Main Event (45,000 PHILIPPINE PESO)

Hand #128: For a change, Jaime Reyes makes a raise from UTG and it gets folded to the BB of Edilberto Gopez who defends.

The flop is A♠ T♠ A♦ as Reyes CBets 100,000. Gopez makes the call. The turn is the T♥ and this time both check. The river is the 5♦ as Reyes fires 550,000. Gopez still calls.

Reyes turns over A♥ K♣ for trips on the flop and a fill house on the turn. Gopez throws his hand into the muck.

Hand #116: Maxwell Rosete goes all-n from UTG for his remaining 1,180,000 and gets called in the BB by Edliberto Gopez.

Rosete shows T♠ T♦ but Gopez has a better pocket pair with Q♥ Q♠ .

The first three community cards gave Gopez an almost insurmountable lead: A♥ Q♦ 4♣ for a set. Rosete needed running cards to survive but when the 8♥ hit the turn, he was already drawing dead. The K♠ on the river made it official.

Rosete is railed in 5th but will still be getting PhP990,000 (~US$17,676) as Gopez regains the chip lead.

The final four players continue the battle.

Hand #107: The action goes to blinds and in an unraised pot between Edilberto Gopez (SB) and Maxwell Rosete (BB), the flop comes A♠ 9♣ T♥ as Gopez leads out for 175,000 and gets the call from Rosete.

The turn is the T♠ and Gopez adds more spice by betting 325,000. He still gets called by Rosete. The river card is the 4♠ and this time Gopez unloads 800,000. Rosete still makes the call.

Gopez shows T♣ 9♥ as Rosete mucks.

Rosete now drops to below the one million mark and has bled considerably over his last two hands.

Hand #106: The action is folded to the blinds where William Ysmael in the SB raises to 260,000 and gets called by Edilberto Gopez.

The flop is A♥ 2♣ K♥ , Ysmael fires 340,000 but then Gopez raises to 800,000. Ysmael tanks and folds.

Hand #104: William Ysmael raises from UTG to 160,000 and Edilberto Gopez re-raises to 360,000 from the CO. In the D, Maxwell Rosete 4-pbets to 1,000,000 and Australia's Craig Landry pushes all-in for his remaining 1,275,000.

Both Ysmael and Gopez exit but Rosete makes the call.

Landry flips over A♣ K♣ while a dismayed Rosete shows A♥ Q♣.

The first three community cards go 6♣ J♦ Q♥ to give Rosete the lead, but the turn of K♥ put the Australian ahead for good as the river is the 5♣ .

Rosete, who was hovering at second in chips, takes a major hit as Landry now moves up to second behind Ysmael.

Hand #92: William Ysmael tries to stay aggressive as he rises from the CO for 160,000 and gets calls from Edilberto Gopez (D) and American Jaime Reyes (BB).

The flop is 6♦ Q♦ 8♦ as Reyes and Ysmael chec. Gopez bets into the monochrome board for 125,000. Reyes folds while Ysmael calls. The turn is the Q♠ as Ysmael checks again and Gp[ez continues firing, this time for 275.000. Ysmael still makes the call. The river card is the A♣ as now both check.

Ysmael turns over A♦ 9♠ for a pair of aces on the river and a missed nut flush draw. Gopez mucks his hand.

Ysmael is now the Main Event chip leader

Hand #83: Former chip leader Edilberto Gopez tries for another long distance steal by raising to 125,000 from UTG. Instead, new chip leader Maxwell Rosete re-raises it to 350,000 from the +1 position. Gopez reaches for more chips and 4-bets to 700,000. Rosete tanks and opts to call.

The flop is 8♦ 9♠ T♥ as Gopez checks. Rosete bets 500,000 and Gopez calls.

The turn is the K♣ as Gopez checks again. This time, Rosete empties the clip for an all-in bet of 1,470,000. Gopez takes an eternity and uses two time bank cards. He was close to using a third one when he decided to fold.

Rosete now climbs over the four million chip mark.

Hand #76: Maxwell Rosete raises from UTG to 120,000 and gets called by chip leader Edilberto Gopez in the BB.

The flop comes Q♦ 6♣ 4♦ as Gopez checks. Rosete continues for 100,000 and gets the call. The turn is the Q♣ and this time both players check. The river is the T♥ as Gopez unloads 150,000 and gets called by Rosete.

Gopez flips over A♦ K♦ for a missed nut flush draw while Rosete shows 7♠ 6♠ for a pair of sixes on the flop.

With that loss, Gopez relinquishes the chip lead to Rosete.

Hand #71: Chip leader Edilberto Gopez of the Philippines raises to 150,000 from the C) but gets re-raised by American Jaime Reyes in the SB for 330,000. Gopez tanks and ends up using one time bank card before calling.

The flop comes J♦ 7♣ 5♣ as Reyes CBets 150,000. Gopez calls. The turn is the 8♥ as Reyes fires again, this time for 270,000. Gopez 3-bets to 650,000. Reyes 4-bets all-in.

Gopez tanks anew but consequently lets it go.

Hand #52: Rick Jason Ambata raises from the HJ for 100,000 and gets the chip leader Edilberto Gopez to defend his BB.

The flop comes 2♣ K♥ 5♣ as Gopez checks. Ambata CBets to 150,000 and gets called.

The turn is the A♥ and this time both check.

The river is the 3♥ . Gopez fires 500,000 and Ambata folds.

Ambata is now down to just a little over ten BBs after that lay down.

The action is folded to the LJ of Jason Magbanua who raises to 110,000 and gets a call from chip leader Edilberto Gopez.

The flop is 8♥ J♦ 3♦ as both players check. The turn is the K♦ and both check it again.

The river is the 2♠ and this time Gopez bets 200,000 as Magbanua quickly calls.

Gopez is forced to table his hand of 9♠ 6♠ while Magbanua flips over K♣ K♠ for top set on the turn. Magbanua may not have maximized his hand, but he got valuable information.

Hand #18: It is folded to the blinds where chip leader Edilberto Gopez riases to 130,000 and gets a call from the BB of Maxwell Rosete.

The flop comes 5♠ Q♣ 8♦ . Gopez continues for 80,000 and Rosete calls.

The turn is the J♥ and this time Gopez fires 300,000. Rosete still calls.

The river is the A♣ as Gopez unloads 500,000. Rosete raises all-in.

Gopez folds.

Jaime Reyes raises to 100,000 and gets called by chip leader Edilberto Gopez. However, Rishi Mirpuri 3-bets from the BB to 245,000. Reyes fold but Gopez calls.

It is heads up to the flop of 4♣ 5♠ 2♦ . Mirpuri bets 120,000 and Gopez calls.

The turn is the 6♥ . This time, Mirpuri checks and Gopez fires 225,000. Mirpuri calls.

The river is the A♦ as Mirpuri checks again. Gopez declares he is all-in for 3,800,000.

Mirpuri tanks and burns one time bank card before deciding to fold.

This is the Final 9 who will be competing for the biggest chunk of the now PhP20,467,485 (~US$365,432) total prize pool.

Each is now guaranteed PhP376,485 (~US$6,722) and will vie for the top prize of PhP3,740,000 (~US$66,775).

The action gets underway at 1:00PM (UCT+8).

Chip leader Edilberto Gopez of the Philippines raises to 80,000 on his CO and former chip leader Tasuku Maruo 3-bets all-in for 750,000. This ploy would usually work against steal attempt, but Gopez wasn't trying steal just the blinds and ante. Gopez calls.

Maruo turns over Q♥ T♥ and Gopez shows K♣ K♥ .

The flop offered a semblance of hope for the Japanese player as it went 7♦ 6♥ 5♥ for a flush draw, However, the turn was the 6♦ and the river was the 3♦ as Maruo exits in 13th place for PhP260,000 (~US$4,642).

It was bound to happen at least once .

The two Filipino big stacks takes each other on in an unraised blind versus blind tiff.

William Ysmael completes his SB while Edilberto Gopez checks his option.

The flop is 5♣ J♥ 7♥ as Ysmael checks. Gopez leads out for 50,000 and gets a call.

The turn is the 9♠. Ysmael once again checks and Gopez once again fires 125,000. Ysmael then check-raises to 375,000 and Gopez calls.

The river is the 2♥ .

Ysmael goes for a 550,000 bet which is still called by Gopez.

Ysmael shows T♠ 8♦ for a jack-high straight on the turn. Gopez flips over 8♠ 6♠ for a nine-high straight on the turn.

Had the river card not been a heart, there may have been serious bloodshed between the two big stacks.

The action is now concentrated on the final 2 tables as Japan's Yoshifumi Sasaki raises from UTG to 60,000 and gets calls from local pros Edilberto Gopez in the SB and Jason Ambarta in the BB.

The flop comes K♠ J♠ 9♣ as the blinds check to the raiser. Sasaki CBets for 70,000 and gets a call from Gopez. Ambata folds.

It is heads up to the turn of A♦ . This time both players check.

The river is the 2♠ and now Gopez bets 250,000. Sasaki calls,

Gopez shows 8♠ 7♠ for a rivered flush. Sasaki mucks and Gopez is getting closer to the three million chip mark.

All players now guaranteed PhP198,000 (~US$3,535):

Raising to 8,000 from the +2 position, Filipino Edilberto "Duroy" Gopez gets re-raised all-in by Paul Tadina of Australia--among the short stacks coming into Day 2. Gopez calls the 48,000 shove.

Tadina tables A♠ Q♦ and Gopez confidently flips over A♣ K♦ as he has his opponent dominated.

The runout ensues: 4♣ 4♠ J♠ T♠ 9♠ as Tadina gets the double-up via a backdoor one-card nut flush.

There really are no friends at the poker table and that held true when Filipino buddies Jose Colada and Edilberto "Duroy" Gopez battled for each other's chips.

Having a light conversation about what to have as a midnight snack mere minutes before, the two found themselves all-in preflop with Colada showing T♦ T♠ versus Gopez's A♦ Q♥.

Gopez snatched the lead on the flop of Q♦ 8♣ 2♥ but the turn of J♣ provided a sweat card that both laughed at. The river card of 4♠ ensured a double up for Gopez to keep him in contention while Colada still had a healthy stack despite the hit.

Raising from the CO, Filipino Edilberto "Duroy" Gopez opens for 700 and gets two customers in Thomas Lee of Canada in the D and Korean Park Jinkyu.

The flop is 9♥ 8♦ J♥ . Park checks, Gopez CBets for 1,500 as Lee folds. Park makes the call.

The turn is the 2♣ . Once again, Park checks and calls Gopez's bet, this time for 4,000.

The river is the 8♠ . Park checks a third street and Gopez goes all in covering Park. The Korean calls.

Gopez shows T♣ 7♣ for a flopped straight. Park mucks.

In less than one orbit, Gopez is the early chip leader of the Main Event.

Newly crowned Deepstack champion Edilberto "Duroy" Gopez of the Philippines immediately gets thrust into action against Canadian Thomas Lee and initially Korea's Park Jinkyu as Lee raises from UTG for 600. But Park 3-bets to 3,000 and this was greeted by a 4-bet from Gopez to 4,800. Lee calls and Park folds.

The flop comes 5♥ 8♦ K♥. Gopez leads out for 5,000 and gets a call from Lee.

The turn is the Q♦ to which Gopez unleashes another bet of 10,000. Lee folds.

Gopez has arrived.