The Manila Megastack 17 festivities at PokerStars’ hub in Okada Manila, Philippines has reached its halfway mark with 17 spade trophies already lifted from the recently concluded events. The series’ fifth day saw Australia’s Emmanuel Derecho top the multi day Mystery Bounty event with local pro Christopher Mateo bagging the biggest bounty up for grabs. International runners Wai Chiu Cheng, Kunlong Yu, and Hai Shien Tan likewise earned top payouts after claiming side events.
Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Schedule
Headlining today’s schedule is Flight B of the Main Event with tournaments 15K Deepstack, High Roller Knockout, Knockout Turbo, and Megastack Turbo Flight C running alongside.
Event #13: Mystery Bounty: Emmanuel Derecho – PHP 497,972 (~USD 8,990)
Always a hit amongst tournament runners, the Mystery Bounty format once again filled the air with excitement as the 29 players returning to the felt clamored to get a piece of the PHP 1,206,000 (~USD 21,800) bounty pot. Philippines’ Bernard Chua came in as the Final Day chip leader and ran deep in the tournament, placing 5th for PHP 273,000 (~USD 4,930). Chua lost a chunk of his stack late in the game after losing a crucial flip with 
against John Matsuda’s 
. Matsuda then carried this momentum and eliminated John Carlo Sayo in fourth place a level later.
By three-handed, Christopher Mateo went head to head vs. Emmanuel Derecho once again for the chip lead. This wasn’t the two’s first encounter with Mateo having lost half his stack to Derecho with 
against the latter’s 
just a level before. On flop 
, Mateo was seen getting all his chips in with a flush draw 
and faced his opponent’s top pair 
. Mateo bricked the runout and was left to settle for a third place finish shortly after. Although Mateo fell a few places short of the title, the Filipino pro cashed in on the biggest bounty available, adding PHP 310,000 (~USD 5,600) in bounty prizes to boost his total winnings to PHP 530,000 (~USD 9,570).
Heads up play started with Derecho bringing a 3:1 chip advantage against Matsuda. This didn’t worry the Japanese runner as he managed to reclaim the lead at one point yet lose it just before the final hand was felted. Holding on to his last 14 big blinds, Matsuda got it in with and faced Derecho’s 
. Slightly ahead, Matsuda landed top pair on 
but instantly came crashing down after the board ran a runner runner straight for Derecho. Matsuda is eliminated in second place, earning Derecho the Mystery Bounty title along with the PHP 497,972 (~USD 8,990) top prize.
Date: December 6-7, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 20,000 (~USD 360)
Guarantee: PHP 2,000,000 (~USD 36,160)
Prize pool: PHP 2,225,472 (~USD 40,240)
Total Bounties: PHP 1,206,000 (~USD 21,800)
Entries: 201 (139 unique)
ITM: 31 players
Flight A: 80 entries, 12 qualified
Flight B: 121 entries, 19 qualified
Event #13: Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) | Bounties (PHP) | Total Payout (PHP) |
| 1 | Emmanuel Derecho | Australia | ₱497,972 | ₱66,000 | ₱563,972 |
| 2 | John Matsuda | Japan | ₱312,000 | ₱37,000 | ₱349,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Mateo | Philippines | ₱220,000 | ₱310,000 | ₱530,000 |
| 4 | John Carlo Sayo | Philippines | ₱178,500 | ₱137,000 | ₱315,500 |
| 5 | Bernard Chua | Philippines | ₱141,000 | ₱132,000 | ₱273,000 |
| 6 | Marciel Cerbito | Philippines | ₱107,000 | ₱102,000 | ₱209,000 |
| 7 | David Chargualaf | United States | ₱78,000 | – | ₱78,000 |
| 8 | Marius Zalpys | Lithuania | ₱57,000 | ₱188,000 | ₱245,000 |
| 9 | Minwoo Choi | Korea, South | ₱47,500 | ₱12,000 | ₱59,500 |
Event #18: 15K Deepstack: Wai Chiu Cheng – PHP 238,148 (~USD 4,300)
The first tournament on the day’s schedule saw 62 entries pull in for the lion’s share of the 15K Deepstack PHP 793,848 (~USD 14,330) prize pool. Only eight runners were guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 31,800 (~USD 570). ITM was reached after eight hours of play with Japan’s Ryoto Hirose in the lead once the money trickled in. Hirose however, lost this advantage after taking a hit from Hong Kong’s Wai Chiu Cheng. Cheng went on to run this momentum and take down the tournament for PHP 238,148 (~USD 4,300) less than an hour into the final table.
Date: December 7, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)
Prize pool: PHP 793,848 (~USD 14,330)
Entries: 62
ITM: 8 players
Event #18: 15K Deepstack Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Wai Chiu Cheng | Hong Kong | ₱ 238,148 |
| 2 | Sannomiya Tsubaki | Japan | ₱ 172,300 |
| 3 | Paul Yugendra | Malaysia | ₱ 111,100 |
| 4 | Lenart Ecarma | Philippines | ₱ 84,100 |
| 5 | Ryoto Hirose | Japan | ₱ 65,100 |
| 6 | Yusuke Hidaka | Japan | ₱ 50,800 |
| 7 | Mike Wong | Germany | ₱ 40,500 |
| 8 | Peter Magnus Karlsson | Sweden | ₱ 31,800 |
Event #20: Single Day High Roller: Kunlong Yu – PHP 674,320 (~USD 12,170)
Running only two tables for the Single Day High Roller, the small player field guaranteed only four players a share of the PHP 1,606,320 (~USD 29,000) pot. Event #14: Mini High Roller champion Takashi Kawauchi delivered the money bubble, eliminating Yamada Daisuke with 
. Daisuke pushed a four bet jam with 
and came crashing in 5th place, one spot short of the payout. Kawauchi cruised through and went on to battle China’s Kunlong Yu heads up for a second attempt at another High Roller title. Kawauchi however, lost this one as the final hand saw him all-in with 
against Yu’s 
. A possible chop pot, this wasn’t the case after the board ran 
and secured the tournament win for Yu.
Date: December 7, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 100,000 (~USD 1,800)
Prize pool: PHP 1,606,320 (~USD 29,000)
Entries: 18
ITM: 4 players
Event #20: Single Day High Roller Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Kunlong Yu | China | ₱674,320 |
| 2 | Takashi Kawauchi | Japan | ₱450,000 |
| 3 | Ryan Jerico Platon | Philippines | ₱289,000 |
| 4 | Jaime Ramon Reyes | United States | ₱193,000 |
Event #21: Mix NLH/PLO: Hai Shien Tan – PHP 239,556 (~USD 4,320)
Pot Limit Omaha enthusiasts were thrilled to see another PLO event show up on schedule with 64 total entries collected for Event #21: Mix NLH/PLO. The final table was reached three hours after registration closed with Satoshi Okada railing as the bubble by the hands of Hai Shien Tan. A limp pot with Tan on the small blind saw Okada shove all-in with , called by his opponent with . Dominated, an ace-high flop rolled on board which further improved to a full house for Tan by the river to seal the win.
Tan went on to reach heads up against Singapore’s Wei Lee who carried a 3:1 advantage to start the duel. Tan managed to overtake his opponent and land the title with the last hand playing PLO. On board 
, Lee called off for his tournament life with 
for two pair and was crushed to see Tan’s 
for a straight.
Date: December 7, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)
Prize pool: PHP 819,456 (~USD 14,800)
Entries: 64
ITM: 9 players
Event #21: Mix NLH/PLO Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Hai Shien Tan | Singapore | ₱239,556 |
| 2 | Wei Lee | Singapore | ₱172,100 |
| 3 | Yamanouchi Hisashi | Japan | ₱111,900 |
| 4 | Kern Arne | Germany | ₱84,400 |
| 5 | Kaoru Kishimoto | Japan | ₱65,600 |
| 6 | Tetsura Ogura | Japan | ₱50,800 |
| 7 | Younghwan Sung | Korea, South | ₱40,200 |
| 8 | Raymundo Gomez | Philippines | ₱31,100 |
| 9 | Niwa Hiroyuki | Japan | ₱23,800 |
