Third day of the Manila Megastack 17 at the PokerStars hub in Okada Manila, Philippines saw four events play down to a champion by the end of the night. First in the spotlight was the multi-day Deep Stack Challenge where USA’s Jaime Reyes emerged victorious and claimed the PHP 933,000 (~USD 16,870) top prize. Three more side events played alongside the festivities with Shin Hyeonho, Hirano Keita, and Lee Suya lifting trophies after topping the smaller field events.
Also on schedule were the last two flights of the PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150) guaranteed Kick-off where local runner Jeorge Lagatuz came out on top to lead the 73 qualifiers in today’s Final Day. Action resumes at 13:00 with SMP reporting live updates for all the low down.
Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Schedule
Event #6: Deep Stack Challenge: Jaime Ramon Reyes – PHP 933,000 (~USD 16,870)
The first big ticket event on schedule welcomed a total of 53 entries, just a couple buy-ins short of meeting the PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150) listed guarantee. Seven players returned to the felt for the Final Day led by Niroshan Loganathan with a huge advantage having delivered the bubble the night prior. Right on the first hand, China’s Wu Shenghao met his elimination after running 
right into Cardyn Nicolas’ 
. Local runner John Carlo Sayo then met his demise following an ace high blind vs blind battle for his tournament life.
With five left in the game, Loganathan found himself amongst the shortest with his stack continuously going downhill right from the start. The Canadian runner doubled at least four players and lost crucial pots before falling short in 5th place. South Korea’s Shin Hyeonho followed a hand later and put an end to his roller coaster of a day. Wang Weixuan, now in the lead, received an even bigger boost after busting Cardyn Nicolas in third in a flush over flush scenario. On heads up, Wang brought in almost a 3:1 chip advantage against Jaime Ramon Reyes yet lost it just ten minutes in. Reyes proceeded to grind down his opponent until the final hand came up, Reyes with a boat 
on 
to beat Wang’s 
for the win.
Date: December 4 – 5, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 55,000 (~USD 1,000)
Prize pool: PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150)
Entries: 53 (38 unique)
ITM: 7 places
Event #6: Deep Stack Challenge Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Reyes Jaime Ramon | USA | ₱933,000 |
| 2 | Wang Weixuan | China | ₱675,000 |
| 3 | Cardyn Nicolas | France | ₱430,000 |
| 4 | Shin Hyeonho | Korea, South | ₱326,000 |
| 5 | Loganathan Niroshan | Canada | ₱252,000 |
| 6 | Sayo John Carlo | Philippines | ₱193,000 |
| 7 | Wu Shenghao | China | ₱156,000 |
Jeorge Lagatuz tops Kick-off Final Day qualifiers
Listing one of the bigger guarantees on schedule, Manila Megastack 17’s Kick-off event attracted a total of 488 entries with only 74 runners advancing through to today’s Final Day. The tournament’s great turnout generated a PHP 6,248,352 (~USD 112,990) prize pool well-smashing the PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150) guarantee. All players returning to the felt are guaranteed PHP 23,500 (~USD 424) in prizes and a fighting chance to claim the PHP 1,180,000 (~USD 21,330) top prize.
Yesterday’s qualifying rounds saw Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz emerge as chip leader of Flight B and carry on to top the overall counts. Local runner John Clyde Tan sits in following, having bagged a hefty stack from Flight B as well. The qualifier capped after the exit of Ricardo Singapan and Heo Jeongwoo during bubble time with the two splitting the minimum payout. Singapan was railed after losing a classic NLH flip 
against Lee Seojin’s 
. Heo on the other hand, risked his short stack with 
and ran into Leonard Aban’s 
for his timely exit.
Flight C Turbo ran at a later time and drew in a final 116 entries to add to the tally. With 15% advancing through, another 18 runners will join today’s games with Taiwan’s Chang Chia Wei having bagged the biggest stack to wrap up the flight.
Date: December 4 – 6, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)
Guarantee: PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150)
Prize pool: PHP 6,248,352 (~USD 112,990)
Entries: 488
ITM: 74 players
Flight A: 140 entries, 21 qualified
Flight B: 232 entries, 35 qualified
Flight C:116 entries, 18 qualified
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Flag | Chip Count |
| 1 | Lagatuz Jeorge | Philippines | 429,000 |
| 2 | Tan John Clyde | Philippines | 422,000 |
| 3 | Wallac Chan Wai | Hong Kong | 384,000 |
| 4 | Lee Seojin | Korea, South | 383,000 |
| 5 | Rivera Euryd | Philippines | 378,000 |
| 6 | Cerbito Marvin | Philippines | 370,000 |
| 7 | Parsacalla Rodillo Jr | Philippines | 351,000 |
| 8 | Hara Yosuke | Japan | 342,000 |
| 9 | Chang Chia Wei | Taiwan | 341,000 |
| 10 | Jean Seungsoo | Korea, South | 339,000 |
Manila Megastack 17 Kick-off Final Day Chip Counts
Event #7: Kick-off Final Table Payouts
| Pos. | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | ₱1,180,000 |
| 2 | ₱750,000 |
| 3 | ₱530,000 |
| 4 | ₱420,000 |
| 5 | ₱330,000 |
| 6 | ₱260,000 |
| 7 | ₱195,000 |
| 8 | ₱135,000 |
| 9 | ₱108,852 |
Event #9: Freezeout Challenge: Shin Hyeonho – PHP 340,000 (~USD 6,140)
Another minor overlay was seen at the PHP 1,000,000 (~USD 18,080) Freezeout Challenge where a modest 41 entries turned up to cut a piece of the pie. By registration closed, only six players were geared to receive a minimum payout of PHP 70,000 (~USD 1,265). The bubble burst at the 15th level following the elimination of Indonesia’s Thomas Young by the hands of India’s Shah Chirag. Down to 17 BBs, Young shoved from the button with 
and ran into Shah’s to knock him out in 7th place finish.
Shah cruised through a hot run and went on to eliminate two more players to get to heads up vs. South Korea’s Shin Hyeonho. Shah carried in a 2:1 advantage to start the duel but was grinded down by his opponent until the final hand came up. A limp pot, both players checked 
through and saw Shin check-raise turn and pull the trigger on river 
. Shah called the two streets with 
and was no good against Shin’s 
for his elimination in runner up finish.
Shin ran deep in the Deep Stack Challenge yet fell a few places short of the title. Up for another opportunity to capture a spade trophy, Shin pulled through and clinched the tile in Event #9: Freezeout Challenge for PHP 340,000 (~USD 6,140).
Date: December 5, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 25,000 (~USD 450)
Prize pool: PHP 1,000,000 (~USD 18,080)
Entries: 41
ITM: 6 players
Event #9: Freezeout Challenge Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Shin Hyeonho | Korea, South | ₱ 340,000 |
| 2 | Shah Chirag | India | ₱ 235,000 |
| 3 | Lee Woobeen | Korea, South | ₱ 150,000 |
| 4 | Castillo Ellezer | Philippines | ₱ 115,000 |
| 5 | Takashi Kashimoto | Japan | ₱ 90,000 |
| 6 | Vernon Heng Zi Xian | Singapore | ₱ 70,000 |
Event #10: 6 Handed NLH: Hirano Keita – PHP 151,455 (~USD 2,730)
With all the bigger guarantees playing down, the 6 Handed side event saw only two tables running and only three players splitting the PHP 301,455 (~USD 5,450) generated prize pool. A quick way to get to the final table, the money bubble burst following the elimination of Victor Zhuchkov in 4th place finish. Zhuchkov shoved all-in with against Kim Pyeongkang’s button raise and was called by the latter with . The board ran safe for pocket queens and guaranteed the remaining three a return on their buy-in. By the end of the day, Japan’s Hirano Keita secured the win after eliminating Lee Suya in second place in an all-in preflop situation – Hirano with 
against Lee’s 
. Hirano remained ahead all the way and landed top pair to claim the triumph and PHP 151,455 (~USD 2,730) first prize.
Date: December 5, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 35,000 (~USD 630)
Prize pool: PHP 301,455 (~USD 5,450)
Entries: 11
ITM: 3 players
Event #10: 6 Handed NLH Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Hirano Keita | Japan | ₱ 151,455 |
| 2 | Lee Suya | Korea, South | ₱ 90,000 |
| 3 | Kim Pyeongkang | Korea, South | ₱ 60,000 |
Event #11: Hyper Turbo: Lee Suya – PHP 45,000 (~USD 810)
The last side event on yesterday’s schedule Event #11: Hyper Turbo, ran faster paced action with ten minutes on the clock per blind level. Out of 17 entries recorded, the final four players cut a piece of the PHP 145,112 (~USD 2,620) action with runner-up Kamimura Noritake taking home the biggest slice. A heads up deal was put in place where Lee Suya eventually carried on to claim the title for PHP 45,000 (~USD 810). Lee additionally, placed second in the 6 Handed event but lost the trophy to Japan’s Hirano Keita.
Date: December 5, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 10,000 (~USD 180)
Prize pool: PHP 145,112 (~USD 2,620)
Entries: 17
ITM: 4 players
Event #11: Hyper Turbo Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Lee Suya | Korea, South | ₱45,000 |
| 2 | Kamimura Noritake | Japan | ₱56,612 |
| 3 | Leung Yiu Yeung | Hong Kong | ₱26,100 |
| 4 | Jain Kunal | Hong Kong | ₱17,400 |
