APT Main Event (60,000 PHP)

Almost every remaining player is silently thanking Jayden Zalac after he eliminated Zhiqiang Liu, leaving the field just one spot away from the money.

Zalac opened to 12,000 from the cutoff, only for Liu to fire back with a massive three-bet to 81,000 from the big blind. Undeterred, Zalac moved all in for around 300,000. Liu, after burning through all three of his time banks, eventually flicked in the call for his tournament life, sitting on roughly 280,000.

Zhiqiang Liu: 9♣ 9♦

Jayden Zalac: A♦ K♦

Liu pumped his fist, celebrating what he believed was a good call, but with five cards to come, the deck still had the final say.

The 8♠ 2♣ J♠ flop was a safe one for Liu, but the K♥ on the turn flipped the script, leaving him with just two outs to survive. Needing a miracle nine, he instead found the 7♦ on the river, sealing his fate and sending him to the rail just short of the money.