Justin Ong Crowned 2025 APPT Manila Main Event Champion

In just two weeks, cash game player Justin Ong has gone from relatively unknown to the most talked about player at the 2025 Asia Pacific Poker Tour festival  Stepping into only his second-ever live poker series, Ong stunned the competition not once, but twice – first by capturing the PokerStars Red Dragon title , then following it up days later with an even bigger triumph: the APPT Manila Main Event. In total, Ong collected over ₱19 Million (~US$ 326K) at the series. 

Lucky. I am very lucky. It was a long festival and now I will go home and spend my winnings with my family, I’ve been gone too long.

When asked about how he feels winning back to back titles at the series, Ong was hungry for more saying,

I won two APPT Championship packages so I will be back! I will try for three times!

#63 APPT Main Event (80,000 PHP)

Justin Ong Takes Down The 2025 APPT Manila Main Event

A new force has arrived in the Philippine poker scene in the name of Justin Ong! Only days after winning the PokerStars Red Dragon event, Ong dominated the Main Event to become the newest APPT Manila champion. He hoisted the coveted shard trophy along with a life-changing payout of ₱14,800,000 (~US$ 256K).

"Lucky, I am very lucky. I remember in Day 2, I was not getting cards. I had a big stack like 300,000 and then I dropped low to 90,000 or less so I told myself I have to discipline myself or else I am going home. And then I won a very big pot. From there, I went back up and up."

Read up on his incredible victory via the Live Updates.

Total Prize USD

$1,495,750

Total Prize

₱87,020,640

Guaranteed

₱58,000,000

Entries

1,246

ITM

183

#	Payout	Player
1	₱14,800,000 $256,370	JO Justin Ong Philippines
2	₱9,250,000 $160,230	OL Oliver Lirio Philippines
3	₱6,600,000 $114,330	CC Chase Cokaliong Philippines
4	₱5,100,000 $88,345	KE Kim Enriquez Philippines
5	₱3,910,000 $67,730	RT Ryan Tan Philippines
6	₱3,010,000 $52,140	SO Sungmin Oh Korea (Republic of)
7	₱2,310,000 $40,015	EA Edgar Asehan Philippines
8	₱1,780,000 $30,835	KK Katsuhito Kawai Japan
9	₱1,378,640 $23,880	SK Somashekar Kurkhepally Nahadeva India

Check the 183 Payouts & Results ...

2025 APPT Manila Main Event

Running from July 31 to August 4 at the stunning Cove Manila inside world class Okada Manila in the Philippines, the 16th annual APPT Manila Main Event guaranteed ₱58 Million (just over one million US dollars) and crushed it. By the close of the four entry flights, 1,246 entered, ballooning the prize pool to ₱87,020,640 (~US$ 1,495,750) making it second best in APPT Manila history. 

Main Event Numbers

• Buy-in: ₱80,000 (~US$ 1,375)
• Guarantee: ₱58,000,000 (~US$ 1,013,000)
• Entries: 1,246
• Prize pool: ₱87,020,640 (~US$ 1,495,750)
• ITM: 163 places

Flight Results

• Flight A: 270 entries
• Flight B: 320 entries
• Flight C: 462 entries
• Flight D: 194 entries

Justin Ong Dominates APPT Manila Main Event

Fresh from his PS Red Dragon victory, Justin Ong was one of 232 players that secured a spot at Main Event Day 2. Armed with a healthy 60 big blinds, his day was defined by a fierce back-and-forth with newly crowned APPT National champion Youngtaek Lim. The two aggressive powerhouses seemed locked in a personal duel, each looking to outmuscle the other.

In one notable hand, Ong went deep into the tank holding A♣K♣ on a 7♠6♣Q♣3♠ board after a shove from Lim , who at that point was steamrolling the table to build a commanding lead. “If I call and win, I go to the final table. If I lose, I go home,” Ong remarked before laying it down.

But as the day wound down, Ong finally landed a decisive blow, scooping a massive pot off Lim to seize the chip lead heading into the final day. According to Ong, more important though than luck was discipline.

I remember in Day 2, I was not getting cards. I had a big stack like 300,000 and then I dropped low to 90,000 or less so I told myself I have to discipline myself or else I am going home. And then I won a very big pot. From there, I went back up and up.

Final Day Summary

Starting the final day leading the 20 remaining players, Ong wasted no time extending his advantage. He outmaneuvered Lim again, this time with a well-timed bluff that stretched his lead even further. Their rivalry came to a close when Ong delivered the knockout blow in 14th place, his higher full house sealing Lim’s fate .

Before Lim fell, the 2023 APPT Manila champion Yuanning Wu was eliminated in 15th place followed by the 2024 APPT Cambodia champion Christopher Mateo in 11th place. The final table was formed after Benhur Ybarsabal exited in 10th place.

Oliver Lirio Delivers Two Shocking Knockouts

On the first hand of the final table, Ong’s lead was stolen by Oliver Lirio after he eliminated Somashekhar Nahadeva (9th) on a sick flip. It was all in preflop with Nahadeva J♣J♥ and Lirio A♥K♠. Lirio jumped to trips at the flop A♠A♣7♠, Nahadeva overtook with a full house on the turn J♦, then Lirio stole back the moment with A♦ quads on the river.

Two hands later, Katsuhito Kawai (8th) went all in with A♠10♥, Lirio called with 5♥5♣. The flop improved Kawai to two pair A♥8♣10♣ and was safe on the turn 9♥, then came the river 5♠, trips for Lirio .

The official final table of six players was formed when Chase Cokaliong outdrew Edgar Asehan into 7th place.

Watch the Final 6 Livestream

Final 6 Summary

The final six began with Ong taking full control of the action to eventually knock out Sungmin Oh (6th) and Ryan Tan (5th) and retake the lead. However, with stacks still deep compared to the blinds, and big pay jumps at stake, Ong changed strategy.

The pay jumps really mattered, especially at four-handed, they were all just waiting for me to initiate the action. I noticed I was the only one opening and they were all just waiting, then they would shove. I can’t call. My stack started getting smaller from always opening so I decided to back down and let them initiate.

Also I got caught bluffing , so I slowed down. When it was down to three players, I could not bluff. I continued to play passive hoping they would take each other out but Lirio got lucky and came back three times.

As blinds increased, play tightened up further. Except for Ong, everyone’s stack swung. Cokaliong took the lead for the first time after knocking out Kim Enriquez in 4th place with 10♣10♥ winning the flip against A♠Q♦.

At three-handed, short stacked Lirio staged an impressive comeback from 13 bb to reach par with the leaders of 40 bb each and even took a slight lead until he was fully in command when he eliminated Cokaliong. During the hand, Cokaliong called all in on the river J♣5♦9♠4♦9♦ holding K♦7♦ flush, Lirio had A♦Q♦ nut flush.

Despite Lirio’s advantage, entering heads up with 68 bb over Ong’s 28 bb, he was no match for the charging champion. Ong went back on full attack mode, barreling and soon reclaimed the top spot without a showdown. Lirio took  final a stand, calling Ong’s shove with J♦9♦ that missed the board against 8♦8♣.

Bubble Hands At APPT Manila Main Event

Apart from the shocking hands by Lirio, the bubble round also produced jaw dropping moments. Wongyu Kang tried to exploit until his four-bet shove was called by David Erquiaga who had Q♣Q♠. Kang opened  a surprising Q♥4♥. With Erquiaga at risk, the flop ran a scary 2♠3♠5♦, giving Erquiaga a sick sweat until the turn 3♦ and river K♣ for a safe landing.

Another bubble hand, Seokyeong Yun with A♣A♠ was called by Vamerdino Magasakay with K♦K♥. The flop improved Magsakay 6♠J♠K♥, however was denied the bubble kill on a runner runner 4♠3♠ for a flush to Yun.

To read up on some of the action at the 2025 APPT Manila Main Event, head to the SMP Live Updates.