Manila Megastack 19: Martin Gonzales, J Michael Shell, Tomoyuki Takagi, Tanaka Nobutoshi

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Tricia DavidAuthor

Reviewed by Csaba Szirják

Updated: 2024.10.29

The culmination of Day 5 of Manila Megastack 19 marks the halfway point of the series. Running from September 19 to 29 at the first-class Okada Manila in Manila, Philippines, the highly popular PokerStars LIVE festival boasts a PHP 37 Million Guaranteed prize pool to be shared over 40 numbered events and 11 qualifiers. Half of those events have concluded with bigger opportunities still to come.

The culmination of Day 5 of Manila Megastack 19 marks the halfway point of the series. Running from September 19 to 29 at the first-class Okada Manila in Manila, Philippines, the highly popular PokerStars LIVE festival 19 boasts a PHP 37 Million Guaranteed prize pool to be shared over 40 numbered events and 11 qualifiers. Half of those events have concluded with bigger opportunities still to come

Manila Megastack 19 – Festival Results

Martin Gonzales at Manila Megastack 19 — Martin Gonzales

One of the big conclusions of the day was The Mystery Bounty Final, which brought together the 31 survivors from flights 1A and 1B. There were a total of 202 entries who made the affordable PHP 20,000 (~USD 340) from both flights to build a whopping prize pool of PHP 3,449,554 (~USD 61,500). The 31 final day players were guaranteed a minimum payout with the chance to improve their standings up the payout ladder and also earn prizes from the mystery bounty.

The eventual Mystery Bounty Champion was Martin Gonzales, who took home the lion’s share of PHP 470,000 (~USD 8,400) from the prize pool, a PokerStars spadie, and a APPT Championship seat worth PHP165,000 (~USD 3,000). Luckily, Gonzales spun the wheel and landed the highest mystery bounty prize, which was PHP 220,000 (~USD 4,000). The poker gods smiled heavily on him that day for sure.

Final Table payouts

Place	Player	Flag	Payout in PHP
1	Martin Gonzales	Philippines	₱ 470,000
2	Andrej Nagy	Slovakia	₱ 300,000
3	Jonaldo Auza	United States	₱ 210,000
4	Guan Leong Yap	Singapore	₱ 160,000
5	Junj Javalera (Ireneo)	Philippines	₱ 120,000
6	Mike Takayama	Philippines	₱ 100,000
7	Edison Yu	Philippines	₱ 80,000
8	Jeong (Peen) Seonghun	Korea, South	₱ 70,000
9	Siong See Ming	Singapore	₱ 58,544

The Super Deep PHP 1 Million Guaranteed also took off and lived up to its name. 222 players paid a PHP 12,000 (~USD 215) entry fee to push the prize pool to ₱2,273,990 (~USD 40,000). 31 players made it to the payout circle, but no winner was yet determined since the event had to be extended for an unscheduled extra day. It took over 15 hours just before a final table was formed with the event going “super deep” into next day’s witching hour. The Super Deep saga…to be continued.

Manila Megastack 19 — Super Deep – Final Table

The Mini High Roller saw 40 players signed up for PHP50,000 (~USD 890) to build a prize pool of PHP 1,746,000 (~USD 31,300). The top 6 players earned a share of the payout. Winning the biggest share from that was Mini High Roller champion Tomoyuki Takagi, who took home a PokerStars spaide and PHP 600,000 (~USD 10,700).

Tomoyuki Takagi at Manila Megastack 19 — Tomoyuki Takagi

A lot of side events with unique poker game rules and conditions added a fun deviation from the usual grind.

There was the Win The Button Turbo which added the simple rule that whoever wins the pot keeps the dealer button on the next hand and brings the position of the blinds with that button. So sometimes, players can be big blind for consecutive hands. A fun twist.

A total of 28 players tried out the fun event for PHP 15,000 (~USD 270), creating a PHP 358,512 (~USD 6,400) prize pool for the top 5 players to share.

J Michael Shell was crowned the Win The Button Turbo champion, earning the winner’s share of PHP 136,000 (~USD 2440) and a PokerStars spadie. This is Shell’s second championship from this Manila Megastack 19 series. He first won the Super Knockout (PHP 10,000 Bounty) a few days ago, and then now the Win The Button Turbo.

The NLH 15/10/5 is a poker variant that races against time. With the duration of blind levels changing per hour from 15 minutes to 10 to 5, those who make it deep will feel the time pressure almost like defusing a ticking time bomb.

There were 26 players who paid PHP 10,000 (~USD 180) for the experience, and created a PHP 221,936 (~USD 4,000) prize pool. Only the top 4 players who lived up to the pressure would earn a payout. It was Tanaka Nobutoshi, who emerged as the champion of the NLH 15/10/5, winning a PokerStars spade trophy and a payout of PHP 95,436 (~USD 1,700).

The remaining days of Manila Megastack 19 still have millions in prizes to give out. Multi-day events like The Main Event and the Megastack Turbo are still to come.

Also still to come… the conclusion of the Super Deep PHP 1 Million Guaranteed.

The saga continues when the final table gathers again.

About the Editor

Tricia DavidAuthor

Tricia David is a seasoned poker journalist and writer for Somuchpoker, with over a decade of experience covering the Asian poker scene. She began her career with the Asian Poker Tour (APT) in 2010 then in 2012, she became the lead writer for the Philippine Poker Tour, delivering news and live updates. Since 2014, Tricia has been a core contributor at Somuchpoker, providing in-depth coverage, features, and live updates from major poker events across the Asian region.

Manila Megastack 19: Martin Gonzales, J Michael Shell, Tomoyuki Takagi, Tanaka Nobutoshi

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