ 9♦ from the big blind.

They saw a flop of 6♦ T♥ 9♥ where both checked to the 2♣ turn, which also went check-check. The J♣ dropped on the river and again both checked, which left Gorovov to scoop the pot with his pair of nines.

Hand 4 Belikov raised the cutoff with T♠ T♥ to 320,000 and Foster peeled from the big blind. On the 8♦ 9♣ A♣ flop, both checked to the J♣ turn, which also checked through. A 5♦ landed on the river Foster went with a pot-sized bet of 925,000. Belikov rechecked his cards then tossed them away, allowing Foster to steal the pot.

Top row (L-R): Dylan Wayne Foster (Australia) - 6,615,000, Adalsteinn Karlsson (Iceland) - 1,700,000, Samuel Mullur (Austria) - 2,150,000, Alexander Ugay (Russia) - 4,720,000 Bottom Row (L-R): Jie Zhang (Hong Kong) - 5,320,000, Hiroya Iwamoto (Japan) - 8,225,000, Dmitri Belikov (Russia) - 8,890,000, Or Nezer (Israel) - 6,660,000, Ivan Govorov (Russia) - 3,390,000

After four days of intense competition, the APT Main Event final table is set, and today, one player will etch their name into history as the champion of the biggest APT Main Event ever held in the Philippines. With a massive PHP 62,311,680 (~$1,070,647) prize pool and a PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) first-place prize on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Leading the charge is Russia’s Dmitrii Belikov (8,890,000), who surged ahead on Day 4 after winning the tournament’s biggest flip. Japan’s Hiroya Iwamoto (8,225,000) isn’t far behind, while Or Nezer (6,660,000) and Dylan Foster (6,615,000) round out the top four, each well within striking distance.

With APT titles, major final tables, and millions in live earnings among this final table lineup, experience is plentiful, but so is hunger. Samuel Mullur (2,150,000), a decorated bracelet winner, will need to work his short stack to mount a comeback, while Adalsteinn Karlsson (1,700,000) enters as the shortest stack, looking for an early double-up to stay in contention.

With PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) up top, every decision at the final table carries high-stakes consequences. Each of the remaining nine players is already guaranteed PHP 819,000 (~$14,072), but the real battle begins now, with the top three finishers all securing seven-figure payouts.

A deep run guarantees life-changing money, with PHP 6,507,000 (~$111,804) for second place and PHP 4,577,000 (~$78,643) for third. But as the eliminations stack up, so do the pay jumps, inching the final contenders closer to the prestigious Gold Lion trophy and the biggest APT Main Event title ever awarded in the Philippines.

The pressure is on, and every decision will be magnified under the bright lights of the final table. Play resumes at 11 AM, with action streaming on a 30-minute delay. By day’s end, only one will remain—the newest APT Main Event champion.

Who will rise to the occasion and claim poker immortality? It’s time to find out!

as the sun rose over Manila this morning, 48 hopefuls returned to the tables inside the Crowne Plaza Galleria with one shared mission—securing a seat at the APT Main Event final table. After eight levels of play, that number has been slashed to just nine, each now shifting their focus to the ultimate prize: the PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) first-place payout.

The player in the best position to capture the title is Russia’s Dmitrii Belikov, who ran hot throughout the day and closed out with an impressive 8,890,000 in chips. Japan’s Hiroya Iwamoto wasn’t far behind, building his stack to 8,225,000, while Or Nezer secured the third spot on the leaderboard with 6,660,000, keeping himself in striking distance of the leaders.

When they return tomorrow for the fifth and final day, the remaining nine players will battle for the prestigious APT Main Event title and their share of the massive PHP 62,311,680 (~$1,070,647) prize pool—the biggest APT Main Event ever held in the Philippines. Each has already secured at least PHP 819,000 (~$14,072) for reaching the final table, but with the payouts getting progressively bigger, the stakes couldn’t be higher as they chase history and a career-defining victory.

With a healthy stack of 6,615,000, Dylan Foster is well-positioned to make a run at the title. A familiar face on the APT circuit, Foster has already racked up eight final table appearances in APT events, but a trophy has eluded him outside of his home country of Australia.

Now, with a career-best payday within reach, Foster will be looking to leverage his experience and navigate his way up the payouts—all the way to the PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) top prize and his first international title.

The most decorated player at the final table is undoubtedly Samuel Mullur. The Austrian bracelet-winner boasts nearly $5,000,000 in live tournament earnings and currently sits third on Austria’s All-Time Money List—a resume that speaks for itself.

However, Mullur faces an uphill climb with just 2,150,000 in chips, leaving him as one of the short stacks heading into Day 5. But with his experience and deep-run prowess, few would be surprised to see him mount a comeback and battle for the title as the tournament reaches its final stages.

Rounding out the final table are Jie Zhang (5,320,000), Alexander Ugay (4,720,000), Ivan Govorov (3,390,000), and Adalsteinn Karlsson (1,700,000). While Zhang and Ugay sit comfortably in the middle of the pack, Govorov has some ground to make up, while Karlsson enters as the short stack, needing an early double-up to stay in contention.

Day 4 Action

Among those who started the day, Javier Zarco had the steepest hill to climb, entering with just a single big blind. While he hoped to spin up a miracle run, his journey ended in 45th place. Terry Gonzaga (39th), Rishi Mehra (33rd), Jayden Zalac (24th), and Vlada Stojanovic (21st) also fell before the pay jumps started to get a little juicier.

One of the standout stories of the tournament was Gemmy Quach, who described her deep run as “magical” after bagging at the end of Day 3. But as fate would have it, the deck had other plans.

Quach's troubles began in Level 26, when Belikov’s ace-queen rivered her ace-king, but she managed to recover and battle on. However, in Level 29, it was déjà vu—this time, Quach four-bet shoved with king-jack, only to once again find herself at risk against Belikov’s ace-queen.

A king on the flop offered hope for a crucial double-up, but in a cruel twist, the river brought an ace, officially ending her Main Event journey at the hands of the same opponent who cracked her earlier. A magical run, but sometimes even fairy tales get a bad ending.

Belikov vaulted to the top of the chip counts after winning a massive flip, holding strong with pocket jacks against Egidijus Digrys' ace-queen in the tournament’s biggest pot so far. The crucial hand catapulted Belikov into the lead while leaving Digrys on life support with just a handful of big blinds.

Still reeling from the loss, Digrys found himself flipping again just a few hands later, this time with pocket eights against Hiroya Iwamoto’s ace-jack. Unfortunately for him, the board brought an ace on the flop, dashing any hopes of a comeback and sending him out in the unlucky 13th place.

Niklas Warlich (12th) and Jeoffrey Sibal (11th) came agonizingly close to the final table but still walked away with solid paydays for their deep runs. However, it was Japan’s Michikiko Matsuda who suffered the toughest blow, finishing as the final table bubble boy after his stack was slowly ground down to dust.

In his final hand and down to just a few big blinds, Matsuda shoved with nine-eight over an open from Iwamoto, who called with six-three suited. The flop brought Iwamoto a flush draw, and the turn completed it, leaving Matsuda drawing dead and his tournament dreams officially over in tenth.

Play resumes at 11 AM on Saturday, February 15, where the final nine players will battle until one is crowned APT Main Event champion. There’s one minute remaining in Level 30, and with the average stack around 5,300,000, every decision will be magnified as the blinds continue to rise.

as always, the final table will be streamed with a 30-minute delay, ensuring fans can follow the action without spoilers. Live updates will remain in sync with the broadcast to provide a seamless experience. To watch the stream: To watch the stream: Click here.

With PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) up top, the pressure is at its peak. The stage is set, the chips are counted, and by the end of the day, a new APT Main Event champion will be crowned. Buckle up—it’s going to be a thrilling finale!

Hiroya Iwamoto opened to 200,000 from under the gun, and Alexander Ugay defended his big blind.

The flop came down J♠ 8♥ 5♥ , and both players opted to check.

The Q♠ landed on the turn, where Ugay checked, Iwamoto fired 175,000, and Ugay responded with a check-raise to 425,000. After a brief pause, Iwamoto shoved, and Ugay snap-called for his tournament life with 2,200,000.

Alexander Ugay: Q♦ J♣

Hiroya Iwamoto: A♠ K♠

Ugay had turned top two, but Iwamoto had a Royal Flush draw, needing a spade or a ten to steal the pot. The dealer burned a card and revealed the 5♣ —a total brick—locking up the massive pot for Ugay, who catapulted his stack to nearly five million.

A huge moment, but not quite the fairytale finish Iwamoto was hoping for.

Players have been sent on a 60-minute dinner break.

Here's a peek at the counts while the players fuel up.

Big, big pot for Hiroya Iwamoto right before dinner!

Alexander Ugay opened the hijack to 160,000 and Iwamoto three-bet to 500,000 in the cutoff. When it got back to Ugay, he called.

They both saw a flop of 6♦ Q♣ 7♣ where Ugay check-called a bet of 350,000 from Iwamoto to the K♠ turn. Ugay tapped the table once again and Iwamoto continued firing, this time with a sizing of 600,000. Ugay quickly moved all in, and Iwamoto called off his stack of around 2,300,000.

Hiroya Iwamoto: A♦ K♦

Alexander Ugay: K♣ J♥

That turn was the worst in the deck for Ugay, who now only had three outs to win the pot. Iwamoto was a big favorite to become the chip leader, and climbed to the summit of the counts when the 3♠ landed on the river.

Tetsuya Tsujikasa raised to 100,000 and Alexander Ugay called from the cut-off. Both players were shown a flop of 7♣ J♥ 4♥

Tsujikasa bet 100,000 and Ugay made the call to show a 6♦ on the turn. Both players checked to show a 3♠ on the river. Tsujikasa bet 325,000 and Ugay just called.

Tsujikasa showed Q♣ Q♥ for an overpair while Ugay showed 3♦ 3♥ for a set of threes.

In the following hand, Ugay raised to 125,000 with Tsujikasa defending the big blind. The flop came K♠ 6♠ J♥ Tsujikasa led out for 100,000 and Ugay called.

The turn came J♦ and both players checked to reveal a free 9♠ on the river. Tsujikasa checked and Ugay bet out 125,000. Tsujikasa called.

Ugay flipped over A♠ 2♠ for the nut flush while Tsujikasa mucked.

Noppon Taengruen raised to 125,000 from early position and Alexander Ugay called on the button.

Both saw a flop of K♠ 6♠ 5♠ and checked through to see the J♠ turn, where Ugay checked to Taengruen, who bet 60,000. This was enough to make Ugay open-muck A♣ 9♣ .

Alexander Ugay made it 100,000 to go from middle position with Ejidijus Digrys and Tetsuya Tsujisaka calling from the blinds.

Three players saw a flop of 4♠ 2♠ A♠ and checked through to the 9♥ turn, where the blinds checked over and Ugay fired out 125,000. Only Digrys made the call.

The river brought a K♥ and it went check-check. Digrys tabled 6♣ 6♦ , but it was no match for the pair of tens from Tsujisaka’s T♣ T♠ on the clean board.

Egidijus Digrys raised to 80,000 from the cut-off and Alexander Ugay three-bet to 240,000 on the button.

Both players were shown a flop of 8♦ 4♥ 9♦

Digrys check-raised the 130,000 bet of Ugay to 425,000. Ugay mateched to open a 2♦ on the turn. Digrys check-called the 800,000 bet of Ugay to show a A♥ on the river. Digrys checked. Ugay shoved all-in and Digrys made the instant call.

Ugay showed A♦ J♥ for a pair of aces.

Digrys showed 7♦ 6♦ for a flush.

Digrys took down the huge pot plus another 1,015,000 for the all-in. What a monster pot!

The very next hand after Lee’s elimination, Alexander Ugay just found himself in another all in pot and collected one more knockout.

Padipan Photha shoved all in from the cutoff and was snap-called by Ugay.

Padipan Photha: K♥ Q♠

Alexander Ugay: 8♥ 8♠

Ugay was ahead with his pocket eight and it was improved to a set on the flop of 8♦ 2♣ T♠ , offering Photha a backdoor straight draw.

Unfortunately for Photha, the 6♦ turn and 6♠ river couldn’t help him at all and show him the exit.

Alexander Ugay made it 75,000 to go from the small blind and Daehyung Lee three-bet to 225,000. Ugay made the call.

On the flop of 2♠ 4♥ A♠ , Ugay checked it to Lee, who continued for 150,000, only to be jammed by Ugay for around 2,800,000. Lee sanp-called off his last 550,000 chips.

Daehyung Lee: K♠ K♣

Alexander Ugay: A♣ T♣

Lee’s pocket king was not enough to face off a flopped pair of aces from Ugay. The turn showed the J♦ , leaving Lee drawing dead. The river came a board-pairing 4♦ , sealing Lee’s elimination from the table.

Alexander Ugay raised to 60,000 when Daehyung Lee raised all-in for 625,000. No one called and Lee scooped some extra blinds to keep his stack just a little above the danger zone.

Alexander Ugay raised to 80,000 from the small blind and Daehuyng Lee peeled from the big blind.

A flop came down 8♥ 9♠ 7♥ , Ugay led out for 25,000 and Lee called to see a 2♥ fall on the turn, where both players checked through.

The river brought the board-pairing 9♦ . The two took no time and checked to showdown. Ugay tabled a flopped pair of sevens with K♠ 7♠ to collect the pot as Lee tossed his cards into the muck.

After a short but action-packed Day 3 at the Crowne Plaza Galleria, just 48 players remain from the 175 hopefuls who started the day. Leading the charge is Hong Kong's Jie Zhang, who holds a commanding chip lead with a stack of 3,930,000 after a dominant performance.

From the moment cards were in the air, eliminations came at a blistering pace. It took just six hours for the field to be whittled down to one-third of its original size, ensuring a new Main Event champion will be crowned, as no former winners remain in contention the PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) top prize.

Zhang's rise to the top was punctuated by a massive double-knockout in the late stages, where his pocket aces held strong against pocket kings and ace-queen in a crucial three-way all-in. He cemented his lead by delivering the final elimination of the night, as his pocket queens proved too strong for the pocket sixes of Inoue Senan.

Behind Zhang, Alexander Ugay holds the second-largest stack with 2,335,000, while Samuel Mullur is the only other player to cross the two-million mark, bagging 2,065,000.

Start-of-day chip leader Po-Shuo Huang ended the day in solid shape with 1,755,000, while Jayden Zalac (1,740,000), Rishi Mehra (1,465,000), and Niklas Warlich (1,365,000) all secured a top-ten finish. The top ten list is represented by ten different countries, showcasing the truly international nature of the competition and reinforcing APT's status as a premier global poker tour.

Three former Main Event champions entered the day, but none managed to survive. Yohn Paredes (107th), Mike Takayama (85th), and Moses Saquing (78th) all saw their title hopes cut short before the bags came out.

Eleven of the 29 qualifiers managed to find a bag and advance to Day 4. They include the aforementioned Mehra, Adalsteinn Karlsson (1,345,000), Che Li Lin (1,295,000), Noppon Taengruen (1,090,000), Xuan Huy Dinh (1,030,000), Nopparut Piyatassakorn (615,000), Donavan Chu (525,000), Padipan Photha (470,000), Anusorn Asiralertsiri (300,000), Miei Hayama (285,000), and Terry Gonzaga (280,000).

At the bottom of the counts sits Spain’s Javier Zarco, who will enter Day 4 as the tournament’s shortest stack with just 30,000 chips—a little over a single big blind. It will take nothing short of a miracle for him to run it up, but if poker has taught us anything, it's that a chip and a chair is sometimes all you need.

Day 4 kicks off at 11 a.m. on February 14th, where the remaining 48 players will battle to keep their title hopes alive. With the stakes rising and the pressure mounting, there will be no love lost at the tables as they fight for a spot in the final stages of the APT Main Event on Valentine's Day.

Nobuaki Sasaki made it 34,000 to go from early position and Alexander Ugay three-bet to 95,000 from middle position, which Sasaki called.

Both player checked through the monotone flop of 7♥ 3♥ 4♥ to see a 5♣ fall on the turn, where Sasaki fired out 65,000 and Ugay called.

The 4♦ hit on the river. Sasaki sent a barrel of 280,000 after tanking for a long time. Ugay snap-called and revealed A♣ K♥ for ace-high. This was enough to make Sasaki muck the hand.

Filipino Benhur Ybarsabal opened from early-position and got one call from Alexander Ugay.

The flop came down 5♦ 2♠ 2♥ and the Filipino continued with a 10,000 bet which was quickly called by Ugay.

The turn brought the 9♠ and Ybarsabal slowed down and checked. Ugay tried to use this to his advantage by betting 13,000. However, to this Ybarsabal responded with an all-in, totalling 138,000.

Ugay quickly folded, acknowledging Ybarsabal's play.

Akash Malik made it 9,500 to go from the hijack and was called by Alexander Ugay from the cutoff.

Both players checked through the flop of 8♣ 7♣ 5♦ to see a 4♣ fall on the turn, where Malik fired 8,500 and Ugay stuck around.

The river brought the board-pairing 5♠ .

Malik made a chunky bet of 17,500 and successfully collected the pot.

We picked the action up on the turn, where Tsz Chan's 18,000 bet got raised to 60,000 by the Alexander Ugay in the big-blind.

Chan made the call and by the river the board read 7♣ 7♥ 5♥ 3♣ 4♦ .

Ugay moved all-in for 225,000 on the river. This put Chan in a very difficult situation. He slightly covered Chan, and for multiple minutes he tried to figure out whether the Russian player might have been bluffing.

In the end, however, he decided on a fold. The river scared him he said.

The stage is set for Day 2 of APT Manila Classic Main Event, where 377 survivors from the four starting flights will converge at the Crowne Plaza and battle for a share of the PHP 60,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. With 1,146 entries recorded across all starting flights, the number is expected to rise as registration remains open until the start of play.

The action kicks off at 11:00 AM local time. Blinds begin at 800/1,600 with a big blind ante of 1,600. A 15-minute break is scheduled every two levels, and contestants will play through 60-minute levels until making it into the money.

Leading the pack in Day 2 is Japan’s Tomoki Terashima, who amassed an impressive stack of 347,300 after navigating through Flight A. Close behind is Austria’s Matthias Lipp. He bagged up 345,000 chips, less than two big blinds gap from the chip leader. Lithuania’s Andrius Janca also crossed the three-hundred mark, securing 338,000 chips and the third spot on the chipboard.

Other notable APT titleholders advancing to Day 2 include Joshua Chargualaf (252,900), David Erquiaga (205,800), Henrik Tollefsen (202,200), Marco Espela (201,900), Thanisom Saelor (200,500). Kunal Patni (184,500), fresh off his Mystery Bounty Hunter victory, and Mike Takayama (173,600) are also among the contenders.

Stay tuned for comprehensive coverage of the Main Event Day 2 and discover who will outlast and advance to Day 3.