APT Manila 2024: Marco Espela crushes Philippines National Cup; John Matsuda banks largest to date

Tournament poker is in full frenzy with the first two days of the thrilling APT Manila 2024 games packing the grand ballroom at the City of Dreams Manila, to capacity. The first local to shine across the festivities was none other than Marco Espela, after shipping the victory at the opening highlight, Philippines National Cup. Espela overcame APT’s country record opening 726-entry field to take home the largest cut of the PHP 7,436,563 (~USD 126,420) prize pool. Japan’s John Matsuda likewise is off to a good start with a seven digit win at the Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty, seeing him bank the largest payout to date across the first nineteen trophy events.

APT Manila 2024 – Schedule

Marco Espela secures Philippines National Cup title

The final day of the Philippines National Cup saw a combined 103 survivors from the three Day 1 flights return to the scene, each guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 20,000 (~USD 340). Local runner Marco Espela kicked off the day with a healthy stack, ranking third across the overall counts, having topped the last flight on schedule. 

Following fourteen levels of play, the final nine was set with Espela still racking high over the final rounds. Running only 30 minutes on the clock, the average stack stood at fifteen big blinds, suggesting inevitable fast paced action to run through. The first elimination was quickly seen with China’s Lun Luo being the first to fall, followed by Taiwan’s Poyu Chen in 8th place finish. Singapore’s Mack Lee fast tracked the action even further, having delivered a double elimination – Sunjong Yoo (6th) and Alvir Inocentes (7th), shortly after.

One by one fell with Espela remaining in full control, carrying on to widen the gap even more after eliminating both Lee (3rd) and Ashley Patterson (4th), one after the other to come into the final duel with 85% of the total chips in play. 

Regardless of the deficit, lone female contender Maggy Cenon managed to even out the counts and eventually break off an ICM deal with Espela, guaranteeing her PHP 1,079,513 (~USD 18,515) in winnings, whilst leaving only PHP 52,550 (~USD 900) and the trophy to play for. Just thirty minutes later, Espela closed out the victory with the final hand seeing Cenon go with J♣8♦, called by her final opponent with K♣10♣. The dust settled as the board K♦6♣2♠A♦8♣ landed on the felt, earning Espela PHP 1,170,050 (~USD 20,065) in total prizes along with the trophy for wrapping up the final table action in under three hours.

Philippines National Cup Review

• Date/s: October 28-29, 2024
• Buy-in: PHP 12,000 (~USD 205)
• Guarantee: PHP 4,000,000 (~USD 68,775)
• Entries: 726 (425 unique)
• Prize pool: PHP 7,436,563 (~USD 126,420) 
• ITM: 103 places

Philippines National Cup Final Table Results

Full Philippines National Cup Payouts
Backtrack on the Final Day action via SMP Live Updates

John Matsuda ships Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty

A regular across the local scene, John Matsuda secured his maiden APT victory across the Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty games, having topped the 55-entry field. The Japanese runner claimed the PHP 964,950 (~USD 16,535) top prize after denying Natural8 ambassador Nevan Chang a career ninth title. Matsuda padded his wallet a further PHP 1,050,000 (~USD 17,990) in bounty prizes to bring his total winnings to a worthy PHP 2,014,950 (~USD 34,560). While Chang settled for a runner up finish, the Taiwanese had already landed a victory at the opening day Turbo – High Roller, putting him off to a swell start. Ninth place finisher Nang Quang Nguyen likewise made another final table appearance, following his win at the Single Day High Roller – Freezeout, with another profit.

• Date: October 29, 2024
• Buy-in: PHP 130,000 (~USD 2,225)
• Entries: 55 (42 unique)
• Prize pool: PHP 3,411,950 (~USD 58,520)
• ITM: 9 places

Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty Final Table Results