APPT Manila Main Event field dwindles down to 30, John Tech takes the lead heading into Final Day

After four days of action, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila Main Event is finally coming down to its final day of festivities at Okada, Manila, Philippines. This year’s running collected the tour’s largest Manila prize pool in APPT history, recording a massive PHP 76,832,730 (~USD 1,382,368) pot over three starting flights. From a 1,354 entry field, only 30 return to the felt this Sunday, with John Tech in the lead heading into the Final Day. Champion is set to be crowned today, taking home a listed top prize of PHP 13,588,730 (~USD 244,674), the golden APPT shard, and a PHP 105,000 (~USD 1,890) package for the 2024 APPT Manila games.

Play resumes at 13:00, Level 25: 15,000 – 30,000 ante 30,000. Track the action via the SMP live updates page.

Chip Counts

Day 2 Recap

Day 2 welcomed a band of 343 players returning to the arena in hopes of securing a spot into the Final Day. Early exits were seen left and right including APPT Open Manila champion Henrik Tollefsen, APC champion Jose Colada, local pros Terry Gonzaga, and Lester Edoc, who all headed for the rails right before the money trickled down. With 15% of the field qualifying for a piece of the pie, 199 players locked up a minimum payout of PHP 102,000 (~USD 1,836) after Conrad Lumaban delivered the money bubble three hours in.

Once the prize money was guaranteed, action continued to pump in even more as it made each pot and take down as significant. Among those racking up big stacks by the evening were Japan’s Riku Sasahara who had over a million on 4,000/8,000 blinds, chip leader John Tech who continued to deliver a number of eliminations on his way to the top, and South Korea’s Lee Gyuhyuk who dusted Mike Takayama on the last level of the day. Also making the final 30 is Day 1C chip leader Hiroshi Irimajiri and 2023 APPT National finalist Lloyd Locsin, while Day 2 chip leader Oleg Alex Kaminski and 2019 APPT Manila champion Florencio Campomanes were seen falling wayside in 63rd and 43rd place respectively.

While Day 2 was initially set to conclude with a field of nine players remaining, the PokerStars team decided by an hour past midnight to wrap up the games by the end of Level 24. Over 13 hours of play was enough for everyone to call it a night, with the Main Event action resuming on the tournament’s Final Day on schedule.

Remaining Payouts

1st – PHP 13,588,730
2nd – PHP 7,826,000
3rd – PHP 5,501,000
4th – PHP 4,074,000
5th – PHP 3,184,000
6th – PHP 2,398,000
7th – PHP 1,833,000
8th – PHP 1,301,000
9th – PHP 1,021,000

10th – 11th – PHP 837,000
12th – 13th – PHP 747,000
14th – 15th – PHP 671,000
16th – 17th – PHP 594,000
18th – 20th – PHP 517,000
21st – 23rd – PHP 440,000
24th – 27th – PHP 368,000
28th – 30th – PHP 312,000

APPT Manila Main Event Review

Dates: August 3-6, 2023
Buy in: PHP 65,000 (~USD 1,174)
Guarantee: PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 361,366)
Prize pool: PHP 76,832,730 (~USD 1,382,368)
ITM: 199 players

Day 1 Results

Day 1A: 395 entries / 91 advanced
Day 1B: 646 entries / 148 advanced
Day 1C: 313 entries / 113 advanced
Day 2: 343 players / 30 advanced
Final Day: August 6, 2023, Sunday

APPT Manila Main Event Day 1A – Live Updates and Chip Counts
APPT Manila Main Event Day 1A Results
APPT Manila Main Event Day 1B and Day 1C – Live Updates
APPT Manila Main Event Day 1B and Day 1C Results
APPT Manila Main Event Day 2 Results