APT Main Event (60,000 PHP)

Javier Zarco pushed his last 20,000 in the middle and Dimitrii Belikov raise all-in to isolate.

Javier Zarco A♠ 8♥

Dimitri Belikov K♦ 9♠

The board ran J♠ 9♣ Q♥ 8♦ 5♥

The pair nine of Belikov was enough to end Zarco's APT Main Event run.

Javier Zarco raised to 25,000 and was three-bet raised by Cheli Lin for 80,000. Zarco matched and both were given a flop of T♥ K♥ 4♥

Lin bet out 45,000 and Zarco called to open a 3♣ turn. Lin pushed forward 100,000 and Zarco called again to show a J♠ on the river.

Lin shoved all-in, but this time Zarco surrendered.

Javier Zarco raised to 25,000 on the button and Zhifan Ye defended the big blind. Both players were shown a flop of 8♦ 5♣ 9♠

Ye and Zarco checked to open a 8♠ on the turn. This time Ye led for 30,000 and Zarco called to show a 9♦ on the river.

Ye fired 60,000 and Zarco made the call.

Ye showed Q♠ 7♠ to play the two-pair on the board with a queen kicker.

Zarco showed K♠ 6♠ to take down the pot with a better king kicker.

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?

Kenneth Anthony was forced all in from the big blind, while Javier Zarco and Cheng Zhou battled for a side pot from the button and small blind, respectively.

Zarco opened the button to 20,000 and Cheng called from the small blind.

On a flop of 4♠ A♠ T♦ , Cheng check-called a bet of 16,000 to see the K♥ drop on the turn. After Cheng checked, Zarco bet 80,000, which got Zhou to fold.

Kenneth Anthony: J♥ 7♠

Javier Zarco: A♦ T♥

Anthony needed a queen to complete Broadway and extend the bubble, but the 7♣ river didn’t cooperate, sealing his fate as the bubble boy.

It wasn’t all bad news for Anthony, though — he walked away with a PHP 25,000 Mini Main Event ticket as a consolation prize for bubbling.