Manila Megastack 17: Six more spade trophies awarded to side event winners Masakazu Miyamoto, Takashi Kawauchi, Zhuoyue Cen, Ashley Patterson, John Matsuda, and Jeongyeon Kim

The Manila Megastack 17 festivities running at the PokerStars hub in Okada Manila, Philippines is playing through its 40-event lineup and crowned another six champions within the past two days. Tournament winners Masakazu Miyamoto, Takashi Kawauchi, Zhuoyue Cen, Ashley Patterson, John Matsuda, and Jeongyeon Kim emerged victorious across the smaller field side events and claimed top payouts for their wins. The single day tournaments welcomed its bout of international and local runners making it a fun-filled and action-packed affair through and through.

Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Schedule

Event #23: ₱15K Deepstack: Masakazu Miyamoto – PHP 299,340 (~USD 5,380)

The earliest tournament on schedule, Event #23: ₱15K Deepstack recorded 85 total entries to bring the prize pool up to seven figures. With only 11 players guaranteed a payout, Japan’s Masakazu Miyamoto fiercely dominated the tables, delivering the bubble and guaranteeing the rest a minimum payout of PHP 27,200 (~USD 480). Miyamoto served as the chip leader from start to finish and cruised through to heads up play against South Korea’s Jinsung Chung with a 10:1 chip advantage. Chung, who was unable to overcome his opponent, settled for a runner up finish after his crashed into Miyamoto’s for the tournament’s final hand. Miyamoto bags the win and takes with him PHP 299,340 (~USD 5,380) in winnings for his relentless run.

Date: December 8, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)

Prize pool: PHP 1,088,340 (~USD 19,590)

Entries: 85

ITM: 11 players

Event #23: ₱15K Deepstack Full Payouts

Event #24: High Roller Knockout: Takashi Kawauchi – PHP 321,400 (~USD 5,780)

Clinching a second title in the series, Mini High Roller champion and Single Day High Roller runner-up finisher Takashi Kawauchi claimed another trophy after beating China’s Zhiqiang Liu in heads up play. Liu sat with a monster stack just before the money bubble burst by the hands of Kawauchi. The Japanese runner eliminated Niroshan Loganathan in an all-in preflop situation where his flopped a straight to crush his opponent’s . From there, Kawauchi rode this momentum and went on to bust Kirill Gladchenko in third place to get to heads up. The final hand saw Kawauchi take it down with after outrunning Liu’s for a turned flush on . Kawauchi bags the victory and cashed in on six PHP 25,000 (~USD 450) bounties in addition to his PHP 321,400 (~USD 5,780) first place payout.

Date: December 8, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 100,000 (~USD 1,800)

Prize pool: PHP 642,400 (~USD 11,560)

Entries: 10

ITM: 3 players

Event #24: High Roller Knockout Full Payouts

Event #25: Knockout Turbo: Zhuoyue Cen – PHP 247,020 (~USD 4,440)

Date: December 8, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 25,000 (~USD 450)

Prize pool: PHP 784,320 (~USD 14,110)

Entries: 48

ITM: 7 players

Event #25: Knockout Turbo Full Payouts

Event #27: SuperStack Freezeout: Ashley Patterson – PHP 363,360 (~USD 6,540)

APPT Manila Kick Off champion Ashley Patterson claimed victory at Event #27: SuperStack Freezeout after outlasting the 54 entry field to bank the lion’s share of the PHP 1,152,360 (~USD 20,800) prize pool. Patterson was seen amongst the short stacks during bubble time but managed to steal the blinds a total of four times to bounce back in the game. Patterson went on to eliminate Christopher Mateo as the bubble and rise to chip lead status following the bust. Mateo lost a huge pot just a level back after running into Yokoo Kazuoshi’s then proceed to get his remaining chips in with against Patterson’s. The board ran a one card straight to Patterson’s jack, leaving the rest to cash in a return on their buy-ins. With newfound ammo, Patterson went on to secure the title after defeating Japan’s Yuta Kawakami in heads up play to claim the PHP 363,360 (~USD 6,540) top prize.

Date: December 9, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 25,000 (~USD 450)

Prize pool: PHP 1,152,360 (~USD 20,800)

Entries: 54

ITM: 7 players

Event #27: SuperStack Freezeout Full Payouts

Event #28: Super Knockout Turbo: John Matsuda – PHP 159,904 (~USD 2,870)

Date: December 9, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 20,000 (~USD 360)

Prize pool: PHP 579,904 (~USD 10,430)

Entries: 82

ITM: 11 players

Event #28: Super Knockout Turbo Full Payouts

Event #30: Short Deck Turbo: Jeongyeon Kim – PHP 102,176 (~USD 1,830)

A Short Deck event was added into the mix and saw 19 entries battle it out for a piece of the PHP 243,276 (~USD 4,390) pot. Japan’s Tsujisaka Tetsuya bubbled in 5th place after his micro stack was called by both Singapore’s Wilfred Allais and chip leader Kim Jongyeon. Kim ran a straight with to knock out Tetsuya and guarantee everyone a minimum payout of PHP 29,200 (~USD 525). Kim then carried out to bust Hong Kong’s Chan Wai Wallac and Allais in 3rd and 4th place respectively to reach heads up play against South Korea’s Jungkyu Lee. The final two instead agreed on a deal and evenly chopped the payouts, leaving the trophy for Kim considering his 4:1 chip advantage.

Date: December 9, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)

Prize pool: PHP 243,276 (~USD 4,390)

Entries: 19

ITM: 4 players

Event #30: Short Deck Turbo Turbo Full Payouts