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

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

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

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Bert Perry claims first spadie at High Roller Knockout

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 Q♥J♣ run a straight against Ooi’s A♣4♥ on board 10♠10♦A♥K♣3♠. 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

*Excluding bounty prizes

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Kenji Kuramochi triumphs over Deepstack

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

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Keita Kitamura wins PLO Knockout [₱10K Bounty]

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

*Excluding bounty prizes

Myeonghwa Kang captures maiden PokerStars win at Hyper Turbo

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