PS LIVE Manila Megastack 17 pays out over ₱70M (~$1.26M); Japan scores most trophies; Wu Shenghao biggest earner

PokerStars LIVE Asia wrapped up its final event of the year with the 17th edition of the Manila Megastack racking up record breaking numbers and paying out over PH₱ 70 Million, equivalent to (~$1.265 Million). The festival ran from December 3 to 12, 2023 at its hub in Okada Manila, Philippines. Check out the numbers and the highlights down below.

Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Photo Gallery
Manila Megastack – Schedule

PokerStars LIVE Asia has already released its partial 2024 schedule. At the turn of the new year, the brand blasts off with the highly popular Manila Super Series from January 2 to 9, 2024. This is a great way to usher in the new. The event promises to be bigger than ever ₱16,500,000 in prizes featuring a ₱ 10 Million (~$180,500) guaranteed Main Event. Make sure to check the schedule for all the details. 

Manila Super Series 19 – Full Schedule

Festival Highlights

Festival Prize Pool: PH₱ 70,024,526 (~$1,265,130)
Trophy Events: 36
Record Main Event Entries: 870
Record Main Event: ₱26,582,850 (~$480,270)
Main Event Winner: Masafumi Matsushita – PH₱ 3,941,000 (~$71,200)
Biggest festival earner: Wu Shenghao – 3 cashes – PH₱ 4,111,000 (~$74,270)
Record Kickoff: PH₱ 6,248,352 (~$112,890)
Kickoff Winner:  Alvir Inocentes – PH₱ 912,000 (~$16,480)
Multi-winners: Ashley Patterson (2), Kawauchi Takashi (2) and (1) runner up
Most Final Tables: Wallac Chan Wai (4)
Trophy by Flag: Japan (10), Philippines (6), Singapore (5), South Korea (5), United Kingdom (2), Australia (1), China (1), Finland (1), Hong Kong (1), Indonesia (1), Lebanon (1), Peru (1), USA (1), Taiwan (1)

Guarantee Breached Events

Event	Entries	Prize Pool	Champion	Flag	1st Place Payout
Main Event	870	₱26,582,850	Matsushita Masafumi	Japan	₱ 3,941,000
Early Bird Special	188	₱ 1,203,576	Rodrigo Sequite Jr	Philippines	₱ 239,500
Kickoff	488	₱6,248,352	Alvir Inocentes	Philippines	₱ 912,000
Mystery Bounty	201	₱3,431,472	Emmanuel Derecho	Philippines	₱ 497,972
Megastack Turbo	400	₱3,414,400	Jean Paul Berdejo	Peru	₱ 456,000
Super Stack	308	₱ 1,971,816	Ashley Patterson	United Kingdom	₱ 396,816

MASAFUMI MATSUSHITA wins maiden title at record breaking Manila Megastack Main Event

The 17th edition of the Manila Megastack outpaced all previous turnouts with 870 entries on the registry. In turn, this generated a record PH₱ 26,582,850 (~$480,270) prize pool, which was over 1.5 times the ₱10M guarantee. Japan’s Masafumi Matsushita emerged victorious to capture his first live title and the coveted large PS spadie. 

Biggest Earner: WU SHENGHAO

China’s Wu Shenghao may have narrowly missed the big win at the Main Event, falling only to champion Masafumi Matsushita, however he still earned walked away as the festival’s biggest earner. Wu cashed three times for a combined payout of PH₱ 4,111,000 (~$74,270). 

2nd – Main Event – PH₱ 3,944,000
7th – Deepstack Challenge – PH₱ 156,000
14th – Mystery Bounty – PH₱ 43,500

Multiple Winners

Out of the 34 champions, Ashley Patterson and Takashi Kawauchi walked away with not one but two trophies each! Here are their achievements.

Champion	Event	Prize Pool	Entries	1st Place Payout
Ashley Patterson	Event #27 Super Stack Freezeout	₱1,152,360	54	₱ 363,360
Ashley Patterson	Event #35 SuperStack (₱500K GTD)	₱1,971,816	308	₱ 396,816

Takashi Kawauchi	Event #14 Mini High Roller	₱1,047,600	Japan	₱ 439,600
Takashi Kawauchi	Event #24 High Roller Knockout	₱642,400	Japan	₱ 321,400

Most Final Table Cashes: WALLAC CHAN WAI

Several players reached the final table multiple times with Hong Kong’s Wallac Chan Wai topping cashing an impressive four times. Chan pocketed a combined PH₱ 479,900 (~$8,660). 

5th – Event 7: Kick Off – PH₱ 330,000
7th – Event 28: Super Knockout Turbo – PH₱ 28,000
3rd – Event 30: Short Deck Turbo – PH₱ 43,800
3rd – Event 36: Knockout Turbo – PH₱ 78,100

JAPAN wins the Most Trophies

Despite a heavily attended local force, it was Japan claiming the most trophies, walking away with 10 coveted spadies. This was an impressive four more than the host country. Singapore and Korea both tied at 5 trophies each.

Champion	Event	Entries	Prize Pool	1st Place Payout
Keijiro Shimojo	Event #2 SuperStack	69	₱883,476	₱ 258,376
Shuhei Hariya	Event #3 Hyper Turbo	35	₱179,256	₱ 61,056
Keita Hirano	Event #10: 6 Handed	11	₱336,105	₱ 168,105
Takashi Kawauchi	Event #14 Mini High Roller	16	₱1,047,600	₱ 439,600
Masafumi Matsushita	Event #19 Main Event	870	₱26,582,850	₱ 3,941,000
Masakazu Miyamoto	Event #23 ₱15K Deepstack	85	₱1,088,340	₱ 299,340
Takashi Kawauchi	Event #24 – High Roller Knockout	10	₱642,400	₱ 321,400
John Matsuda	Event #28 – Super Knockout Turbo	82	₱579,904	₱ 159,904
Kaoru Kishimoto	Event #29 – High Roller	9	₱1,204,740	₱ 602,740
Daisuke Kanai	Event #31 – Mini Main Event	302	₱3,866,808	₱ 771,808