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).

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.

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

Festival Links:

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