PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 14 pays out over PH₱ 10.8M; Joe Mark Vasay wins the Main Event; festival results and highlights inside

PokerStars LIVE Manila concluded its second festival of the year, Manila Super Series, which ran from February 20 to 27 at Okada Manila. Inaugurated in 2017, through the years this event has become the most popular mid-range series offered by the brand in the Philippines. Due to the ongoing pandemic and the shortage of international players, its 14th edition turnout was expectedly down, however, it still paid out over PH₱ 10.8 Million which was more than double the advertised guarantee. Emerging as the biggest winner was local player Joe Mark Vasay who captured his maiden victory at the Main Event. At the side events, the man of the hour was Vamerdino Magsakay for his two victories. 

With the series completed, the brand takes a short break before it hosts the PokerStars LIVE Manila Series from March 24 to 27. This takes the place of APPT Manila Open which was initially scheduled on those dates until it was postponed for May 30 to June 5. 

More details on those events at the bottom of the page. Here are the highlights and winner results of the recently concluded Manila Super Series 14. 

Festival results (satellites not included)

Grand prize pool: PH₱ 10,875,173 (~US$ 211,950)
Total entries: 1,370
Highest tournament payout & winner: Joe Mark Vasay – PH₱ 720,000
Largest prize pool: Main Event – PH₱ 5,211,810 (~US$ 101,575)
Multiple wins: Vamerdino Magsakay – 2 events

Main Event: JOE MARK VASAY – PH₱ 720,000 (~US$ 14,000)

The Main Event drew 389 total entries across three starting days to surpass the guarantee in place of a richer PH₱ 5,211,810 (~US$ 101,575) prize pool. Day 1A drew 87 runners with 13 advancing; the attendance rose to 124 in Day 1B with 19 advancing; Day 1C had the largest pull of 187 entries with 28 advancing. The 60 players into the final day were all guaranteed a piece of the pot. After 12 hours of competition, claiming the throne was local player / double up king Joe Mark Vasay who defeated China’s Jianfeng Ji at heads up to capture his first ever career title. Vasay was awarded a motherlode of prizes, the iconic PS spadie trophy, an APPT Manila Main Event seat worth PH₱ 65K, and a career high payout of PH₱ 655,000 (~US$ 12,765). 

Dates: February 24 to 27
Buy in: PH₱ 15,000 (~US$ 292)
Guarantee: PH₱ 5,000,000 (~US$ 97,450)
Entries: 389
Prize pool: PH₱ 5,211,810 (~US$ 101,575)
ITM: 60 places

Final table payouts

1st Joe Mark Vasay – Philippines – PH₱ 720,000*
2nd Jianfeng Ji – China – PH₱ 694,000*
3rd Noel Araniel – Philippines – PH₱ 719,000*
4th Iori Yogo – Japan – PH₱ 368,000
5th Regin Castillo – Philippines – PH₱ 290,000
6th Enrico De Rosa – Italy – PH₱ 223,000
7th Janno Alvarez – Philippines – PH₱ 165,000
8th Wenefredo Odog – Philippines – PH₱ 120,000
*Three way ICM deal 

Race to the final table

The final day kicked off with highly decorated Filipino pro Lester Edoc (Day 1B chip leader) bringing in the biggest stack. Edoc championed this event four years ago at Manila Super Series 6 however this time around, his run was cut short in 27th place. Day 1A leader William Fasano followed in 24th place then well known local pro John Tech (19th) and Raphael Bulaong (18th) busted in an unfathomable three way showdown. On a board , Tech had straight on the flop, Bulaong set on the flop turned full house, and China’s Jianfeng Ji with higher full house for a double knockout. 

Down to the final two tables, Vasay’s double up streak began. He got lucky when his spiked a ten to dodge elimination against Enrico Da Rosa’s . Two hands later, Vasay doubled up again with dominating Tracy Cristostomo’s . Also causing a stir was Japanese pro Iori Yogo who knocked out Filipino superstar / Manila Super Series 5 champion Mike Takayama in 13th place and Christopher Pasion in 11th place. On the bubble to the final table, Vasay landed a back to back double up then eliminated Lithuania’s Marius Zalpys in 9th place. 

Final table recap

The final table opened with Yogo and Ji backed by overwhelming big stacks. Day 1C chip leader Noel “the kid” Araniel joined the ranks by railing Wenefredo Odog (8th), then Vasay tagged on after booting Janno Alvarez (7th) with dominating . At six handed, the game slowed significantly. It took one hour before the next bust. On a turn board , and a big pot brewed, Da Rosa jammed top pair, Vasay folded, Araniel called with set, the river came . 

Hands later, Vasay found himself down to 6.5 BB, and survived another showdown once again. However, not so lucky for Regin Castillo whose overcards could not get past Araniel’s ducks. Yogo followed to the rail after his was outdrawn and crippled to 1BB by Ji’s queen on the board. Down to three players, an ICM deal was reached with big stacked Araniel guaranteed PH₱ 719,000, second stack Ji PH₱ 694,000, and Vasay earning PH₱ 655,000. The trio played for the trophy and the APPT Manila Main Event seat worth PH₱ 65,000. 

The first showdown saw Vasay double up through Araniel with over . Next, Ji took the rest of Araniel’s chips with dominating . This brought about heads up with Vasay ahead roughly 7 BB. Several hands in, Ji jumped to a 2:1 lead on a double up with over on a board . Vasay answered with a lucky river to stay alive over on a board . Hands later, Vasay’s double up streak continued with spiking the king to defeat Ji’s . The final hand soon arrived with Vasay eliminating Ji on a final board .

Event 1: Warm Up NLH: EDGAR ASEHAN – PH₱ 190,759 (~US$ 3,717)

The series welcomed players in with the Warm Up NLH 1M guaranteed. 306 entered across two starting flights to generate a smashing PH₱ 1,567,210 (~US$ 30,545) prize pool. Among the players that reached the final table was Main Event 6th placer Enrico Da Rosa from Italy who exited 4th. The final three players struck an ICM deal that paid out the highest to Renniel Galvez followed by Emmanuel Segismundo, then Edgar Asehan who went on to seize the trophy and a payout of PH₱ 190,759 (~US$ 3,717). This was Asehan’s second known live win and his biggest. Impressively, he went on to cash at four other events of which two were runner up finishes. Asehan earned a combined PH₱ 412,159 (~US$ 8,030). 

Dates: February 20 to 21
Buy in: PH₱ 6,000 (~US$ 117)
Guarantee: PH₱ 1,000,000 (~US$ 19,490)
Entries: 306
Prize pool: PH₱ 1,567,210 (~US$ 30,545)
ITM: 41 places

Final table payouts

1st Edgar Asehan – Philippines –  PH₱ 190,759*
2nd Renniel Galvez – Philippines –  PH₱ 249,176*
3rd Emmanuel Segismundo – Philippines –  PH₱ 237,065*
4th Enrico De Rosa – Italy –  PH₱ 124,000
5th Kazumi Okuyama – Japan –  PH₱ 97,000
6th Richard Castillo – Philippines –  PH₱ 75,210
7th Ronn Ryan Mesina – Philippines –  PH₱ 55,000
8th Michael Bueza – Philippines –  PH₱ 41,000
*Three-way ICM deal

Event 2: NLH Re-entry: PATRICK ENRIQUEZ – PH₱ 58,000 (~US$ 1,130)

One cash for Patrick Enriquez at the series and it was a victory at the NLH Re-entry to pocket PH₱ 58,000. Enriquez outlasted the 130 entry field, and defeated Francis Villamar at heads up after the pair agreed on a chop. This was another guarantee crushing event with the prize pool ballooning to PH₱ 277,420 (~US$ 5,405). 

Date: February 21
Buy in: PH₱ 2,500 (~US$ 49)
Guarantee: PH₱ 200,000 (~US$ 3,900)
Entries: 130
Prize pool: PH₱ 277,420 (~US$ 5,405)
ITM: 17 places

Final table payouts

1st Patrick Enriquez – Philippines – PH₱ 58,000*
2nd Francis Villamar – Philippines – PH₱ 58,250*
3rd Melvin Francis Cuevillas – Philippines – PH₱ 30,700
4th Joseph Sia – Philippines – PH₱ 25,400
5th Edwin Dela Cruz – Philippines – PH₱ 20,500
6th Rick Jason Ambata – Philippines – PH₱ 16,200
7th Armand Medina Castaneda – USA – PH₱ 12,400
8th Cesario Corpuz – Philippines – PH₱ 7,000
*Heads up chop 

Event 4: NLH Re-entry – ALEJANDRO ROTTIER – PH₱ 75,600 (~US$ 1,473)

Several international players lifted a spadie, one of them was Spain’s Alejandro Rottier who triumphed at the NLH Re-entry. This was Rottier’s first live career win. He defeated local player Ephraim Gideon Arellano after striking a ICM heads up deal. The event drew 108 runners for another guarantee smashing prize pool of PH₱ 322,662 (~US$ 6,290). 

Date: February 22
Buy in: PH₱ 3,500 (~US$ 68)
Guarantee: PH₱ 300,000 (~US$ 5,847)
Entries: 108
Prize pool: PH₱ 322,662 (~US$ 6,290)
ITM: 15 places

Final table payouts

1st Alejandro Rottier – Spain – PH₱ 75,600*
2nd Ephraim Gideon Arellano – Philippines – PH₱ 64,400*
3rd Rick Jason Ambata – Philippines – PH₱ 37,261
4th Francis Villamar – Philippines – PH₱ 30,300
5th Raymond Enriquez – Philippines – PH₱ 24,400
6th Hazel Timonera – Philippines – PH₱ 19,100
7th Ola Danilo – Philippines – PH₱ 15,100
8th Sandy Cea – Philippines – PH₱ 11,500
*Heads up ICM deal

Event 6: Mega Stack Re-entry – KIRIL GELEV – PH₱ 151,500 (~US$ 2,953)

The Mega Stack Re-entry was another popular event with 152 turning up to smash the 500K guarantee. The top 23 players earned a piece of the PH₱ 778,483 (~US$ 15,172) prize pool. Among the players at the final table was Main Event 7th placer Janno Alvarez who exited in 6th place. The title and trophy came down between Sandy Cea and Kiril Gelev, and after a heads up even chop, it was Kelev grabbing his first ever live victory and PH₱ 151,500. This was Gelev’s first cash outside of his home turf. 

Date: February 23
Buy in: PH₱ 6,000 (~US$ 117)
Guarantee: PH₱ 500,000 (~US$ 9,745)
Entries: 152
Prize pool: PH₱ 778,483 (~US$ 15,172)
ITM: 23 places 

Final table payouts

1st Kiril Gelev – Canada – PH₱ 151,500*
2nd Sandy Cea – Philippines – PH₱ 151,500*
3rd Tracy Crisostomo – Philippines – PH₱ 81,500
4th Michael Bueza – Philippines – PH₱ 67,000
5th Joseph Michael Avelino – Philippines – PH₱ 53,800
6th Janno Alvarez – Philippines – PH₱ 41,700
7th Kenzo Mendoza – Philippines – PH₱ 30,900
8th Janette Dee – Philippines – PH₱ 22,583
*Heads up chop 

Two wins: VAMERDINO MAGSAKAY

The only player to ship two events was local player Vamerdino Magsakay for a combined PH₱ 207,664 (~US$ 4,047) payout. He won the NLH Turbo Single Re-entry and the NLH Mega Stack Freezeout. On both occasions, Magsakay agreed to a deal. He pocketed the most at the freezeout event worth PH₱ 140,664 (~US$ 2,741). Magsakay cashed at five events to bump up his tracked live earnings to over US$ 186.8K. 

Event 5: NLH Turbo Single Re-entry

Date: February 22
Buy in: PH₱ 8,,000 (~US$ 156)
Entries: 35
Prize pool: PH₱ 239,008 (~US$ 4,660)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: VAMERDINO MAGSAKAY – Philippines – PH₱ 67,000* (~US$ 1,306)
2nd Keith Basso – USA – PH₱ 70,208 *
*Heads up ICM deal

Event 12: NLH Megastack Freezeout 

Date: February 26
Buy in: PH₱ 30,000 (~US$ 585)
Entries: 14
Prize pool: PH₱ 366,660 (~US$ 7,146)
ITM: 4 places
Winner: VAMERDINO MAGSAKAY – Philippines – PH₱ 140,664* (~US$ 2,741)
2nd Kazumi Okuyama – Japan – PH₱ 51,500*
3rd Byoungsu Lee – Korea – PH₱ 100,998*
4th Joseph Talamayan – Philippines – PH₱ 73,498*
*Four way ICM deal

Other events

Event 3: NLH Deepstack Freezeout

Date: February 21
Buy in: PH₱ 5,000 (~US$ 97)
Entries: 53
Prize pool: PH₱ 226,204 (~US$ 4,408)
ITM: 7 places
Winner: CONRAD LUMABAN – Philippines – PH₱ 45,204*
2nd Christopher Pasion – Philippines – PH₱ 45,000*
3rd Ma. Annunciata Trangco – Philippines – PH₱ 45,000*
4th Richard Marquez – Philippines – PH₱ 45,000*
*Four way chop

Event 7: NLH Turbo Freezeout

Date: February 23
Buy in: PH₱ 10,000 (~US$ 195)
Entries: 11
Prize pool: PH₱ 93,896 (~US$ 1,830)
ITM: 3 places
Winner: SEUNGCHUN JU – Korea – PH₱ 37,600* (~US$ 733)
2nd Richard Marquez – Philippines – PH₱ 37,600*
3rd Chia Wei Chang – China – PH₱ 18,696
*Heads up chop

Event 9: NLH Knockout Turbo

Date: February 24
Buy in: PH₱ 10,000 (~US$ 195)
Entries: 42
Cash prize pool: PH₱ 148,512 (~US$ 2,895)
Bounty pool: PH₱ 210,000 (~US$ 4,093)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: EMMANUEL SEGISMUNDO – Philippines – PH₱ 50,312 (~US$ 980)

Event 10: Knockout Turbo

Date: February 25
Buy in: PH₱ 15,000 (~US$ 292)
Entries: 26
Cash prize pool: PH₱ 210,740 (~US$ 4,107)
Bounty pool: PH₱ 130,000 (~US$ 2,534)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: MIKE TAKAYAMA – Philippines – PH₱ 77,670 (~US$ 1,514)

Event 11: NLH Deepstack Freezeout 

Date: February 26
Buy in: PH₱ 15,00 (~US$ 292)
Entries: 9
Prize pool: PH₱ 117,855 (~US$ 2,300)
ITM: 3 places
Winner: MARIUS ZALYPS – Lithuania – PH₱ 59,000 (~US$ 1,150)

Event 13: NLH Knockout 

Date: February 27
Buy in: PH₱ 10,000 (~US$ 195)
Entries: 59
Cash prize pool: PH₱ 385,624 (~US$ 7,515)
Bounty pool: PH₱ 118,000 (~US$ 2,300)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: ALVIN JEFF SEMBRANO – Philippines – PH₱ 115,424 (~US$ 2,250)

Event 14: NLH Superstack Turbo Single Re-entry

Date: February 27
Buy in: PH₱ 20,000 (~US$ 390)
Entries: 27
Prize pool: PH₱ 471,720 (~US$ 9,185)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: VICENTE PENA – Philippines – PH₱ 131,220* (~US$ 2,557)
2nd Edgar Asehan – Philippines – PH₱ 120,000*
3rd Joseph Talamayan – Philippines – PH₱ 120,000*
*Three way chop

Upcoming PokerStars LIVE Manila events

Next event for the brand is the PokerStars LIVE Manila Series featuring a PH₱ 3 Million (~US$ 58,270) guaranteed Main Event with buy in at PH₱ 6,600 (~US$ 128). More details to follow. 

At this time, no events have been announced for April however at the end of May is the APPT Manila Open running from May 30 to June 5. Headlining the festival is the APPT Open Main Event PH₱ 40,000 buy in (~US$ 780). Other key events are the APPT Open Kickoff PH₱ 15K buy in, APPT Open National PH₱ 20K buy in, and APPT Open High Roller PH₱ 150K buy in. You can view the schedule in the PokerStars LIVE Manila website.