Kosasih Claims First Gauntlet as Mondalo Takes Down Opening Event at GOP Manila

Day 2 of GOP Manila 2026 delivered a homecoming story on both fronts. Bonifacio Mondalo Jr won the Opening Event on home soil in the Philippines, while Indonesia ‘s Fendy Kosasih  finally landed his gauntlet trophy in the PHP 682,500 Demigods Challenge.

Mondalo Wins Opening Event After Even Chop

Of the 32 players who returned for the Final Day, each guaranteed at least PHP 36,000, the field was down to the last 14 within two hours. Young Min Kang entered the final table with the chip lead, but it was an all-Filipino heads-up battle that decided the title. Ryan Tan came in with 15 big blinds and it lasted exactly one hand, Mondalo’s ace-ten flopping an ace and rivering the higher flush to win it – though both players had already agreed to chop the top two payouts and split a GOP Main Event seat each.

#1 GOP Manila Opening Event (22,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$69,670

Total Prize

4.3M PHP

Guaranteed

3.5M PHP

Entries

224

ITM

32

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱761,100 $12,330	BM Bonifacio Mondalo Jr Philippines	1,014.04
2	₱761,000 $12,325	RT Ryan Tan Philippines	717.04
3	₱394,900 $6,395	YK Youngmin Kang South Korea	585.46
4	₱288,600 $4,675	IK Itay Kay Israel	507.02
5	₱221,400 $3,585	RD Rodolfo Dela Fuente Philippines	453.49
6	₱176,200 $2,855	SE Sandro Encinas Peru	413.98
7	₱144,200 $2,335	TC Than Cao Nguyen Viet Nam	383.27
8	₱120,700 $1,955	JV Joemark Vasay Philippines	358.52
9	₱102,900 $1,665	MA Martin Astorga Philippines	338.01

Check the 32 Payouts & Results ...

Speaking after his win, Mondalo admitted the title came after a break from the tournament grind. “I’m nervous because I couldn’t play a tournament for almost a year,” he said. “This was my first time coming back to play tournament again, so my confidence wasn’t 100%. But I did my best with my experience, and now I’ve become the champion.”

On the final table itself, he credited experience and composure under pressure. “It was very hard, but with my experience, and of course I prayed – I wanted to win, so that’s why.” He isn’t slowing down either, with the Mystery Bounty on the schedule the same night before an eye on the Main Event. “Tonight I’m playing the Mystery Bounty at 9 p.m., the turbo. And soon I to go to the Main Event.” He also thanked his wife and friends on the rail for their support.

Kosasih Finally Gets His Gauntlet in Demigods Challenge

Twelve players took a shot at the PHP 682,500 Demigods Challenge, battling for a PHP 7,566,000 prize pool with the top two paid and a black gauntlet trophy on the line. Rudy Edenata , the previous day’s Single Day High Roller champion , fired two bullets without success, leaving fellow Indonesians Harry Halim and Kosasih to do the heavy lifting. Kosasih rivered a flush with king-nine of diamonds to triple up in a three-way pot on the money bubble, and closed it out when Marc Rivera’s queens ran into his kings heads-up.

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Recap

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Gerrits claims two trophies as GOP Manila opens, plus Edenata's Single Day HR win and founder Lloyd Fontillas on bringing GOP home to Manila

2026.08.22

#11 Demigods Challenge (682,500 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$122,560

Total Prize

7.6M PHP

Entries

12

ITM

2

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱4,728,700 $76,600	FK Fendy Kosasih Indonesia	751.59
2	₱2,837,300 $45,960	HH Harry Halim Indonesia	531.45

“Finally I have a gauntlet,” Kosasih said after the win. Speaking to Gods of Poker host Erica, the Indonesian pro, who lives locally in Manila, explained what drew him to the biggest buy-in of the series. “I live here, so absolutely I would join this. I also joined the last series – Jeju, and then Taipei, but I skipped Incheon. So now it’s on my hometown, it’s a must.”

As a regular in the high-stakes ranks, Kosasih said the buy-in didn’t change his approach. “I just play like usual, because I’m a high roller player. I join all the high roller events.” Asked what matters most in a field like this, he didn’t hesitate. “For me, luck is number one – all the people know how to play poker. Second is patience.”

 

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Trophies, a New Nickname, and Pandora’s MB Progress

Ryan Ming Hong won the day’s first trophy, taking down Event #10 Open Face Chinese over Alfie Adam and Hanh Tran . In the Aphrodite’s Event, Honoka Suzuki took the title for PHP 115,200, beating Bianca Flores heads-up after building a big lead with two pair.

Martijn Gerrits , dubbed “the Monster” by Adam, added a third trophy to his festival tally in Event #13 Omaha Dealer’s Choice, denying Tran in heads-up for the second time in two days. Gerrits also went deep in a Hyper Turbo Big O side event but fell to Keijiro Shimojo heads-up.

Pandora’s Mystery Bounty ran its four starting flights across the day: Flight A drew 26 entries, with local player Alexander Allen bursting the bubble against chip leader Edilberto Gopez . Flight B saw 33 entries, Andy Kok’s turned nut straight closing out the night. Flight C brought in 29 entries, Alvir Inocentes rivering a straight to bust the bubble. The late Flight D added 26 more, including Tom Verbruggen arriving straight from the airport, with Joris Michl completing a comeback from less than a big blind. A total of 17 survivors return for the Final Day, playing for PHP 2,840,000 in cash plus PHP 1,160,000 in bounty prizes.

Saturday’s Schedule: August 23, 2026

Day 3 brings the Pandora’s Mystery Bounty Final Day alongside the launch of the PHP 38,500 Titan Stack (PHP 4,000,000 guarantee, three flights), the PHP 428,000 Super High Roller, a second Aphrodite’s Event, and two Omaha competitions.

All data and figures courtesy of Gods of Poker.

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