APPT Manila 2026 has crowned the champion of its PokerStars Red Dragon , one of the most prestigious events on the tour’s calendar, at Cove Manila inside Okada Manila . South Korea’s Kim Giboum outlasted a rollercoaster final table to defeat the Philippines’ Czardy Rivera heads-up, claiming the trophy, an APPT Championship 2026 Package , and a PHP 4,550,000 (~USD 74,005) top prize.

The event drew 579 entries, comfortably surpassing last year’s 433-entry field and generating a PHP 25,012,800 (~USD 408,000) prize pool, nearly double the original PHP 15,000,000 (~USD 245,000) guarantee.

For Giboum, the win represents the largest live tournament cash of his career. Just a year ago at APPT Manila 2025, he finished runner-up in the APPT Open, falling one step short of lifting the APPT Shard Trophy. This time, he completed the job, adding one of the region’s most prestigious titles to his resume.

#21 PokerStars Red Dragon (50,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$408,000

Total Prize

25M PHP

Guaranteed

15M PHP

#	Payout	Player
1	₱4,550,000 $74,005	KG Kim Giboum South Korea
2	₱2,830,000 $46,030	CR Czardy Rivera Philippines
3	₱2,040,000 $33,180	EG Edilberto Gopez Philippines
4	₱1,570,000 $25,535	NI Naoaki Ishihara Japan
5	₱1,205,000 $19,600	YW Yuanning Wu China
6	₱930,000 $15,125	EL Edwards Lawford Australia
7	₱715,000 $11,630	LK Lourd Keven Ejem Philippines
8	₱550,000 $8,945	MR Marc Rivera Philippines
9	₱437,800 $7,120	ED Emmanuel Derecho Australia

Check the 87 Payouts & Results ...

Giboum’s Reaction to the Win

Speaking after his win, Giboum struggled to put the moment into words. “It’s like flying in the sky,” he said, laughing. “My English is not perfect, so I can’t really explain my feelings. But I’m so happy.”

The victory carries extra significance after his runner-up finish in the APPT Open at APPT Manila 2025. “Last year I made a deal with the winner, so the money was good, but I wanted the trophy. I failed. This is my career high, my biggest trophy. It’s so meaningful.”

Giboum also credited the venue for his run of form. “I love this venue so much. The APPT Championship plays elsewhere, but I love this place more. When I play here, my results are always better.”

Final Table Action

The final table began with Edilberto Gopez holding the chip lead, and he wasted little time extending it, winning a big pot off Giboum after a double-barrel bluff was called down and folded on the river.

The eliminations soon followed. Emmanuel Derecho was first to exit in 9th place, his ace-six unable to catch up to Giboum’s pocket fours. Marc Rivera , third on the Philippines All-Time Money List with over $4.4 million in career earnings, fell in 8th place when his ace-jack ran into Lourd Keven Ejem‘s two pair. Ejem’s stay at the top proved brief, though, as he was eliminated himself in 7th place moments later by Czardy Rivera, Marc’s brother, who turned two pair with king-queen to crack Ejem’s pocket aces and settle the score for his sibling.

Gopez’s Rise and Fall

Gopez put together one of the most dramatic runs of the final table. After dipping to around 1,500,000, he mounted a full recovery to reclaim the chip lead, and the momentum continued when Naoaki Ishihara ‘s pocket nines lost a massive flip to Gopez’s ace-queen, which paired on the turn to give Gopez a commanding lead with just three players left.

Yuanning Wu , the 2023 APPT Manila Main Event champion, had already fallen in 5th place, his ace-nine no match for Ishihara’s pocket tens, while Edwards Lawford exited in 6th place in a wild three-way all-in that saw Ishihara turn a set of queens to deny both Wu’s kings and Lawford’s paired ace.

With Ishihara eliminated in 4th place, Gopez looked to be cruising toward the title, at one stage holding close to 70% of the chips in play. But the tide turned suddenly. Giboum doubled through him not once but twice in the span of a few hands, first with ace-king pairing the ace, then with king-queen improving to trips, to snatch away the chip lead. Gopez’s collapse was completed soon after when his ace-six could only pair against Giboum’s pocket sevens, which turned a set to send the Filipino out in 3rd place, capping off a stunning turnaround for Giboum.

Heads-Up

Giboum carried a commanding lead into the heads-up battle, holding 13,400,000 to Rivera’s 3,950,000. The duel proved to be a short one. Rivera opened, Giboum moved all in, and Rivera called off his stack holding king-queen against Giboum’s pocket fives. An ace-high, paired flop offered some hope, but neither the turn nor the river could rescue Rivera, and Giboum’s fives held to complete the win and crown him the new PokerStars Red Dragon champion.

Relive all the action as it happened on the Day 2 live updates of the PokerStars Red Dragon.