PokerStars LIVE Manila Megastack 15 underway at Okada Manila featuring ₱27M in guarantees; November 28 – December 5
The 15th edition of the PokerStars LIVE Manila Megastack is in full swing at Okada Manila, Philippines. Doors blasted open on November 28 with a 2-day No Limit Hold’em (NLH) Kickoff event and concluded with South Korea’s Seong Jeon besting the 410 entrants to nab his share of the ₱5,249,640 (~$92,820) prize pool amounting to ₱856,140 (~$15,138). This was Jeon’s first ever title outside of home soil.
Final Table Payouts – ₱15,000 NLH Kickoff Event
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Seong Jeon (South Korea) | ₱856,140 |
| 2 | Dzmitry Budai (Russia) | ₱800,000 |
| 3 | Jonathan Tek Wye Looi (Malaysia) | ₱459,000 |
| 4 | Randee Clybouw (Philippines) | ₱364,500 |
| 5 | Meng Xuan Ang (Singapore) | ₱286,000 |
| 6 | Hok Hei Ngai (Hong Kong) | ₱224,000 |
| 7 | Akitoshi Okuda (Japan) | ₱168,500 |
| 8 | Alvin Jeff Sembrano (Philippines) | ₱119,500 |
| 9 | Rommel Angeles (Philippines) | ₱95,500 |
The opening event was followed by a ₱10 KBuy-in NLH Freezeout that drew 80 players who competed over the ₱682,880 (~$12,075) prize pool. Ahmed Ibrahimi of Morocco emerged the victor for his first ever spade trophy and ₱187,300 (~$3,317) to bring his total live earnings to over US$360k.
Payouts – ₱10,000 NLH Freezeout
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Ahmed Ibrahimi (Morocco) | ₱187,300 |
| 2 | Kento Chogo (Japan) | ₱133,600 |
| 3 | Edgar Asehan (Philippines) | ₱87,500 |
| 4 | Maggy Mae Cenon (Philippines) | ₱67,300 |
| 5 | Raymundo Gomez (Philippines) | ₱53,300 |
| 6 | Darren Yu (Philippines) | ₱41,700 |
| 7 | Keith Basso (USA) | ₱32,800 |
| 8 | Takayuki Fukagawa (Japan) | ₱25,700 |
| 9 | Hyeonggon Im (South Korea) | ₱19,480 |
| 10 | Joseroy Jeremias Jr (Philippines) | ₱17,100 |
| 11 | Emmanuel Segismundo (Philippines) | ₱17,100 |
The series runs until December 5 in Okada Manila, Philippines, spanning 17 events and a total guaranteed prize pool of ₱17 Million (~$300,585). With the searing opening, it is only proper to end the series with a much larger boom.
The much-anticipated Main Event will book-end the series with three Day 1 heats starting on December 2, culminating with the final table on December 5. Buy in is ₱35,000 (~$620) with a single re-entry allowed per day. Heavy competition can be expected over the ₱10 Million (~$176,815) guaranteed prize pool and the 2023 APPT Event Package worth ₱100K for the winner. If the Kickoff event was any indication of what’s to come, then that prize pool is bound to reach a mouthwatering level.
PokerStars LIVE Manila Megastack – Full Schedule and Player Guide
*Article by Aris Aquino
*All images from PokerStars LIVE Manila
