APT Manila Classic: Raju Jaruplavath Wins Philippines National Cup; Magsakay Strikes Again

today at 4:05 AM

More APT lion trophies found their new owners on the second day of the 2025 APT Manila Classic and among the big winners were India’s Raju Jaruplavath as well as the local Filipino poker players Vamerdino Magsakay as well as Chase Cokaliong on a day filled with international victories.

APT Manila Classic Crowns Jaruplavath At Philippines National Cup

Raju Jaru Plavath wins APT Manila Classic Philippines National Cup — Raju Jaru Plavath – Photo by APT

Out of a field of 388 entries, only 58 survivors of the three starting flights returned to their seats for the final day of the Philippines National Cup, each guaranteed a portion of the PHP 4,034,764 (~USD 69,000) prize pool. When the dust had settled, India’s Raju Jaruplavath was the last man standing and earned his maiden APT title. The doctor from India has been a regular on the Asia-Pacific live poker circuit for several years now and is part of a growing group of traveling poker enthusiasts from India.

Jaruplavath earned PHP 797,765 for his efforts (~USD 13,707) after coming out on a final table that also includes the local Pinoy poker pros Jansen Tiu and David Erquiaga. The latter was arguably the biggest name still in contention but had to settle for seventh place when he ran pocket tens into a superior pocket pair and cashed for PHP 132,000 (~USD 2,273). Tiu’s bid for the title ended in third as last local player, earning him PHP 361,000 (~USD 6,203) while Singapore’s Zhi Xiang Png finished as the runner-up for PHP 503,000 (~USD 8,643).

Day 1c chip leader Katsuyuki Kondo from Japan narrowly missed the final table and finished in tenth, other notables to run deep were Anthony Gabitan, Martin Gonzales, Kunal Patni, Vineet Kumar, as well as John Matsuda.

Locals Dominate Side Action

Vamerdino Magsakay Wins Single Day High Roller At APT Manila Classic — Vamerdino Magsakay – Photo by APT

Another two locals had reason to celebrate on February 8 as Vamerdino Magsakay and Chase Cokaliong ensured that the APT Lion Trophy would stay in the Philippines. Magsakay earned his fifth APT title and the victory came in the PHP 180,000 (~USD 3,093) Single Day High Roller Mystery Bounty. His total haul of PHP 2,673,040 (~USD 45,441) included nearly one third worth of bounties and he beat the likes of Mike Takayama, Stevan Chew, Daniel Smiljkovic, Tobias Schwecht, Abdulla Ceesvin and Matthew Wakeman.

Cokaliong came close to a win on the opening day of the series but had to settle for a podium spot. He was not to be denied in the PHP 25,000 (~USD 430) Hyper Turbo High Roller, which drew a field of 43 entries and paid out the top five spots including Nikita Luther. First place came with PHP 315,800 (~USD 5,369) for the efforts.

The second Women’s Event in as many days went to China’s Xiyu Xie while Rex Hunt Ai came out on top of the 9-Game Mix and Handong Jo from South Korea took down Event #12 Pot Limit Omaha. Oliver Komarnicki triumphed in Big O and Michael Shank from the US prevailed in the last Super Hyper Turbo Event.

Final Table Payouts

Pos	Player	Flag	Payout in PHP	In USD
1	Raju Jaruplavath	India	797,785	13,707
2	Zhi Xiang Png	Singapore	503,000	8,643
3	Jansen Tiu	Philppines	381,000	6,203
4	Sarawoot Ratanatbtim	Thailand	287,000	4,931
5	Mingchen Zhang	China	225,000	3,866
6	Chayathon Wongpipatchai	Thailand	176,000	3,024
7	David Erquiaga	Philppines	132,000	2,268
8	Atsushi Takeuchi	Japan	94,000	1,615
9	Suprachaicharoen Prachaya	Thailand	75,000	1,289

Mystery Bounty Flight Results

Another multi-flight flagship tournament also kicked off and that happened to be the Mystery Bounty Hunter sponsored by Natural8. With a buy-in of PHP 20,000 (PHP 315,800 (~USD 344), players had the option to fire three starting days to build a stack for the chase of the golden chest on the final day.

Yuki Miyakura tops Mystery Bounty flights — Yuki Miyakura – Photo by APT

In the opening flight, 21 players out of 147 entries made it through and Japan’s Yuki Miyakura raked in a massive stack of 983,000, more than Moses Saquing (425,000) and Napat Chokejindachai (419,000) behind him had combined. Notables to advance were Junnie Pamplona and Joris Michl.

Sangyeol Jeon topped Day 1b with 435,000, beating the likes of Huu Long Nguyen (381,000), John Matsuda (309,000), Mark Dela Cruz (241,000), and Georges Chehade (203,000) with 20 out of 137 entries making it through. The final turbo heat brought another 93 entries of which 14 players qualified. Xianhe Alecz Chan from Singapore bagged the most chips with 552,000 narrowly ahead of Kunal Patni (531,000) and William Teoh (431,000).

Thanks to 377 total entries, a total of PHP 4,180,176 (~USD 71,000) will be up for grabs, split in cash and mystery bounty prizes. The winner will be crowned on Sunday, February 9 and the third day of the festival also features the opening flight of the APT Manila 2025 Main Event.