APPT Manila Championship 2024: Neel Joshi towers over APPT Open Flight A; Bert Perry, Kenji Kuramochi, Keita Kitamura, and Myeonghwa Kang bag side event wins

Janette Dee
Janette DeeNews Copywriter & Live Event Specialist
APPT Manila Championship 2024
APPT Manila Championship 2024

Another action-packed day landed across the PokerStars arena in Okada Manila with the APPT Manila Championship in play. Day 2 of the festivities showcased six events in total, headlined by the final flight of the Okada Kick Off, and accompanied by the first heat of the PHP 25,000,000 (~USD 433,690) guaranteed APPT Open. Along with the qualifiers were four single day side events which awarded freshly crowned winners Kenji Kuramochi, Bert Perry, Keita Kitamura, and Myeonghwa Kang, top payouts.

APPT Manila Championship - Player eGuide
APPT Manila Championship - Daily Updates

Neel Joshi leads APPT Open Flight A

Neel Joshi
Neel Joshi

Following fifteen levels of play, the first flight of the PHP 25,000,000 (~USD 433,690) guaranteed APPT Open closed with only 13 players out of the 64 entry field surviving through the Day 1 round. Action capped by midnight and saw India’s Neel Joshi towering over the two tables remaining. Joshi stormed to the lead only by the last level of play, having firstly doubled up through Takumi Odani, followed with another sizeable pot from Dohwan Kim. Joshi finished the day with a final pot off Thijs Hilberts to bring in a mighty 452,000 (113 BB) onto Day 2, leaving a substantial gap with second in rank Yan Wen Yee 266,000 (53 BB).

Seasoned runners joining the list are Aladin Reskallah 176,000 (35 BB), Thijs Hilberts 139,000 (28 BB), and PokerStars India ambassador Karia Siddharth 57,000 (11 BB). Local notables James Mendoza 105,000 (21 BB), Czardy Rivera 43,000 (8 BB), Florencio Campomanes 39,000 (8 BB) likewise survived through, all geared to return on Monday, October 21st.

Two more flights are yet to play through, with Flight C running faster paced 20 minute levels.

  • Date/s: October 19-22, 2024

  • Buy-in: PHP 90,000 (~USD 1,560)

  • Guarantee: PHP 25,000,000 (~USD 433,690)

  • Flight A - 64 entries, 13 qualified

  • Flight B - Sunday, October 20

  • Flight C Turbo - Sunday, October 20

  • Day 2 - Monday, October 21

  • Final - Tuesday, October 22

End of Flight A Chip Counts

Backtrack on all the action via SMP Daily Updates

Bert Perry claims first spadie at High Roller Knockout

Bert Perry
Bert Perry

The last event to finish, High Roller Knockout [₱50K Bounty] has wrapped up with Australia's Bert Perry reigning victorious over the 33-entry field. The final games saw Sean Ooi continuously hold down the lead after eliminating Stevan Chew in 6th place. Perry only managed to inch over once heads up was reached, having knocked out the next three eliminations. With the advantage, Perry went on to close out the victory with the final hand seeing his {qh}{jc} run a straight against Ooi's {ac}{4h} on board {10s}{10d}{ah}{kc}{3s}. Along with his PHP 954,000 (~USD 16,550) top prize, Perry banked eight bounties amounting to PHP 400,000 (~USD 6,940), bringing up his cash prize to PHP 1,354,000 (~USD 23,480) in total.

  • Date: October 19, 2024

  • Buy-in: PHP 150,000 (~USD 2,600)

  • Prize pool: PHP 2,767,380 (~USD 48,000)

  • Entries: 33

  • ITM: 6 places

High Roller Knockout [₱50K Bounty] Full Payouts

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Bert Perry

PHP 954,000

2nd

Sean Ooi

PHP 622,000

3rd

Martin Sedlak

PHP 428,000

4th

Nevan Chang

PHP 318,000

5th

Seoha Lee

PHP 249,000

6th

Stevan Chew

PHP 196,380

*Excluding bounty prizes

Backtrack on all the action via SMP Daily Updates

Kenji Kuramochi triumphs over Deepstack

Kenji Kuramochi
Kenji Kuramochi

Kenji Kuramochi emerged triumphant over the Deepstack side event and stands as APPT Manila Championship Day 2's first crowned champion. The Japanese runner bested the 71-entry field and closed out the win following a ten hour grind. Kuramochi defeated compatriot Masayuki Shibata for the title, taking with him PHP 250,000 (~USD 4,335) in winnings, along with an APPT Main Event entry valued at PHP 165,000 (~USD 2,860).

  • Date: October 19, 2024

  • Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 260)

  • Guarantee: PHP 1,000,000 (~USD 17,340)

  • Prize pool: PHP 1,000,000 (~USD 17,340)

  • Entries: 71

  • ITM: 9 places

Deepstack Full Payouts

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Kenji Kuramochi

PHP 250,000 + Ticket

2nd

Masayuki Shibata

PHP 162,000

3rd

Maggy Cenon

PHP 115,000

4th

Alari Kunnapuu

PHP 88,000

5th

Jun Suk Seo

PHP 69,000

6th

Taeil Ahn

PHP 53,000

7th

Duc Tran

PHP 41,000

8th

Nobuhiro Ariyasu

PHP 32,000

9th

Ohbyung Kwon

PHP 25,000

Backtrack on all the action via SMP Daily Updates

Keita Kitamura wins PLO Knockout [₱10K Bounty]

Keita Kitamura
Keita Kitamura

The first PLO event on schedule, PLO Knockout [₱10K Bounty] played down to a winner with Japan's Keita Kitamura shipping the victory over the 53-entry field. Kitamura carried a commanding lead across the final table games and secured the title in just two hours of play. For his dominating run, Kitamura earns PHP 429,000 (~USD 7,440) in prizes, together with a PokerStars spade trophy to add to his collection.

  • Date: October 19, 2024

  • Buy-in: PHP 40,000 (~USD 690)

  • Prize pool: PHP 1,320,760 (~USD 22,910)

  • Entries: 53

  • ITM: 7 places

PLO Knockout [₱10K Bounty] Full Payouts

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Keita Kitamura

PHP 429,000

2nd

Per Douglas Olsson

PHP 283,000

3rd

Horace Leung

PHP 191,000

4th

Emmanuel Derecho

PHP 145,000

5th

Gary Yip

PHP 112,000

6th

Marius Kukis

PHP 89,000

7th

Thomas Lee

PHP 71,760

*Excluding bounty prizes

Myeonghwa Kang captures maiden PokerStars win at Hyper Turbo

Myeonghwa Kang
Myeonghwa Kang

South Korea's Myeonghwa Kang emerged victorious over APPT Manila Championship Day 2's Hyper Turbo, having outlasted the 56-entry field. A fast paced tournament, the event ran only five hours on the floor before Kang was crowned as the final winner. Having earned a career first PokerStars victory, Kang banks a worthy PHP 292,000 (~USD 5,065) payday for his efforts.

  • Date: October 19, 2024

  • Buy-in: PHP 20,000 (~USD 345)

  • Prize pool: PHP 956,032 (~USD 16,580)

  • Entries: 56

  • ITM: 8 places

Hyper Turbo Full Payouts

1st Myeonghwa Kang - PHP 292,000
2nd Michael Calunsod - PHP 191,000
3rd Thomas Grigg - PHP 139,000
4th Minh Bach - PHP 105,000
5th Lee Wee Liew - PHP 81,000
6th Erik Mason - PHP 62,000
7th Kasper Hansen - PHP 48,000
8th Ryann Libo On - PHP 38,032

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Myeonghwa Kang

PHP 292,000

2nd

Michael Calunsod

PHP 191,000

3rd

Thomas Grigg

PHP 139,000

4th

Minh Bach

PHP 105,000

5th

Lee Wee Liew

PHP 81,000

6th

Erik Mason

PHP 62,000

7th

Kasper Hansen

PHP 48,000

8th

Ryann Libo On

PHP 38,032

About the Editor

Janette Dee

Janette Dee is SoMuchPoker's News Copywriter and Live Event Specialist, covering poker news and live festivals across Asia Pacific's established and emerging markets. Alongside her reporting, she plays recreationally, which shapes how she covers the game from a player's perspective as well as a journalist's.