Derecho Wins Super High Roller, Thompson Takes Titan Stack as Main Event Kicks Off at GOP Manila

Day 4 of GOP Manila 2026 delivered the two biggest cash prizes of the festival so far. Emmanuel Derecho went wire-to-wire to win the PHP 428,000 Super High Roller, Gary Thompson steamrolled the field to take the Titan Stack, and the PHP 30,000,000 GOP Main Event got underway with Flight A.

Derecho Goes Wire-to-Wire in Super High Roller

The final four returned 79 big blinds deep in a tournament that had attracted 21 entries for a PHP 8,148,000 prize pool. John Costiniano was first out when his ace-king ran into Derecho’s pocket aces.

It took almost an hour for the next casualty in this deep-stacked affair, and it came as no surprise that Derecho was responsible once again. David Wang got it in with pocket sevens against Derecho’s ace-eight, and the board paired twice by the river to leave Derecho’s ace kicker playing over Wang’s sevens, counterfeiting his pair to end it. Harry Halim briefly slowed the charge with a river save, but Derecho closed it out soon after when his ace-queen held against Halim’s ace-ten.

#20 GOP Super High Roller (428,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$131,990

Total Prize

8.1M PHP

Guaranteed

4M PHP

Entries

21

ITM

4

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱3,564,700 $57,745	ED Emmanuel Derecho Australia	845.70
2	₱2,138,900 $34,650	HH Harry Halim Indonesia	598.00
3	₱1,425,900 $23,100	DY David Yuan Jan Wang Australia	488.27
4	₱1,018,500 $16,500	JN John Niko Costiniano Philippines	422.85

Speaking after the win, Derecho admitted he was in the dark until the very end. “There was no stage where I was thinking I was going to be the champion,” he said. “Even on the final hand, I had no clue until the river. I had a big stack for most of the final table, but until that river, there was no way to know.”

Asked what mattered most – skill, patience, or luck – he didn’t hesitate. “It’s all about the gods. You’ve got to win a lot of flips, a lot of things have to go your way. Of course you’ve got to be patient too, but as I said, three-handed I ran good with pocket aces. That wasn’t me, that was all the gods.”

On what’s next, Derecho is taking a detour before the Main Event. “There’s a PLO tournament – I want to win that one. I love playing PLO tournaments. The Main Event’s on my radar, but first it’s got to be the PLO, just for my own enjoyment.” He also thanked his parents and girlfriend for their support.

Thompson Steamrolls the Titan Stack

Of the 17 players who returned from a 115-entry field, it was Thompson who caught fire early and never cooled off. He doubled through Nichols Manalo for the final table’s first knockout, then ran perfect-perfect with jack-nine to check-jam over Edgar Asehan’s pocket aces.

Alvir Inocentes , chasing back-to-back GOP titles after his Pandora’s Mystery Bounty win, staged a laddering masterclass from a fraction of a big blind but busted in third when his flush draw missed against Thompson’s jack-nine. That set up heads-up between the two remaining chip leaders, where AJ Acdal’s three-bet jam with ace-eight ran into Thompson’s pocket eights to end it.

#18 Titan Stack (38,500 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$64,795

Total Prize

4M PHP

Guaranteed

4M PHP

Entries

115

ITM

17

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱1,037,700 $16,810	GT Gary Thompson Ireland	885.72
2	₱642,700 $10,410	AC Aj Cris Acdal Philippines	626.30
3	₱442,300 $7,165	AI Alvir Inocentes Philippines	511.37
4	₱326,100 $5,280	JG Jonald Garcia Philippines	442.86
5	₱252,500 $4,090	EG Edilberto Gopez Philippines	396.11
6	₱202,700 $3,285	EA Edgar Asehan Philippines	361.59
7	₱167,400 $2,710	ID Ionut Dragomir Romania	334.77
8	₱141,400 $2,290	KF Kentaro Furuta Japan	313.15
9	₱121,600 $1,970	NM Nichols Manalo Philippines	295.24

Check the 17 Payouts & Results ...

Thompson, who bulldozed his way through the tournament running hot, was happy to finally get a trophy over the line. “It’s been a long time since I won a trophy,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever run this hot in my life in a tournament – it’s almost tilting in a way, but it’s all good, happy to win. Nice trophy.”

Jack-nine did plenty of the work for him at the final table. “I won a couple of all-ins with jack-nine, in pretty bad shape, so that was nice.” As for the rest of the series, Thompson isn’t planning too far ahead. “I’ll probably play every tournament going. I haven’t really looked at the schedule, I’ll just show up and play whatever’s on – a few high rollers, and when I bust those, I’ll be in everything else, trying to support the series here.”

Costiniano Tops Main Event Flight A

The PHP 82,500 GOP Main Event, guaranteeing PHP 30,000,000, kicked off with Flight A drawing 48 entries and sending seven players through to the money. Fresh off his elimination as the first casualty of the Super High Roller, John Costiniano jumped straight into the Main Event and built a commanding stack of 1,773,000, including a set of jacks that snapped off a bluff from Ryan Hong.

End-of-Flight A Chip Counts

Flight A ran on the same Cronus Structure that defines every GOP event, closing registration after just two levels before shifting into shorter, faster levels for the run to the money.

Interview

Live Poker

The Cronus Structure Explained: Why Gods Of Poker Closes Registration So Early

Gods of Poker's Lloyd Fontillas explains the Cronus Structure, it's impact on the Main Event, and why GOP closes registration after just two levels.

2026.08.24

As founder Lloyd Fontillas put it when explaining the format: “By right, this is a better experience – I’m getting players to the money in a single day, with a structure that still respects the purity of the competition.”

Trophies Elsewhere on Day 4

Martijn Gerrits ended his one-day drought with a fourth trophy of the festival, taking down another Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot. Peter Khamas won the PHP 165,000 PLO Single Day High Roller for PHP 630,000, and Titan Stack finalist Edilberto Gopez picked up the PHP 22,000 Turbo edition. Czardy Rivera took the PHP 88,000 Turbo High Roller for PHP 576,000, defeating Marius Talampas and David Wang. Lavonne Watkins, Chiyuan You, and June Brix Nuestro also lifted trophies, as did Tom Verbruggen in the PHP 55,000 Hyper Turbo High Roller for PHP 240,000.

Tuesday’s Schedule: August 25, 2026

Day 5 brings Flight B of the Main Event, running on GOP’s extended two-day structure, alongside two flights of the PHP 275,000 Titan Stack High Roller and several Omaha variants.

All data and images courtesy of Gods of Poker.

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