Day 1b of the Manila Megastack 24 Main Event brought a fresh wave of competitors to the PokerStars Live poker room at Okada Manila . With 222 entries recorded for this second flight, the tournament floor was filled rail-to-rail with talent, resulting in an action-packed 12-hour session. By the time the dust settled, 33 players successfully bagged their chips, led by Maxwell Rosete , who topped the counts with an impressive 619,000 chips. The field featured a variety of familiar faces and hungry hopefuls. Among those in the mix were Super Series 23 Main Event winner Dakota Johnson and the consistent Alvir Inocentes , who has already logged five cashes during this series. While many notables hit the rail throughout the day, but those who found a bag are now guaranteed a payday, plus a spot in Sunday’s Day 2 finale.

Day 1b Top 10 Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Rosete Maxwell Philippe	Philippines	619,000
2	Koula Petr	Czech Republic	558,000
3	Montalbano Nicola	Italy	429,000
4	Sherwood Robert	England	394,000
5	Naito Hiroshi	Japan	372,000
6	Kim Kunwoo	Korea, South	363,000
7	Watanabe Katsutoshi	Japan	341,000
8	Guerrero Gary	Philippines	332,000
9	Carreon Jayvon	Philippines	289,000
10	Barnay Patrick	France	260,000

The Day’s Action

Rosete gained momentum quickly, and further solidified his lead in a hand against Seungyeop Han . On a draw-heavy flop, Rosete bet 6,000 into a 16,000 pot. Han responded by shoving his stack, only for Rosete to snap-call with pocket threes for a set. Han’s pocket fours failed to improve, and he was eliminated shortly after the registration period closed. In another notable confrontation, Michihiko Matsuda crossed paths with the short-stacked Michael Bagdasarov . Bagdasarov, risking his final 18,800, committed his chips with pocket eights, but Matsuda held the edge with pocket queens. The board ran out clean for the ladies, sending Bagdasarov to the rail. Second-in-chips Petr Koula demonstrated why he is a force to be reckoned with in a massive three-way clash, using pocket aces to crush the pocket nines of Nicholas Andrews , clearing the table to stack a massive pot.

The Bubble Bursts

Ryo Oikawa was the unfortunate bubble boy

The pace of play slowed as the money bubble approached, with players carefully protecting their stacks. The tournament reached its climax when Ryo Oikawa became the day’s bubble boy. Oikawa got his remaining chips in with a pair of pocket threes and flopped a straight draw, but could not overcome Robert Sherwood ’s pocket eights, ending his Day 1b run in 34th place. While most survivors finished with healthy stacks, the field’s bottom end included Daniel Francis , who managed to survive until the end of the day with just 10,000 chips – less than two big blinds by the time the bubble burst.

The Remainder of the Week for Manila Megastack 24

With Day 1b in the books, the focus shifts to the final opening flights. All 33 survivors from today have secured their seats and will return to the Okada poker room on Sunday, March 8, to join the field for Day 2. The tournament continues with Day 1c starting tomorrow at 12:00 PM local time. Players can expect the same structure as previous flights. For continued coverage of the Manila Megastack 24 Main Event, keep an eye on the Somuchpoker live reporting page . You can also find live updates and content on our Instagram and Facebook pages.