APT Main Event (60,000 PHP)

After ten intense sixty-minute levels of play inside Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Flight A of the PHP 60,000 APT Main Event has come to a close. A total of 218 entries battled it out on the felt, but by the end of the night, only 67 players had secured their spot for Day 2. With chips bagged and dreams still alive, the road to the title is just getting started.

Of the survivors, one name stood above the rest as Tomoki Terashima from Japan bagged up 347,300 chips and sits alone at the top of the counts. Terashima surged ahead of the field after winning a massive all-in showdown against compatriot Nobuaki Sasaki. With both players’ significant stacks on the line, Sasaki failed to complete his straight draw, falling short against Terashima’s Ace-King, which paired the Ace on the flop to secure the victory.

Close behind is Andrius Janca from Lithuania with 338,000 chips and Thijs Hilberts from the Netherlands with 292,600 chips Three former APT Champions have also secured their spots in Day 2 - Filipino Christopher Mateo with 206,400 chips, Yon Paredes from Peru with 169,800 chips and local celebrity John Tech with 84,700 chips. With their experience and sizable chip stacks, these seasoned players will definitely challenge the field as they chase for another APT Lion Trophy.

Other notables include Benjamin Jacobs (208,500), Jason Wong (188,700), Dylan Foster (181,800), Edward Yam (156,300), Natural8 Ambassador Hua-Wei Lin (155,100), and Daniel Smiljkovic (96,600).

With 218 entries recorded in Flight A, the total field has now grown to 420 players, boosted by an additional 202 qualifiers. With three more opening flights still to come, the final number is expected to climb even higher. A solid chunk of the PHP 60,000,000 guaranteed prize pool has already been chipped away, and with registration still open, the guarantee is inching closer to being met and surpassed.

Flight B of the Main Event will kick off tomorrow at 11am local time and will have ten 60-minute levels of play. Registration for the second flight of Day 1 will be open until 8:30pm.

Only three former Main Event champions remain in the field, each sitting behind vastly different chip stacks.

Yohn Paredes, who claimed his Main Event crown right here in Manila in 2019, currently has around 135,000 chips in front of him. That year, he conquered a 515-entry field to take home PHP 4,369,400. Paredes has a strong track record in the Main Event, having reached multiple final tables over the years. He finished fourth at APT Manila 2016, fifth at APT Cebu 2016, and ninth at APT Jeju 2017, proving his consistency on the APT circuit.

Another former champion still in the mix is Christopher Mateo, who won the 2019 APT Manila Main Event, narrowly edging out Paredes' prize with a PHP 4,376,000 payday. Mateo has also built an impressive resume, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 2022 APT Manila Main Event, where he fell just short to Moses Saquing — who, incidentally, is still in the running today. Mateo also has another final table to his name, finishing seventh at APT Manila 2016.

With past champions still in the fight and plenty of action ahead, this Main Event is shaping up to be another thrilling chapter in APT history.

Kilian Kramer opened to 1,200 from middle position and found two callers in Christopher Mateo and Yonghwi Im on the button. Cheng Zhou, sitting in the small blind, had other plans—he three-bet to 6,000, applying pressure on the field. Jae Lim quickly folded from the big blind, but Kramer, Mateo, and Im all opted to call, setting up a sizable pot heading to the flop.

The dealer fanned a A♠ 8♠ 3♥ flop, and action checked to Kramer, who fired a 6,000 bet. Mateo, short-stacked, opted to fold, but Im wasn’t done yet—he raised to 15,000, sending a clear message. The pressure was too much for the rest of the table, as Kramer and Zhou both folded, giving Im the pot.

With a grin, Im flashed A♣ J♥ to his tablemates before raking in the chips.