Over the past two days, the Philippine poker world witnessed a record-breaking weekend with a monstrous field of 646 entries for the sixth installment of the Manila Megastack 6 Main Event. Held at the PokerStars Live Manila hub at City of Dreams Manila, Philippines, each player coughed up the buy-in of P25,000 bringing the total prize pool to a massive PHP14,098,950, easily crushing the advertised P6M guarantee.
We will have random live updates on the action at the tables posted below.
10:40PM: Siong Boon Heng wins the Main Event!
Level 34: Blinds 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000
By the way Yi Te Wu was running, it seemed he was headed for the championship title. Wu came into the heads up round against Siong Boon Heng with an over 5:1 chip advantage. But in just five hands, the result was the very opposite with Heng eliminating Wu to claim the victory. The final hand saw Wu go all in and Heng snap-call. Wu held 
and Heng with 
. The board ran 
and with neither getting a hit, Heng’s higher kicker played to claim the Main Event title.
Wu earned PHP1,649,000 for his 2nd place finish. Heng takes home the massive PHP2,771,000 first place prize.
10:35PM: Roles reversed! Siong Boon Heng takes the chip lead
Level 34: Blinds 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000
Siong Boon Heng doubles up again! Heng shoved with 8.19M and Yi Te Wu snap-called. Heng had 
and Wu with 
. The board bricked, 
, and Heng shipped in 16.380M. Wu dropped to 2.9M
10:30PM: Siong Boon Heng wins two pots, reaches 8M
Level 34: Blinds 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000
Despite the huge chip deficit, Siong Boon Heng has taken early control of the heads up round, winning the first two pots. The first hand saw Heng raise to 600k and Yi Te Wu call. The flop ran 
, Wu checked, Heng bet 700k, and Wu folded.
On the next hand, Wu shoved and Heng snap-called. Wu opened 2h-9s and Heng had better with 
. The board ran 
giving Wu the lead with a pair. On the turn of , Wu stayed ahead, but when the river spiked , Heng doubled up to 8M. Wu dropped to around 11M.
10:20PM: Heads up between Yi Te Wu and Siong Boon Heng
Level 34: Blinds 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000
After 157 runners, it is now down to the final two players. Yi Te Wu has over 5:1 chip advantage against Siong Boon Heng.
Wu 16.2M vs Heng 3.2M
10:15PM: Sidney Gilpatrick eliminated in 3rd place – PHP1,179,000
Level 34: Blinds 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000
It’s all Yi Te Wu! After finishing off Wing Fung Tsao in 4th place, he continued to dominate the table and scalped another player, Sidney Gilpatrick in 3rd place. Wu shoved his big stack on the small blind and big blind Gilpatrick called with less chips. Wu had 
and Gilpatrick with 
. The board ran 
. Gilpatrick earned PHP1,179,000 for his deep run at the Main Event
10:05PM: Wing Fung Tsao eliminated by Wu in 4th place PHP903,000
Level 33: Blinds 120,000-240,000 ante 40,000
Yi Te Wu had Wing Fung Tsao’s number at the final four. After shipping in a huge double up to usurp the chip lead, Wu three-bet shoved Tsao’s opening 600k raise and Tsao called. Wu had 
and Tsao with 
. The coin flip saw the board run 
and Tsao was eliminated in 4th place. He earned PHP903,000.
We are down to the final three players. Wu now has over 12M in chips. Siong Boon Heng has 3.7M. Sidney Gilpatrick with 1.7M.
9:55PM: Yi Te Wu takes the chip lead from Tsao
Level 33: Blinds 120,000-240,000 ante 40,000
With four players remaining, action has slowed down a bit. Wing Fung Tsao was the dominating chip leader until he ran smack hard into Yi Te Wu. The hand saw Wu bet 1M on a turn board of 
and Tsao called. On the river of 
, Tsao checked, Wu announced all in, and Tsao called. Wu held full house and Tsao could only shake his head with his 
trips defeated. Wu doubled up to 7M while Tsao dropped to 5.5M.
9:20PM: Yasuyuki Asakura railed in 5th place – PHP715,000
Level 32: Blinds 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000
Yasuyukin Asakura was all in against Jeff Wing Fung Tsao on a board of 8d-2d-As-2c. Asakura held 
and Tsao with 
. The river landed for a nut flush to Tsao and the boot to Asakura in 5th place. He earned PHP715,000 for his finish.
9:15PM: Soo Ghee Lim’s ladies burned, finishes in 6th – PHP557,000
Level 32: Blinds 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000
Singaporean Soo Ghee Lim said he never wins with queens and that’s exactly what happened. He was all in with and fellow countryman Siong Boon Heng called with . It was another dramatic board running 
and an on the river to give Heng a set and all of Lim’s chips. Lim finished in 6th place and earned PHP557,000.
9:10PM: Tomofumi Watanabe takes 7th place – PHP406,000
Level 32: Blinds 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000
Tomofumi Watanabe was all in with and Sidney Gilpatrick took on the challenge with his . The board ran 
giving Gilpatrick the higher pair and Watanabe a 7th place finish. Watanabe earned PHP406,000 for his finish.
9:05PM: Sick hand sends John Tech out in 8th place – PHP277,500
Level 32: Blinds 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000
John Tech entered the final table with a very healthy stack but in one crazy hand, it all came crashing down. It was an all in showdown with Yi Te Wu with and Tech with 
. And here comes the sick board of 
. With his ace kicker, Wu doubled up and Tech fell to 255k. Two hands later, Tech was eliminated in 8th place. He earned PHP277,500 for his finish.
9:00PM: Kevin Chia-Wei Chang eliminated in 9th place – PHP219,050
Level 32: Blinds 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000
The shortest stack at the final table, Chia Wei Chang, moved all in with 
and was called by Siong Boon Heng with . The board ran and Chang was eliminated in 9th place. He earned PHP219,050 for his finish.
8:05PM: Final table of 9
After eight hours of play, the final table of 9 was reached after John Tech eliminated Anders Hellberg in 10th place. One of these players will be taking home the PHP2,771,000 first prize. Here is a quick look at the final nine.
Wing Fung Tsao – Hong Kong – 4,595,000
Hong Kong’s Wing Fung Tsao leads the final table with 4,595,000 in chips. Tsao earned his hefty stack after eliminating Hao Che Luo in 12thplace and Khanh Le Ngoc in 11th place.
Yasuyuki Asakura – Japan – 2,890,000
Japan’s Yasayuki Asakura takes the second spot in the chip count with 2,890,000. Asakura held the largest stack at 14 players remaining and kept his lead until Wing Fung Tsao overtook him with two big eliminations.
John Tech – Philippines – 2,575,000
John Tech is the lone local pro left in the Main Event. He was in danger of elimination after his bluff was called out by Yasayuki Asakura but found a way to bounce back, doubling up huge through Chia-Wei Chang and further increased after eliminating Hellberg in 10th place. Tech has the third largest stack of 2,575,000.
Yi Te Wu – Taiwan – 2,400,000
Taiwan’s Yi Te Wu comes in fourth in chips with 2,400,000. His stack was swinging all day but managed to hold and secure a big double up against Khanh Le Ngoc to stay in the running.
Sidney Gilpatrick – USA – 2,220,000
Sidney Gilpatrick is one of the few Americans to join the Main Event and is holding the flag high with a stack of 2,220,000. He is running fifth in chips. To amass his stack, Gilpatrick eliminated Filipino hopeful Ellezer Castillo.
Soo Ghee Lim – Singapore – 1,840,000
Singapore’s Soo Ghee Lim comes in with 1,840,000 and is sixth in the rung. Lim had an erratic day at the felt but impressively recovered from a very short stack to be in contention for the coveted top prize.
Siong Boon Heng – Singapore – 1,085,000
Another Singaporean is in the final table, Siong Boon Heng. Heng railed several players all day to earn him the seventh in chips spot.
Tomofumi Watanabe – Japan – 1,050,000
Japan’s Tomofumi Watanabe enters the final table running 8th in chips with 1,050,000. He earned a double up late in the game with his A-K to cross the million mark.
Chia-Wei Chang – Taiwan – 680K
Coming in with the shortest stack is Chia-Wei Chang with 680K. Chang had a steady run all day and held the chip lead for quite some time until he banged heads with John Tech. His stack went spiraling down to 100k but managed to double up a couple of times to land a seat in the final nine.
8:00PM: Anders Hellberg railed by John Tech in 10th place
Level 31: Blinds 80,000-160,000 ante 20,000
John Tech has just denied Anders Hellberg a final table berth. Hellberg was all in with but faced off against John Tech with . The board ran 
and the rail erupted with Tech’s victory. Hellberg out in 10th place.
They are now down to the final table of 9 players.
7:40PM: Khanh Le Ngoc downed in 11th place
Level 30: Blinds 60,000-120,000 ante 10,000
Khanh Le Ngoc was not happy at the turnout of the hand that sent him packing. He was all in with against Wing Fung Tsao’s . The board ran 
giving Tsao a full house and Ngoc an 11th place finish.
7:35PM: Hao Che Luo burned by Tsao in 12th place
Level 30: Blinds 60,000-120,000 ante 10,000
Hao Che Luo was all in with 
and was called by Wing Fung Tsao with . The board landed 
and after a chip count, Luo was covered by just a few chips. Tsao climbs to 2.7M.
7:20PM: Chia-Wei Chang crippled by John Tech
Level 30: Blinds 60,000-120,000 ante 10,000
There is a changing of the guards with the short stacks making their way back into the game while the once big stacks are getting pummeled. In this hand, John Tech was all in with 1.2m and was called by Chia-Wei Chang with who had him covered. Tech opened up and Chang with 
. The flop ran 
giving Chang the lead with top pair. At the turn of , Chang still up but Tech now had a gutshot. The river of saw Tech jump out of his seat in celebration for completing a straight and avoiding the rail. Tech zoomed to 2.6M while Chang fell to 100k.
7:15PM: Ellezer Castillo out in 13th place
Level 30: Blinds 60,000-120,000 ante 10,000
Ellezer Castillo could not hold on to his big stack, eventually tumbling down and out at the hands Sidney Gilpatrick. His final hand was 
up against Gilpatrick’s The board bricked an Castillo finished in 13th place.
7:10PM: John Tech doubles up
Level 30: Blinds 60,000-120,000 ante 10,000
John Tech doubles up with his pocket nines besting Sidney Gilpatrick’s pocket fours.
7:00PM: John Tech’s bluff called by Asakura
Level 29: 40,000-80,000 ante 10,000
On a board of 
, John Tech tried to steal the pot from the chip leader Yakasuki Asakura with a big bet on the river but was still called. Tech held 
offsuit and Asakura had . Asakura is the current leader with 4.2m.
6:50PM: Ellezer Castillo doubles up two players
Level 29: 40,000-80,000 ante 10,000
Ellezer Castillo is down to below average with 1.1m in chips after doubling up two short stacks. On the first one, Castillo called Soo Ghee Lim’s all in of around 200k. Lim had and Castillo with . The board landed 
.
On the next one, Castillo raised to 180 preflop then called Sidney Gilpatrick’s all in of 300k. Castillo had Jh-4h and Gilpatrick with Ad-Jc. The board ran 5d-Qs-Qh-2d-Kh.
6:30PM: Tomofumi Watanabe doubles up to average
Level 29: 40,000-80,000 ante 10,000
Tomofumi Watanabe is one of the short stacks with less than 700k behind, but not anymore. He just doubled up with his and is up to 1.4M, which is the average stack.
6:20PM: Kazeyuki Tanemuka out in 14th place
Level 28: Blinds 30,000-60,000 ante 10,000
With action folding all the way to the small blind, short stacked Kazeyuki Tanemuka went all in and Wing Fung Tsao on the big blind called. Tanemuka had and Tsao with . The board came and Tanemuka was out with Tsao landing a pair.
6:10PM: Jung Bae out in 15th place
Level 28: Blinds 30,000-60,000 ante 10,000
Jung Bae was next in line to hit the rail. Hao Che Luo raised to 200k from the button, Bae went all in with his short stack on the small blind, and Luo called. Luo had 
and Bae with . The board ran . Luo up to 1.6M in chips.
6:05PM: Franklin Nuguid falls in 16th place
Level 28: Blinds 30,000-60,000 ante 10,000
Franklin Nuguid just could not lay down his hand and instead fell out of the running in 16th place. The hand kicked off with Nuguid raising to 160k, Sion Boon Heng moved all in, and Nuguid tanked. He eventually called for his tournament life holding but was behind Heng’s . The board drew blanks, , and Nuguid was out in 16th place. Heng up to 2M.
5:55PM: Siong Boon Heng finishes Darius Normontas in 17th place
Level 28: Blinds 30,000-60,000 ante 10,000
Darius Normontas was all in with 
offsuit and was called by Siong Boon Heng with . The board ran low and Normonatas was out in 17th place.
5:45PM: Hao Che Luo eliminates Jonjon Lumanian in 18th place
Level 27: Blinds 25,000-50,000 ante 5,000
One of the day’s entering chip leaders, Hao Che Luo, has been on a steady beat all day and continues to pick up pots. He eliminated local player Jonjon Lumanian with his full house against Lumanian’s . The board was .
17 players remaining.
4:50-5:20PM: Seung Soo Jeon out; Kevin Chia-Wei Chang doubles to 1.9M
Level 26: Blinds 20,000-40,000 ante 5,000
The eliminations just keep on coming. Joseph Sia was seen walking out followed by Seung Soo Jeon right behind him. For Jeon, his was ahead of Rex Hunt Ai’s preflop, but when the board completed to , Ai’s trips took the lead and Jeon was eliminated.
Having just been moved to a new table, Taehyung Kim jumped straight into the action. Kevin Chi-Wei Chang raised to 100k from the cutoff seat, Kim three-bet to 260k from the small blind, and Chang called. At the flop of , Chang bet 300k, Kim moved all in, and Chang snap-called. Kim held top pair and Chang had better with higher kicker. The turn of and river of kept Chang ahead and he doubled up to a massive 1.9m chips. Kim fell to 400k.
4:20-4:50PM: Ellezer Castillo zooms to 2.5M, becomes massive chip leader
Level 25: Blinds 15,000-30,000 ante 5,000
Big stacked Ellezer Castillo went head-to-head against another big stack, Sangmin Lee, and shipped in the biggest pot of the day so far. It began with Lee raising from the utg+1 seat to 65k preflop and Castillo called from the button. At the flop of , Lee continued with a 100k bet and Castillo flat-called. The turn of saw Lee waste no time counting out his bet and simply signaled he was all in. Castillo quickly called. Lee held for two pair but Castillo had better with trips. The river of further improved Castillo to a full house. Castillo is now the massive chip leader with 2.3m while Lee fell out of the running.
3:40-4:10PM: Chip leaders over 1.2M
Level 24: Blinds 12,000-24,000 ante 4,000
We are down to 39 players with four players well past 1.2M in chips, Ellezer Castillo, Fumimasa Hirasawa, Yasayuki Asakura, and Taehyung Kim.
Although we weren’t able to catch how the first three players rose past the million range, we did see Kim claim a big pot against Asakura to achieve his status. On a completed board of , and big pile of chips in the middle, Asakura laid out a small 65k bet and Kim quickly called. Asakura showed bottom pair but was way behind Kim’s mid pair.
3:10-3:40PM: Rex Hunt Ai doubles up through Nasu; Sangmin Lee rising
Level 23: Blinds 10,000-20,000 ante 3,000
Action folded around the table to button player Rex Hunt Ai who raised to 55k. On the small blind was Masahiko Nasu who three-bet to 150k. Ai responded with a shove of an additional 134k and Nasu called. Ai held and Nasu with . With the board running , Ai didn’t have to get up instead picked up a happy double up.
At the next table, Sangmin Lee is on the move winning two big pots. The second shipment saw him send a player to the rail with his . Lee is now over 600k in chips.
2:40-3:10PM: 60 players remaining; Lucky river for Taehyung Kim
Level 22: Blinds 8,000-16,000 ante 2,000
With 60 players remaining, the current chip leaders are Chia-Wei Chang and Ken Harono with over 700k, and Pete Yen Han Chen with over 600k.
Taehyung Kim has also become one of the chip leaders after shipping in a crazy double up against his nemesis, Harold Ruaya, who doubled him up in the previous level. In a battle of the blinds, Kim limped in from the sb seat, Ruaya shoved from the bb, and Kim tank-called. Ruaya had and Kim with . The board ran , spiking a pair for Kim on the river. He now sits with 690k in chips.
2:00-2:30PM: Chip leaders; Taehyung Kim wins big double up vs Ruaya
Level 21: Blinds 6,000-12,000 ante 1,000
Current chip leaders are Joseph Sia with around 600k, Chia-Wei Chang with 600k, and John Tech with 570k.
Taehyung Kim only had 63k left and survived the bubble round with a double up against Michael Kim Falcon. That win has certainly given him new life as he is now well above the average stack after winning another double up, this time against Harold Ruaya. Kim moved all in with and faced Ruaya with pocket nines. The board was more than generous to Kim as it dropped for a nut flush. He now has over 400k.
1:30-2:00PM: All in craziness until the bubble bursts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000-10,000 ante 1,000
With 97 players remaining and two more to bust before the money round, it was a wild all in action at three separate tables.
On a raised pot preflop four players went to see the board run . Action was checked to Regie Ann Delos Reyes, who bet 30k, was check-raised to 60k by Shao Kang Yu on the big blind, then Reyes three-bet shoved all in. Yu called. Reyes held 
but was sorely behind Yu’s 
. The turn and river offered no help and Reyes was out.
Next table saw Taehyung Kim all in for 63k and Michael Kim Falcon with the snap-call. Kim held pocket eights and Falcon with overcards . The board bricked and Kim was safe from the bubble with a double up.
The bubble finally burst when Siong Boon Heng called the all ins of Ben Soon Yun Loo and Jose Arceo. Heng had , Loo with , and Arceo with . The board ran , Arceo tripled up, and Loo was eliminated by Heng as the bubble.
1:00-1:30PM: Abdulaziz Bin climbs to 450K; Walder triples up
Level 19: Blinds 4,000-8,000 ante 1,000
Abdulaziz Yousef Bin entered the day with a very healthy stack of around 230K and has now increased it up to around 450K. On one of those winning pots, Bin defended his big blind against button player Ngoc Bao Pham who raised to 18k. At the flop of , Bin checked to Ngoc who continued with a 17k bet, Bin check-raised to 34k, and Ngoc called. The turn of saw both check it but on the river of , Bin led out for 55k and won it with a fold from Ngoc.
——–
Three-way action began with short-stacked Alain Walder all in for 16k, he was called by Michael Kim Falcon, then Trifie Montebon jammed his stack all in for another 44k to Falcon. He called for a side pot. Walder showed , Falcon with , and Montebon with . The board ran . Walder tripled, Falcon won the side pot, and Montebon was eliminated.
12:30-1:00PM: Walder’s stack drops below average; Nuguid triples up
Level 18: Blinds 3,000-6,000 ante 1,000
With blinds increasing quite fast, it is nonstop action at the tables. At table 27, there was a three-way shove between Ji Young Kim, Franklin Nuguid, and Viet Hung Nguyen. Kim had , Nuguid with , and Nguyen with . The board drew blanks and Nuguid tripled up while Kim was sent out of the tournament.
At a separate table, kickoff winner, Alain Walder, fell below average stack after doubling up Beppu Kiyoka with his losing against her . The all in happened at the flop on a board that ran .
12:00-12:30PM: First level of the Final Day
Level 17: Blinds 2,500-5000 ante 500
The final day of the Main Event has begun and quickly 15 players have been sent to the rail by the end of the first level. There are now 142 players remaining.
12:00: Notables in the field
Returning to the felt today are 157 runners eager to scoop up the PHP2,771,000 first prize. Only 95 of them will see a profit. The man with the largest stack entering today is Singapore’s Aurelius Tan with 353,000 in chips followed by Tawainese players Hao Che Luo with 345,000 and Chia-Wei Chang with 342,000. Other notable players in the field include Seung Soo Jeon, Czardy Rivera, Linh Tran, the winner of the APPT Manila 9. Pete Yen Han Chen, Azusa Maeda, and the festival’s Kickoff winner Alain Walder to mention a few.
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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