The recently concluded PokerStars LIVE’s Manila Super Series proved to be an eventful festival having smashed all its listed guarantees for its fifteenth edition with the Main Event awarding the largest payouts for the week. Fresh off from a win in Metro’s Php 2M (~US$ 35,428) guaranteed tournament, local pro Jason Magbanua stole the spotlight once again, this time with an even bigger score of Php 1.3M (~US$ 23,928). Also documenting an impressive run was Hong Kong’s Chun Yip who claimed two side event titles and winner Justin Castro who took down the title of the second largest prize pool of the series, the Php 1M (~US$ 17,714) guaranteed Warm-Up event.
Manila Super Series 15 Main Event: Jason Magbanua – Php 1,340,000 (~US$ 23,928)
After three starting flights, this season’s Main Event collected a total of 500 entries with only 77 players making the minimum payout of Php 24,000 (~US$ 425). The great turnout generated a sizable prize pool amounting to Php 6,547,500 (~US$ 116,917), more than double of the advertised Php 3M guarantee. By Sunday’s end, the final eight was set and was led by local runner Jason Magbanua holding a significant margin to start the final day. Magbanua dominated throughout the entire final table gameplay, not once relinquishing his commanding chip lead.
By the end of the first level, Magbanua had already eliminated two of his short stacked opponents – Emmanuel Segismundo and Calum Davies in 8th and 9th place respectively. Cash game enthusiast Ernesto Salazar was the table’s next casualty after landing top pair on a blind vs blind battle. His weak kicker ended up sending him to the rails in 7th place with second in the running, Ellezer Castillo having amassed all his chips. With blinds continuing to add on the pressure, Bonifacio Mondalo found himself with a short stack following a couple failed open-fold situations. Finally folded to him on the small blind, Mondalo jammed his four big blind stack with Queen-high and was called by chip leader Magbanua on the big blind with 
. Though slightly ahead, Magbanua’s hot run continued through, eliminating Mondalo in 6th place fashion.
Local pro Alexis Lim was the next player to jump the gun, shoving his less than eight big blind stack on the button with 
only to run into Edgar Asehan’s pocket three’s in the big blind. Having made the call, the board revealed 
and Lim exited in 5th place along with Php 340,000 (~US$ 6,022) in winnings. While Asehan’s stack received a much needed boost, his run shortly ended after losing a crucial flip to table captain Magbanua. After opening under the gun with 
, Magbanua on the big blind put on maximum pressure and moved all-in with . Asehan made the call and the board quickly gave Magbanua top two pair, leaving his opponent to settle for 4th place.
In spite of getting three full double ups from Magbanua throughout the first four levels, Vamerdino Magsakay’s fourth attempt landed him his eventual elimination. Grinded down to six big blinds, Magsakay went with 
, called by Magbanua with 
in the big blind. The board ran dry, failing to give any of the two a pair and Magbanua took down the pot with ace-high. Sitting with a considerable lead, the heads up match only played for one hand before Castillo hit the rails. On a flop of 
, Castillo fired a check-raise to which Magbanua answered with a call. The turn followed with a 
and Castillo had no room left but to check-call for the remainder of his chips with 
. Magbanua revealed 
as the river gave no help for Castillo’s combo draw, leaving him for the fated runner-up finish. After four hours of final table gameplay, Magbanua secured the title and top payout of Php 1,340,000 (~US$ 23,928) after outlasting the 500-entry field.
Dates: July 7-11, 2022
Buy in: Php 15,000 (~US$ 267)
Guarantee: Php 3,000,000 (~US$ 53,570)
Entries: 500
Prize pool: Php 6,547,500 (~US$ 116,917)
ITM: 77 places
Manila Super Series 15 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Jason Magbanua | Philippines | ₱1,340,000 |
| 2 | Ellezer Castillo | Philippines | ₱780,000 |
| 3 | Vamerdino Magsakay | Philippines | ₱560,000 |
| 4 | Edgar Asehan | Philippines | ₱440,000 |
| 5 | Alexis Lim | Philippines | ₱340,000 |
| 6 | Bonifacio Mondalo | Philippines | ₱267,000 |
| 7 | Ernesto Salazar | Philippines | ₱200,000 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Segismundo | Philippines | ₱140,000 |
| 9 | Calum Davies | Australia | ₱110,000 |
*Includes ₱100,000 APPT Manila Main Event Package (seat and accommodation) taken from the prize pool
Hong Kong’s Chun Yip takes down two events: Megastack – Php 159,078 (~US$ 2,840), and ₱15,000 NLH Deepstack Turbo – Php 206,300 (~US$ 3,683)
With only eleven tournaments geared for the week-long schedule, Hong Kong’s Chun Yip were among those who banked notable profits after claiming two single day side events: Megastack Php 500K guaranteed, and the ₱15,000 NLH Deepstack Turbo. Yip’s two champion titles earned him a combined Php 365,378 (~US$ 6,472) in addition to also coming in 51st place for Php 26,500 (~US$ 470) in the Main Event.
Yip denied two local runners Ruderico Dela Cruz and Edwin Dela Cruz the respective wins after beating both of them in heads up play for the coveted title. Yip appears to be a regular in tournaments held in the Asian region with dozens of results recorded from several countries such as Macau, Australia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. His career-best cash remains to be a second place finish in the APPT Asia Championship of Poker, Macau back in November 2015 for a whopping US$ 61,924 according to The Hendon Mob.
Manila Super Series 15 Megastack
Date: July 10, 2022
Buy in: Php 6,000 (~US$ 107)
Guarantee: Php 500,000 (~US$ 8,928)
Entries: 124
Prize pool: Php 635,078 (~US$ 11,340)
ITM: 17 places
Manila Super Series 15 Megastack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Chun Yip | Hong Kong | ₱159,078 |
| 2 | Ruderico Dela Cruz | Philippines | ₱108,000 |
| 3 | Kenjiroh Suzuki | Japan | ₱70,200 |
| 4 | Patrick Kong Hui Soh | Malaysia | ₱58,200 |
| 5 | John Matsuda | Japan | ₱46,900 |
| 6 | Gilson Chan | Singapore | ₱37,000 |
| 7 | Edwin Dela Cruz | Philippines | ₱28,300 |
| 8 | Jason Wong | China | ₱21,300 |
| 9 | Kin Pan Lei | Macau | ₱15,900 |
Manila Super Series 15 ₱15,000 NLH Deepstack Turbo
Date: July 8, 2022
Buy in: Php 15,000 (~US$ 267)
Entries: 50
Prize pool: Php 654,750 (~US$ 11,691)
ITM: 7 places
Manila Super Series 15 ₱15,000 NLH Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Chun Yip | Hong Kong | ₱206,300 |
| 2 | Edwin Dela Cruz | Philippines | ₱149,000 |
| 3 | Jose Colada | Philippines | ₱95,000 |
| 4 | Careaga Abaitua Adol | Spain | ₱72,100 |
| 5 | Jeremy Chee | Malaysia | ₱55,700 |
| 6 | Petter Magnus Karlsson | Sweden | ₱42,600 |
| 7 | Jan Jason Leoncio | Philippines | ₱34,050 |
Manila Super Series 15 Warm-Up: Justin Castro – Php 360,000 (~US$ 6,428)
Dates: July 5-6, 2022
Buy in: Php 6,000 (~US$ 107)
Guarantee: Php 1,000,000 (~US$ 17,856)
Entries: 364
Prize pool: Php 1,864,262 (~US$ 33,290)
ITM: 56 places
Manila Super Series 15 Warm-Up Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Justin Castro | Philippines | ₱360,000 |
| 2 | Alfonso Baja | Philippines | ₱229,000 |
| 3 | Jose Padilla | Philippines | ₱165,000 |
| 4 | Rommel Vasquez | Philippines | ₱134,000 |
| 5 | Sangyoon Kim | Korea | ₱106,000 |
| 6 | Alexander Ungria Jr | Philippines | ₱81,000 |
| 7 | Lance De Vera | Philippines | ₱60,000 |
| 8 | Azamat Dyussembekov | Kazakhstan | ₱44,000 |
| 9 | Oleg Mordassov | Switzerland | ₱35,062 |
