The opening event of APPT Manila 2026 has crowned its champion. Renato Villanueva Jr. topped a field of 583 entries in the Okada Kickoff , defeating Japan’s Kohei Takami heads-up to secure the trophy, an APPT Championship 2026 package, and the PHP 820,184 (~USD 13,340) top prize.

It is a landmark result for Villanueva Jr., a well-known face on the Manila circuit with well over $300,000 in recorded live earnings according to The Hendon Mob. His previous career-best came at APL Manila in February 2025, where he finished 5th in the Main Event for PHP 2,191,000, and he also made a deep run at the inaugural Philippine Poker Millions in August 2025, finishing 7th for PHP 1,600,000. The Okada Kickoff title now stands as his first outright tournament win of this magnitude.

Final Table Action

Takami set the early pace at the final table, eliminating Michael Villanueva in 9th place when his pocket kings survived a straight draw. He continued his run by sending Gwanghui Ye to the rail in 8th place, turning a set of sixes, before adding Federick Cruz in 7th place, rivering a king to overtake Cruz’s ace-five.

Wendell Barte fell in 5th place at Takami’s hands as well, his flopped top pair and flush draw no match for a turned set of nines. Joseph Erickson exited in 4th place shortly after, his king-jack unable to catch up to Rex Luriosa‘s paired nine.

Villanueva Jr. then took over, sending Jansen Tiu out in 6th place when a river ace paired both hands, but Villanueva Jr.’s kicker played. He struck again in 3rd place, his pocket queens holding against Luriosa’s ace-nine shove to send the tournament to heads-up.

Heads-Up

Okada Kickoff

Villanueva Jr. began heads-up with a slight chip lead over Takami, and after the pair discussed and ultimately passed on an ICM deal, played on for the trophy. The final hand saw Takami’s shove with trip aces met by an instant call, Villanueva Jr.’s ace-ten having improved to a full house to seal the win.

#4 Okada Kickoff (10,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$80,110

Total Prize

4.9M PHP

Guaranteed

2M PHP

Entries

583

ITM

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱820,184 $13,340	RV Renato Villanueva Jr Philippines	1,245.97
2	₱530,000 $8,620	KT Kohei Takami Japan	881.03
3	₱385,000 $6,260	RL Rex Luriosa Philippines	719.36
4	₱295,000 $4,800	JE Joseph Erickson United States of America	622.98
5	₱230,000 $3,740	WB Wendell Barte Philippines	557.21
6	₱176,000 $2,865	JT Jansen Tiu Philippines	508.66
7	₱136,000 $2,210	FC Federick Cruz Philippines	470.93
8	₱108,000 $1,755	GY Gwanghui Ye South Korea	440.52
9	₱87,000 $1,415	MV Michael Villanueva Philippines	415.32

Check the 88 Payouts & Results ...

Joris Michl Bags a Second Title of the Series

Lifeofpoker founder Joris Michl was back in the winner’s circle on Day 2, topping the Hyper Turbo event for PHP 162,200 (~USD 2,630) after outlasting a 64-entry field. It is his second title of APPT Manila 2026, following his win in the Ultrastack on Day 1, and further padding a resume that already sat above USD 800,000 in recorded live earnings.

#12 Hyper Turbo (10,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$8,795

Total Prize

540.7K PHP

Entries

ITM

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱162,172 $2,640	JM Joris Michl Netherlands	412.83
2	₱105,500 $1,715	RA Roman Altynikov Russia	291.92
3	₱75,000 $1,220	AJ Adrian Jay Salero Canada	238.35
4	₱57,500 $935	MK Minku Kim South Korea	206.42
5	₱44,500 $725	SS Sherwin Sia Philippines	184.62
6	₱34,000 $555	JF John Francis Murphy United States of America	168.54
7	₱26,000 $425	JR Jatin Rangras Singapore	156.04
8	₱20,500 $335	BA Billy Alfonso Philippines	145.96
9	₱15,500 $250	WC Warren Cabang Philippines	137.61

More Day 2 Winners

Elsewhere on the schedule, three more titles were handed out. Michael Manlapaz won the 4/5/6 PLO event for PHP 183,200 (~USD 2,970) from a 42-entry field, while Germany’s Christoph Schumann took down the Megastack Mini High Roller for PHP 849,400 (~USD 13,750) after topping a 38-entry field. In the Knockout [P5K Bounty] , Adrian Jayme claimed the title for PHP 238,300 (~USD 3,865) from a field of 163 entries.

Looking Ahead

Attention now turns to APPT National , which remains live and playing to the money after its opening flight, alongside a fresh slate of side events on Day 3. Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for continued live coverage from Okada Manila, as well as our Instagram and Facebook for exclusive content.