APT Main Event (60,000 PHP)

David Erquiaga is on a tear and now sits behind a towering stack of roughly 1,500,000.

In a pot worth around 125,000, action was picked up on a 8♣ 6♦ 5♦ Q♥ board, where Zhifan Ye led out for 35,000 from the big blind. Erquiaga responded with a raise to 135,000 from the cutoff, and Ye made the call.

The river brought the 6♣ , and after a check from Ye, Erquiaga fired 175,000. With just under 300,000 left in his stack, Ye went deep into the tank, using his final time bank before eventually tossing in a call.

Erquiaga then rolled over the bullets, tabling A♥ A♣ , and Ye could only shake his head before sending his cards into the muck.

Kaga Tam raised the cutoff to 20,000 and David Erquiaga defended from the big blind.

Both players saw a flop of 9♣ 6♣ K♠ and checked through to a T♣ turn, where Erquiaga fired out 55,000 and Tam dropped in a call.

The 2♣ landed on the river. Erquiaga checked over and Tam sent another barrel of 50,000, sending Erquiaga into the tank. After over one minute, Erquiaga called. Tam swiftly turned over a flush with A♣ Q♠ , leaving his opponent to muck the hand.

After an intense and grueling bubble period in the APT Manila Classic Main Event, 175 players have locked up a payday and secured their spots in Day 3. This event has officially made history as the largest-ever APT Main Event in the Philippines, reinforcing the tour’s continued growth in the region.

Leading the field is Taiwan's Po-Shuo Huang, who finished Day 2 with an impressive 1,168,000 chips — the only player to bag a seven-figure stack. Not far behind is Javier Zarco, who accumulated 959,000, with the Spaniard playing a pivotal role in bursting the bubble after eliminating Kenneth Anthony.

Nobuaki Sasaki rounds out the top three, benefiting from a dream scenario when his pocket aces held up against the pocket kings of Raju Jaruplavath in one of the biggest hands of the day.

The day began with 377 returning survivors from the opening flights, joined by 56 late entries who took advantage of the last chance to buy in before registration closed. David Erquiaga wasted no time making his presence felt, quickly rising among the chip leaders after eliminating Shinya Maeda in Level 13. Erquiaga capitalized on his early momentum and bagged a top ten stack of 680,000.

However, several former Main Event champions weren’t as fortunate, as Punnat Punsri, Lester Edoc, Henrick Tollofsen, Christopher Mateo, and John Tech all failed to make the money. Three past champions are still in contention, with Mike Takayama (577,000), Moses Saquing (124,000), and Yohn Paredes (71,000) carrying the torch forward.

China’s Zhen Chen, who has been making waves in the poker world, closed out Day 2 with 165,000 chips. Chen added another trophy to his collection just yesterday, winning the Baby Superstar Challenge for PHP 4,327,600.

Samuel Mullur, currently third on Austria's All-Time Money List, secured the fourth-largest stack of 834,000. Mullur, who captured a WSOP bracelet in December 2023 by conquering the GGMillion$ High Roller for $2,736,300 — his career-best score—now sets his sights on adding another prestigious title. Despite his global accolades, an Asian trophy still eludes him, and what better way to start his collection than by claiming an award-winning Gold Lion to adorn his mantle?

Despite his gut-wrenching cooler against aces, Jaruplavath, champion of the Philippines National Cup, still managed to survive the day with 169,000 chips. Another notable mention is APT commentator Stephen Lai, who navigated the field smoothly and bagged a respectable 333,000 heading into Day 3.

as play resumes, 29 online qualifiers will merge with the live field, adding a fresh dynamic to the competition. Some notable names among them include Adalsteinn Karlsson (428,000), Abraham Ceesvin (353,000), Joshua Mccully (321,000), Marc Rivera (242,000), and Asa Smith (135,00).

Vietnamese poker vlogger Ngoc Huyen Quach, aka “Gemmy” maintained her position as the top stacked female player, fighting through with 226,000 in chips, with five other women still in contention for Day 3: Thailand’s Nattamon Kaweesorasak (206,000), Natural8 Ambassador Hua-Wei Lin (203,000), Thailand’s Wipawadee Kanaraksapong (179,000), Japan’s Seina Asagiri (117,000), and China’s Cai Xin Wong (59,000).

All remaining players are guaranteed a payout of PHP 94,000 (~$1,615), but it’s the PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) top prize that remains the ultimate goal. With the biggest APT Main Event field in Philippine history now down to its final contenders, who will rise to the occasion and claim poker glory?

David Erquiaga is shooting up the counts and is approaching the half-million mark. The overnight chip leader, Tomoki Terashima, has lost a chunk of his stack and has around 220,000 now.

Elsewhere, Mike Takayama and Thanisorn Saelor are also moving up the ranks!

We only picked the up on the river where Dave 'Spade' Erquiaga was put in a tough spot by his Japanese opponent Shinya Maeda.

The board read T♠ 9♣ 2♥ 7♥ 5♠ and Spade's bet 22,000 into a pot of around 85,000 and got shoved on for 110,000 more. After a couple of minutes of tanking, Erquiaga decided on a call.

Shinya Maeda: Q♣ 8♣

Dave Spade: A♠ T♥

Great call by Dave who is sitting now in prime position approaching the bubble.

David "Spade" Erquiaga has added around fifty percent to his stack in the early goings, with a chunk of those chips coming from his compatriot Jeoffrey Sibal.

The action was picked up on a board of J♠ T♣ T♥ J♦ and with around 45,000 in the pot, Erquiaga fired out 24,000 from the hijack. Sibal was on the button and after thinking it over for some time, he dropped in the call.

A 3♣ landed on the river and Erquiaga didn't need to think for too long before he shoved, which put Sibal to the test for his remaining stack of around 100,000. It wasn't an easy decision for Sibal as he went through the motions, and at one point looked as if he was about to toss in a chip to call. However, after thinking it over a little more, he removed his chips from the top of his cards and made the fold.