Warm-up (12,500 PHP)

From just 7 bb, Anthony Castro has chipped up to nearly 30 bb. His latest win saw him call James Morile's raise preflop then took command on the flop Q♦ 2♣ T♣ and turn 7♠ with bets of 125,000 ad 250,000. Moriles folded to the turn bet.

Looking down at K♠ J♣ , Jiego Erquiaga bumps it up to 80,000 and big blind James Moriles calls. They proceed to check it to the river Q♣ 5♠ Q♥ K♦ 9♣ . Erquiaga sends out a bet of 150,000, Moriles tank-calls and quickly mucks.

James Moriles min-raises from utg then calls lojack Anthon Castro's 180,000 re-raise. On the flop 7♦ 8♠ 8♦ Castro bets 110,000, Moriles answers with a check-raise fo 250,000. Castro surrenders his hand.

From the button Jiego Erquiaga three-bet 130,000, utg James Moriles calls it to see a flop 4♥ 2♠ 7♥ . Erquiaga leads out 80,000 and wins the pot without further action.

After five hours of play, the final table was reached. They are all guaranteed a minimum ₱62,610 with the champion pocketing ten times that amount, a total of ₱560,000 plus a seat worth ₱80,0000 to APPT Manila.

From utg+1, Royly Oracion looks down at 9♦ 2♦ and decides it's good enough to shove for his last 9 bb. Two spots over, James Moriles wakes up with Q♦ Q♥ and calls. With the board running 5♥ 8♣ J♠ K♣ T♠ , Oracion gets up and leaves.

Immediately following the hand, Sia went all in with K♦ 9♣ then doubled up through Anthony Castro on a board T♣ 9♠ 4♥ 5♠ 6♦ . Castro had A♠ 2♦ .

Po Xiang defended on the big blind by calling James Moriles' 25,000 raise. Holding K♣ 7♣ , Po quickly filled on the flop 7♦ 7♥ K♠ and checked, Moriles checked back. Betting returned on the turn 5♦ with Moriles sliding out 12,000, Po check-raised 30,000. After Moriles called, Po shoved on the river T♣ . Moriles called again then showed Q♦ Q♣ then paid Po for the boat.

On a board showing 9♦ J♠ T♠ J♥ 3♥ and amountain of chips amounting to 81,000 in the middle, Christian Lorti bets 35,000, James Moriles calls while Po Xiang folds. Lortie turns over K♥ T♣ which is good for the takedown.

The three-way showdown was looking good for Moriles whose kicker was ahead but it was not to be as So improved to a straight.

The PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 21 low-stakes festival is off to a booming start at Okada Manila, Philippines. For the second consecutive edition, the Kick Off event guaranteed ₱2M, and like previous, it was crushed. Yesterday’s opening day fielded a combined 283 entries across two flights, and with buy-in at an affordable ₱12,500 (~$215), the prize pool ballooned to ₱3,019,610 (~$51,690).

Entering today’s final stage are 43 flight survivors that have already locked in a piece of the pot but the real battle lies ahead with the spadie and ₱560,000 (~$9,570) in cold hard cash up for grabs. The champion also receives an APPT Manila Main Event seat worth ₱80,000.

At the helm is PokerStars regular, Christian Lortie-Cloutier who brings in a towering 540,000 (90 bb) stack. The Canadian pro is well-positioned for a deep run but will face some stiff competition with fearless players such as Dmitrii Belikov and Joseph Talamayan at the table.

Former Warm-Up champion David Erquiaga will also be one to watch as he shakes up the felt with a formidable 456,000 (76 bb). While he has position over the other big stacks at his table, Royly Oracion (401,000) and Richard Marquez (316,000), locking horns is a high possibility.

Cards start flying at 12pm local time. Players will have some room to gauge the competition with blinds increasing at a slower 30 min pace. Blinds kick off at Level 17: 3000-6000 ante 6000.

For all the action, stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you fresh updates as it unfolds.