Keijiro Shimojo Leads In Final 50 Players Of Manila Megastack 20 Kick Off Event

Sign of big fields and hefty pots ahead as the 20th edition of the Manila Megastack  wrapped up its second day at Okada Manila in Manila, Philippines with the Kick Off event smashing its ₱3M guarantee. Across three flights, the event attracted 377 entries, building a prize pool of ₱4,746,443 (~US$ 80,820). Each flight bagged at ITM, which was roughly 15% of the field.

Entering Day 2, only 50 players will return with ₱27,000 (~US$ 460) locked up. Awaiting the champion is ₱874,443 (~US$ 14,900) plus an APPT 2025 package worth ₱120,000. Leading the race is Japan’s Keijiro Shimojo with 522,000 (65 bb) racked up at Flight B. Check out the highlights below.

Manila Megastack 20 – Kick Off Event Review

• Date: November 29 to December 1, 2024
• Buy in: ₱16,500 (~US$ 280)
• Guarantee: ₱3,000,000 (~US$ 51,080)
• Entries: 377
• Prize pool: ₱4,746,443 (~US$ 80,820)
• ITM: 50 players

Keijiro Shimojo Tops Flight B

The second flight of the Kick Off event was the largest of all flights with 173 entries  and 26 players securing their ITM spot. A lot of players had more than one bullet to their name and the final chip counts revealed Keijiro Shimojo being the only one topping half a million largely due to his elimination of Christian Lortie on the bubble, adding a hefty 166,000 last minute.

Roxanne Victorino – one of the multi bullet contenders – bagged the second highest stack with 440,000 after a roller coaster ride early in the game. Closely followed by Hyunbae Lim with 439,000 and both players topping Day 1A chip leader Jess Dalipe who will start Day 2 with 379,000.

Elmer Kalaquian Tops Flight C (Turbo)

The final flight was a turbo with 11 players out of 78 entries advancing to Day 2 making it a total of 50 out of 337 over all three flights. Elmer Kalaquian fought his way to the top, bagging a respectable 370,000, Christopher Mateo – who just missed the cut-off in Flight B finishing in 33rd earlier in the day – was close on his heels with 359,000, and Manuel Geronimo, who was very active throughout the whole day, finished in third rank with 318,000 to his name.

Yoshihito Asakawa Wins Second Trophy

Japan’s Yoshihito Asakawa lifted his second trophy in as many days at the festival. On opening day, Asakawa triumphed at the NLH 20/15/10 then a repeat performance on the second day at the Hyper Turbo. Asakawa blasted past the 40 entry field (32 unique) to lock up the ₱97,220 (~US$ 1,655) top prize, earning the largest portion of the ₱341,440 (~US$ 5,814) prize pool.

Manila Megastack 20 Main Event

The festival headliner is the Main Event with a buy in of ₱45,000 (~US$ 760) buy-in and a ₱20 million (~US$ 340,000) guarantee.  Through the years, this event has surged in international player attendance with several denying the locals this coveted title.  Here are the details.

Main Event

• Date December 4 to 8, 2024
• Buy in: ₱40,500+₱4,500
• Guarantee: ₱20 Million (~US$ 340,000)

Other Key Events

• Double Stack– ₱1 million GTD
• Mystery Bounty– ₱2 million GTD
• DeepStack– ₱1 million GTD
• SuperDeep–₱1million GTD
• Megastack Turbo– ₱2 million GTD
• Survivor Knockout– ₱3 million GTD
• Mini Main Event– ₱2 million GTD

All tournaments are No Limit Hold’em and allow multiple re-entries/re-buys, unless designated as Freezeout. Players can re-enter Day 1 events and carry their largest stack into Day 2. Around 15% of Day 1 participants will qualify for Day 2 and are guaranteed a minimum payout.

 Key winners also receive these prizes:

• Two from the Main Event receive a ₱120,000 2025 APPT Manila Main Event package taken from the prize pool
• Mini Main Event winner receives ₱120,000 2025 APPT Manila Main Event package taken from the prize pool
• Kick-off winner receives ₱120,000 2025 APPT Manila Main Event package taken from the prize pool
• One ₱120,000 2025 APPT Manila Main Event package (taken from the prize pool) will be added to the Mystery Bounty
• Survivor Knockout (event #40) and Megastack Turbo (event 22) winners receive ₱120,000 APPT Manila Main Event package taken from the prize pool.

Links:

MM 20 – Schedule 
MM 20 – Live Updates
MM 20 – Photo Gallery