Main Event

If there's anyone who knows how to navigate a large field, it would be the current overall Main Event chip leader William Ysmael of the Philippines.

He has already taken down six championships in a career that has spanned nearly a decade and along the way has also taken down a couple of Main Event titles such as the 2023 Pokerstars Manila Super Series 17 Main Event as well as the Asian Poker Championship Main Event for his biggest haul of PhP5.4 Million (~US$96,167).

Ysmael carries 733,000 into Day 2, which at present level is 147 BBs.

A distant second from this flight is Japan's Tomoya Kakihara with 469,000 in chips while Hong Kong's Barry Wong copped third with 459,000.

Day 1C entries: 250 (208 unique)

Chips in play: 7,500,000

Average stack: 197,368 (38 BB)

Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (4,000 BB Ante)

Remaining players: 38

Dates: September 25-29, 2024

Buy in: Php 45,000 (~US$800)

Guarantee: PhP20,000,000 (~US$357,000)

Day 1A entries: 78 / 12 qualified

Day 1B entries: 130 / 20 qualified

Day 1C entries: 250 / 38 qualified

Day 1D (Turbo): Friday, September 27

Day 2: Saturday, September 28

Day 3/Final Day: Sunday, September 29

Meet the 38 players who advanced to Day 2

The bubble burst in a peculiar circumstance where it is folded to the blinds and Japan's Yoshifumi Sasaki in ghe SB having an overwhelming stack advantage over table short stack Kim Taehwan of Korea. But instead of putting pressure, Sasaki just completed his SB. That's when Kim decided to go all-in for his remaining 20,000. It was an easy call for Sasaki.

Kim turned over A♣ 4♣ while his Japanese opponent showed Q♥ 7♠, behind but live.

The The first three community cards instantly tilted the favor to Sasaki when it came J♣ 7♥ K♠ , bottom pair for Sasaki.

The turn card was the 3♣ which suddenly gave the Korean a multitude of outs after picking a redraw to the nut flush.

The river card, however, was the 2♦ and officially made Kim the money bubble and thrusting the 38 remaining players into Day 2, which commences in just a few hours.

American Ronald Lane makes a raise from UTG for 15,000 and gets called by two Filipinos in Manuel Geronimo from the Button and Edwin de la Cruz in the BB.

The flop comes 2♠ 2♦ 9♣ as de la Cruz checks. Lane CBets to 30,000 making Geronimo fold. De la Cruz ships his remaining 20,000 in the middle for his tournament life.

Lane shows T♥ T♦ with a dismayed de la Cruz turning over K♠ 9♠ for top pair on the flop.

Needing a king, a nine or running cards to make a flush, the poker gods didn't hear his plea and instead rolled out the 5♥ and the 4♣ busting Filipino just short of Day 2.

With the action folded to the HJ of Filipino William Ysmael, he makes a huge raise to 20,000 but fellow Filipino Manuel Geronimo makes the call.

The flop is 9♥ Q♣ 5♥ as Geronimo checks and calls Ysmael's CBet of 16,000.

The turn is the 6♣ and this time both check.

The river is the 7♠ . Ysmael goes all-in and Geronimo postures before making the fold.

In a blind vs. blind situation, two Filipinos clash as Manuel Geronimo completes his SB and Edwin de la Cruz checks on the BB.

The flop is 6♦ 4♣ 2♣ . Geronimo bets 8,000 and de la Cruz raises it to 20,000. Sfter a few seconds Geronimo declares he is all-in and de la Cruz snap calls.

Geronimo flips over 8♣ n6c for top pair and a flush draw while de la Cruz tables 6♠ 4♠ for top two pairs.

The turn is the 2♠ and the fateful is the A♣ to complete Geronimo's flush and cripple de la Cruz's stack.

Japan's Masanori Ishihara had the action folded to him on the HJ and raises it to 10,000. Waiting in the BB is Filipino Moses "Mo Jiggy" Saquing who makes the call.

The flop is T♣ 2♥ 3♣ as Saquing checks and the Japanese player CBets for 9,000. Saquing, however, check-raises to 25,000 and after a few seconds of thinking, Ishihara 3-bets him to 60,000. Thisvmade Saquing pause for a bit before making the call.

The turn is the 9♥. Ishihara once again took his time before saying that he's all-in for his remaining stack of 120,000. Saquing covers him and makes the call.

To Saquing's surprise, though, his Japanese opponent flips over 3♠ 3♥ for bottom set. Saquing improved to two pairs on the turn with his T♥ 9♠ .

The river is the K♣ as the balance of power now gets tilted as the perhaps the most dangerous player in the tournament has a below average stack for the first time in a while.

China's Liu Zhiqiang, who is among the qualifiers for Day 2 of the Main Event, made the most of his time off to outlast a field of 52 entries and hoist the trophy and take home the winner's prize of PhP287,744 (~US$5,145).

Liu had to overcome a stiff challenge by Japanese player Koki Furusawa to capture the title.

The final hand had Liu making a raise from the Button with K♠ Q♥ and Furusawa going over the top all-in. Liu called.

Furusawa tabled A♦ J♠.

The Chinese player immediately hit on the flop of 4♣ T♥ K♥ . The next cards were the 7♥ and the 6♠ to end the tournament in dramatic fashion.

Date: September 27, 2024

Buy-in: PhP20,000 (~US$358)

Entries: 52

Prize Pool: Php887,744 (~US$15,874)

ITM: 7 places

1 Liu Zhiqiang - China - PhP287,744 (~US$5,145)

2 Koki Furusawa - Japan - PhP191,000 (~US$3,415)

3 Ryoma Fukui - Japan - PhP129,000 (~US$2,306)

4 Cheong Yun Rong - Singapore - PhP98,000 (~US$4,997)

5 Yar Gin Wee - Singapore - PhP75,000 (~US$1,341)

6 Yuki Sakai - Japan - PhP60,000 (~US$1,073)

7 Katsuhiro Inaba - Japan - PhP47,000 (~US$840)

Singapore's Soh Puay Hwee is the champion of the NLH 10/10/10, besting a field of 34 entries and outlasting countryman Wei Min Ew of in their heads up clash.

Soh gets the trophy and the top purse of PhP101,224 (~US$1,809).

Date: September 27, 2024

Buy-in: PhP10,000(~US$178)

Entries: 34

Prize Pool: Php290,224 (~US$5,178)

ITM: 6 places

1 Soh Puay Hwee - Singapore - PhP101,224 (~US$1,809)

2 Wei Min Ew - Singapore - PhP65,000 (~US$1,160)

3 Ashley Patterson - England - PhP45,000 (~US$803)

4 Hongo Kanata - Japan - PhP33,000 (~US$589)

5 Leonardo Drago - Italy - PhP26,000 (~US$464)

6 Doubay Vipul - PhP20,000 (~US$358)

Lithuania's David Berlin raises from the CO and gets calls from Australia's Craig Landry (D) and the binds in Filipino Jay Lubas (SB) and Rishi Mirpri of Singapore (BB).

The flop comes 2♣ J♣ 7♦ as Lubas goes all-in for his remaining 29,500. Mirpuri calls, the others exit.

Lubas shows 8♣ 5♣ for a flush draw while Mirpuri turns over Q♦ J♥ for top pair.

The last two cards bricked out for the Filipino veteran and he is out of the tournament.

Three Filipinos get involved in this pot as Eugene Co raises from UTG for 8,000. Joining him are William Ysmael in the CO and Manuel Geronimo in the BB.

The flop comes 7♣ 5♦ T♠ . Geronimo checks, Co CBets for 17,000 and is called by Ysmael. Geronimo exits the scene.

The turn is the K♦ as Co goes all-in for his remaining 107,000. Ysmael makes the call.

Co shows A♥ T♦ while Ysmael flips over A♠ K♠, outdrawing Co on the turn.

Co's two-outer fails to appear on the river as the 2♥ shows up to rail him and bring Ysmael to elite chip stack territory.

Another "Hail Mary" attempt was executed by Japan's Koji Takagi as he went for it all in the +1 position, pushing his last 55,000 to the center of the table. In the CO, the Philippines' Michael Gabby Concepcion made the call.

Takagi tabled 4♠ 4♣ and Concepcion showed Q♣ Q♥

The first three community cards were K♠ A♦ 8♠ but the prayer for the Japanese player was answered on the fourth card as the 4♦ showed up. Thd fifth card was not a queen but the 5♥ to keep Takagi in the competition and take a huge chunk of the Filipino's stack in the process.

Ina desperate effort to double up, Filipino Jerick Dale Santerva made his final stand by shoving UTG for 46,500 only to be called by China's Jacky Ho in the +2 for his tournament life.

Santerva flips over 7♦ 7♥ while Ho has A♥ K♦ .

It becomes practically curtains for the Filipino with the first three community cards: A♠ T♦ 2♠ . Needing a miracle two-outer, the Q♣ and the J♠ that followed snuffed out his ambitions of making it to Day 2.

Here are the payouts for the ongoing NLH 10/10//10

The payouts of the Freezeout event have been announced and seven places will be paid.

Date: September 27, 2024

Buy-in: PhP10,000(~US$178)

Entries: 34

Prize Pool: Php290,224 (~US$5,178)

ITM: 6 places

1st - PhP101,224 (~US$1,809)

2nd - PhP65,000 (~US$1,160)

3rd - PhP45,000 (~US$803)

4th - PhP33,000 (~US$589)

5th - PhP26,000 (~US$464)

6th - PhP20,000 (~US$358)

Former chip leader Bernard Chua raises from UTG for 7,000 and is called at CO by fellow Filipino Edgar Asehan, who is looking to rebound to a decent stack.

The flop comes J♦ 7♠ 3♣ as Chua bombs again, this time for 15,000. Asehan calls.

The turn is the 2♥ and now Chua puts Asehan all-in by shoving. Asehan has 62,000 behind and opts to make the call.

Chua turns over K♣ K♦ while a disgruntled Asehan shows A♠ J♥ and screams for an ace on the river that never comes as the Q♥ arrives.

Asehan's roller coaster Day 1C has now come to end.

Keep updated on all of the results:

Manila Megastack 19 – 2024 – Festival Results

With only 20 eliminations before Day 1C ends, here is the current leaderboard:

Two Filipinos go at it as Manuel Geronimo riaes to 5,500 from middle position and Edwin de la Cruz 3-bets to 15,000 in late position. Geronimo calls.

The flop comes 8♠ 5♦ A♥ as Geronimo checks. De la Cruz unloads for 15,000 and Geronimo empties the clip for an all-in raise for 86,000.

The man call "Hit D Heat" cools down and folds.

Still steaming from losing chips to chip-leader Barry Wong just moments prior, Filipino pro Edgar Asehan didn't need to wait too long as countryman Jessie Leonarez raises fit to 5,000 from UTG and Asehan 3-bets to 15,000. When the action folds to the BBof Australian Paul Tadina, he announces that he is all-in. Leonarez folds and Asehan makes a quick call.

Tadina turns over J♣ J♠ while Asehan has him crushed with Q♣ Q♠ .

The runout kept the impending result the same: T♦ 4♥ 3♦ 6♠ 4♠ .

Tadina is whittled down to just 2,000 in chips and he is practially all-in by posting the SB in the next hand.

Many player become careful against the tournament chip leader but some try to extract chips.

Filipino Edgar Asehan attempts that in his raise from the HJ for 5,000 with Wong in the BB. The Irishman's response is to 3-bet Asehan to 14,000. The Filipino calls.

The flop goes 9♣ J♠ 9♠ as Wong leads out for 15,000. Asehan calls.

The turn is the 6♦ and this time both check.

The river is the 3♣ and it ends up going check-check.

Wong is first to show and tables A♦ K♦ . Asehan mucks his hand.

Philippine poker veteran Don "Pusang Gala" Carmona is trying to nurse is dwindling stack back to life and saw an opportunity to do so from the +1 position with a raise to 4,000 and the only thing that stands in his way is the BB of Japan's Tomoya Kakihara who chooses re-raise it to11,000. Carmona calls.

The flop is 2♦ 5♣ 3♥ as Kakihara conitnues bombing, this time for 9,000. Carmona raises to 28,000 and Kakihara goes all-in for 182,000. Carmona calls.

Kakihara shows 6♣ 6♥ for an over-pair to the board and a gutshot straight draw. Carmona is behind with 4♠ 4♦, but has at least an open-ended straight draw.

The turn is the 3♠ and the river is the 3♦ for a full house for both players. Unfortunately for the Filipino veteran, he had the lower boat.

Carmona gets railed.

The action is folded to the Button of Japan's Yuka Homma who raises it to 4,500. The blinds in Singapore's Aaron Lam and Tobias Fabech from Denmark join in.

The flop comes A♣ 5♠ 5♦ as all players check.

The turn is the 2♣ as Lam checks, Fabech fires 7,500 and gets calls from both gentlemen.

The river is the 2♠ and no more shots go off.

Homma shows A♦ T♠ while Lam unveils A♥ 2♥ for a full house on the river. Fabech doesn't show and mucks his hand.

John Niko Costiniano has the action folded to him at the CO and raises to 4,000. At SB, Australia's Craig Landry re-pops it to 12,000. The Filipino calls.

The flop is 3♥ K♠ Q♦ as it goes check-check.

The turn is the Q♥ as Landry now fires 8,000 and Costiniano still calls.

The river is the 2♥ and Landry puts in a cannon for 15,000. Costiniano tanks and folds.

Landry never showed his hand, but that win now avenges his being a victim of the Filipino's bluff earlier and reduces his opponent's stack significantly.

In a battle of two Filipino aspirants, Manuel Geronimo raises from UTG to 3,000 and the action is folded all the way to the SB of William Ysmael who calls.

The flop is 9♣ T♥ 8♦ as Ysmael checks. Geronimo bets 5,000 but Ysmael check-raises to 16,000. Geronimo 3-bets it to 30,000 and Ysmael opts to call.

The turn is the 4♣ and this time, both players check.

The river is the T♠ but it is now Ysmael betting with 35,000. Geronimo calls.

Ysmael flips over Q♣ J♦ for the nut straight on the flop while Geronimo send his cards into the muck.

Edwin de la Cruz (better known as "Hit D'Heat" in the Philippine poker circuit) just melted the Big Slick of Japan's Ryo Suzuki when the Japanese player raised from the +1 position for 3,500 and got a call from Filipino Eugene Co. De la Cruz then 3-bet from the CO to 12,500 and Suzuki 4-bet all-in for 34,000. Co got out of the way and de la Cruz made the call.

Suzuki tabled A♣ K♦ while de la Cruz showed 9♦ 9♣ .

The runout missed Suzuki's holdings completely: 3♣ 8♥ 7♦ 2♠ T♥ as de la Cruz eliminates the Japanese player and now has a six-figure chip count.

The payouts of the Freezeout event have been announced and seven places will be paid.

Date: September 27, 2024

Buy-in: PhP20,000 (~US$358)

Entries: 52

Prize Pool: Php887,744 (~US$15,874)

ITM: 7 places

1st - PhP287,744 (~US$5,145)

2nd - PhP191,000 (~US$3,415)

3rd - PhP129,000 (~US$2,306)

4th - PhP98,000 (~US$4,997)

5th - PhP75,000 (~US$1,341)

6th - PhP60,000 (~US$1,073)

7th - PhP47,000 (~US$840)

Only 11 players remain.

Philippine poker superstar Mike Takayama just catches the last registration bus for Day 1C and immediately doubles up after Singapore's Giam Jian Hui shoved from the +2 for his last 24,500. Takayama, with a fresh starting stack, calls.

Giam flips over K♠ 7♠ while Takayama shows 3♦ 3♥

The flop is 2♥ 3♠ A♠ giving the Filipino a set but the nut flush draw for the Singaporean.

The turn card is the 6♣ while the river yielded the K♦ .

Giam can still join the ongoing Day 1D for a few more opportunities to advance.

Barely half an hour after the resumption of play after the dinner break, Lithuania's David Berlin sees it folded to him on the HJ and makes a raise to 3,500. This draws in two callers in Don Carmona of the Philippines (CO) and Korean Kim Tae Oh (BB).

The flop comes 7♣ 2♣ 6♦ as Kim checks. Berlin CBets for 7,500 and Carmona folds. Kim calls.

Heads up to the turn of J♥ that draws another check from the Korean. Berlin now bets 20,000 to put Kim all-in and he does call.

Berlin shows A♣ A♥ while Kim tables 8♣ 8♠ .

Down to a two-outer, Kim is shown the door when the K♣ comes on the river.

After a sumptuous dinner, the remaining 101 players now duke it out for a spot in Day 2.

Day 1C will play down to 38 runners.

Registration for Day 1C officially closes with the ongoing dinner break and here are current chip leaders:

The players are now headed to La Piazza restaurant here in the Okada complex for a 30-minute dinner break!

Meanwhile, Day 1D is just moments away from commencing.

Filipino poker veteran Gerardo "Jay" Lubas has joined the competition and raises from UTG to 2,500. He gets a call from countryman John Niko Costiniano on the Button but Craig Landry from Australia 3-bets to 10,000. The two Filipinos call.

The flop is 5♣ Q♦ 9♣ to which Landry CBets to 7,000. Lubas folds but Costiniano calls.

It is heads up to the turn of T♠ . This time, Landry checks and Costiniano bets 20,000. The Australian calls.

The river is the 9♠ . Landry checks and Costiniano goes all-in for 94,000.

Landry took awhile to make his decision but eventually chose to fold.

Costiniano flipped over 8♦ 7♠ for a missed straight. It was the bluff of the day so far.

Filipino veteran Richard Tolentino raises from early position, making it 2,500. Right beside in the +2, countryman John Niko Costiniano re-raises to 6,000 as everyone else folds. Tolentino then proceeds to 4-bet all-in for 24,000 and gets snap called by Costiniano.

Tolentino tables A♣ Q♣ while Costiniano shows J♠ J♦ .

The runout is 4♣ T♦ K♠ 8♥ and the A♠ as Tolentino rivers his fellow Filipino to double up and stay alive.

Riding on a hot streak, Maxwell Rosete of the Philippines raises from UTG for 2,500 as it gets folded all the way to the BB of Singapore's Rishi Mirpuri who decides to defend.

The flop comes J♦ 7♣ K♣ . Rosete continues firing for 2,500 and Mirpuri calls.

The turn is the A♥ . Rosete relaods the gun and blasts 14,000 to the middle. The Singaporean still isn't going anywhere.

The river card is the K♦ . This time, Rosete slows down and checks. Mirpuri checks behind and flips over A♦ Q♥. To his surprise, Rosete mucks his hand.

Rosete lost almost 20,000 in that pot.

The action is folded to the blinds where Filipino player Michael Gabby Concepcion merely completes his SB and Lee Siyoung of Korea just checks his option.

The flop is 4♠ 4♥ Q♠ .

Concepcion checks and Lee bets 1,200. Concepcion check-raises to 2,400. Lee calls.

The turn is the 9♥ and this time, both players check.

The river is the K♦ as Concepcion unloads 9,500. Lee still calls.

The Filipino turns over 8♣ 4♣ for trips on the flop. Lee smiles and mucks.

The ongoing Freezeout event has just closed its registration with 52 entries and a total prize pool of PhP887,744 (~US$15,870).

28 players remain.

In a Blind vs. Blind battle, Korea's Han Donghun raises to 2,700 from his SB in hopes of stealing the BB and posted ante by local boy Alvir Inocentes. However, the Filipino 3-bets to 8,200 and Han calls.

The flop is J♦ 8♥ J♠ as Han checks. Inocentes CBets 3,000 and the Korean check-raises to 12,700. Inocentes then 3-bets to 18,000. Han suddenly goes all-in for his remaining 35,000.

After thinking about it, Inocentes opts to fold, but his stack took a huge hit.

Filipino Maxwell Rosete continues to stay aggressive as he raises anew from the CO for 5,000. Fellow Filipino Richard Tolentino decides to give him some action with a from the SB, but John Niko Costiniano, still smarting from the loss to Rosete earlier, 3-bets to 12,000 from the BB. Rosete calls but Tolentino folds.

The flop comes J♦ 2♥ 4♥ . Both players opt to check.

The turn is the T♣ . Costiniano checks again and this time Rosete fires out 32,000 to which Costiniano folds.

John Niko Costiniano of the Philippines is one of the chip leaders and pushes his stack around by raising from the HJ for 2,500. He finds a caller in Australia's Craig Landry but waiting in the BB is Fellow Filipino Maxwell Rosete who 3-bets to 5,000. Costiniano calls and Landry folds.

Heads up to the flop, it is 7♥ 6♠ 7♦ . Rosete continues for 5,000 and is called.

The turn is the 3♣ to which Rosete goes all-in. Costiniano tanks for a bit but ultimately folds.

Rosete is officially on the comeback trail.

Raising from UTG to 2,200, Terry Gonzaga of the Philippines initially draws three callers in fellow Filipino Flo Campomanes (HJ), Cheng Lungchi (CO) of Taiwan and Singapore's Andre Cherbonnier (SB). However former Pokerstars Live Manila Special Main Event champion Joemark Vasay re-raised all-in from the BB for 12,100. Gonzaga 4-bet all-in himself and loses his callers to go heads up against his fellow Filipino.

Vasay turns over A♦ Q♣ while Gonzaga shows a made hand in Q♥ Q♦ .

The first three community cards are 3♣ 2♣ 4♦ , a bit of a sweat for Gonzaga.

The turn card, though, was the A♣ to give Vasay a lead that he would not relinquish as the T♥ arrives on the river.

Vasay gets his much needed double up while Gonzaga will have to resume grinding again with less than 30 BBs.

Down to about 12 BBs, Japan's Sho Miura shoves from the +2 and sees Raymond McGlinchey of Ireland also take the dive for 21,100. In the SB, Korea's Seol Junwon also shoves for 19,000.

McGlinchey covers both but is in dismay when the cards are flipped over.

Miura has A♠ T♥, The Irishman holds 8♣ 8♥ but Seol crushes him with J♥ J♠ .

The first three community cards, however, gave McGlinchey a eight reasons to smile: Q♣ 9♠ 8♦ for a set.

Needing to avoid a jack (which would give Miura the lead with a straight and crippling power to Seol with a higher set) the next cards are the K♠ and the 2♠ .

Miura and Seol have been knockout but still have ample time to return to this flight or join the turbo flight later on.

Filipino Alvir Inocentes raises to 2,000 from the +1 position and is called by fellow Filipino Joseph Sia in the CO and Japan's Daisuke Kanai in the BB.

The flop is 3♦ 4♠ 2♣ . Kanai checks while Inocentes CBets for 3,100. Sia calls but Kanai folds.

The turn is the 5♠ as both players check.

The river card is the 3♥ . Inocentes unleashes a bet of 10,500 and gets raised all-in by Sia for 16,400. Incentes calls.

Sia shows 6♦ 6♣ for a straight on the turn. Incocentes doesn't show his hand and throws his cards into the muck.

Here is the leaderboard heading into Level 8

Congratulations to Japan's Kawae Hirotomo for taking down the Knockout Turbo event for PhP99,500 (~US$1,778).

Hirotomo bests a field of 37 entries.

Local bet Joseph Sia raises from early position and gets three callers in Japan's Daisuke Kanai (D), Korean Han Donghun (SB) and another Filipino in Alvir Inocentes.

The flop is 4♣ A♣ 4♥ . It is checked back to Sia who CBets for 2,500. Kanai calls and Han check-raises to 8,000. Inocentes and Sia fold leaving the Japanese player to continue on, heads up.

The turn produces the K♣ . Han checks and Kanai checks behind.

The river is the K♥ as once again Han checks. Kanai tanked but also checked behind.

Han shows Q♠ 4♠ for trips on the flop that became a full house on the river. Kanai mucks.

With his stack reaching critical levels, Filipino Christopher Chua goes all-in for 10,400 from the HJ and gets a call from Hiroka Kajiwara of Japan in the BB.

Chua flips over J♣ T♣ while Kajiwara is ahead with A♣ 5♠ .

The initial three community cards gave the Filipino additional outs: Q♦ A♥ A♦ but eventually blanks out when the 6♥ and 8♠ arrive.

Filipino veteran Flo Campomanes saw the action folded to him on the CO and raises to 1,600. The action folds around to the SB of Denmark's Patrick Wahlquist who calls.

The flop is Q♣ 2♠ 2♦ as Wahlquist checks.

Campomanes bets 2,000 and gets a quick call.

The turn is the 4♥. Wahlquist checks again and the Filipino fires 4,400. Wahlquist tanks but still calls.

The river is the A♣. Wahlquist takes his time before checking again. Campomanes unloads 10,000. Wahlquist folds.

Marvin de la Cruz of the Philippines raises it up from the +1 position and gets a call after it is folded around to the SB of Singapore's Teo Zi Sheng.

The flop is T♣ T♦ 5♥ . Teo fires 5,000 and gets called.

The turn is the 4♣ as once again Teo unloads for 7,500. De la Cruz still calls.

The river is the 8♣ and this time Teo checks. De la Cruz bets 8,300 and the Singaporean calls.

De la Cruz turns over K♦ T♠ for trips on the flop as Teo throws his hand into the muck.

Korean Yoo Gyeong Tae figured in a preflop raise-fest against Filipino veteran Terry Gonzaga as both player table their hands.

Gonzaga shows A♦ Q♠ while Yoo has 8♣ 8♠ .

The runout goes 7♠ 5♥ J♥ 6♠ T♣ and provides no help for the Filipino.

Yoo doubles up.

Filipino Janno Alvarez makes a raise from the +2 position and gets a call from Japan's Yano Tomiyuki in the CO. From the SB, however, another Japanese player in Takenouchi Hironobu re-pops it to 4,500. Alvarez and Tomiyuki call.

The flop is 4♦ 4♣ 8♦ . Hironobu fires 4,000 but Alvarez raises it to 10,000. Tomiyuki folds and after tanking a bit, Hironobu lays his hand down as well.

Alvarez flips over J♠ 7♠ for complete air.

Korean poker sensation Lee Suya makes a move in early position by raising to 1,300 from the +2. Teo Zi Sheng of Singapore joins in from the HJ while another Korean in Shin Jaeho is getting a good price to see a flop.

That flop is A♠ 8♠ T♠ . Shin and Lee check as Teo bets 2,000. Shin folds but Lee comes along.

The turn is the 3♦ as Lee checks again and Teo barrels again, this time for 4,200. Lee still calls.

The river is the K♣. Lee once again checks and folds to the 7,300 bet from the Singaporean.

Filipino-Australian Emmanuel Derecho aims to erase the stigma of being the Day 1B bubble boy with a deep run in Day 1C and appears to be building a stack as he engaged local Antonio Abesamis in a preflop raise war before both gentlemen put all the chips in the middle--for the tournament life of Abesamis.

Derecho tabled K♣ K♠ while Abesamis shook his head as he flipped over J♥ J♠ .

The runout went: 6♣ 2♣ 7♥ A♠ 5♥ to give Derecho all of his opponent's chips and send Abesamis to the rail, for now.

With the action folded around to the Button of Jason Ng, the Singaporean went for a steal of the blinds by raising to 1,300. Ryan Elicay of the Philippines, however, chooses to defend his BB.

The flop comes Q♦ 9♠ 3♦ . Both checked.

The turn is the 5♣ and Elicay bets 1,200 but gets raised by Ng to 2,300. The Filipino calls.

The river is the 5♥ as Elicay checks. Ng unloads 12,000 and Elicay calls.

Ng flips over 7♦ 5♠ for runner-runner trips as Elicay folds.

Daryl Galang of the Philippines raises from the CO to 1,600 and gets a call from the SB of American Ronald Lane.

The flop is 9♣ 9♥ T♣ . Lane checks and Galang CBets to 1,600. Lane calls.

The turn is the Q♠ as Lane checks again and Galang fires again, this time for 4,500. Lane calls anew.

The river is the 5♥. Lane checks a third time and Galang blasts 13,000 into the middle. Lane still calls.

The Filipino tables K♠ K♥ as Lane mucks.

Here are the current big stacks:

Hong Kong's Colman Yim limps from the HJ and is raised by Eric Ceret of France in the CO. Two Koreans in the blinds in Shin Jae Wook and Kim Woojin come along.

The flop comes Q♣ 4♣ K♠ and all check.

The turn is the T♠ as Shin bets 1,200 and gets calls from Kim and Yim. Ceret folds.

The river is the T♦ . The Koreans check and Yim deploys a bet of 5,000. Shin calls and Kim folds.

Yim shows A♣ 2♣ for a missed nut flush and a missed straight while Shin turns over K♣ Q♠ for two pairs on the flop.

American Stephen Ho raises from UTG and gets three callers in Jean Paul Berdejo of Peru (+2), Korean Park Tae Wook and local sensation BJ Perez.

The flop comes 8♥ 7♣ 7♦ as Park and Perez check. Ho bets 1,600 as Berdejo and Park fold. Perez, however, calls.

The turn is the J♠. This time Perez fires 5,000 and the American calls.

The river is the 6♣ as Perez goes all-in and is snap called by Ho.

Perez tables 7♥ 3♦ for trips on the flop. However, Ho turns over J♣ J♦ for a full house on the turn.

The Filipino's stack is sent to the respirator.

Folded to the HJ of Craig Landry, the Australian raises to 1,000. Hapan's Junichi Murakami (D) and Filipino Maxwell Rosete (SB) come along for the ride.

The flop shows T♣ 5♦ Q♣ as Rosete checks. Craig unloads 1,700 and gets called by both.

The turn is the Q♦ . Rosete still checks but this time so does Landry. Murakami goes all-in for 23,500. Rosete folds and Landry makes the call.

The Japanese player tables A♦ 7♦ for the nut flush on the turn. Craig shows T♣ T♠ to now behind with his set.

The river delivers the case T♥ to elevate the Australian to quads and bust Murakami. Registration is still open until the end of Level 10, so the Japanese player still has opportunities to rejoin the fray.

Main Event Day 1A chip leader Tasuku Maruo of Japan got busy while waiting for Day 2 and took down the Megastack Turbo event for PhP475,000 (~US$8,487) after a grueling Heads Up battle against Ireland's Pang Ying.

The final hand saw an unraised pot and a board of Q♠ 2♥ T♣. Pang bet 400,000 and got called by Maruo.

The turn was the 8♥ and Pang's next move was to go all-in and got insta-called by his Japanese opponent.

Pang tabled 2♦ 6♦ for bottom pair while Maruo flipped over Q♣ Q♦ for top set. The river card of 3♥ made the win official.

Event #26 Megastack Turbo - PhP2,000,000 (~US$35,732) Guaranteed

Date: September 24-27, 2024

Buy-in: PhP12,000 (~US$215)

Entries: 248 (163 unique)

Prize Pool: Php2,540,314 (~US$45,385)

ITM: 38 places

1 Tasaku Maruo - Japan - PhP475,000 (~US$8,487)

2 Pang Ying - Ireland - PhP295,000 (~US$5,270)

3 Ruben Clamares - Philippines - PhP210,000 (~US$10,688)

4 Vince Nachor - Philippines - PhP160,000 (~US$2,858)

5 Shin Jaeho - Korea - PhP125,000 (~US$2,231)

Raising from the +2 position is Japan's Daisuke Fukuoka to 700 and picks up two callers in fellow Japanese player Masakazu Miyamoto (D) and Mariano de la Pena of the Philippines (BB).

The flop is 9♣ J♠ 9♥ as de la Pena checks. Fukuoka CBets to 1,000 and gets called by Miyamoto. De la Pena gets out of the way.

The turn is the K♥ and the bombardment continues from Fukuoka as he unloads 2,700. Miyamoto stays sticky and calls.

The river card is the T♠ for what looks to be a one-card straight. Unperturbed, Fukuoka bets again, this time for 7,000. Miyamoto then raises to 20,400, effectively putting his opponent all-in.

Fukuoka tanks for a bit but eventually folds.

Filipino Raphael Bulaong has the action folded to him in the CO and raises to 700. He gets called by Park Jinkyu of Korea (D) and fellow Filipino Marvin de la Cruz (BB).

The flop is 9♠ 8♥ 7♠ as all check.

The turn is the T♥ . De la Cruz checks and Bulaong leads out for 1,700 for still gets called by both gentlemen.

The river is the 5♠ and this time Bulaong blasts 4,200 into the middle. Park folds but de la Cruz calls.

Bulaong shows Q♠ J♣ for a gutshot connection on the turn. De la Cruz mucks his hand.

The Manila Megastack Knockout Turbo event has closed its registration with 37 entries and 17 players remaining . The prize pool is PhP288,748 (~US$5,161).

Japan's Akimichi Motomura starts the action by raising to 500 from UTG and gets four callers in Australia's Landry Craig in the +2 position, fellow Japanese player Junichi Murakami in the CO, and a pair of Filipinos in Maxwell Rosete (D) and Richard Tolentino (BB).

The flop comes 9♦ J♥ 4♦ as Motomura and Craig check it to Murakai who bets 2,000. Right beside him, Rosete raises it to 7,000 as Tolentino, Motomura and Craig get out of the way. Murakami calls.

The turn is the 9♠ . Murakami checks and Rosete unleashes 8,000. Murakami quickly goes all-in for 20,200 and gets snap called by the Filipino for his remaining 17,500.

Murakami shows Q♦ J♠ for top pair on the flop while Rosete flips over 4♠ 4♣ for a full house on the turn.

Needing a nine or a jack on the river to counterfeit his opponent's boat, the A♠ arrives and sends Murakami's stack to the ICU.

Japanese lady player Sannomiya Tsubaki raises from UTG for 500 and just in the +2 position, Nam Hyungwoo of Korea re-pops it to 1,500. Tsubaki decides to call.

The flop comes K♦ 6♠ 9♣ as Tsubaki checks. Nam CBets for 1,500 and Tsubaki check-raises to 4,500. Nam this time does the calling.

The turn is the 4♥ and Tsubaki fires 5,000. Nam still calls.

The river is the 3♠ . Both check.

Tsubaki flips over K♥ Q♥ while Big Slick is revealed by Nam holding A♥ K♣ , outkicking his Japanese opponent for the pot.

Malaysia's Ian Ooi begins the action by raising from the +2 position for 800. The action is folded to the CO of Filipino John Alan Hernandez who 3-bets it to 1,800 while Leonardo Drago of Italy pumps it up even further to 3,000. Ooi folds and Hernandez min 5-bets to 6,000. Drago calls.

The flop is T♦ 8♠ 6♥ as Hernandez goes all-in. Puzzled by the move, Drago opts to fold.

Just beginning Level 2, India's Chirag Shah raises from the +2 position for 500 and gets calls from Giam Jian Hui of Singapore in the HJ and Korean Yang Sangwon in the BB.

The flop comes 9♦ J♦ J♣ . Yang and Shah check as Giam unloads 800 and is called by both.

The turn is the Q♣ and this time all check.

The river card is the 4♣ and once again all check.

Yang tables J♠ 8♦ for trips on the flop while Shah shows that he has 9♣ 6♣ for a pair on the flop and a runner runner flush. Giam mucks.

The Indian is one of the first to breach 60,000 in chips.

The action is folded to Leonardo Drago in the CO and the Italian raises to 300. Korea's Kung Lovo and local bet Monziar Villariaza call from the blinds.

The flop is T♥ 4♥ J♣ as all players check.

The turn is the 2♣ and Jung leads out for 600. Villariaza folds and Drago calls.

The river is the Q♥ as Jung fires 2,500. Drago raises it to 5,500 and Jung chooses to fold.

Philippine pro Alexis Cruz raises from UTG to 300 and gets a call from Hazuki Takenaka of Japan. However, American Jesse Rivera bumps it up from the SB to 900. Cruz and Takenaka make the call.

The flop is Q♣ 9♦ 2♠ as Rivera continues for 1,000. Cruz calls while Takenaka goes away.

It is Heads Up to the turn of A♣ . Rivera bets the same 1,000 and this time raised by Cruz to 4,000. Rivera now does the calling.

The river is the 4♦ as Rivera now checks. Cruz wallops 9,500 and is quickly called by the American.

Cruz tables Q♠ Q♥ for top set on the flop as Rivera mucks.

In early action, Filipino James de la Cruz raises to 300 from the CO and gets re-raised by Kim Tae Oh of Korea to 900 in the BB. De la Cruz calls.

The flop comes 2♠ 4♥ 9♣ as Kim barrels for 1,200. De la Cruz calls.

The turn is the 9♠ and Kim fires another bet, this time to 1,600. De la Cruz still calls.

The river is the Q♠ . Now, Kim slows down and checks. Dela Cruz blasts 3,500 and Kim calls.

The Filipino turns over K♠ 9♥ for trips on the turn. Kim mucks.

Button is on Seat #3. Cards are now in air!

Once again, we await more players before commencing in what is deemed to be the busiest day of competition in the Main Event. Day 1C begins shortly.