PokerStars LIVE: Manila Megastack 17 heads your way this December
After hosting several guarantee crushing festivals throughout 2023, PokerStars LIVE is finishing the year strong with a final series this December 3-12 at Okada Manila, Philippines. The upcoming Manila Megastack 17 features a total of 40 events with over PHP 22 Million (~USD 392,370) in guaranteed prizes to be given away.
The ten-day lineup continues to include a number of eye-catching highlights centered around the PHP 10 Million (~USD 178,350) guaranteed Main Event for a buy-in of PHP 35,000 (~USD 624). Three Day 1 flights beginning on Thursday, December 7th, are set to play through with 15% of the field making the money and moving on to Day 2. Players looking to jump in the games should start padding their bankrolls early with unlimited re-entries allowed for each flight, ensuring players the chance to build stacks and qualify multiple times.
An event definitely not to miss, last February’s Main Event saw its prize pool swell to over PHP 16 Million (~USD 285,360), with local runner Terry Gonzaga clinching the trophy and claiming PHP 2 Million (~USD 37,229) in winnings following a three-way ICM deal.
While that may catch everyone’s attention, the festival also focuses on its share of high roller tournaments, deep stack structure, and bounty games on schedule. Buy-ins for the events range from as low as PHP 5,000 (~USD 89) to its highest PHP 150,000 (~USD 2,675) entry fee for the multi-day High Roller tournament.
The Manila Megastack series has come a long way having debuted in January 2015, and recording only 61 entries for its inaugural Main Event. The next few editions however, would see its momentum quickly pick up and transform into a household name offered twice a year.
By May 2018, the well-loved festival reached its highest peak to date, having welcomed an enormous 695 entries to its Main Event festivities. Singapore’s Ignatius Ee Joo Meng took this one down and bagged PHP 4 Million (~USD 71,340) in prizes plus an additional PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship Platinum Pass worth US$30,000. Since then, the Manila Megastack series has stayed strong, collecting more than 400 runners each time while also steadily recovering its way from the global health situation experienced not too long ago.
Manila Megastack Main Event Past Winners
| Date | Manila Megastack Edition | Champion | Prize (PHP) | Prize (USD) | Entries | Prize pool |
| February 2023 | 16 | Terry Gonzaga | ₱2,051,000* | $37,229* | 533 | ₱16,285,815 |
| November 2022 | 15 | Bell John Perez | ₱2,234,000 | $40,017 | 487 | ₱ 14,880,285 |
| September 2019 | 13 | Hiroshi Naito | ₱2,840,000 | $54,824 | 435 | ₱12,531,915 |
| May 2019 | 12 | Lisa Tan | ₱3,186,000 | $61,086 | 485 | ₱13,972,365 |
| March 2019 | 11 | Alex Lee | ₱3,173,000 | $60,772 | 483 | ₱13,914,747 |
2023 Manila Megastack Full Schedule
| Date | Time | Event # | Tournament Name | Buy-in (PH) |
| Sunday, December 3 | 13:00 | #1 | Early Bird Special(₱800K GTD)Value Added Main Event Seat | ₱7,500 (6,600+900) |
| 17:00 | #2 | Super Stack | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 21:00 | #3 | Hyper Turbo | ₱6,000(5,280+720) | |
| 22:00 | Q4 | Qualifier to Deep Stack Challenge – Win Your Seat at 80K Chips | ₱7,800(7,200+600) | |
| Monday, December 4 | 12:00 | #5 | Deep Stack | ₱10,000 (8,800+1,200) |
| 15:00 | #6 | Deep Stack Challenge – Day 1(₱3 Million GTD) | ₱55,000(49,500 +5,500) | |
| 17:00 | #7A | Kick-offPlay ITM – Flight A(₱3 Million GTD) | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 22:00 | #8 | Knockout Hyper Turbo [₱5K Bounty] | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| Tuesday, December 5 | 12:00 | #9 | Freezeout Challenge(₱1 Million GTD) | ₱25,000(22,000+3,000) |
| 13:00 | 6 Final | Deep Stack Challenge – Final | ||
| 15:00 | #7B | Kick-offPlay ITM – Flight B(₱3 Million GTD) | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 17:00 | #10 | 6 Handed NLH | ₱35,000 (31,500+3,500) | |
| 15:00 | #7C | Kick-off (Turbo)Play ITM – Flight C(₱3 Million GTD) | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 22:00 | #11 | Hyper Turbo | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| Wednesday, December 6 | 12:00 | #12 | PLO Knockout [₱1K Bounty] | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) |
| 13:00 | 7 Final | Kick-off – Day 2 Final | ||
| 13:00 | #13A | Mystery Bounty Play ITM – Flight A(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱20,000 (17,600+2,400) | |
| 15:00 | #14 | Mini High Roller | ₱75,000 (67,500+7,500) | |
| 16:00 | #15 | Bubble Rush | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| 18:00 | #13B | Mystery Bounty Play ITM – Flight B(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱20,000 (17,600+2,400) | |
| 21:00 | 16A | Mega Stack Turbo Play ITM – Flight A(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| 22:00 | #Q17 | Qualifier to Main Event – Win Your Seat at 80K Chips | ₱5,100(4,500+600) | |
| Thursday, December 7 | 12:00 | #18 | ₱15K Deep Stack | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) |
| 12:30 | Flip out to Main Event | ₱3,500 (3,500+1,500) | ||
| 13:00 | #13Final | Mystery Bounty – Day 2 Final | ||
| 13:00 | #19A | Main Event Play ITM – Flight A(₱10 Million GTD) | ₱35,000 (31,500+3,500) | |
| 15 :00 | #20 | Single Day High Roller | ₱100,000 (92,000+8,000) | |
| 17:00 | #21 | Mix NLH/PLO | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 21:00 | 16B | Mega Stack Turbo Play ITM – Flight B(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| 22:00 | #Q22 | Qualifier to Main Event – Win Your Seat at 80K Chips | ₱5,100(4,500+600) | |
| Friday, December 8 | 12:00 | #23 | ₱15K Deep Stack | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) |
| 12:30 | Flip out to Main Event | ₱3,500(3,500+0) | ||
| 13:00 | #19B | Main Event Play ITM – Flight B(₱10 Million GTD) | ₱35,000 (31,500+3,500) | |
| 15:00 | #24 | High Roller Knockout[₱25K Bounty] | ₱100,000 (92,000+8,000) | |
| 17 :00 | #25 | Knockout Turbo [₱5K Bounty] | ₱25,000 (22,000+3,000) | |
| 21:00 | #16C | Mega Stack Turbo Play ITM – Flight C(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| 22:00 | Q26 | Qualifier to Main Event – Win Your Seat at 80K Chips | ₱5,100(4,500+600) | |
| Saturday, December 9 | 12:00 | #27 | Super Stack – Freezeout | ₱25,000(22,000+3,000) |
| 12:30 | Flip out to Main Event | ₱3,500(3,500+0) | ||
| 13:00 | #19C | Main Event Play ITM – Flight C(₱10 Million GTD) | ₱35,000 (31,500+3,500) | |
| 17:00 | #28 | Super Knockout Turbo[₱10K Bounty] | ₱20,000 (17,600+2,400) | |
| 20 :00 | #39 | High Roller – Day 1(Day 2 – Re-Entry Allowed) | ₱150,000 (138,000+12,000) | |
| 21:00 | #16D | Mega Stack Turbo Play ITM – Flight D(₱2 Million GTD) | ₱10,000(8,800+1,200) | |
| 23 :00 | #30 | Short Deck Turbo | ₱15,000(13,200+1,800) | |
| Sunday, December 10 | 13:00 | #31 | Mini Main Event | ₱15,000(13,200+1,800) |
| 13:00 | #19 Day 2 | Main Event – Day 2 | ||
| 15:00 | #29 | High Roller – Day 1(Day 2 – Re-Entry Allowed) | ₱150,000 (138,000+12,000) | |
| 17 :00 | #32 | Win The Button – Turbo | ₱10,000 (8,800+1,200) | |
| 19 :00 | #33 | Hyper Turbo Knockout[₱5K Bounty] | ₱15,000 (13,200+1,800) | |
| 20:00 | #34 | Hyper Turbo Freezeout | ₱5,000 (4,750+250) | |
| 21:00 | #16Final | Mega Stack Turbo – Final(₱2 Million GTD) | ||
| Monday, December 11 | 13 :00 | #35 | Super Stack(₱500K GTD) | ₱7,500 (6,600+900) |
| 13:00 | #19 Final | Main Event – Final | ||
| 18 :00 | #36 | Knockout Turbo [₱1K Bounty] | ₱10,000 (8,800+1,200) | |
| 20:00 | #37 | Hyper Turbo | ₱5,000 (4,400+600) | |
| Tuesday, December 12 | 13 :00 | #38 | Knockout[₱1K Bounty](₱500K GTD) | ₱7,500 (6,600+900) |
| 18 :00 | #39 | 6 Handed Turbo | ₱10,000 (8,800+1,200) | |
| 20 :00 | #40 | Last Chance Super Hyper Turbo | ₱5,000 (4,750+250) |
