Main Event

Main Event - Live Updates - Final Day

Congratulations to Italy’s Paolo Boccaletti for taking down the richest Manila Super Series Main Event in history! Boccaletti takes home PHP 1,692,000 in winnings, the trophy plus an additional PHP 75,000 PokerStars LIVE Manila Megastack Main Event package, for his impressive run. 

Down to 2BB, both players flicked it in and ran the final hand of the Main Event.

Xia Qi K♣ Q♣ Paolo Boccaletti J♠ T♣

The board ran A♣ T♥ 5♥ 4♦ 6♥ , sealing the win for Paolo Boccaletti with a pair of tens. Xia Qi exits the arena with a runner up finish and a bonus PHP 35,000 Manila Megastack Main Event entry in addition to his ICM winnings.

Button Paolo Boccaletti limped, Xia Qi raised to 2,000,000. Boccaletti answered with an all-in and Xia makes the call.

Boccaletti A♦ 2♦ Xia K♥ T♥

In for a race, the board 3♦ 3♣ 3♥ 9♦ 6♥ missed to pair either player with Boccaletti’s ace-high good for the pot.

Button Paolo Boccaletti opened to 1,000,000, called by Xia Qi. Flop Q♥ 4♥ J♠ saw Boccaletti continue for 800,000, check called by the big blind. Both players again checked the turn 9♠ and headed to the river 7♥ . Xia this time, check folded after Boccaletti threw in a bet of 3,000,000.

Button Xia Qi opened to 1,200,000, called by Paolo Boccaletti. Flop came A♠ Q♣ J♦ and Boccaletti check called Xia’s 800,000 bet. Both players checked the turn 3♣ and the river K♠ completed the board. Boccaletti pushed all-in, Xia with a fold.

A limp pot on flop 3♦ 7♣ 8♣ , big blind Xia Qi led for 500,000, called behind by Paolo Boccaletti. Both players checked the turn Q♦ and headed on to the river Q♣ . Xia fired another 700,000 to which Boccaletti folded.

Heads up play sees Xia Qi still in the lead for the trophy and PHP 75,000 PokerStars LIVE package up for grabs.

Button Paolo Boccaletti opened to 800,000, Xia Qi with a call. Flop came 2♦ 5♣ 7♠ and Xia check called a 1,000,000 bet from the raiser. Turn A♥ saw Boccaletti fire another 2,000,000 to which Xia check raised to 6,000,000. Boccaletti gives it up and finds a fold. Xia shows 4♠ 3♥ for a turned wheel straight.

Button Xia Qi opened to 800,000, Paolo Boccaletti with a call. On flop 7♣ A♠ K♥ , Boccaletti check raised Xia’s 800,000 bet to 3,000,000 and got his opponent to fold.

Heads up is now in play with Xia Qi slightly ahead with 16,250,000 in chips vs Paolo Boccaletti with 14,600,000.

Folded to the small blind, John Jay Magadan moved all-in for 2,150,000 total. Big blind Xia Qi made the call with 9♥ 9♠ . Magadan in trouble with J♠ 6♠ , headed for the rails not long after the flop 9♦ 4♣ 2♦ left him drawing dead.

A limp pot on the blinds, the flop 5♣ 7♣ 7♦ saw John Jay Magadan lead out for 400,000, called by Xia Qi behind. Turn 3♠ this time, saw Magadan with a check-call for 600,000. River Q♦ completed the board and Magadan check folded after Xia sent out a 1,600,000 river bet.

Button Xia Qi opened to 900,000 and called off big blind John Jay Magadan’s 4,000,000 jam.

Magadan A♦ 4♦ Xia A♣ 7♠

The board ran A♥ 9♣ 2♦ T♥ 8♣ , giving both players top pair with no kickers in play for a chop.

Three players remain in the running for Manila Super Series 18 Main Event title, which means blind levels will be adjusted to 20 minutes moving forward.

Chip Count Update:

After opening the button, John Jay Magadan called off for his tournament life after big blind Paolo Boccaletti moved all-in.

Boccaletti A♠ Q♣ Magadan K♦ T♥

Running a race, Magadan quickly turned it in his favor after flopping top pair on K♠ 7♥ 8♦ . The turn 4♥ and river T♦ further improved his hand to two pair for a double up.

Button Xia Qi opened to 700,000, called by big blind John Jay Magadan. On board 2♥ 2♣ 6♠ 4♦ J♥ , Magadan check-called all three streets including Xia’s river bet of 3,000,000, only to muck his hand after Xia tabled K♣ K♥ .

1,203,000

Button Xia Qi opened, called by small blind Paolo Boccaletti, and big blind John Clyde Tan squeezed all-in for 5,650,000. Xia folds and Boccaletti puts the chips in.

Tan A♥ 6♠ Boccaletti 7♦ 7♣

Ahead with his pocket pair, Boccaletti sent Tan packing after the board 9♥ Q♠ 8♠ 2♥ 9♠ feleted no ace.

Button John Clyde Tan opened to 700,000 and snap called big blind Xia Qi’s 4,800,000 all-in.

Xia 8♥ 8♠ Tan A♦ K♣

Up for a flip, the flop 8♣ 4♥ 2♦ quickly left Tan drawing thin with the runout K♠ T♥ sealing Xia’s set of eights good for the win.

Utg John Clyde Tan opened to 700,000, joined by Paolo Boccaletti from the big blind. Action was checked to the turn 8♦ 8♣ J♣ A♥ where Tan bet 400,000, check-called by Boccaletti. Another A♠ showed up on the river, killing the action altogether.

Tan Q♥ J♥ Boccaletti Q♣ 2♣

Tan collects the pot once again with a better two pair, aces and queens.

A limp pot between the blinds, the two saw a flop of 6♦ 4♠ 5♠ . Small blind Paolo Boccaletti led out for 300,000, called by John Clyde Tan behind. Turn 8♦ saw another 700,000 from the chip leader, called again by Tan. River 6♠ didn’t stop Boccaletti as he fired 1,500,000. Tan raised all-in for 875,000 more and Boccaletti with a call.

Tan shows two pair J♥ 8♠ for the pot, Boccaletti with a quick muck.

A four-way deal has been agreed upon with Paolo Boccaletti banking the lion’s share of the PHP 13M prize pool. Left to play for is the trophy along with a PHP 75,000 PokerStars LIVE Manila Megastack Main Event package (seat and accommodation) for the champion and a PHP 35,000 entry to Manila Megastack Main Event for the runner-up.

ICM Payouts:

Paolo Boccaletti - PHP 1,692,000 Xia Qi - PHP 1,415,000 John Jay Magadan - PHP 1,215,000 John Clyde Tan - PHP 1,203,000

Talks of an ICM deal is being discussed at the table.

Chip Count Update:

Button Paolo Boccaletti opened to 750,000 and called off small blind Shin Hyeonho’s 3,000,000 jam.

Shin A♣ 4♥ Boccaletti A♠ J♥

A great spot for Boccaletti, the flop 6♣ 6♠ K♠ suggested some possible chops but failed to push through after the runout revealed 3♦ 2♠ .

Button Xia Qi opened to 550,000 and called off a 4,725,000 (19 BB) jam from small blind Paolo Boccaletti.

Boccaletti 8♠ 8♣ Xia A♠ Q♠

In for a flip, the board 9♥ 4♦ 3♣ T♥ 3♥ ran safe for Boccaletti’s pocket pair as he took a chunk off the chip leader.

Utg Xia Qi opened to 550,000, Shin Hyeonho fired a three bet to 1,400,000, and big blind John Jay Magadan shoved for 1,725,000. Xia folds and Shin takes the spot.

Magadan J♥ J♣ Shin A♠ 2♣

The board ran Q♣ T♣ 4♠ 3♣ 7♠ , leaving Magadan’s pocket jacks good against Shin’s ace-high.

Utg Xia Qi opened to 550,000 and called off a 750,000 all-in from Shin Hyeonho.

Shin A♦ T♣ Xia A♥ 2♣

Shin with a better ace, locked in the double up the board 8♠ 9♦ 9♠ 5♦ 4♠ missed to pair either player.

Same scenario went down a few hands later, Shin again with a better ace A♠ J♥ against Xia’s A♥ 3♥ . Shin secured another double up off the chip leader after the board spared no bad beats.

Five players left in the running, Xia Qi remains in the lead with 16,000,000 in chips.

Cut off John Jay Magadan open shoved for 900,000 and was called by big blind Shin Hyeonho.

Magadan A♦ 5♥ Shin K♥ 9♦

Slightly ahead, Magadan cruised to a smooth double up after flopping top pair on board A♣ 7♠ T♠ 7♥ K♦ .

Cut off John Clyde Tan opened to 450,000, called by both players on the blinds. Flop came A♠ 3♠ T♥ . Checked to Tan, he continued for 575,000, called only by small blind Xia Qi. Turn 4♠ went check check and river 8♥ saw Xia bet 1,300,000, called behind. Xia shows A♦ 8♣ rivered two pair for the win.

Utg Paolo Boccaletti raised to 500,000, joined by big blind Xia Qi. Flop came 6♣ 9♥ Q♥ and Xia check called 375,000 from the raiser. Turn 7♥ saw Boccaletti send out another 700,000, Xia with a check fold.

Shin Hyeonho defended his big blind against Xia Qi’s button open to 450,000 and saw a flop of 3♥ 6♥ 5♠ . Shin led out for 375,000, called by the raiser. Turn 4♥ saw Shin check call 900,000 from Xia and another 900,000 on the river J♦ .

Xia shows a straight with 7♦ 9♣ , Shin with a muck behind.

After shoving all-in against button Xia Qi’s open, Paolo Boccaletti scored another pot after opening the button to 450,000 and continuing for 350,000 on flop K♣ 8♣ 2♣ against the big blind. Opponent folds and Boccaletti wins back to back small pots.

Utg Xia Qi opened to 400,000, called by Shin Hyeonho behind. Flop saw Q♦ 3♠ K♠ , Xia again with a check call of 300,000 from his opponent. Turn T♠ merited no bets, river 7♣ prompted Xia to lead out for 650,000, Shin with a fold.

Utg Shah Chirag flicked in his 2BB stack and was called by both players on the blinds. Action was checked down to the river Q♣ 7♣ 4♠ 5♣ T♦ where John Jay Magadan claimed the pot with a pair of tens T♥ 9♣ .

Shah J♥ 9♥ John Clyde Tan J♣ 4♦

A three way all-in preflop, Ho Tung Chun’s overcards were in for a flip against two pocket jacks.

Ho A♥ K♥ Shah Chirag J♣ J♠ Shin Hyeonho J♥ J♦

The board Q♣ 9♠ 4♦ 6♣ T♦ unfortunately for Ho, ran queen high with his two opponents splitting his 2,150,000 stack for the win.

All the chips quickly piled high in the middle with John Clyde Tan at risk vs Shah Chirag.

Tan A♥ A♣ Shah K♠ K♣

A massive cooler, no kings were seen on board Q♠ 6♠ 6♣ 6♥ T♠ , giving Tan a sweet double up. Shah survives but is crippled down to less than 1BB.

First break of the day sees seven players remain in contention for Manila Super Series 18 Main Event title.

Chip Count Update:

Utg Xia Qi opened to 325,000, called behind by John Clyde Tan. Flop K♦ 3♦ 4♥ saw Xia check call a 300,000 bet from Tan. Action on turn Q♣ went check check, heading on to the river 6♣ . Xia led for 710,000, Tan with a tank-fold.

Hijack Xia Qi opened to 325,000 but folded shortly after small blind Shin Hyeonho pushed all-in for 3,555,000.

Cut off Ho Tung Chun opened to 325,000 and big blind Paolo Boccaletti defended his big blind to see a flop of K♠ 9♠ 4♣ . Action checked all the way to the river 9♦ 3♦ where Boccaletti led out for 500,000, called by Ho. Boccaletti shows 7♣ 7♥ for the win.

A limp pot between the blinds, the flop 3♥ 2♠ 8♥ was checked round and headed to turn Q♦ . Small blind Shah Chirag led out for 160,000, raised by Xia Qi to 500,000. Shah folds and Xia shows Q♣ 8♣ for two pair.

Hijack Paolo Boccaletti opened to 320,000 and faced a three bet to 950,000 from button John Clyde Tan. Boccaletti took a minute before shoving all-in for 3,340,000. Action back on Tan, he used up four time banks before finally making the fold.

Utg+1 Shah Chirag opened to 325,000 and was met with a three bet from Xia Qi to 950,000. Shah resists to complete and makes the fold.

Facing an open and a call from Ivan Dela Cruz, small blind Xia Qi squeezed three bet to 950,00 and called Dela Cruz’ all-in for 2,300,000.

Dela Cruz J♦ J♥ Xia A♦ Q♦

Running a flip with Dela Cruz at risk, the board A♣ A♥ T♣ Q♣ 7♦ secured Xia the pot with a full house. Dela Cruz heads for the exit in 8th place after losing the flip.

Utg+1 Shin Hyeonho opened to 325,000, joined by chip leader Xia Qi from the big blind. Flop A♥ 9♦ 3♠ saw Xia check call a 200,000 bet from his opponent. Both players check the turn K♣ and Xia, with a final check fold on river Q♦ after Shin fired 350,000.

Eight players left in the running with Xia Qi in the lead with 6,500,000 in chips.

Utg+1 Ho Tung Chun opened to 250,000, called behind by Paolo Boccaletti. Flop came K♦ 6♦ 4♦ , Ho continued for 250,000, called by his opponent. Turn 9♥ saw Ho bet another 500,000. Boccaletti snap raised all-in for 1,640,000 to which Ho turned a fold.

Short stacked Paolo Boccaletti open shoved twice in a row and found no callers. Two rounds of blinds mean Boccaletti collected an additional boost of 600,000.

Utg Xia Qi opened to 260,000, joined by small blind Ho Tung Chun. Flop 3♠ 8♦ 9♣ was checked round to the turn 6♦ . Xia bet 200,000 and was check-called by Ho. The river J♦ saw Xia gun for another 650,000, Ho with a check-fold this time around.

Next hand saw button Ho open to 250,000 and Xia with a big blind defense. On flop 2♦ 6♦ 8♥ , Xia check-called a 250,000 bet from Ho. Turn 8♠ went check-check, leading to the river Q♦ . Xia bet 500,000, called behind. Xia shows K♦ Q♥ for two pair, Ho with a muck.

Following two shoves with no callers, short stacked Ivan Dela Cruz pushed all-in for 825,000 on the button and was finally called by big blind Ho Tung Chun.

Dela Cruz A♦ 4♦ Ho A♠ 7♣

Ho, ahead with a better ace, was left drawing thin after the flop 4♥ 9♦ Q♥ paired up Dela Cruz’ four. Turn 2♥ and river T♠ sealed the double up for Dela Cruz as he dodged his potential elimination.

Utg+1 Edilberto Gopez opened to 250,000, called behind by Xia Qi. No bets were seen on flop A♦ J♠ 5♥ with Gopez leading the turn 8♥ for 300,000, Xia with a call. River 3♠ completed the board and Gopez used up two time banks before moving all-in for his 500,000 left. Xia makes the call with top pair A♣ T♣ , beating Gopez’ bluff with K♠ 4♣ .

Midposition John Clyde Tan opened to 260,000, called behind by button Edilberto Gopez. Flop came A♦ 9♠ 3♣ , checked by both players to the turn 3♦ . Tan threw in a bet of 325,000, called by Gopez. River 5♠ saw Tan with another 700,000 bet, called again behind.

Tan shows A♥ Q♥ for two pair, Gopez with a muck.

Utg Edilberto Gopez opened to 250,000 and Ho Tung Chun defended his big blind to see a flop of J♣ 7♣ 4♠ . Ho check-called a 300,000 bet from Gopez and saw no more bets on either turn 8♣ or river A♥ . Ho shows A♣ Q♠ for top pair, Gopez with a muck behind after showing J♠ .

Nine players still remaining in the Main Event games, Ho Tung Chun in the lead with 6,000,000 in chips.

Cut off Paolo Boccaletti opened to 250,000 and was met with a three bet to 650,000 from button Shin Hyeonho. Boccaletti answered with a four bet to 1,100,000, Shin tanked and shoved all-in for 2,840,000. Boccaletti used up four time banks before making the fold.

Hijack Edilberto Gopez opened to 225,000, called by Shah Chirag behind. Flop 8♠ 9♠ 8♣ saw Gopez quickly check fold to Shah’s 300,000 bet.

Hijack Ho Tung Chun opened to 200,000 and folded to a three bet behind from Edilberto Gopez to 550,000 total.

Xia Qi opened to 225,000 and Ho Tung Chun defended his big blind to see a flop of 5♠ 5♦ 9♣ . Both players checked, moving on to turn 2♦ . Ho led out a 300,000 bet, called by the raiser. River J♦ saw Ho with another 400,000 to which Xia folded.

Next hand saw button John Jay Magadan open to 225,000 and fold to an all-in from small blind Ho Tung Chun.

Ho Tung Chun opened to 200,000, called by both players on the blinds. Flop Q♥ 9♠ 3♥ was checked to Ho who continued with 350,000. Both blinds fold and Ho rakes in the pot.

Utg+1 Shin Hyeonho opened to 200,000, called by Ho Tung Chun and small blind Xia Qi behind. Flop came 2♣ 7♠ J♣ , checked to Shin, he fired 400,000, called only by Ho. Turn 9♣ saw Shin bet all-in for 920,000. Ho tanked and forked in the call with top pair.

Shin Q♥ Q♣ Ho J♥ T♣

Up against an overpair, the river 3♦ did nothing for Ho as Shin claimed the pot with his pair of queens.

Cut off Ho Tung Chun opened to 225,000 and was met with a three bet to 700,000 from small blind Shah Chirag. Ho makes the fold.

Utg+1 Paolo Boccaletti opened to 250,000, called by big blind Shah Chirag. Flop came A♣ K♥ Q♥ , and Shah check-called a 220,000 bet from Boccaletti. Turn saw 4♣ with Shah unable to continue after the preflop raiser fired another 475,000.

Final Table action is up and running. Each player is guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 176,336, best of luck to the final nine!