Manila Megastack 20: Jess Dalipe Bags Kick Off Flight A Lead; Edward Halmarack, Yoshihito Asakawa, Yohei Ando Win Spades

The 20th edition of the Manila Megastack is in the books as three events saw chips pushed around the felt all day. Running from November 29 to December 8, 2025 at Okada Manila in the heart of Manila, Philippines, three players lifted the first PokerStars spades of the series and 13 players advanced at the Kick Off. Highlights are down below.

Manila Megastack – SCHEDULE

Manila Megastack 20 – Opening Day Results

Jess Dalipe Tops Kick Off – Flight A

After an eventful day at the Manila Megastack 20 Kick Off event, the final 13 players of Flight A ended with Jess Dalipe coming out on top, bagging 379,000. Dalipe chipped up early and a pivotal hand at level 9, holding pocket Aces against Chogo Kento‘s Ace-Queen suited for all the chips to go in pre, ended with a crucial double up that sent him soaring. Rounding out the top 3 were Moon Kyung Ho with 334,000 and Eric Ceret bagging 331,000. One of the most active players of the day was Darren Moves with 232,000 to his name and bringing the day to an end by busting Shirai Hiroto in the bubble with a dominated Ace.

Read up on the action via the SMP Live Updates.

Edward Halmarack Wins Superstack

The Superstack ₱1 Million guaranteed opened the games and it was an instant smasher with 127 entries (100 unique) on the felt to breach the guarantee. The top 17 places earned piece of the ₱1,330,886 (~US$ 22,660) prize pool. Claim the bragging rights first trophy was Edward Halmarack after defeating Winifred Obedoza in a swingy heads up. The newly minted Halmarack claimed the PokerStars spade trophy, ₱322,000 (~US$ 5,500) and a seat worth ₱45,000 to the Main Event,

The final three showdowns saw Obedoza plunge to 6 bb with A♥5♥ dominated by A♦Q♣, yet despite doubling up on the next called shove, the clincher was Halmarack Q♠10♠ staying ahead of 7♥9♥ on a board J♠5♠8♦A♣A♠.

Other winners

At the NLH 20/15/10, Japan’s Yoshihito Asakawa outlasted the 16 entry field (14 unique) for a payout of ₱88,864 (~US$ 1,513). To close out the opening day’s games was the evening’s Turbo with 40 entries (32 unique) building a prize pool of ₱341,440 (~US$ 5,823) with six players dipping in.

Japan’s Yohei Ando was awarded the win after a heads up chop with Shah Chirag that saw both players earn ₱97,300 (~US$ 1,657).

If you are just hearing of this festival, the Manila Megastack is a mid-stakes festival that offers buy ins from just ₱10,000 to ₱100,000. Through the years, the series has become increasingly popular as more and more international players participate. This is the last chance to win these iconic trophies in Asia for the year.

Manila Megastack 20 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:

Manila Megastack – Schedule 
Manila Megastack – Live Updates