Main Event (45,000 PHP)

Today's opening flight of the Manila Megastack 22 Main Event got off to an exciting start, drawing an initial field of 115 entries which played down to 18 survivors by the end of the night. Japan's Fumiyoshi Makino was the man to beat during the final three levels of play after a pivotal moment with pocket kings allowed him to scoop a three way pot and jump to the lead. From then on, Makino didn't look back and delivered a handful more eliminations to finish the day with 320,000 (80 BB) in chips.

"I’m more of a cash game player so I made adjustments on my style, which was to play more aggressive since I had a big stack. Although I used that to my advantage, I guess I was also just lucky today.", commented Makino just as he sealed his bag.

Makino sets the benchmark for the three heats up ahead, joined by South Korea’s Minsoo Hwang and fellow Japanese player Yuma Endo also finishing near the top. Hwang found a last minute boost after eliminating local pro Lester Edoc on the bubble, closing the day with 302,000 (76 BB). Endo, on the other hand, made a strong finish, having chipped up at the last level to bag 275,000 (69 BB) and secure third spot on the list.

"It’s kinda hard because in Las Vegas where I play mostly cash games, there are a lot of amateur players while compared here, a lot of players are so good and strong especially when they got chips.", shared Makino on his recent experience.

Three more flights are geared to follow over the next two days with all survivors set to make their return on Sunday, March 23rd for the Day 2 Final games.

Manila Megastack 22 Main Event

Date/s: March 20-23, 2024

Buy-in: PHP 45,000 (~USD 775)

Guarantee: PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 345,280)

Flight A: 115 entries, 18 qualified

Flight B: Friday, March 21

Flight C: Saturday, March 22

Flight D [20/15]: Saturday, March 22

Day 2/ Final: Sunday, March 23

Lester Edoc opened 8,000 utg and saw Minsoo Hwang on the big blind complete. On flop 3♣ 6♥ 4♣ , Hwang check raised all-in against Edoc's 25,000 cbet and found the Filipino pro happily oblige for his remaining 45,000.

Hwang K♥ 3♥

Edoc J♥ J♠

Edoc ahead, suffered a crushing bad beat as the turn K♦ gave Hwang the advantage, leaving no hope on river 5♥ to seal his bubble elimination.

Action is right on bubble time with 19 players remaining and only 18 survivors guaranteed a spot into the Day 2 Final games.

Kiwanont Sukhum opened utg and called Mario Michaels' all-in on the cutoff for 79,500.

A coinflip situation, none of Michaels' overcards ran across board T♦ 6♦ 7♦ J♣ 9♥ , sealing his elimination while the rest headed on to bubble time.

With a pot of 32,000 across a completed board of 2♠ A♦ 6♥ 2♥ 4♥ , Fumiyoshi Makino made a final attempt on the big blind with a 45,000 overbet. Yuma Endo gave it a thought and eventually made the call with top pair A♥ Q♦ , exposing Makino's bluff 7♦ 5♦ .

Minsoo Hwang opened 10,000 on the cutoff, followed by a 35,000 three bet from Lester Edoc on the small blind. Reiner Magbutay cold jammed on the big blind for 85,500 and saw Hwang push likewise for a slightly larger 88,000. Edoc decided to opt out, leaving the two to run the cards.

Hwang in great form, cruised to victory on board A♦ K♥ 2♠ 7♥ 2♥ , ending Magbutay's run just short of making Day 2.

Felix Von Rahden open shoved his remaining 35,500 following the previous loss and was looked up by Akshaya Kothari right on the big blind.

Von Rahden dominated, exited the arena just as board 2♣ Q♥ 5♣ T♣ 7♥ sealed his fate.

A preflop back and forth between Felix Von Rahden and Harry Halim landed the latter's entire 58,000 in the middle, leaving him at risk over a classic NLH flip.

Board 9♦ J♠ K♦ J♦ 9♠ favored Halim's overcards, earning him a much needed double up just as the day is about to close.

Minsoo Hwang opened 9,000 utg and called Adam Shriki's all-in for 121,000.

Running a flip for a 63 big blind pot, the board Q♥ K♥ 6♠ J♦ 5♦ instantly paired up Shriki's overcards, sending Hwang's pocket pair flying towards the muck not long after. Hwang afforded the damage and remained seated with a comfortable 22 big blind stack.

Minsoo Hwang opened 8,000 early position and was joined by Lester Edoc behind along with Kiwanont Sukhum on the big blind.

On flop 6♣ T♦ Q♣ , Hwang continued for 11,500, called by Edoc. Action back to Sukhum, he check raised to 36,500 and left both in quick surrender, unwilling to commit more chips.

Harry Halim limped in utg and saw both players on the blinds come along on flop 9♣ 4♣ J♦ . Checked to Halim, he bet 7,000. Both made the call to see turn 5♦ and faced another 10,000 from Halim. This time, only Yuka Kimura stuck around to see river 3♥ , but likewise gave it up as Halim barreled all-in for his last 25,500.

Fumiyoshi Makino has been on a roll, and recently delivered two eliminations, leaving only 24 runners standing. Play will arrive at a halt once 18 players remain.

Ionut Stochita defended his big blind vs Marc Rivera's 6,000 hijack open, and check called 4,000 on flop 2♥ J♠ A♠ . Both checked turn 4♥ through to river 9♠ , where Stochita led a hefty 32,500. Rivera gave it a thought and eventually found the call, only to muck as Stochita revealed flush 8♠ 5♠ .

Reiner Magbutay opened 6,000 utg and was called by John Maklouf on the button.

On flop 8♠ J♠ 5♣ , Magbutay continued for 3,000 and put out 7,000 more following a raise from his opponent. Maklouf barreled another 20,000 on turn K♣ and this time, left Magbutay nowhere to go but out.

Vying for a pot of 22,000 on flop T♠ 2♠ 4♠ , Akshaya Kothari continued with a bet of 8,500 and called 21,500 more following a check jam from William Ysmael on the big blind.

Ysmael T♣ 9♠

Kothari A♠ Q♥

Gunning for a fourth spade, Kothari found one on runout K♣ 8♠ , sending past Manila Megastack champion Ysmael out the door.

Takuma Sasaki open shoved his 48,500 stack in early position and ran right into Felix Von Rahden's big blind special.

Sasaki in rough shape, found some hope of a flush on flop 4♥ 6♥ T♥ , but bricked out turn J♦ and river A♣ , eliminating him from the Flight A counts.

Facing a late position open and a button call from John Maklouf, Mario Michaels fired an 18,000 three bet on the big blind and saw only Maklouf complete.

On flop 3♦ K♣ J♦ , Michaels barreled all-in, snap called by Maklouf for his remaining 48,500.

Michaels A♥ A♣

Maklouf K♠ J♠

Maklouf ahead with two pair, locked in the win as runout 6♠ Q♥ left Michaels' pocket aces entirely in pieces.

Across a completed board of K♠ 7♣ A♣ 3♦ A♦ , Lester Edoc fired a final bet of 35,500 into a 40,000 pot and arrived at showdown after Ryan Gebow on the big blind paid the price. Edoc revealed a full house K♦ K♥ and piled in the boost.

A three way raised pot with both William Ysmael and Takuma Sasaki on the blinds saw action on flop 7♦ K♦ 7♥ check round to turn 6♠ . Sasaki led out a bet of 6,500, pushing one off the pot. Ysmael however, check raised to 15,000, enough to get Sasaki to lay it down.

Fresh off a win, Mizuki Kurokawa picked up another one after finding an open and two calls ahead of him. Kurokawa fired a squeeze to 25,000 and took down the pot unchallenged.

Roland Ferrer opened mid position, followed by a raise from Fumiyoshi Makino on the small blind. Patrick Wahlquist on the big blind stuffed his last 37,500 in the middle, pushing Ferrer to come back with a bigger shove to isolate. Makino however, woke up with a premium hand and snap called for a three way showdown.

Board 7♦ K♠ T♥ 2♥ 6♥ was a slam dunk win for Makino, earning him the hefty pot with top set while Wahlquist headed out the door.

In a battle for the 34,500 pot in the middle across board K♥ T♠ 7♦ J♦ , turn action saw James Dela Cruz chuck out a 14,000 bet on the button. Adam Shriki check called on the cutoff, and arrived at showdown shortly after river Q♠ welcomed no more bets.

Shriki revealed two pair J♣ T♣ and picked up the win after Dela Cruz failed to show a better hand.

Ionut Stochita and Ibuki Yamasaki went head to head across two pots in one orbit with each banking a win.

On the first hand, Yamasaki opened to 5,000 on the hijack, called by Stochita right behind. Yamasaki check called two streets - 9,000 and an all-in for 39,000, on board 8♦ 7♦ 9♣ K♠ A♣ , and found his Q♦ Q♣ crushed against Stochita's K♥ 9♥ .

A few deals later, Yamasaki defended his big blind against Stochita's utg open, and again check called two streets on board T♣ Q♦ A♦ 2♥ . Stochita checked back river 7♠ and this time, shipped the win to his opponent as Yamasaki revealed top pair A♥ 6♥ .

Vamerdino Magsakay committed his entire 51,000 preflop and was challenged by initial raiser Ibuki Yamasaki for a flip.

Magsakay at risk, immediately found his pocket pair bound for the muck as two aces ran on board A♦ 8♥ A♥ 6♦ 6♥ .

Fumiyoshi Makino pushed his last 15,500 in the middle against a late position open and was cold called by Naohiro Matsuda on the button. Initial raiser opted out, leaving the two to run the board 6♥ 9♣ 4♥ A♣ 8♥ . Makino found a pair of eights on the river, just enough to keep him alive.

Vamerdino Magsakay opened 4,000 utg and was joined by Ricardo Torres on the small blind.

On flop 2♣ 3♣ 4♥ , Magsakay continued for 7,000, check called by Torres. Both checked turn Q♦ through to river 7♣ , where Torres led for 10,000. Magsakay pushed for 18,000 more, enough to win the pot then and there.

Up against an open and a call, Roland Ferrer shot out a three bet to 16,000 on the small blind and saw only Naohiro Matsuda complete.

Action checked to turn 4♣ 2♣ 4♦ Q♣ , where Ferrer led for 25,000. Matsuda shot down his hopes of the pot and shipped the win to his Filipino opponent.

Vying for a pot of 34,000 in the middle, three way action on flop 4♦ 8♦ 8♠ saw Vamerdino Magsakay go for a bet of 13,000. Farboud Feridoun behind responded with an all-in for 85,000, called by Magsakay with an overpair.

Feridoun A♦ Q♠

Magsakay Q♦ Q♥

Magsakay well ahead, was crushed to see the runot A♥ 9♣ land Feridoun a pair of aces to steal the win away.

Having just caught a double from Oliver Richert the hand prior, Kiwanont Sukhum finished off his Swedish opponent the following hand where a final race for the latter's last five big blinds went Sukhum's way.

Richert bricked runout 4♣ 7♦ 8♥ K♥ J♠ , capping his Main Event run for the day.

With already 21,000 in the middle on a turn board of 8♣ T♦ 6♥ J♥ , action was caught on Shinichiro Ueno firing a bet of 15,000. Yves Thalmann check called on the small blind, and did again so for his remaining 27,500 after Ueno bet all-in on river 9♦ .

Ueno showed a straight Q♦ Q♥ , crushing Thalmann's 9♥ 8♥ on all streets.

Facing a late position open and a three bet, Naohiro Matsuda stuffed his remaining 22,500 on the button and was challenged by his seatmate Fumiyoshi Makino.

Running a flip, board K♦ 4♠ J♠ 6♥ 4♣ this time, favored the overcards, keeping Matsuda in the Main Event games.

Today's opening flight for the PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 345,280) guaranteed Manila Megastack 22 Main Event is officially closed for registration with a solid turnout of 115 entries recorded. Only 15% of the field at 18 players are set to advance to Sunday's Day 2 Final, each secured a share of the prize pool.

Manila Megastack 22 Main Event

Date/s: March 20-23, 2024

Buy-in: PHP 45,000 (~USD 775)

Guarantee: PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 345,280)

Flight A: 115 entries, 18 ITM

Flight B: Friday, March 21

Flight C: Saturday, March 22

Flight D [20/15]: Saturday, March 22

Day 2/ Final: Sunday, March 23

Patrick Wahlquist open shoved his last 16,400 on the button and was looked up by Ionut Stochita on the small blind.

Stochita behind, managed to flop an ace on board A♥ K♥ 6♥ 4♥ 9♠ , but quickly lost the advantage as the turn gave Wahlquist a flush to take it down.

Vying for a pot of 23,400 in the middle on flop 3♠ J♣ 3♦ , Daniel Wood on the big blind, led out a bet of 5,000. Yonggoo Kim called behind, but was unable to continue past turn Q♦ after Wood moved all-in for his last 26,300.

Having just lost the hand prior, Farboud Feridoun bounced back right away with a full double up at the expense of Ionut Stochita.

Feridoun stuffed his entire 53,000 against a late position and a button three bet, and was called by Stochita for a flip. Board 2♥ 3♠ J♥ J♦ Q♥ spared none of Stochita's overcards, shooting Feridoun past the 100K mark.

Ricardo Torres squeezed to 10,000 against an open and a call, and committed his remaining 18,200 after Farboud Feridoun moved all-in.

Torres ahead, successfully dodged the ace on board 9♦ T♣ 3♥ 3♣ T♠ , earning his big blind special the full double up.

Eunseo Park opened 2,500 on the hijack and was called by Yves Thalmann on the button along with the big blind.

Park double barreled 3,500 and 8,000 on board 2♣ T♦ J♠ 5♠ and saw Thalmann call behind both streets. Action slowed down on river Q♦ , eventually revealing Park's K♦ J♥ for the win.

A preflop back and forth between Ionut Stochita on the small blind and Patrick Wahlquist on the button built a hefty 24,400 pot right in the middle.

On board 2♦ 3♣ J♠ 3♥ 7♣ , Stochita led all three streets - 6,500, 22,000, and a final push for 37,900, with Wahlquist calling all the way to showdown. Stochita revealed a rivered full house 7♦ 7♠ just in time to beat Wahlquist's 8♥ 8♣ .

Felix Von Rahden fired a 7,000 three bet against a hijack open and was met with a cold jam right behind from Tatsuhiko Hayashi for 14,700 more. Both opponents weren't up to the challenge, earning Hayashi the ten big blind boost uncontested.

Seungjin Park defended his cutoff open and called an 8,000 three bet from Reiner Magbutay on the small blind.

Magbutay continued for 3,500 on flop 8♦ 7♣ A♠ and was met with a raise to 7,000 from Park. Magbutay completed, but check folded his pocket queens Q♦ Q♣ shortly on turn 9♦ after Park barreled another 17,000. Park revealed a worse pair 4♦ 4♣ , giving Magbutay something to think about.

In battle for a 17,700 pot across a completed board of 7♣ 4♦ J♦ Q♠ 9♦ , Darius Nass went ahead and led for 13,500. Takuma Sasaki on the button, gave it a thought and decided to go for a raise to 29,000. Nass tanked for a minute and eventually slipped his hand back to the dealer, earning Sasakit the pot with no showdown.

A blind vs blind battle on board 8♥ 8♦ 5♣ 7♣ 2♠ saw James Dela Cruz gun for a nearly pot size bet of 14,000 on the river. Adam Shriki tank called with two pair 9♦ 7♦ and shipped the win as Dela Cruz tabled bluff T♠ 3♦ .

A button vs big blind battle found a pot of 11,600 on flop K♥ 5♠ 2♠ . Felix Von Rahden led out a bet of 4,000 and called Harry Halim's raise to 10,000. On turn J♥ , Von Rahden check called another 15,000 and went on to commit a final 10,000 on river 9♣ .

Halim showed a rivered pair of nines T♠ 9♠ , unable to beat Von Rahden's pair of jacks A♥ J♣ for the pot.

With already 21,100 in the middle on flop 7♦ 7♥ 4♥ , Vamerdino Magsakay on the small blind, took a stab at it with a bet of 11,000. Christian Lortie shot up the stakes to 40,000, enough to convince Magsakay to give up the fight.

Patrick Wahlquist defended his big blind against Minsoo Hwang's 2,500 hijack open and faced a 3,500 cbet from his opponent on flop 7♠ 4♥ 3♥ . Wahlquist responded with a raise to 9,500, followed by another 15,000 on turn K♥ . Hwang defended his flop bet but surrendered shortly after Wahlquist proceeded with more aggression.

Up against an open and a three bet, Saito Takashi stuffed his last 9,500 on the button and saw both Ionut Stochita and Minsoo Hwang complete. On flop K♥ 5♥ 7♦ , Stochita quickly got out of the way after Hwang fired a bet of 7,000.

Takashi A♥ T♥

Hwang 7♠ 7♣

In search of a third heart, Takashi found none on runout 5♣ 9♣ , leaving him crushed against Hwang's full house entirely.

James Dela Cruz fired a 7,500 squeeze on the big blind against an open and a call, and put out 9,500 more after initial raiser Ilia Timofeev came back with another raise.

On flop A♣ J♠ 3♣ , Dela Cruz check called a 13,000 cbet from Timofeev, and did so once more on turn 6♠ , for his remaining 24,500.

Timofeev 7♣ 6♣

Dela Cruz A♠ 5♣

Dela Cruz ahead with top pair, secured the full double up as river Q♠ failed to improve Timofeev's pair of sixes.

Shinichiro Ueno opened utg and called May Yan Hui's all-in behind for 27,000 total.

Ueno ahead, instead was left crippled after board 4♥ Q♥ K♥ 8♥ 2♠ ran four hearts to give Hui a flush and another run for the title.

Three players vied for a pot of 11,900 on flop 5♦ 7♣ K♣ beginning with a 4,000 cbet from Takuma Sasaki. One player called, followed by an all-in for 14,000 from Tatsuhiko Hayashi on the big blind. Only Sasaki was up to the challenge with top pair, putting Hayashi at risk.

Hayashi T♣ 5♣

Sasaki K♦ Q♦

Looking to fill up, Hayashi found none of his outs on either turn J♦ or river 4♦ , busting him out in the process.

A three bet pot between Kazuki Kaihara and Daniel Wood charged a pot of 13,500 right before the dealer fanned flop 8♥ 7♥ K♦ . Kazuki checked to his opponent, pushing Wood to bet 2,500. Kaihara gunned for a raise to 6,000, more than enough to get Wood to lay it down.

Facing an open and a call, Farboud Feridoun launched an 11,600 three bet on the button and was met with an all-in for 14,700 from caller Kenjiroh Suzuki. Feridoun flicked in the rest, tabling the cards for a race.

Board J♦ 2♠ 6♦ 8♦ 9♥ kept Feridoun ahead all the way, eliminating Suzuki from the Main Event Flight A games.

David Deltreuilh defended his big blind against Roland Ferrer's 2,800 hijack open, and check raised his opponent's 3,500 cbet to 9,100 on flop 2♠ 7♠ 5♠ . Ferrer continued to turn 2♥ , and called Deltreuilh's 16,700 all-in for a showdown.

Deltreuilh J♠ 4♠

Ferrer A♠ T♣

Up against a completed flush, Ferrer booked the loss shortly after river K♥ missed to deliver a fourth spade.

Three way action on board J♦ 2♥ Q♠ 4♠ saw aggressor Harry Halim continue for 10,000 into a pot of 14,000. Yew Fai Wong check jammed his last 13,600 with top pair Q♣ 9♥ and found himself behind Halim's K♣ Q♥ . River 4♦ kept Wong at a disadvantage, shipping Halim yet another pot to extend his lead further.

Right on his second bullet, Seungjin Park was off to a better start with another pot sent his way just before the second break of the day.

Ilia Timofeev opened early position and called a 4,700 three bet from Park behind. On flop T♣ 9♦ 4♣ , Timofeev check called another 4,500, but quickly let it go as Park gunned a bigger 11,000 on turn J♦ .

Naohiro Matsuda opened utg and called a 5,300 three bet from Oliver Richert on the next seat. On board A♠ 7♣ 5♦ J♣ , Richert double barreled - 3,300 and 14,000, leaving Matsuda unable to get past the hefty turn bet.

Initial action between Ryuki Shirase and Naohiro Matsuda already built up a pot of 10,000 in the middle. Action on board 2♦ 6♥ 9♦ 5♥ J♦ however, was followed with all checks down to the river, where Shirase went for a final bet of 4,500. Matsuda looked him up with A♣ K♣ high and found it good against Shirase's K♠ T♠ .

Facing an open and a call, Antonio Serrano III squeezed all-in on the big blind for 39,500 and saw Von Rahden call off his lesser 31,900 stack.

Von Rahden in rough shape against the rockets, luckily turned it around as board 6♦ 7♦ 9♣ 8♣ 9♥ ran him a straight to survive through.

A blind battle between Topi Palenius and Nick Blackburn brewed a pot of 6,400 in the middle on flop 6♦ 5♠ A♦ .

Palenius check called a 6,000 bet from Blackburn, and got a free pass on turn 8♥ . On river 3♦ , Palenius checked a third time around and snap called Blackburn's final bet of 13,000.

Blackburn showed bluff Q♥ J♠ , leaving Palenius to pick up the pot with two pair A♣ 8♣ .

Yew Fai Wong defended his big blind against Shota Takakura's 1,800 button open, and check called two streets - 2,400 and 5,000, on board K♥ 8♣ Q♦ 2♦ .

On river 6♦ , Wong led all-in and successfully convinced Takakura to give up his two pair Q♥ 8♠ and save his fifteen big blinds behind. Wong returned the gesture but only showed one card T♦ .

A three way raised pot led by Kenjiroh Suzuki saw him continue for 2,000 on flop 4♠ 7♣ 5♥ . Marc Rivera on the big blind, check called and went on to lead 2,500 on turn 3♦ . Suzuki called the bet and arrived at showdown shortly after no more chips went in on river J♣ .

Rivera showed a pair of fours A♣ 4♥ , no good against Suzuki's pair of fives 8♥ 5♠ .

A three way raised pot saw the aggressor continue for 2,600 on flop A♠ J♦ 3♦ . Ionut Stochita called behind, and faced a raise to 7,600 from Farboud Feridoun. Only Stochita completed and headed to turn K♥ . Both checked to river K♦ , prompting Stochita to lead for a final 11,500. Feridoun found no reason to continue and shipped his opponent the win.

Taku Kubota pushed his last 10,600 in the middle against an utg open and saw Seungyong An behind reshove. Initial raiser opted out, leaving the two to run the cards.

A 50-50 spot, An's overcards took it this time on board A♥ Q♦ 9♠ T♦ 5♥ , sending Kubota out of the Flight A running.

Gunning for an 11,700 pot spread across board 5♥ 5♣ 7♠ Q♦ 3♣ , Eric Yaputra on the big blind, made a final attempt for 3,500 and was called down by Daniel Wood behind. Yaputra's A♠ 8♠ was no match against Wood's 6♦ 6♥ , leaving him to relinquish the pot to his Brit opponent.

Kazuki Kaihara fired a three bet against an utg open and saw Mike Climaco behind cold jam his last 9,400. Kaihara snap called with the best hand in the deck and easily delivered the bust just as board rolled J♦ Q♥ 6♠ J♥ 7♠ .

Ilia Timofeev defended his big blind against Seoha Lee's 1,500 button open, and faced a 2,500 cbet from his opponent on flop 6♥ K♣ J♥ . Timofeev responded with a raise to 8,500 and followed with a 16,500 bet on turn 3♠ . The second barrel was enough to get Lee out of the way, earning Timofeev the boost.