Another spadie has been lifted off the podium with today's Survivor Knockout games awarding Filipino runner Anthony Castro the win for his impressive display. Castro outlasted the 162-entry field, and took home the biggest share of the PHP 1,728,540 (~USD 29,615) lot. For his triumph, Castro locked in the PHP 216,380 (~USD 3,705) top prize and banked seven additional bounty tokens, bringing up his total to PHP 391,380 (~USD 6,705).
"I'm very happy, because in the Megastack I only got 1 ITM out of 9, but here at the Super Series I'm 4 out 4, and 3 final tables.", commented Castro following the victory.
Castro has had a great run at this season's Manila Super Series, having already landed two final table appearances prior to his victory. Third time's the charm as they say, Castro closed out the win following a noon to midnight grind and finally came out with a trophy in hand.
Castro's road to victory was smooth sailing for the most part, having stepped out into the lead seven-handed. The local regular continued to battle aggressively across the final rounds, extending his lead even further after delivering a double elimination - Ryan Tan (5th place) and Marco Almerez (6th place). Castro fared unstoppable from there and kicked off the final duel against Japan's Kei Shinagawa with a significant advantage.
"I only got the momentum when I became the chip leader.. If we look at the payouts, the bounty is much bigger than the pay jumps. It was my chance to bust out two and get more bounties, that's why I took the risk. But luckily I won and got massive.", he added.
Shinagawa however, was a tough opponent to boot and managed to even out the stacks right away. A crucial race half an hour in, landed Shinagawa over 80% of the chips in play, putting Castro’s victory hopes in doubt. Castro bounced back quickly, having secured two double ups within the next fifteen minutes, and eventually finished off his last opponent with the final hand seeing a pocket pair showdown. Castro delivered the final blow with pocket eights, crushing Shinagawa's pocket fives entirely to leave him settling for a runner up finish.
Survivor Knockout [25K Bounty]
Date/s: February 4, 2025
Buy-in: PHP 12,500 (~USD 215)
Guarantee: PHP 1,000,000 (~USD 17,130)
Entries: 162
Total prize pool: PHP 1,728,540 (~USD 29,615)
ITM: 23 places
Final Table Results