Warm-up (5,000 PHP)

Jonathan Duque of the Philippines opens from UTG for 16,000 and gets called by a plauer in the HJ. It folds to Japan’s Yoshinori Fukazawa who 3-bet shoves his remaining 38,000. Duque then 4-bet shoves, forcing the initial caller to fold.

Fukazawa tables Q♥ Q♦ while the Fiipino shows A♣ K♦ .

Duque instantly grans the advantage on the flop: K♥ 8♠ 5♦ and the last two community cards are of no help to the embattled Japanese player as the 2♦ and the 6♠ complete the runout.

The elimination of Fukazawa gives Duque over a quarter of a million in chips and is within striking distance of the top spot.

India’s Siddarth Mishra limps in from UTG and it folds to the D where Michael Cheng of the Philippines goes all-in for 80,000. It gets back to Mishra who makes the call. Cheng is now at risk.

Cheng shows A♣ J♣ while the Indian has 8♥ 8♠ .

The flop gives the Filipino more outs: 6♦ Q♥ T♠ as a gutshot looms to go with his two over cards. However, the 5♠ appears on the turn and does not help. But the river brings in the A♦ as Cheng climbs back into contention and depletes Mishra’s stack in the process.

Japan’s Masafumi Kimura opens from the HJ for 16,000 as Juan Sobrevega of the Philippines opts to defend his BB.

The flop comes 8♠ Q♦ 3♦ as Sobrevega checks. Kimura fires again for 16,000 as the Filipino hoes into the tank. Sobrevega then check-raises it to 42,000 and the Japanese player snap folds.

Both still have healthy stacks.

Michael Cheng of the Philippines opens from the +1 position for 10,000 and the action gets folded all the way to the BB where Malaysia’s Kai Ping Choo declares he is all-in for his remaining 46,500. Cheng calls.

Kai shows A♠ T♦ while Cheng is live with Q♠ J♦ .

The runout goes 5♦ 4♦ 3♥ A♦ (a sweat card for Kai in both the flush for his opponent and a chop). But the river card is the 5♣ to have the Malaysian double up and regain a six-figure chip stack.

The action begins from the +1 position with a raise to 10,000 followed a 3-bet all-in from the CO by the Philippines’ Bernard Chua for his last 21,000. Another Filipino in Janno Riga tanks from the D before 4-bet shoving. The initial raiser folds.

Chua shows 8♥ 8♠ while Riga tables A♠ A♦ .

The runout carries no surprises: 5♣ 4♠ 3♦ J♣ 3♥ as Chua is busted out.

Rodolf Ramo open shoves his last 55,500 from the CO and gets called by fellow Filipino Raymundo Gomez from the BB.

Ramo then brandishes A♦ A♥ while Gomez shows T♥ T♦ .

The runout goes: K♦ 2♠ 6♥ 8♥ K♥ as Ramo doubles through but Gomez loses more than half his stack in the defeat.

Three Filipinos are all-in preflop with Elmer “Buddy” Kalaquian covering Joseroy “Whoodie” Jeremias in there for his last 44,000 while Fritz Magsumbol has put his remaining stack of 23,000 into the pot as well.

Jeremias flips over Q♠ Q♣ while Kalaquian is not only crushed with 9♦ 9♥ but is also deflated to see that Magsumbol has A♠ 9♣ , leaving only one nine in the deck.

The runout goes: 6♣ 3♣ 2♠ K♥ T♥ as Jeremias triples up and Magsumbol is eliminated. Kalaquian’s stack is back to five-figures.

Kim Jongsu of Korea is among the tournament’s big stacks and opens from the +1 position for 9,000 as it folds to the player in the CO who makes the call. Also calling is Israel’s Avi Kaplan from the D until another Korean in Kyu Suk Shin re-raises all-in from the BB for his last 42,000. Kim, the original raiser, 4-bet shoves as the player in the CO folds, but Kaplan puts what’s left of his dwindling stack of 32,000 in the middle of the table as well.

Kyu turns over 8♦ 8♠, Kim shows J♥ J♦ while Kaplan has one over card to all of that with K♦ 9♦ .

The window card immediately shows the J♠ along with the 7♣ and the 2♥ . Kaplan is drawing dead on the turn as the 5♦ arrives and when the 4♣ shows up on the river, two players are busted and a new chip leader emerges as Kim is the first to breach the triple century mark with the double knockout he obtained.

Maxwell Rosete of the Philippines starts it off with a raise from UTG for 6,000 to which fellow Filipino John Philip Baider tosses in his last few chips of 7,000. Japan’s Kenki Okamura joins in from the SB. Rosete calls.

The flop is 9♥ 8♦ 8♠ as Okamura and Rosete check. The turn is the K♣ and no one makes a move. The river card is the 5♦ and now Okamura bets 10,000 which gets Rosete to fold.

Baider shows K♥ Q♦ while Okamura tables K♦ T♦ as the Filipino’s kicker plays and gets a triple up, but still has a ton of work to do.

Two Filipinos lock horns as Domingo Opelenio opens from UTG for 5,000 and is 3-bet on the D by Juan Sobrevega to 17,000. Opelenio 4-bet shoves and gets called.

Opelenio unveils J♣ J♦ while Sobrevega’s tournament life is in the balance with A♣ K♣ .

The flop gives Sobrevega an answered prayer: T♥ 5♠ A♦ . Opelenio needs to hit a set to turn the tide. However, the turn is the Q♠ and now Opelenio does not want to see a set but one of the three remaining Kings in the deck. The set does come from Opelenio on the river as the J♥ hits, but that also gives Sobrevega a Broadway straight for the win and the double up.

Opelenio is back to where he started the day, but now has less than ten BBs.

Malaysia’s Lim Kok Leong goes for it all as he open shoves his last 25,500 in the +1 position and is called by local bet Chierro de Leon from the CO for less, putting his remaining 18,000 in the middle of the table. In the BB, Filipino Renato Villanueva sees the pot and determines that there is no further preflop action so he joins in. Villanueva covers both.

Lim turns over A♦ T♦ while de Leon shows A♠ J♠ . Way behind is Villanueva’s Q♣ J♥ .

The flop, though, flipped the script: Q♠ T♣ 3♥ as suddenly Villanueva takes the lead with top pair, Lim needs to hit a four-outer and de Leon is praying to nail a gutshot. The turn is the 3♠ and the river card is the 5♣ as Villanueva successfully KOs two players and pads his chip count to come into the big stack conversation.

Hernan Villa of the Philippines swings for the fences as it is folded to him on the CO for his remaining 20,000 as Korea’s Jeong Seonghun also shoves his last 33,000 when it gets to him on the SB. However, waiting in the BB is another Filipino in Jason Nocon who decides to call. Nocon covers both.

Villa tables 7♣ 7♦ while Jeong shows A♦ J♠ . Nocon turns over A♣ K♦ .

Nocon immediately becomes the favorite on the flop: K♠ 9♥ K♥ . Villa needs to hit a two-outer while Jeong needs running cards to stay alive. Both go drawing dead on the turn as the A♠ appears to complete a full house for Nocon. The 2♣ on the river solidifies matters as Villa and Jeong are officially out of the tournament and Nocon now has six-figures in chips.

Ryoma Fukui of Japan opens from the +2 position for 4,000 and it gets folded to Filipina Maria Gonzales who 3-bet shoves her remaining 11,500 from the HJ. It gets back to Fukui who makes the call.

Gonzales unveils A♦ K♦ which dominates her Japanese opponent’s A♣ T♠ .

The runout goes: 9♠ 6♥ 8♥ Q♠ 3♣ as Gonzales stays in contention and all but cripples Fukui.

In a hand already in progress, the board reads J♦ T♣ 6♠ with 18,000 in the pot.

In the SB is Sweden’s Henrik Lindahl who bets 8,000 to which James dela Cruz of the Philippines—in the BB—makes the call. The turn is the T♦ Lindahl unloads again, this time for 12,000 as de la Cruz still calls. The river card is the 4♦ to which the Swede takes his time before blasting 20,500. The Filipino calls.

Lindahl shows A♥ J♠ for top pair-top kicker on the flop. De la Cruz mucks, but not before losing a huge chunk of his chips in the loss.

In another battle of the Philippines, Michael Cheng opens from the LJ for 3,000 and gets a re-raise from Alex Yao in the BB to 8,000. Cheng calls.

The flop comes J♠ 9♣ 4♥ as Yao continues firing, this time for 4,000. Cheng stays sticky. The turn is the 5♣ as now Yao moves all-in for 25,000. Cheng goes into the tank and can’t pull the trigger.

At the end of the registration period, a total of 227 entries were logged leading to the official prize pool of PhP1,707,200 (~US$30,600) which is more than double the original GTD prize pool of PhP780,000 (~US$13,980).

We now await the announcement of how many from this qualifying session will join the 27 who advanced from Flight A.

Michael Manlapaz of the Philippines open shoves from UTG and it folds to the LJ where fellow Filipino David Ang calls for his last 38,000.

Manlapaz tables T♣ 8♠ while Ang is coin-flipping with 4♥ 4♠ .

The runout goes: Q♦ Q♣ 5♦ K♣ and then T♦ as Manlapaz rivers a higher pair and sends Ang to the sidelines with still enough time to re-enter.

The Philippines’ Anacleto Quijano opens from UTG for 2,500 and gets re-raised all-in James Allan of the United States in the LJ for his last 18,000. Japan’s Shun Oikawa 4-bets all-in from the BB to isolate, but Quijano also jumps in with his tournament life on the line.

Allan shows K♣ J♣ while Oikawa has T♣ T♦ . Quijano is behind with 7♣ 7♠ .

The flop all but put matters to rest: K♠ 4♠ T♥ as the Japanese player’s flopped set requires his opponents to capture running cards for a miracle comeback. The turn is the 5♠ which now renders Allan out of it, but gives Quijano additional outs spade outs. The river is the 7♦ as Quijano goes down to lose set over set and joins Allan in trying to get one more entry in before registration closes.

Japan’s Nobusayu Sato opens from the HJ to 2,500 and it gets folded to the SB where Andrew Xu of Australia who 3-bet shoves his last 30,300. Sato calls.

Xu tables 8♦ 8♣ while Sato has him crushed with T♦ T♠ .

Sato even has his Australian opponent more crushed when the flop shows T♥ 7♥ 5♣ for top set and the turn card being the 2♥ has Xu drawing dead. The river card is the J♣ to officially eject Xu but he still has time to re-enter as Level 9 is in its twilight.

The action is folded to the HJ where Lemmor Patulot of the Philippines raises it to 2,400 and it gets to the BB of fellow Filipino David Ang who opts to defend.

The flop is A♦ K♠ J♣ as Ang checks. Patulot continues for 2,500 but Ang check-raises his adversary to 6,500. Patulot comes back with a 3-bet to 15,000 to which Ang chooses to call. The turn is the Q♦ and after all the fireworks after the flop, both opt to check. The river is the 6♦ as Ang checks again. This time, Patulot goes all-in for his remaining 17,100. Ang makes the call.

Patulot flips over 4♦ 2♦ for a completed backdoor flush while Ang is in disbelief as he shows A♣ J♦ for Aces up on the flop.

The loss reduces Ang’s stack significantly.

In a battle of two Filipinos, Alexis Lim and Marciel Cerbito put it all in the middle preflop.

Lim flips over 7♣ 7♦ while Cerbito shows A♣ K♠ in a coin-flip for the latter’s tournament life.

The runout goes: T♠ T♣ 9♠ 8♦ 5♦ as Cerbito is bounced.

The action starts with a raise from UTG to 1,600 followed by a 3-bet from Filipino Elmer Kalaquian in the +1 position to 4,600. Katsuhito Kawai of Japan calls from the HJ and another Filipino in Wendell Jhanin Barte make the call. The original raiser joins in as well.

The flop comes 2♠ 5♠ 6♣ as it is checked to Kalaquian who moves all-in and is promptly called by both Kawai and Barte. The initial raiser folds.

Kalaquian shows A♠ 3♠ for the nut flush/straight flush draw, Kawai tables T♣ T♦ for the lead with an over-pair to the board while Barte also has a flush draw but it is with the Q♠ J♠ . Kalaquian covers both.

The turn card gives Barte the edge as the Q♦ appears, giving the Filipino top pair. However, the river is the T♠ to complete Kalaquian’s nut flush as he bounces two from the competition and closes in on the century chip mark.

Korea’s Kim Sangbum opens from the +2 position for 2,000 and gets greeted by a 3-bet shove from Michael Bueza of the Philippines from the SB for his last 10,700. Kim calls.

Bueza turns over 7♦ 7♥ while the Korean shows a superior pocket pair in 9♠ 9♦ .

The flop has Bueza drawing dead as it comes 7♣ 9♣ 9♥ as Kim flops quads versus the Filipino’s full house. The next two community cards are the J♦ and the 3♦ to make Bueza’s brutal ouster official.

From the +1 position, Filipino John Philip Baider makes a bold move by open shoving his stack of 24,700 but gets called by compatriot Renato Villanueva in the HJ.

Baider shows A♣ J♦ and is crushed to discover that Villanueva has him dominated with A♦ Q♣ .

The poker gods have other plans, though, as the first three community cards are J♣ 9♣ 6♦ as Baider pairs his Jack. The turn is the 4♠ and the river is the K♠ as the loss via outdraw sends Villanueva’s stack spiraling downwards.

Noel Llamedo of the Philippines opens from UTG for 2,000 and gets three callers.

The flop goes Q♦ 2♠ A♦ as it is checked back to Llamedo who continues firing for 3,000. Fellow Filipino James de la Cruz—who called preflop from the HJ—makes the call. The two others step aside. It is now Heads Up to the turn where the 2♥ shows up. Both check, The river is the 9♣ and no further action ensues.

Llamedo turns over Q♠ T♠ while de la Cruz shows Q♣ J♦ which normally should win but their kickers don’t play on this board.

Filipino Raymundo Gomez has it folded to him on the D and raises it 1,600 as the blinds decide to call.

The flop is 4♦ J♦ 8♣ as Australia's Qi Xia in the SB and Patrick Noonan of Ireland in the BB opt to check. Gomez CBets for 2,200 as Qi calls. The Irishman then check-raises it to 7,200. Both his opponents lay it down.

Noonan shows the J♠ .

From the +1 position, Jose Cheung of the Philippines raises it to 1,200 but fellow Filipino George Salud 3-bets from the HJ to 4,300. A Filipina in Maria Gonzales makes the call from the BB and so does Cheung.

The flop is 4♥ 3♣ 2♥ as Gonzales and Cheung check. Salud empties the clip by going all-in for his remaining 15,100. Both of his opponents fold.

The Philippines’ David Lenard Ang opens from the +2 position for 1,500 and gets two callers in fellow Filipino Jonathan Duque on the D and Kim Sangbum of Korea in the BB.

The flop comes 3♠ Q♠ 7♦ as Kim checks. Ang CBets for 2,500 ang can’t shake off both as they call. The turn card is the J♣ as Kim checks a second time. This time, Ang slows down and also checks. Duque then assumes the betting lead and fires 4,500. Kim folds but Ang calls. It is now Heads Up between the two Filipinos to the river where the 5♥ appears. Ang checks and Duque unloads 6,500. Ang gives it some thought before electing to make the call.

Duque unfurls 7♣ 5♣ for two pairs on the river. Ang mucks.

The action is folded to the HJ where Han Seongbae of Korea attempts to make the most of his second bullet by putting all his chips in the middle. However, Japan’s Kaisei Kawabata covers him and calls his shove from the CO.

Han is delighted to see that his A♦ K♥ dominates Kawabata’s A♠ Q♠ .

The runout goes: 4♣ 9♥ 7♦ 8♣ 7♠ as Han instantly doubles up his reload but for Kawabata, his stack becomes almost unplayable.

In another ongoing pot with 13,500 in the middle, the board reads Q♥ Q♠ T♠ 6♠ 8♥ .

Malaysia’s Lim Kok Leong checks from his BB and Raymundo Gomez of the Philippines bets 6,000 from the HJ. Lim proceeds to check-raise all-in for his last 11,100. Gomez snap calls.

Lim flips over K♠ 3♠ for a flush on the turn while the Filipino shows Q♦ 8♣ for a full house on the river, sending the Malaysian back to the registration area for a re-entry ticket.

The river card has already been dealt and board goes 4♠ Q♦ 7♥ T♥ 5♦ as Eman Segismundo of the Philippines bets out 7,000 from his SB spot. His opponent is Korea’s Kim Jongsu who makles the call from the +1 position.

Segismundo turns over 7♦ 7♠ for mid-set on the flop as Kim mucks.

The bet size was indicative of the trap.

Filipina Jes Fernandez opens the action from the +1 position for 800 and gets called by Lee Seoha of Korea in the +2. At the CO, Filipino James de la Cruz 3-bets it to 3,100. Both his opponents make the call.

The flop comes 7♥ 4♦ 6♠ as all three players check. The turn is the T♠ and this time, Fernandez leads out for 5,500. Lee raises all-in for his remaining 6,100 as de la Cruz exits.

Fernandez turns over Q♠ Q♥ for an over pair to the board while Lee shows 8♥ 2♥ for a flopped gutshot that improved to a double-gutter on the turn.

The river blanks out for the Korean as the T♦ appears to send him to the sidelines for the moment.

More K-Drama to report as a brewing pot is already at the turn with a board of A♥ 4♦ T♥ 4♣ and 18,500 in the middle.

Korea’s Lee Seoha is in the SB and checks while his opponent and compatriot Oh Minho in the +1 position does the same. The river card is the 6♦ as Lee bets 7,500. Oh goes into the tank and decides to call.

Lee instantly mucks his hand and Oh wins the pot. No information was shared in the missed bluff.