Warm-up (12,500 PHP)

Anthony Castro seems to be the most active player at the final table as he enters another showdown. Short stacked Marc Gagne turns over A♠ 8♣ , Castro with J♣ T♠ , the board spreads 8♥ A♦ 6♠ A♣ 9♣ to ensure the double up for Gagne.

Christian Lortie opens and Marc Gagne defends his big blind. They opt to check it to the turn 3♠ 7♠ A♠ 9♦ . Lortie sweetens the pot for 65,000 and Gagne calls to head to the river 5♦ . Lortie fires a larger 225,000 bet that induces a fold.

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.

Marc Gagne has 4♦ 4♥ and min-raise from utg. Martin Gonzales defends the big blind for a flop 7♦ 4♠ T♣ . Gagne bets 65,000 for his set and Gonzales check-calls. They check the turn 7♣ then Gagne fires 185,000 on the river A♥ . Gonzales doesn't bite.

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.