Team Strong Denies Dave Spade in GOP Manila’s Influencer Conquest

The Influencer Conquest: Team Edition switched things up for the first of  GOP Manila ‘s livestreamed events. High-stakes regular David Erquiaga , widely known as “Dave Spade,” was among the pros and public figures paired up for the one-off event, alongside Japanese influencer Akutsu Mao and former footballer Anton Del Rosario .

Seven teams and 14 players competed under a turbo-speed Cronus Structure , reaching heads-up after 101 hands before Mark Morente and Del Rosario’s Team Strong closed it out four hands later following a four-way deal, edging out Spade’s Team Face Card for the title.

 

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Format

Buy-ins were sponsored by Gods of Poker . Teams were drawn at random, each given two 40,000-chip bullets that both had to be in play by the end of Level 4, with teammates swapping seats every level. After two initial 30-minute levels, blinds climbed every 15 minutes off an 80,000-chip starting stack. The winning team was allocated PHP 80,000 in GOP tournament credit, the runner-up team allocated PHP 30,000, and all players received GOP merchandise.

The Teams

• Team Chill: Duy Khanh Pham & Melvin Cerbito
• Team Girl Power: Akutsu Mao & Diane Gatela
• Team Handsome: Todd Hansen & Jigen Paul Magsangkay.
• Team Lucky: Joohyun Park & Siyang Phua
• Team Relax: Fayez Jarrad & Carl Mandig
• Team Face Card: David Erquiaga & Jc Ann Sotelo
• Team Strong: Mark Morente & Anton Del Rosario

Chill Eliminated First

On their second bullet, Chill’s ten-eight made two pair on an all-club ace-ten-eight flop, well ahead of Relax’s club-holding pocket queens. But a club on the river completed Relax’s flush, leaving Chill with just a few thousand in chips.

With those chips, Chill shoved pocket kings into Strong’s jack-ten of hearts. A jack-high flop kept Chill ahead, but a ten on the turn gave Strong two pair, sending Team Chill out as the first elimination of the Influencer Conquest event in rather unfortunate fashion.

Handsome and Lucky Follow

Handsome went next in 6th, raising king-queen offsuit from the cutoff into Strong’s pocket tens in the small blind. The flop came ten-ace-eight, Strong check-raised all in, and Handsome called needing a jack to complete the straight. The turn and river ran nine, ten instead, giving Strong quads and sending Handsome out in 6th place.

With five teams left, Face Card jammed roughly 15 big blinds under the gun and Lucky shoved behind them. Face Card’s pocket threes flopped a set on an ace-jack-three board against Lucky’s pocket queens, leaving Lucky with just two big blinds. They didn’t survive the next hand, jamming queen-five into Girl Power’s ace-nine, which held to send Lucky out in 5th.

Four Teams, Then Three

Relax slipped to around 5 big blinds and three-bet jammed from the button. Girl Power shoved over from the small blind, and Relax’s ten-nine of hearts was behind Girl Power’s pocket aces. Despite picking up a flush draw on the turn, Relax was eliminated in 4th place. Chip counts at that point stood with Girl Power on 140,000, Face Card 70,000, and Strong 310,000.

Girl Power closed the gap, winning a pot after pairing a nine on the flop against Strong’s pocket fives, then took the lead outright when a raise with pocket queens went unchallenged shortly after. Strong reclaimed it by bluffing Girl Power off a double flush-draw board on the turn. Face Card sat around 10 big blinds through this stretch.

Girl Power and Face Card ended up level before colliding for a spot in heads-up. Face Card jammed for 79,000, Girl Power called with a slightly less, and Face Card’s pocket queens held against Girl Power’s jack-seven despite finding a jack on the flop, sending Girl Power out in 3rd.

Strong Wins Heads-Up

A four-way deal was made prior to the final stage of the event commencing. All four players agreed to take 25% of the total prize pool, resulting in each receiving PHP 27,500 in GOP tournament credit.

Action resumed with the chips relatively even, with Face Card on 260,000 to Strong’s 300,000. Face Card took the early lead with an all-in with pocket threes and a raise with king-jack suited, pushing to 320,000 against Strong’s 240,000.

Strong then raised to 80,000 from the button with pocket eights, and Face Card jammed with queen-nine. Strong called, neither a queen nor nine arrived, and Face Card was left with 100,000 – roughly 5 big blinds. The event came to its conclusion in the following hand: Face Card got it in with king-jack offsuit, Strong called with ace-deuce, and ace-high held on the runout, crowning Team Strong the champions.

Team Strong’s Reaction to the Win

Del Rosario credited the win firmly to his pairing with Morente. “It’s a blessing, I love it,” he said. “We did well out the gate, my partner over here carried us along the way, and now we’re taking home the trophy. Thank you very much Gods of Poker for having us.”

Morente said the pairing didn’t inspire much early confidence given the field. “I thought that we would be out at the first level,” he said with a laugh. “We’re up against some of the pro poker players, and the Japanese lady.” Asked who was calm and who brought the chaos, Del Rosario said: “I think we both brought chaos. This guy, you should have seen when he was playing – killer. That’s why he kept us in the game, hats off to my partner.”

Asked for the moment they believed they could win, Morente pointed to the final hand. Both credited the win equally. “It’s equal, I think,” Del Rosario said. “That’s why this is a team event,” Morente added. “Team sport – as a team sport, we all win together.”

Asked to finish the sentence “We won because…”, the answer was immediate: “…we’re strong.”

Catch All the Action

Fans can rewatch the Influencer Conquest event via the link below, and channel subscribers can also enter an exclusive giveaway.

All data and images courtesy of Gods of Poker.

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