Biggest Wins And Top Performances At APL Manila 2025

Ace Poker League’s return to the bustling city of Manila, Philippines was nothing short of spectacular, with a total of PHP 120,791,050 (~USD 2,096,065) in prizes awarded across the eleven-day lineup. Held from February 21 to March 3 at Prime Poker Club, APL Manila 2025 featured 33 trophy events, including its crown jewel Main Event, which featured a PHP 55 million (~USD 1M) pot. The festivities brought in a great share of international players and showcased a strong contingent of local talent, with the field heavily dominated by South Korean and Filipino runners.

APL Manila 2025 Festival Review

• Date/s: February 21 – March 3, 2025
• Venue: Prime Poker Club, Manila, Philippines
• Trophy Events: 33
• Festival prize pool: PHP 120,791,050 (~USD 2,096,065)
• Entries: 3,779
• APL Manila Main Event winner: Mitsuki Sakimoto – PHP 9,650,000 (~USD 166,695)
• Multiple wins: Aleksei Zhukov (2), Jimin Won (2)
• Trophy wins: South Korea (13), Philippines (9), Japan (3), Russia (3), Canada (1), Germany (1), India (1), UK (1), USA (1)

APL Manila Main Event

Japanese beginner Mitsuki Sakimoto braced the headlines with a crushing performance at this season’s APL Main Event, taking home the largest series payout of PHP 9,650,000 (~USD 166,695). The 22-year old Japanese student ventured out to the Philippine capital with the idea of diving head first to explore his newfound hobby and impressively turned his pursuit into a life-changing score. In a post-match interview, Sakimoto commented,

I’m very happy. I couldn’t believe it because this is the first time for me to win a tournament, and I don’t have much experience playing poker, especially in another country. I was very nervous, but on day two, three, and the final day, I became more relaxed, and I was able to play my own game from day two onwards.

The APL Main Event games played down five starting heats and racked up 739 entries, sizing up a grand prize pool of PHP 55,000,000 (~USD 1,000,000). Only 111 players banked a share, with the money flowing right by midday of the Day 2 charge. The battle was fierce across the Final Day games with Sakimoto’s dominating lead, remaining unmatched from beginning to end.

Read up on his victory via the SMP Live Updates.

APL Manila 2025 Main Event Numbers

• Dates: February 26 – March 3, 2025
• Buy in: PHP 65,000 (~USD 1,120)
• Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~USD 1,000,000)
• Entries: 739
• Prize pool: PHP 55,000,000 (~USD 1,000,000)
• ITM: 111 places
• Day 1A: 64 entries, 19 qualified
• Day 1B: 135 entries, 44 qualified
• Day 1C: 82 entries, 29 qualified
• Day 1D: 174 entries, 81 qualified
• Day 1E: 218 entries, 92 qualified

Multi Series Wins

Two runners also found success, with both Aleksei Zhukov and Jimin Won shipping two series wins across the lineup. Zhukov initially shipped an early victory at the NLH Bombpot Single Board side event, capturing a PHP 43,900 (~USD 760) top prize to kick off his festival run. The Russian runner followed this with a last minute trophy win at the closing of the schedule, The End Game, besting yet another two-table field to bank an additional PHP 47,200 (~USD 815) and bump his total haul to PHP 191,200 (~USD 3,330).

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Jimin Won also brought home two APL trophies, having likewise booked an early victory at the PLO Hi Turbo for PHP 53,900 (~USD 920). Won followed this, with another win towards the latter end of the series, shipping one more hardware at the Hyper Speed III for a much bigger PHP 109,400 (~USD 1,890) payday. 

Other Player Highlights

Also amongst the series highlights are locals Jason Magbanua and John Carlo Sayo, who both secured hefty paydays after smashing through the two Mystery Bounty events. Magbanua clinched a massive profit across the first half, having topped the Prime Poker Mystery Bounty to lock in a PHP 650,000 (~USD 11,230) top prize. In addition to his payout, Magbanua also cashed in five bounty tokens, of which included the largest PHP 1 million (~USD 17,420) ticket, boosting his earnings to nearly triple in value at PHP 1,737,000 (~USD 29,980). 

Fellow Filipino, John Carlo Sayo, similarly captured a notable payday with his victory at the Mystery Bounty High Roller also seeing him seize the largest bounty prize up for grabs. On top of his PHP 1,659,280 (~USD 28,660) first place prize, Sayo drew the biggest bounty ticket of PHP 1,500,000 (~USD 26,130), pushing his total earnings to a mammoth PHP 3,259,280 (~USD 56,775).

#29 Mystery Bounty High Roller (90,000 PHP)

The Mystery Bounty High Roller Final Day welcomed back only 15 Day 1 survivors out of its 128-entry field, each secured a share of the PHP 10,000,000 prize pool. A thrilling day landed on the felt with the knockout phase, having entered into play. Action boiled down to two local gunners - John Carlo Sayo and Jonald Garcia, in battle for the PHP 1,659,280 top prize. Sayo reigned supreme over the final match and came out as the largest winner by far, having also locked in two bounty tokens - of which includes the biggest bounty prize of PHP 1,500,000, bringing his total haul to an impressive PHP 3,259,280.

Total Prize

$172,375

Guaranteed

10,000,000

Entries

128

ITM

15

#	Payout	Player
1	$28,660 1,659,200 PHP	JC John Carlo Sayo Philippines
2	$18,495 1,073,000 PHP	JG Jonald Garcia Philippines
3	$12,430 721,000 PHP	HC Han Chang Rok Korea (Republic of)
4	$8,690 504,000 PHP	DU Daiki Uchisawa Japan
5	$6,325 367,000 PHP	AN Andrew Nguyen United States of America
6	$4,810 279,000 PHP	MG Martin Gonzales Philippines
7	$3,845 223,000 PHP	CJ Chun Jun Beum Korea (Republic of)
8	$3,205 186,000 PHP	GL Gangwoo Lee Korea (Republic of)
9	$2,810 163,000 PHP	TL Thomas Lee Canada

Check the 15 Payouts & Results ...

South Korea Captures Most Trophies

Overall, South Korean competitors had a remarkable showing, capturing 13 of the 33 trophies to proudly raise their flag on Philippine soil. Arguably Korea’s best, Steve Yea walked away as the biggest winner on the list, with his win at the Super High Roller shipping him a remarkable PHP 4,032,000 (~USD 69,650) score. Yea is no stranger to dominating fields, with a whopping USD 3.2 million in lifetime cashes already under his belt. Though with an impressive collection of trophies, his latest feat stands to be his first ever APL victory, adding yet another display on his mantle.

#25 Super High Roller (180,000 PHP)

Charging the highest buy-in on schedule, it wasn't a surprise to see several well-known pros gather round at the Super High Roller games. The two-day affair drew in a total of 92 entries, setting up a PHP 15,000,000 pot on the line. Only 13 places took a payday, with the bubble bursting after six hours of play when Kwonhwan Mun, holding top pair and top kicker, ran into Florencio Campomanes' flopped straight, ending his run. Once the money was secured, eliminations came swiftly, with South Korea's Steve Yea emerging as the chip leader by the time the final table was set.

With vast experience and expertise, Yea quickly established himself as the player to beat, dominating the final rounds from start to finish. One of Yea's most crucial pots came at four-handed when his turned two pair got value from Christopher Mateo, ultimately finishing him off with pocket kings to stack nearly 70% of the chips in play.

From then on, Yea ramped up the aggression even more so, grinding his final two opponents down short. Flight B chip leader Yongsoek Choi managed to double up off Yea, and deliver Gary Thompson's bust shortly in 3rd over a final flip. Already on the felt for twelve hours at this point, play was put to a halt just before the final match, with Yea awarded the victory along with the PHP 4,032,000 top prize while Choi earned the lesser PHP 2,952,000 payout.

Following his win, SMP was able to catch a few words from the APL Super High Roller champion, Steve Yea on his recent experience.

SMP: What brings you here in APL Manila?

Yea: The owners are my friends, and many Koreans are here, and they’re also my friends, so I enjoy it.

SMP: What can you say about the final table, where you were up against top players from the Philippines and Korea?

Yea: There are no top players. Everybody knows I’m the top Korean player.

SMP: What’s next on the agenda?

Yea: I will go to Miami to play WPT and also WSOP this year.

Total Prize

$258,710

Guaranteed

15,000,000

Entries

92

ITM

13

#	Payout	Player
1	$69,650 4,032,000 PHP	SY Steve Yea Joonhee Korea (Republic of)
2	$50,885 2,952,000 PHP	YC Yongsoek Choi Korea (Republic of)
3	$31,530 1,829,000 PHP	GT Gary Thompson Ireland
4	$21,840 1,267,000 PHP	CM Christopher Mateo Philippines
5	$14,150 821,000 PHP	FC Florencio Campomanes Philippines
6	$10,670 619,000 PHP	DK Donghyun Kim Korea (Republic of)
7	$8,690 504,000 PHP	JH Jang Ho Moon Korea (Republic of)
8	$7,445 432,000 PHP	MD Min Dongmyung Korea (Republic of)
9	$7,205 418,000 PHP	YG Yoo Gyeong Tae Korea (Republic of)

Check the 13 Payouts & Results ...

Upcoming Events

With the APL Manila festivities done and dusted, all eyes are now set on its next showing, with a festival in Osaka, Japan slated this upcoming May. While exact dates are yet to be penned on the calendar, the renowned brand is definitely geared to pump up their Asia takeover with a number of series to follow later in the year. APL has set their sights on four more events across the region, capping the year with a final showing in Vietnam this December.

• Osaka, Japan –  May 2025
• Taipei, Taiwan – June 2025
• Tokyo, Japan – August 2025
• Incheon, South Korea – October 2025
• Vietnam – December 2025

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