Inocentes Wins Pandora’s Mystery Bounty as Derecho Leads Super High Roller at GOP Manila

Day 3 of GOP Manila 2026 belonged to the home crowd again. Alvir Inocentes took down Event #9 Pandora’s Mystery Bounty for PHP 690,100, while Emmanuel Derecho heads into the final day of the PHP 428,000 Super High Roller as the chip leader among the final four.

Inocentes Wins Pandora’s Mystery Bounty

The 17 returning players from a field of 116 entries locked up at least PHP 45,700 each, with PHP 690,100 waiting for the winner on top of individual bounty prizes. Takamasa Kojima briefly held more than twice the chips of his nearest rival at the final six before a cold stretch let the table catch up, and it was Inocentes who took over from there.

Heads-up against Jankowski, Inocentes stormed into a commanding lead by winning seven of the first nine hands, then closed it out when his king-jack of diamonds rivered a flush against Jankowski’s ace-seven of spades – not enough to catch up, with all three remaining bounties going Inocentes’ way.

#9 Pandora's Mystery Bounty (33,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$35,325

Total Prize

2.2M PHP

Guaranteed

4M PHP

Entries

116

ITM

17

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱690,100 $11,180	AI Alvir Inocentes Philippines	724.61
2	₱427,500 $6,925	LJ Lukasz Jankowski Poland	512.38
3	₱294,000 $4,765	KT Kojima Takamasa Japan	418.35
4	₱216,900 $3,515	RG Renniel Galvez Philippines	362.30
5	₱167,900 $2,720	CR Czardy Rivera Philippines	324.05
6	₱134,800 $2,185	MR Mark Remnant United Kingdom	295.82
7	₱111,300 $1,805	RM Ryan Ming Hong Australia	273.88
8	₱94,000 $1,525	SH Seung Hyun Han South Korea	256.19
9	₱80,900 $1,310	EC Eunseok Choi South Korea	241.54

Check the 17 Payouts & Results ...

Speaking after the win via a translator, Inocentes admitted the title snapped a rough stretch at the tables. “I’m extremely happy that I won the Mystery Bounty because I haven’t won in a while,” he said. “My confidence was somewhat disappearing, but the drive to push my game was still there. I draw inspiration from my friends who win – I ask them about their strategy, in case they have a tool that I need. When you’re not winning, you really have to adjust. I think that was the key for me.”

He also credited staying connected to the game during the downswing. “It’s hard, especially when you’re on a downswing, which is part of the game anyway. We’re used to it, but we still need good surroundings to stay motivated to play.”

On GOP’s arrival in Manila, Inocentes said the series fills a gap for local grinders who don’t often get a big festival on home soil, and that its fast-paced structure suits his game. “I’m the type who likes to max late-register – I’m not very comfortable with deep stacks, so Gods of Poker fits right into my game plan. I don’t have to wait around for too long, and late registering is still very playable. This structure is the best for me.”

Looking ahead, Inocentes plans to keep grinding through the rest of the series, just not at the very top end. “I want to play everything, but for the high roller events I don’t know yet because the buy-ins are too high. For the guaranteed events around 80,000 and below, I think I can play those – I have plenty of local grinders and friends supporting me. I’ll play the upcoming guaranteed events in Gods of Poker.”

Derecho Leads Final Four in Super High Roller

Flight A of the PHP 428,000 Super High Roller drew 16 entries, with Fendy Kosasih , fresh off his Demigods Challenge win, among those to bust before the final table. Derecho took over the chip lead near the bubble and never relinquished it, closing the flight on top after Gary Thompson became the last player out without a payday. Flight B ran shorter with five entries, Harry Halim knocking out Tom Verbruggen to set the final four.

Chip Counts Heading into the Final Day

All four are guaranteed a share of the PHP 8,148,000 prize pool when the tournament wraps up today.

Titan Stack Down to 17 Survivors

The PHP 38,500 Titan Stack ran three flights toward its own PHP 4,000,000 guarantee. Flight A drew 55 entries and saw Bonifacio Mondalo Jr , fresh off his Opening Event title, bow out on the bubble, while Jonald Garcia ended the flight with the most chips. Flight B added 38 entries, Kentaro Furuta bursting the money bubble. The turbo Flight C brought in 22 more, with Gary Thompson closing it out on top after a run of quick eliminations at the final table. Thompson sits second overall as 17 players return from a 115-entry field to chase the PHP 4,000,000 prize pool.

Trophies Elsewhere on Day 3

It wasn’t to be a fourth trophy for Martijn Gerrits , who went deep in multiple events without adding to his tally. Marius Zalpys took down Event #19 Pot-Limit Omaha for PHP 196,580, Nicole Dejiro won the Aphrodite’s Event, Ryusuke Araki claimed the Hyper Turbo Power Button title for PHP 81,000, and Mark Marriott took the 5-Card PLO Double Board Bomb Pot for PHP 207,500, with Gerrits finishing third.

Tuesday’s Schedule: August 24, 2026

Day 4 sees the GOP Main Event kick off with Flight A, alongside the Super High Roller and Titan Stack final days. Also on tap are four Omaha tournaments, a PHP 88,000 Turbo High Roller, and the PHP 22,000 Titan Stack Turbo.

All data and figures courtesy of Gods of Poker.

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