WPT Philippines update: Konstantinos Misailidis and Michael Kim Falcon win events; more players arrive
We are at the halfway mark of WPT Philippines here at Okada Manila. The festival opened on February 6th and is set to wrap up on February 17th. Nine of the 21 events have been completed.
The latest ones were claimed by Konstantinos Misailidis and Michael Kim Falcon. Along with the results below is an update of the games ahead and players already in action.
Event 8: Bounty NLH – Konstantinos Misailidis – Php 351,000 (~US$ 7,000)
An immediate reward for chopping heads was the state of the game at the Bounty NLH event. In the aftermath, only Konstantinos Misailidis stood with his head above water. The Grecian native railed the hot running Filipino player Emmanuel Segismundo who finished 2nd at the festival opener and 4th at the recently concluded Asian Poker Championship. This was Misailidis’s first recorded Asian soil victory and first WPT event title.
Buy-in: Php 15,000
Entries: 118 (88 uniques, 30 re-entries)
Bounty pool: Php 354,000
Cash pool: Php 1,191,210 (~US$ 23,500)
Payouts
1st Konstantinos Misailidis – Greece – Php 351,000
2nd Emmanuel Segismundo – Philippines – Php 217,210
3rd David Erquiaga – Philippines – Php 130,000
4th Iori Yogo – Japan – Php 83,500
5th Rok Pajek – Slovenia – Php 63,000
6th Jeonggyu Cho – Korea – Php 52,500
7th Hiroki Yokohama – Japan – Php 45,000
8th Koki Takeishi – Japan – Php 40,000
9th Jaeuk Lee – Korea – Php 35,000
10th Edilberto Gopez – Philippines – Php 31,000
11th Jeffrey Glen Sayen – USA – Php 31,000
12th John Carlo Sayo – Philippines – Php 31,000
13th Jongyeon Kim – Korea – Php 27,000
14th Michael Doverklint – Sweden – Php 27,000
15th Anthony Hope – Australia – Php 27,000
Event 9: Short Deck – Michael Kim Falcon – Php 153,200 (~US$ 3,000)
The two-day Short Deck event was knocked down to one day with only 26 interested. One the money was reached, short stacked Michael Kim Falcon went on a shove spree and won enough pots to enter heads up against the larger stacked Jacque Ramsden. Falcon continued to pump in the aggression that eventually earned him the chip lead and the victory. Falcon is a regular in the Asian circuit with over US$ 300k in live tournament earnings. This was his first cash of the year.
Buy-in: Php 15,000 (~US$ 300)
Entries: 26 (14 uniques, 12 re-entries)
Prize pool: Php 340,470 (~US$ 6,700)
Payouts
1st Michael Kim Falcon – Denmark – Php 153,200
2nd Jacque Ramsden – UK – Php 91,900
3rd Jongyeon Kim – Korea – Php 57,900
4th Elena Terekhina – Russia – Php 37,470
Games in the days ahead
Of all the remaining games players have to choose from, the Main Event stands apart. It is the top reason players gather from around the world. The title and prestige is most appealing including the sleek WPT champion’s trophy. The guarantee was originally set at Php 20M but has been reduced to Php 12,000,000 (~US$ 237,300).
Main Event
Dates: February 14 to 17
Buy-in: Php 75,000 (~US$ 1,500)
Guarantee: Php 12,000,000
Re-entry: one allowed per day
Day 1A: Friday, February 14 at 4pm
Day 1B: Saturday, February 15 12pm
Day 2: Sunday, February 16 at 1pm
Final Day: Monday, February 17 at 1pm
Good news for everyone, the entry days fall on the weekend. Make sure to review the schedule as the starting times differ. Satellites are also offered for those looking to join for cheaper.
The Main Event is the only tournament where players earn points towards the Asia Pacific Season XVIII Player of the Year race. Three players currently share the top spot: Hamish Crawshaw (WPT Vietnam), Hari Varma (WPT Australia), and reigning champion Brian Tougias (WPT Cambodia). Crawshaw is already in the house.
The past two WPT visits saw the Main Event captured by Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (2014) and Ying Lin Chua (2016). We wait to see if these players will attend and try to bag a second tour win in the country.
Other events
In addition to the Main Event, the next half of the schedule includes several High Roller events with buy-ins of Php 150,000, Php 200,000, and the costliest of Php 500,000 for the Super High Roller. The SHR qualifier satellites are offered. The event itself gets rolling at 1pm on Thursday, February 13th.
Other events have buy-ins ranging from Php 10,000 to Php 100,000. Players have choice events such as Freezeouts, Superstack Classic, Megastack, and Turbos.
Players to watch for
Quite a number of decorated players have already hit the felt with some cashing in such as Michael Kim Falcon, Iori Yogo, and Michael Mariakis. Among the locals were Marc Rivera, Flo Campomanes, Christopher Mateo, David Erquiaga, Richard Marquez, and Emmanuel Segismundo. Thailand #1 All Time Money ListPhachara Wongwichitis here. Also seen were Sim Jae Kyung (Simba), Kim Hak Do, Cao Ngoc Anh, Markus Garberg, and Jinho Hong.
The Somuchpoker team is on site to bring you the results, recaps, and side stories so make sure to stick with us. We will also provide Main Event live coverage from start to finish.
