Philippines’ William Ysmael bags latest Asia Poker Championship title and Php 5,400,000 (~US$ 96,607) in winnings

Manila’s live poker scene has recovered staggeringly this year as tournament operators left and right continue to take advantage of the increased attendance. The country’s largest poker room, Metro Card Club, was not one to miss the action and joined in on the buzz with its second edition Asia Poker Championship for 2022.

The freshly young series which ran from August 9-15, 2022, in partnership with Korean Mind Game Members (KMGM), once again boasted a notable Php 20,000,000 (~US$ 358,217) Main Event guarantee. After four days of play, Filipino pro William Ysmael successfully locked in the latest APC title and a career-high cash of Php 5,400,000 (~US$ 96,607) for his impressive victory.

“It feels good to be back in the game! It’s actually been a while since my last live victory and all I can say is that the work I put in is finally paying off. Right from the start, I already felt that my time to shine was coming up and true to word, I closed each day with a healthy stack.”, Ysmael commented following his win.

“By the final day, I saw no real threat to the trophy but of course, it also doesn’t hurt to run good!”

Prior to his nearly six-figure win, the Metro Team Pro member had just a little over $110K in total live earnings according to The Hendon Mob. Ysmael’s biggest score then amounted to a modest $24K after coming in third at the Asian Poker Tour Main Event back in September 2018. Now adding in his most impressive victory, the 38-year old climbs several spots to place 24th in Philippines’ All Time Money List.

Final Day Recap

This season’s APC Main Event drew slightly fewer entries than that of its previous edition last June yet still met its ambitious guarantee of Php 20,000,000 (~US$ 358,217). Five qualifying flights wrapped up and recorded a total of 502 entries for a Php 20,080,000 (~US$ 359,650) generated prize pool. Out of the 502 runners, an increased 12% of the field (60 places) made the money and saw the bubble burst after six players were eliminated in Day 3.

Korean national Hwang Seong Il carried the chip lead to kick off Day 3, followed by fellow final tablist and second in chips William Ysmael. Defending APC champion Mike Takayama was also amongst the third day qualifiers and bowed out in 52nd place. The day closed with eight players remaining led by aggressive local Jeremy Catalig as each contender remained guaranteed Php 360,000 (~US$ 6,448) in prize money.

The final table right away saw three eliminations within the first level beginning with 8th place finisher Shin Kyeong Rim who suffered a bad beat against Jeorge Lagatuz. Fellow Korean Choi Kyong Min followed not long after in an unfortunate cooler against Ysmael’s premium . The third casualty saw Hwang Seong Il’s stack get grinded down and eventually lose a flip against run good chip leader Catalig. Local runner Alexander Lai on the other hand, managed to climb up a few pay jumps before exiting in fifth after suffering the same fate as Il.

With four left in the running, Catalig continued with his aggression and cost Lagatuz his tournament life after the latter retaliated with an all-in. His however, ran right into Lee Seok Young’s sending Lagatuz easily out in 4th. By three-handed play, Catalig was comfortably sitting with over half the chips in play yet lost his reins in one huge mistake. With Ysmael having limped the small blind, Catalig pushed all-in, very much covering his opponent’s 40 big blind stack. Ysmael however, held and quickly made the call. Catalig revealed a weak Ace and got no help from the board, awarding Ysmael the massive boost.

Riding his momentum, Ysmael proceeded to stack Catalig shortly after and headed into heads up play against Young with a 3:1 chip advantage. Ysmael maintained his lead to the end and secured the victory yet again with a better Ace to wrap up the tournament. Biting the dust, Young settled for a runner-up finish and Php 2,930,000 (~US$ 52,478) in winnings as APC’s latest champion Ysmael coolly bagged the Php 5,400,000 (~US$ 96,607) top payout.

Date/s: August 9-15, 2022
Buy in: Php 44,000 (~US$ 788)
Guarantee: Php 20,000,000 (~US$ 358,217)
Entries: 502
Prize pool: Php 20,080,000 (~US$ 359,650)
ITM: 60 places

2022 APC Final Table Results