Main Event (18,500 PHP)

Leading up to the most anticipated event in the Philippines, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) is offering players a rare shortcut. Running from July 20-22, 2025 at Okada Manila is the APPT Manila Super Qualifier which serves as a direct passage to the APPT Manila Main Event (₱58 Million Guaranteed) at just a fraction of the ₱80,000 buy-in. Players can now secure a seat for just ₱9,000!

Unlike traditional satellites, this is a milestone event where players earn an APPT Manila Main Event seat the moment they accumulate 100,000 chips. No waiting for bubbles and final table negotiations, just hit the target and the seat is in the bag. Additionally, there are many chances to get there with 30 seats guaranteed.

For those looking to stretch value even further, the Step 1 Qualifier offers an even cheaper path. With a buy-in of just ₱2,000, players can vie for one of ten guaranteed seats into the Super Qualifier. The format mirrors the milestone structure with 50,000 as the goal to win a seat.

The smoke is barely clearing from the battles on the felt for Main Event Day 1A in the Manila Super Series 22 at Pokerstars Live here in Okada Manila but in the end, 34 players from 224 total entries move on to Day 2 with the chip lead changing favors multiple times before the money bubble was eventually burst.

It looked to be a cruise for the Netherland’s Germ de Haas as he was the first to breach the 200,000 chip mark in the early levels but it slowly became apparent that Park Sangsub was out to control the proceedings as he gained the chip lead in the midway mark. Then came Ryuki Shirase of Japan following the outmuscling he did of China’s Li Zhouji. Edgar Asehan of the Philippines also momentarily sat atop the leaderboard but then de Haas began regaining traction and officially stamped his name on the chip leader position after busting Japan’s Takahashi Miyamoto with quads.

But the tournament was still waiting for the money bubble to be burst and Filipino Buds Ampatuan did just that when he flopped a set against Motoya Sato of Japan and it ensured that the 34 left would all be ITM.

De Haas amassed 715,000 in chips and is followed distantly by Shirase with 589,000. Third place is shared by Taiwan’s Yang Chih Chun and Edliberto Gopez of the Philippines with identical stacks of 369,000.

Day 1B commences tomorrow (June 13) still at 12:00NN (UCT+8).

Buds Ampatuan of the Philippines opens from the +1 position for 12,000 as it folds to the CO where Japan’s Motoya Sato declares he is all-in for his last 46,000. It folds back to the Fiipino who makes the call.

Sato shows 7♠ 7♣ while Ampatuan tables A♥ T♠ .

The flop comes T♣ J♣ 8♠ as even if Ampatuan outflops Sato, the Japanese player still has outs. The turn is the T♦ and no miracle happens on the river as the 5♥ seals the deal and the 34 players remaining all advance to day 2.

From the +1 position, India’s Parikshit Jain goes for it all as he pushes all-in for his last 75,000. It doesn’t get very far as he is called from the HJ by big stack Ryuki Shirase of Japan. No one else joins the pot.

Jain shows A♠ 7♠ while Shirase holds pocket fives.

The flop comes 8♥ J♥ 5♠ as Shirase’s bottom set now has the Indian needing a biblical miracle. That is shut down on the turn as the 2♠ seals Jain’s fate. The meaningless river card is the 9♥ as Jain is out and with only 35 players remaining, Day 1A is now at the stone bubble.

Edilberto Gopez of the Philippines opens from UTG for 15,000 and right beside him in the +1 position, Canada’s Robert Williams makes the call. Everyone else folds.

The flop comes 8♥ 2♦ 9♠ as Gopez checks. Williams bets 15,000 and gets check-raised to 40,000. The Canadian re-raises all-in for his remaining stack of 76,000 and Gopez makes the snap call.

Williams unveils T♠ T♣ for an over-pair to the board while the Filipino tables K♠ K♥ for a bigger over-pair.

The last two community cards are the Q♥ and the 8♦ as Williams is busted and the money bubble looms.

The action is opened from the UTG for 13,000 and it folds to the blinds where the Philippines’ Ferdianand Lu makes the call from the SB but fellow Filipino Alvir Inocentes 3-bet shoves. The original raiser folds but Lu calls for his own tournament life.

Inocentes shows pocket nines while Lu tables pocket tens – T♥ T♠ .

The runout goes 6♣ 4♥ 3♥ K♥ 2♠ as Lu cripples his compatriot in the twilight of Day 1A.

China’s Qi Xia is all-n preflop from the +1 position and he draws a customer in chip leader Ryuki Shirase of Japan in the BB.

Qi tables A♣ 8♠ while Shirase shows 5♥ 4♥ for very live cards.

Shirase hits one of them on the flop: Q♦ 9♥ 5♠ but the Chinese player rebounds on the turn when the 8♥ appears, but that gives Shirase a backdoor flush draw. The River, however settles matters as the A♦ gives Qi aces up and a double up as the money bubble nears.

The downward spiral of Korea’s Park Sangsub gains more momentum as he raises from UTG to 13,000 and gets re-raised all-in by Parikshit Jain of India in the +1 position for 89,000. Park calls.

Jain shows 7♠ 7♦ while the Korean tables Q♣ J♣ .

The flop gives Park the lead: 4♠ 9♠ Q♠ but the monochrome board also gives the Indian a multitude of additional outs. One of them comes on the turn as the 7♥ gives Jain an insurmountable edge with a set as the T♣ on the river makes the double up for Jain official.

Park is also officially a short stack.

Big stack Germ de Haas of the Netherlands opens from UTG for 15,000 and it folds around to the HJ where Japan’s Takahashi Miyamoto calls.

The flop goes J♦ 9♥ 7♥ asboth players opt to check. The turn is the A♣ as de Haas bets 90,000, putting his opponent in an all-in to call situation which he does.

De Haas turns over 9♦ 9♠ for set on the flop while Miyamoto shows A♦ T♣ for top pair on the turn. With the player from Japan already drawing dead, the poker gods poke a little fun by bringing in the 9♣ on the river to give the Dutchman quads and complete the ouster Miyamoto.

De Haas is the new chip leader and 37 players remain.

On the river of a board that reads: T♠ A♣ 9♥ 5♠ 4♠ , big stack Edgar Asehan of the Philippines goes all-in and gets called by Taiwan’s Yang Chih Chun.

Asehan shows Jack-Ten offsuit while Yang takes the pot and much of the Filipino’s luster with Ace-Jack offsuit.

The loss drops the former momentary chip leder down to a near short stack while Yang closes in on the leaders.

Korea’s Park Sangsub limps in from the +1 position and right beside him in the +2 position, big stack Ryuki Shirase raises it to 20,000. It folds back to the Korean who makes the call.

The flop is 8♦ J♠ K♣ as both players opt to skip this betting street. The turn is the J♥ as this time, Park leads out for 5,000 and gets raised to 20,000 anew by his Japanese opponent. Park still calls. The river is the Q♥ as Park goes back to checking. Shirase goes all-in and Park can’t m ake the call.

The chip lead once again goes back to Shirase.

The +2 position opens for 10,000 and I called by Russia’s Nikolai Babushkin in the HJ. On the D, Lukasz Jankowski of Poland 3-bets it to 35,000. The original raiser folds but Babushkin calls.

The flop is 8♥ 3♣ 3♠ as Babushkin checks and Jankowski continues for 24,000. The Russian doesn’t make the call and the pot goes to the Polish player.

The Philippines’ Eugenio Bestil, Jr. opens from the +2 position for 11,000 and the blinds call.

The flop goes 5♠ 4♦ 6♣ as former chip leader Park Sangsub is in the SB and leads out for 7,000. Big stack Ryuki Shirase of Japam makes the call from the BB and Bestil also calls. The turn card is the T♥ as Park continues firing, this time for 18,000. Now, Shirase folds but the call is still made by the Filipino. It is Heads-Up to the river which shows the 5♣ . Park once again bets out for 12,000 and still gets the call from Bestil.

Park turns over K♠ T♠ for top pair on the turn. Bestil mucks and is back to five digits in chips.

With a pot already at 98,000, the turn has been dealt in an ongoing hand: A♠ A♦ 7♥ 2♥ as Joey Pardales of the Philippines checks from the BB. American Leon Steward bets 60,000 from the D and is called. The river is the K♣ and this time, both players check.

Pardales turns over Q♦ Q♥ while Steward takes it down with A♥ 9♣ as trips were flopped.

The Filipino is now down to just under 80,000 in chips heading towards the homestretch of Day 1A. Steward enter the big stack conversation.

The action folds to the HJ where Japan’s Kohei Takami opens for 10,000. It folds to the BB where Nichols Manalo of the Philippines 3-bets it to 110,000 to which Takami 4-bet shoves for his last 95,000. Manalo calls.

Takami shows A♣ Q♣ while the Filipino has him dominated with A♦ K♦ .

The runout goes T♦ T♠ J♠ A♠ 2♦ as Manalo’s kicker player an in effect kicks the Japanese player out of the competition for today.

Taiwan’s Chou Kuan Jui raises from the +1 position for 8,000 and gets calls from chip leader Ryuki Shirase of Japan on the D and Filipino Edgar Asehan in the BB.

The flop comes 4♣ J♥ 9♠ as Asehan checks. Chou continues for 12,000 as Shirase calls. Asehan then check-raises it to 40,000 as Choi re-raises all-in for his last 83,000. Shirase folds but Asehan makes the quick call.

Chou tables J♦ T♦ for top pair on the flop while Asehan unfurls J♠ 8♣ for top two pairs on the flop. The turn card is the 8♦ giving the Taiwanese players more outs on the redraw to the open-ended straight. However, the river card is the 3♠ ending his campaign in Day 1A and installing Asehan as the new chip leader.

The action folds to the HJ where China’s Li Zhouji shoves his last 37,000. It gets all the way to the SB where chip leader Ryuji Shirase of Japan makes the call.

The Chinese player flips over T♣ T♥ while Shirase shows A♠ K♠ .

Li puts the mater beyond doubt: 5♥ T♠ 6♣ 3♣ 9♦ and doubles up. This time, the dent wasn;t as big for the Japanese player, but it is a dent nonetheless.

Yang Chih Hun of Taiwan opens from the +1 position for 9,000 and gets called by the SB while Filipino Edliberto Gopez joins from the BB.

The flop is 9♣ 3♦ 4♦ as the blinds check. Tang continues for 11,000 as the SB but Gopez check-raises to 33,000. Yang 3-bets to 100,000, effectively asking for all of the Filipino’s chips. Gopez tanks and subsequently folds, leaving him with less than one hundred thousand in chips.

The action is opened from the +1 position for 8,000 and gets re-raised to 16,000 on the D of Taiwan’s Chen Ho Hsiung. But right after that, Chong Zi Heng of Singapore 4-bet shoves for his last 32,000 as the initial raiser fold but Chen makes the call.

Chong shows 6♠ 6♣ and is in a coin-flip for his tournament life against Chen’s T♣ 9♣ .

The flop immediately favors the Taiwanese player: T♦ A♦ A♥ and the last two community cards are the K♦ and the 2♠ to eject the Singaporean from Day 1A.

Timothy Ferrari of the United States opens from UTG for 8,000 and it folds to the D where chip leader Ryuki Shirase 3-bets it 20,000. In the BB, Edgar Asehan of the Philippines 4-bets all-in for 114,000. Ferrari calls all-in for his last 107,000 while Shirase sees that this is the biggest pot of the tournament thus far and joins in.

Asehan tables J♣ J♠ while Ferrari has A♠ K♠ . Shirase is in bad shape with 9♣ 9♥ .

The runout goes Q♣ Q♠ 7♠ 2♥ 3♥ to give the Filipino a virtual triple up as Ferrari is eliminated and Shirase’s chip lead is not as imposing as it was prior to the start of this hand.

Yan Hongan raises it from UTG to 6,000 and gets the SB in the Philippines’ Buds Ampatuan and the BB in Akhil Narain Bahadur of India to give him action.

The flop comes T♠ 2♠ 9♠ as Ampatuan checks. Bahadur then puts his last 33,500 into the middle of the table as Yan makes the call. Ampatuan then raises all-in for his remaining 116,000. Yan still makes the call.

The Indian shows Q♠ T♥ for top pair on the flop while Ampatuan turns over K♠ 3♠ for a flush on the flop. Yan has A♠ Q♣ for the nut flush draw.

The turn is the 2♥ while the river is the 4♣ to have the Filipino scoop the pot and install him as among the favorites to advance to Day 2 with his monster stack. Yan’s stack drops to beyond the danger zone.

Park Sangsub continues to bleed chips as this time it is Edliberto Gopez’s turn to raise from the CO to 7,000 and the Korean makes a BB defense.

The flop comes 7♥ 3♦ 8♣ as Park donks in for 17,500. Gopez’s response is to shobe his remaining stack of 58,000 into the pot. Park makes the call.

Gopez flips over Q♣ 8♠ for top pair on the flop while Park shows A♥ 7♠ for second pair on the flop.

The last two community cards are the K♣ and the 2♣ to give Gopez a double up and have Park slowly slip down from the big stack conversation.

The action is folded to the HJ where Park Sangsub of Korea opens for 6,000. When it gets to the D, Japan’s Daijiro Tomoto 3-bets it to 20,000 and when it gets back to Patk, he makes the call.

The flop is 6♦ K♥ 8♣ as Park checks. Tomoto fires 25,000 and gets no resistance from the former chip leader.

The action opens from the HJ for 6,000 and that raise is called by Korea’s Kang Seongyeop from the D. In the BB, Raymundo Gomez of the Philippines re-raises all-in for his remaining 75,500. The initial raiser folds and Kang also commits all of his last chips of 68,000 to the pot in the call.

Gomez turns over A♥ J♠ while Kang is live with K♠ T♦ .

The flop keeps the Filipino on front: 4♥ T♥ A♠ but turn brings in the K♣ to give the Korean two pairs and the lead. The river card, however, is the A♦ to give Gomez trips and boot out Kang for good in one of the wildest hands of the Main Event thus far.

Arjun Dhingra of India is all-in preflop and is covered by fellow Indian Parikshit Jain.

Dhingra shows 5♠ 5♣ while Dhingra has a good chance of doubling thru with T♠ T♣ .

The runout provided no surprises: A♠ 6♥ K♠ 4♦ J♣ as Dhingra’s second double up brings him closer to the century chip mark.

The action opens from the CO as it gets raised to 6,000. It folds to the D where China’s Li Zhuoji 3-bets it to 16,500 and when it gets to the BB big stack Ryuki Shirase, he goes into the tank and eventually 4-bets it to 35,000. The original raiser folds as now Li goes into the tank and makes the call.

The flop is J♥ 4♠ 6♥ as Shirase bets 100,000. Li once again tanks but this time elects to fold, leaving only 51,000 in his stack.

Shirase is now the Day 1A chip leader.

Sasaki Ho of Japan commits his remaining stack of 14,000 into the pot from the +1 position and gets two callers in Oleg Mordassov of Switzerland in the HJ and Korea’s Park Sangsub in the BB.

The flop comes K♠ 5♣ J♦ as Park checks. Mordassov bets 12,000 and gets called as the side pot builds. The turn card is the 5♥ and suddenly the Korean goes all-in. Mordassov makes the quick call for his last 82,000.

Ho shows A♥ 7♠ while the Swiss player turns over K♥ J♣ for top two pairs on the flop. Park flips over 5♦ 2♦ for trips on the turn and the lead. The river card is the 6♠ to send Ho and Mordassov to the sidelines for good in Day 1A.

With the win, Park is now the Day 1A chip leader.

The action folds to the blinds where Australia’s Nicholas Andrews shoves his last 37,000 from the SB and gets called in the BB by Choi Si Wai of Korea.

Andrews tables A♦ K♥ and dominates Choi’s A♣ J♠ .

The first four community cards go in favor of the Australian: T♣ 3♦ 3♣ 8♥ but the river card produces the J♣ and eliminates Andrews from further contention in Day 1A.

Choi’s win brings his stack closer to the century mark.

With the pot already at 54,000 and a board of 5♥ J♥ 7♣ 3♥ , Seiha Haruki of Japan bets 35,000 and is raised all-in by Roland Don Ferrer of the Philippines. Haruki makes the snap call for his last 80,000.

Ferrer turns over 7♠ 7♦ for middle set on the flop while Haruki shows A♥ J♣ for top pair on the flop and a redraw to the nut flush on the turn.

The river is the 6♥ to complete the one-card backdoor flush for the Japanese player and double up while leaving his foe with just under one hundred thousand in his once mighty stack.

Australia’s Andrew Xu shoves his remaining stack of 6,000 into the pot from UTG and gets calls from two Filipinos in Joey Pardales in the +2 position and Jester Intia in the HJ.

The flop comes T♥ A♣ A♠ as Pardales begins building a side pot by betting 4,000. Intia calls. The turn is the 4♦ as both check. The river is the J♥ as Pardales fires 15,000 and Intia raises it to 35,000. Pardales calls.

For the side pot, Intia flips over A♥ T♣ for a full house on the flop while Pardales shows T♦ T♠ for a lower full house. For the main pot, Xu tables K♣ Q♦ for a straight on the river.

Intia scoops the pot, rails Xu and has his stack eclipse the century mark.

The action folds to the D where a raise of 4,000 is made. In the SB, Alvir Inocentes of the Philippines 3-bets it to 13,500 as another Filipino in Francis Ancheta 4-bet shoves his last 31,000. The original raiser folds and Inocentes makes the call.

Ancheta tables K♣ Q♥ while Inocentes has 8♦ 8♣ .

The runout goes J♣ 6♠ 9♣ (giving Ancheta more outs) 5♠ 8♥ as all over cards and draws miss and Inocentes ends up busting out his compatriot with a set of snowmen.

The Philippines’ Alma Aguila opens from the +2 position for 5,000 and the action is folded to SB where Arjun Dhingra 3-bet shoves his remaining 26,000. It gets back to the Filipina who tanks and consequently makes the call.

Dhingra flips over A♥ K♣ while Aguila shows 6♥ 6♦ .

The flop immediately changes the favors for the Indian: A♦ J♣ 2♦ and the last two community cards are of no help to Aguila as the 8♣ and the 8♠ complete the runout and the double for Dhingra.

There are still over one hundred players left, but Day 1A collects 228 as today will play down to 34 players who will all be ITM.

Singapore’s Tan Wei Chuan opens from UTG for 2,400 and gets calls from Mirei Oyama of Japan in the +1 position and a defense from Korea’s Chang Jae Yi in the BB.

The flop comes 5♠ 8♠ 6♥ as Chang checks. Tan CBets 2,500 and gets called by Oyama. Chang then check-raises it to 8,500 and calls from his two opponents. The turn is the 8♣ as the Korean fires again, but this time for only 5,000. Tan then goes all-in for his last 26,200 and gets a snap call from Oyama. Chang opts to fold.

The Singaporean tables 6♠ 6♦ for a full house on the turn while Oyama shows T♥ 8♥ for trips on the turn.

The river is the A♥ as Tan successfully hid the strength of his hand en route to the triumph that now nets him over 100,000 in chips.

In another hand in progress, the pot is already at 45,500 with a flop of K♠ J♣ J♠ Korea’s Park Sangsub checks from the HJ and in the CO goes all-in for his remaining stack of 29,800. Park makes the call.

Matsuzaka shows A♥ A♦ while Park is down to a gutshot holding A♠ T♥ .

The turn is the 9♥ but the river brings the Q♣ as Park sucks out on the Japanese player, booting him out in the process. Park now joins the century chip club.

With a pot of 10,700 and a board reading 6♦ 6♣ 7♥ K♣ A♦ , Australia’s Nicholas Andrews bets 20,000 and is raised to 65,000 by Ryuki Shirase of Japan. Andrews snap calls.

Shirase shows K♠ K♥ for a full house on the turn while the Australian turns over 7♦ 7♠ for a lower full house on the flop.

The loss on the set up drops Andrews’ stack considerably as Shirase breaches the double century chip mark.

Shoving for his last 27,400 from the +2 position is Baek Youngseok of Korea and folds all the way to the BB where another Korean in An Sangjin makes the call.

Baek tables A♠ Q♦ while An shows a live hand in K♥ J♦ .

The flop is safe for Baek: 3♥ 4♥ 2♦ but the turn card brings in the J♣ to give An the lead he would not relinquish as the 6♥ hits the river.

Baek is railed and An’s stack continues to grow.

The action gets folded to the CO where Kim Kunwoo of Korea raises to 2,500. Nikolai Babushkin of Russia makes the call from the D. In the BB, Thomas Van Nedervelde of England 3-bets it to 8,500 as both Kim and Babushkin call.

The flop comes T♦ 3♦ 2♣ as Van Nedervelde continues for 7,000. Kim then shoves his last 15100 as Babushkin steps aside. Van Nedervelde makes the snap call.

Kim unveils Q♣ T♥ while Van Nedervelde shows A♠ A♣ .

The last two community cards are the 7♥ and the A♥ as Van Nedervelde’s set rails the Korean.

From the +1 position, Leon Steward of the United States raises it up to 5,000 and right beside him in the +2 Australia’s Hatim Hussein re-raises all-in for his last 22,500. Steward calls.

Hussein flips over 6♠ 6♦ and is suddenly the underdog against the American’s 8♠ 8♦ as even the suits are covered. Hussein is the one at risk.

The runout goes 9♥ T♥ 7♥ 7♦ Q♠ as Steward busts the Australian and also advances to the six-figure chip mark.

In a hand that already has a pot of 25,400 and a board that reads 9♠ T♦ 3♣ 9♥ Damien Collins of Ireland puts in a bet of 8,500 from the HJ which is called by China’s Zhou Zhenye in the CO.

The river card is the 5♦ as Collins checks. Zhou unloads 22,000 and it’s enough to get the Irishman to walk away.

Jeong Seonghun of Korea raises it 2,400 from the +1 position and gets a call from HJ, However, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki of Japan 3-bet shoves his remaining stack of 21,400 on the D and gets a 4-bet shove from another Korean in An Sangjin in the BB. Seong snap calls for his tournament life as the player in the HJ folds.

Matsuzaki turns over J♦ 8♦ while An shows 3♦ 3♠ . They’re both at a disadvantage against Jeong who tables Q♠ Q♣ .

That didn’t last long, though, as the flop goes 5♠ 3♥ 7♠ as An surges ahead with bottom set. The 9♦ on the turn gives the Japanese player a semblance of hope but the river card is the 2♠ to complete the bust outs of Matsuzaki and Seong as An now surpasses the century chip mark.

Korea’s Kang Wanhee opens from the +2 position for 3,000 and gets two callers until Yang Chih Chun of Taiwan goes over the top all-in. No one calls.