Main Event (45,000 PHP)

Today's Manila Megastack 22 Main Event Flight C exceeded expectations with a stunning 291 entries, surpassing both previous flights combined. The published guarantee was breached earlier in the day, sizing up a grand prize pool of PHP 25,613,820 (~USD 446,695) to be shared amongst the 99 qualifiers.

Another 44 players locked in a spot into the Day 2 Finals, with Vietnam's Le Ngoc Khanh leading the overall charge and standing in prime position for a deep run. Khanh surged to the top right before bubble time came into play, having sniped a massive pot off of Nayeon Cho to finish the day with 646,000 (81 BB).

South Korea's Suya Lee joins the top ranks with a 550,000 (69 BB) chip count, stacking just behind Khanh across the Day 2 order. Fellow Korean Wanhee Kang likewise cracked the half a million mark with 505,000 (63 BB), and will continue tomorrow's hunt 4th in chips, right below Flight B chip leader Ryan Tan.

All survivors are set to return tomorrow, Sunday, March 23rd for the Day 2 Final battle, where the ultimate champion will be crowned by the end of the night.

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)

Entries: 652

Prize pool: PHP 25,613,820 (~USD 446,695)

ITM: 99 places

Flight A: 115 entries, 18 qualified

Flight B: 132 entries, 20 qualified

Flight C: 291 entries, 44 qualified

Flight D [20/15]: 114 entries, 17 ITM

Day 2/ Final: Sunday, March 23

David Ang defended his big blind against Jonald Garcia's 20,000 button open, and faced a 20,000 cbet on flop A♠ J♦ 9♥ . Ang pulled a check raise for 30,000 more and followed with an all-in for his remaining 69,500 on turn 7♦ .

Garcia snap called with a set of nines 9♠ 9♣ , putting Ang at risk with two pair A♥ J♣ . River 6♠ made no difference, eliminating Ang as the stone cold bubble to close the day's action.

Donghyun Kim open shoved 53,000 on the hijack and was tank called by Suya Lee two seats after.

A 50-50 spot, Kim's pocket pair held on board 4♦ 2♦ 7♠ 4♣ A♦ , earning him a double up right on bubble time.

With action folded to the blinds, Masakazu Miyamoto raised all-in and saw Hiroki Kajiwara risk his 105,000 stack right on bubble time.

Kajiwara ahead, scored the double up with a straight on board Q♠ 6♦ 9♠ T♠ J♦ just as the day is about to close.

Chanhwi Kim defended his big blind against Florin Filip's 16,000 cutoff open, and check called 12,000 on flop J♦ K♥ K♣ . On turn 8♣ , Kim was met with another 35,000 barrel, and responded with a check raise to 80,000. Filip completed, but shortly surrendered on river 9♦ after Kim went for a final 60,000.

A three way pot saw action on flop 9♥ 8♣ 5♣ check to Nayeon Cho on the button, pushing him to fire a 20,000 bet. Jingxiang Ong called on the big blind and check called another 25,000 on turn 5♦ .

On river 6♣ , Cho gunned for a final 115,000 and revealed a full house 8♦ 8♥ just as Cho decided to give up the pot.

Takuya Ohara pushed 56,500 on the cutoff and found himself at risk against Cheolmin Byeon's overcards right on bubble time.

Ohara instantly spiked a set on board Q♦ 9♠ J♦ A♣ J♠ , finishing with a full house to land the double up.

Nayeon Cho defended his big blind against Le Ngoc Khanh's 16,000 cutoff open, and check called another 10,000 on flop 8♥ T♠ T♣ . Both checked turn 4♥ through to river 6♥ , where Cho led for 20,000. Khanh tank called with ace-high A♥ J♣ and found it good against Cho's K♣ 5♣ .

Facing an open and a button call, Michael Bueza flicked in his last 46,000 on the small blind and was challenged by initial raiser Le Ngoc Khanh.

Bueza ahead, was glad to find no aces on board 7♠ Q♦ 6♠ 8♠ 9♦ to guarantee him the win.

Emmanuel Segismundo chucked in his last 34,000 and was called by Nikolai Babushkin on the big blind.

Segismundo at risk right on bubble time, dodged elimination, having spiked a straight on board 8♦ 9♠ 2♥ 7♠ 6♣ to snag the win.

Action is right on bubble time with 45 players remaining and only 44 survivors guaranteed a spot into the Day 2 Final games.

Aj Acdal opened 12,000 utg, joined by Wanhee Kang on the small blind.

On flop A♥ 3♠ 7♣ , Kang check called another 19,000, and faced a 40,000 second barrel from Acdal on turn 5♦ . Kang this time, responded with an all-in, leaving his opponent to call off his remaining 65,000 with top pair A♠ K♠ .

Kang with a set 7♥ 7♠ left Acdal drawing dead straight away, shipping the pot as river 5♣ completed the board.

Kim Enriquez defended his big blind against Le Ngoc Khanh's 12,000 utg open, and check jammed his remaining 39,500 on flop 5♥ Q♥ A♦ . Khanh made the call with a flush draw 7♥ 3♥ and was up against Enriquez' top pair A♣ 7♦ .

Runout K♦ A♠ felted no more hearts, leaving Khanh to fork over the pot to Enriquez.

Hiroki Kajiwara pushed his last 53,000 against an open and was met with another shove behind from Takuya Ohara. Initial raiser opted out, leaving the two to showdown.

Kajiwara a favorite to win, smooth sailed to victory on board A♦ 4♣ A♠ 9♣ 5♦ , earning him more room to breathe.

A crucial pot with over 400,000 in the middle went Le Ngoc Khanh's way with his ace-king reigning supreme over Naeyon Cho's pocket tens on a king-high board. Khanh's recent boost sees him surge up the ranks and take the Flight C lead.

Ashley Patterson opened 12,000 utg and saw Mario Michaels complete on the big blind.

On board 3♥ 5♦ J♠ 5♣ 8♦ , Michaels went ahead and led all three streets - 11,000, 7,000, and 12,000, only to face an all-in from Patterson on the river. Michaels shut down, opting to save his eight big blinds behind.

Czardy Rivera open jammed his 47,500 stack in early position and was looked up by Takayuki Koba on the small blind.

Running a flip, Rivera was close to sealing the win on board 3♠ T♥ T♠ 6♠ , up until the river Q♥ paired up Koba's overcards to turn things around completely.

Chang Gi Choi opened 14,000 utg and was joined by three callers onto flop J♦ 9♣ A♥ . Choi continued for 25,000, called by both David Ang and Suya Lee on the small blind. On turn 6♦ , Choi gunned for another 45,000, this time check called only by Lee.

Lee checked a third time around on river 2♥ , convincing Choi to take his top pair A♦ K♥ to showdown. Lee revealed a better two pair A♣ 6♣ and shipped the hefty pot his way to reclaim the lead.

Taruli Aritona open shoved 49,000 on the button and was challenged by Roland Ferrer on the small blind.

Ferrer dominated, turned the tables as board T♠ J♦ 5♥ 7♣ A♦ landed him two pair to deliver the bust.

Only five more eliminations are left on the table with 44 players out of the 49 remaining guaranteed a spot into the Day 2 Final games.

Masakazu Miyamoto opened on the button and called off Lester Edoc's 45,000 jam from the small blind.

Edoc dominated, headed for the exit just as board 8♦ 2♦ 5♠ A♦ K♠ offered him no salvation.

Roland Yusuf opened 15,000 utg and was called by Ashley Patterson right beside.

Action on board 4♦ J♦ Q♠ 4♥ T♦ was checked all the way down to the river, where Yusuf fired a bet of 15,000. Patterson gunned for the rest, leaving Yusuf to call off his entire 124,000 with the nut straight A♥ K♣ . Patterson showed a full house T♣ T♠ and shipped the hefty boost his way.

Running up a storm, Cheolmin Byeon delivered another elimination with Finn Penderak falling with ace-king over a flip against Byeon's pocket queens. The 70K boost was just enough to propel Byeon up the ranks and step into the lead.

With a pot of 73,000 centered across board K♦ 3♥ 8♠ 6♦ J♦ , Junwoo Lee made a final attempt for 42,500 and was met with a check raise all-in for 79,000 total from Moosung Lee on the big blind. Junwoo tank called with a set 8♥ 8♣ , only to take the hit as Moosung revealed a rivered straight T♥ 9♥ .

Junwoo Lee opened to 10,000 and flicked in 17,500 more following an all-in from Finn Penderak behind.

Up for a flip, board 6♥ Q♠ 5♣ 5♥ 9♠ ran in favor of Penderak's overcards, earning him another chance at making Day 2.

A preflop back and forth between Aj Acdal on the button and Junwoo Lee on the big blind saw Acdal make the final call for Lee's entire 137,000 stack.

Lee, holding the advantage, was nearly upended as the flop came 5♦ A♥ A♦ , giving Acdal trip aces. Turn K♥ however, shot the favor back to Lee to eventually seal the victory on river 4♣ .

Fresh off a double up, Rene Mar David found himself at risk once more this time against Hyunki Park.

Park kicked off the action with an open, and called a 30,000 button three bet from David. On flop 3♥ 5♠ 6♦ , Park check called David's all-in for 97,000 with A♦ Q♣ , and was behind David's J♥ J♣ .

Lucky for Park, runout T♣ A♥ paired up his ace, just enough to bank the win and bust his opponent out.

Czardy Rivera opened mid position and was met with a 16,000 three bet from Roland Ferrer on the button. Takaaki Umemori on the big blind, padded the pot to 42,000, pushing Rivera out of the pot. Ferrer on the other hand, came back with an all-in for 152,000 and shipped the win unchallenged.

With action folded to the blinds, Takuya Ohara raised all-in and saw Wanhee Kang behind tank call for his 83,500 stack.

Board K♣ 7♦ 4♣ 8♥ 9♦ ran dry for both, leaving Kang's better ace high good for the take down.

With a series of raises ahead, Jaegeol Cho cold five bet jammed on the small blind and was challenged by Kyungsun Jung for his lesser 102,500 stack.

An unfortunate cooler, Jung bowed out shortly after board J♣ 8♣ 6♠ 3♣ 6♥ rolled on the felt.

Yoshiki Shimono pushed his last 49,000 on the small blind and saw Le Ngoc Khanh right behind wake up with the best hand in the deck.

Shimono in trouble, failed to catch up on board 7♥ T♥ 6♦ Q♦ 8♠ , capping his Flight C run for good.

A four way raised pot read a flop of 7♦ 8♠ 6♣ . Action checked to Nayeon Cho on the button, prompting him to bet 13,000. Only Leonardo Drago called to see turn 6♠ , where he went ahead and led all-in for his remaining 30,000.

Cho called down with K♣ 8♣ , putting Drago at risk with a combo draw A♠ 5♠ . River 4♠ completed Drago's flush, earning him the clean double up to which big stacked Cho afforded.

Aj Acdal opened utg and snap called Terry Gonzaga's 64,500 all-in from the small blind.

Acdal with the best hand in the deck, had no problems securing the victory on board 8♠ 8♣ 2♦ 2♥ 8♦ , eliminating Gonzaga entirely.

Nikolai Babushkin opened 11,500, followed by an all-in for 58,500 from Shinya Arigai behind. Lester Edoc called off his lesser 25,000 on the big blind while Babushkin opted out, leaving the two to showdown.

Close to hitting the rails on board A♥ J♥ Q♥ T♣ 2♥ , Edoc managed to catch up on the river, landing a flush to take the win and remain seated.

With action folded to the blinds, Elmer Kalaquian limp jammed his 75,000 stack and faced Xiong Cheng behind for a flip.

Board Q♥ 3♦ A♠ offered Cheng top pair, but was crushed not long after runout 4♠ J♥ landed Kalaquian a set to bag the win.

Nichols Manalo open shoved his remaining 21,500 utg and was looked up by Chanhwi Kim on the big blind.

A potential chop, Manalo instead locked in the double up, having found a pair of sevens on board J♣ Q♦ 7♠ 9♣ 8♠ .

Donghyun Kim defended his open and called an 18,000 raise from Nayeon Cho on the small blind. On flop K♠ A♦ T♠ , Cho check called 11,500, yet folded on turn 4♥ as Kim pulled another 35,000.

With a pot of 31,000 on board 8♠ A♣ 6♦ K♦ , turn action saw Chanhwi Kim gun for another 16,500. Noel Araniel on the big blind, check jammed his entire 86,500 with bottom pair 6♣ 4♣ , only to crash right into Kim's top two pair A♠ K♠ . River Q♣ offered no surprises, knocking out Araniel from the Flight C games.

John Clyde Tan defended his big blind against Florin Filip's 7,000 hijack open, and check called 8,000 on flop Q♥ 3♥ 3♠ . On turn 8♣ , Filip barreled all-in, leaving Tan to call off his remaining 48,000 with trip three's K♣ 3♣ . Filip was behind with K♠ Q♣ , but caught up quickly on river Q♠ for a better full house to steal the win.

Initial action between Fu Zhenbo Alang and Le Ngoc Khanh built a pot of 44,500 in the middle. On flop 4♥ T♣ 3♦ , Alang pulled a check raise to 29,000 against Khanh's 13,500 bet, and followed with another 26,000 on turn 3♠ . Khanh gave it a thought and eventually surrendered on the turn, giving up the pot to his opponent.

In battle for a 22,500 pot on flop 6♦ K♣ 4♣ , three way action saw Junwoo Lee continue with a bet of 8,000. Finn Penderak called behind, and faced a check jam for 16,500 more from Terry Gonzaga on the big blind. Both made the call and checked down turn 6♣ and river 5♥ .

Gonzaga showed flush 8♣ 5♣ , leaving both top pairs bound for the muck.

Lee K♥ J♣

Penderak K♦ J♥

Hiroki Kajiwara pushed his remaining 33,000 on the small blind against Leonardo Drago's button open and saw the latter call off.

A 50-50 spot, board K♦ 4♥ 4♣ ah A♠ ran in favor of Kajiwara's overcards, landing him a full house to secure the double up.

Alvir Inocentes opened 5,000 on the cutoff and was joined by Patrick Wahlquist right behind along with John Clyde Tan on the big blind.

On flop 6♣ 4♠ 9♥ , Inocentes continued for 7,500 and saw both stick around to turn 8♦ . Action this time, was checked to Wahlquist, prompting him to bet 25,000. Only Inocentes found the call, but likewise gave it up shortly after Wahlquist demanded for the rest on river A♠ .

Ashley Patterson opened mid position and went on to four bet his entire 60,500 after Kawai Katsuhito fired a raise from the big blind. Katsuhito was up to the challenge, risking a sizeable portion of his stack onto showdown.

Patterson already well ahead, further extended his advantage with a flopped full house on board Q♥ 6♣ 6♠ K♦ 5♥ to seal the win.

Suya Lee and Alexander Ugay had clashed at least three times since the break, with Lee coming out on top in every pot. After folding to a river bet on the board 8♦ 6♠ 5♦ J♦ T♥, where Lee showed Q♠ Q♣ , Ugay found himself up against the Korean once again.

This time, Ugay was ahead with pocket jacks for his remaining chips, but Lee's momentum proved unstoppable as the board ran out in favor of his jack-ten suited, eliminating Ugay from the race entirely.

Having just had his pocket kings cracked, Cheolmin Byeon was in the mix once again, this time against Rui Hanazawa for a 28 big blind pot.

Hanazawa open shoved his last 33,000 on the cutoff and was looked up by Byeon on the small blind. Running a flip, Hanazawa immediately spiked top pair on flop A♦ 6♠ 2♦ , but saw his tournament life come to an end as the runout 4♦ 9♣ gave Byeon a set to take it down.

Cheolmin Byeon fired a three bet on the big blind against an open and a call, and saw initial raiser Aj Acdal come back with an all-in for 78,000. Hak Do Kim committed his smaller stack, followed by a final call from Byeon, making it a three way affair.

Both Acdal and Kim found themselves at risk against Byeon's premium pair, with only Acdal in luck to find two queens on board 2♣ Q♠ Q♦ 7♦ 3♥ to save him from elimination.

In a final attempt to secure the 60,000 pot in the middle across board 8♥ 7♥ Q♦ 2♥ 2♦ , Yoshiki Shimono led the action with a final all-in. Shujiro Tsutsumi looked him up with A♥ A♣ for his last 25,000 and picked up the pot as Shimono showed 9♠ 9♣ .

Noel Araniel opened 5,000 utg and saw Nichols Manalo complete on the big blind.

Action checked to turn A♠ 4♥ 2♠ K♠ , where Araniel continued for 8,000. Manalo check called to see river 8♦ and paid another 15,500, only to muck as Araniel revealed top pair A♦ J♣ .

Darren Yu opened on the hijack and risked his last 26,500 after Taruli Aritona moved all-in on the small blind.

A coinflip situation, board 2♦ 7♣ 4♥ 7♥ J♥ ran safe for Aritona's pocket pair, busting Yu in the process.

Wipat Udomkanjananan defended his big blind against Jongju Park's 5,500 hijack open, and check called two streets - 4,000 and 10,500, on board A♠ T♥ 3♣ 8♠ . On river Q♦ , Udomkanjananan checked a third time around and folded after Park finished with a final 27,000.

Tournament players in Flight C have been sent off for a 40-minute dinner break with play set to resume at 21:17. Day's action will come to a close once 44 players remain.

Junwoo Lee opened 4,000 utg and called 5,000 more following a raise from Hak Do Kim behind.

On flop 3♥ 7♠ T♦ , Lee check called a 13,000 cbet, and faced another 35,000 from Kim on turn 3♦ . Lee gunned for the rest, giving Kim a moment to think. Kim decided to fold and save his eight big blinds behind, shipping Lee the win.

David Ang opened 5,500 on the cutoff, joined by Jason Magbanua a seat after along with Alexander Ugay on the small blind.

Ang continued for 6,000 on flop A♥ 7♠ 6♦ and saw both opponents stick around to turn J♠ . Ang fired another 11,500, leaving only Ugay in the action onto river 8♣ . Ugay this time, went ahead and led for 21,500, only to get caught with a bluff K♥ Q♥ as Ang called down with top pair A♣ 4♣ .

Junwoo Lee opened to 5,000, followed by a 15,000 button three bet from Rui Hanazawa. Cheolmin Byeon cold called on the big blind and Lee completed for a three way pot.

Flop 9♦ 8♠ 3♥ was checked to Hanazawa, who bet 15,000. Both opponents called to see turn K♣ , where action was checked round to river K♦ . Byeon took the chance to lead all-in for his remaining 66,500 and left Hanazawa to take a minute. Hanazawa eventually called off with two pair T♦ T♣ and accepted defeat as Byeon revealed trip kings K♥ Q♥ .

Facing an open and a call, Keita Kitamura pushed all-in for 25,000 and was challenged by initial raiser Yongjin Jun.

Jun a favorite to win, cruised to victory on board 8♣ 4♥ 6♥ 3♥ 6♦ , eliminating Kitamura entirely.

USA's Xiong Cheng is back on Manila soil, currently competing across the Manila Megastack 22 games. Cheng banked his personal best score of PHP 15,000,000 (~USD 257,007) after taking down the APPT Manila Main Event last August 2024.

In a brief chat, Cheng shared some thoughts of his experience on the local live scene and what motivates him to return.

SMP: Why do you keep coming back to the Philippines to play poker?

Xiong Cheng: First of all if I play here and win I don't have to pay a lot of taxes, number two the competition is a lot better, more action and the games are softer to be honest, and I don't normally lose over here so you go where you win.

SMP: What do you think is the advantage of playing in the early levels?

Cheng: For me I want to start early because I want to feel the game as early as possible and also to build my stack.

SMP: What's your most memorable experience playing poker?

Cheng: It was the one I won last year in APPT Manila, because I came in Day 2 with a short stack and I thought I was gonna go out but then I ended up winning, so that was really unbelievable and also a bit of luck.