China’s Yuanning Wu clinches 2023 APPT Manila Main Event title for PHP 11,414,730 (~USD 207,751) following heads up deal

Having concluded the fourteenth running of its Manila stop, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) once again celebrated another successful festival last July 27 – August 6 at Okada, Manila, Philippines. The 11-day lineup boasted several guarantee crushing tournaments with its crown jewel Main Event recording the largest entry field across the schedule.

2023 APPT Manila Main Event: Yuanning Wu – PHP 11,414,730 (~USD 207,751)

After four days of grueling play, the esteemed APPT Manila Main Event wrapped up its festivities with China’s Yuanning Wu emerging as the latest champion. Wu coursed through a massive field of 1,354 entries to come out on top and claim the lion’s share of the PHP 76,832,730 (~USD 1,382,368) prize pool. This year’s games recorded the largest Main Event pot in APPT Manila history and awarded Wu PHP 11,414,730 (~USD 207,751) in winnings following a heads up deal with runner up finisher Christopher Mateo.

“I have been playing poker for maybe twelve years or more. My first Main Event championship is very important to me. Last 2019, I placed 7th in the same tournament, APPT Manila and I haven’t been in a final table since.”, stated Wu following his win.

Wu’s impressive victory serves as his career best score with his previous one being his 7th place finish in the 2019 APPT Manila Main Event for PHP 1,481,500 (~USD 29,138). Redeeming himself this time, Wu acknowledged that he has developed his game far ahead of his final table appearance four years ago. With only nine tournament results under his name, Wu’s latest score catapulted his record of $63,824 in total live earnings according to The Hendon Mob to a $271,575 high.

Final Table Recap

Yuanning Wu kicked off his journey to the trophy with a big stack entering Day 2, racking up a 73 big blind count out of the 343 qualifiers. Wu survived the day and joined the remaining 30 in their return to the felt for the final games. Wu’s impressive performance heading to the final table garnered him a 30 big blind stack with nine left in the running.

The final table gameplay kicked off with Wu coming in middle of the pack and South Korea’s Lee Gyuhyuk with a commanding lead over the remaining contenders. It took two hours before the table’s first casualty was seen, beginning with Hong Kong’s Tak Sin Alex Chong bust to Lee after losing a flip with . New Zealand’s Thomas Ward followed shortly after, having been crippled by John Tech’s monster . By this time, chip leader Lee continued his run hot moment, raking in several pots and delivering another elimination in the process. Archie Mariano, who came in with one of the shortest stacks, found himself running into Lee’s top range which led to his exit in 7th place finish.

Just moments after, a crucial hand that saw Wu call off his tournament life vs a four bet jam from Nino Pansier, changed things entirely for the Chinese runner. The six-handed action saw Wu with flip for over a 70 big blind pot against Pansier’s . Fortunately for Wu, a ten immediately showed up on the flop as he soared to a massive 11 million stack for the second chip lead.

By the eleventh hour, it appeared big stacked Lee was completely unstoppable, relentlessly crushing both Riku Sasahara and Pansier in a three-way all-in preflop. Lee again with the , sent his opponents out in 6th and 5th place respectively while scoring a double pay jump for the last four players. At this point, Wu was seen taking down a number of pots with no showdown, aggressively betting postflop and pushing his opponents to give up the fight. Wu overtook the lead after he dusted Final Day chip leader Tech’s with again, .

With three left in the running, local short stacked Christopher Mateo quickly gained a double, putting him back in the game against the two. Wu continued his ascend, taking a chunk off Lee after he rivered a boat and got a ton of value. Lee, unable to get his momentum back, eventually succumbed to Mateo in third place finish.

One away from the trophy and PHP 13.5M (~USD 240K) listed top prize, Wu and Mateo locked up a deal where both players are guaranteed a PHP 10M (~USD 178K) payout from then on, leaving PHP 1,414,730, the trophy, and the PHP 105,000 2024 APPT package for the champion. Almost equal in chips to start the heads up, Wu was able to chip his opponent down and eventually knock him out in less than hour after Mateo pulled an all-in bluff against Wu’s rivered straight for the final hand. Wu succesfully bagged the victory after 13 hours of play and clinched his first Main Event title in this year’s games.

APPT Manila Main Event Final Table Payouts

*Denotes deal was made

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)
Entries: 1,354 / 759 unique
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

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 Live Updates
APPT Manila Main Event Day 2 Results
APPT Manila Main Event Final Day Live Updates
APPT Manila Main Event Full Payouts