Action filled the air at the PokerStars hub in Okada Manila, Philippines with the richest Manila Megastack Main Event underway. Flight B drew a total of 231 entries across ten levels of registration with only 35 players making it through to Day 2. Philippines’ own Lester Edoc topped the charts stacking a massive 159 BB chip count after cracking both pocket aces and kings as the last hand of the day.
Two more flights – Flight C and D Turbo, complete the qualifying rounds, both scheduled to run today, February 23rd. Each entry will set players back PHP 45,000 (~USD 804) for a starting stack of 30,000, equivalent to 300 big blinds to course through 40 minute blind levels for the regular flight and 15 minutes for the Turbo.
PS Manila Megastack 18 – Festival Results
PS Manila Megastack 18 – Player Guide
PS Manila Megastack 18 – Photos
On the day’s schedule are side events Freezeout Turbo, Super Knockout Turbo, and a Hyper Turbo, to cap the night. Flight C for the PHP 5,000,000 (~USD 89,540) guaranteed Megastack Turbo also joins the evening lineup, ensuring an action-packed day for all.
Main Event Flight B Recap
The second flight on schedule drew a bigger turnout of 231 entries recorded throughout registration. Main Event Flight B coursed through nearly twelve hours on the felt before the 35 qualifier list was set. Chipping up early on the field were India’s Mehra Rishi, South Korea’s Seonghun Jeong, and United Kingdom’s Li Jun, who found themselves busy knocking out several players left and right. While Seonghun made the cut, Mehra and Li were nowhere to be seen once the field closed in. Interestingly, Li had already qualified in Flight A, bringing a 79,000 stack into Day 2.
By the time registration closed, new runners took up the top spots which included Canada’s Foster Mitchell Alan and Philippines’ Ungria Jr Alexander. Ungria was able to finish the day strong, ranking 2nd in yesterday’s chip counts with 93 big blinds in tow. Foster, on the other hand, preserved his big stack all through the night up until the last hand of the day. An insane three way all-in was caught right on bubble time with Foster 
covering both opponents Ionov Sergei 
and Lester Edoc 
for a 159 big blind pot. A great spot for the Canadian, the board unfortunately, drew 
, wrapping up the flight with quad queens and the overall chip lead for Edoc. Ionov exited as the day’s bubble while Foster made it through, bringing in a 70,000 (14 BB) stack instead. Joining the money list are APPT Main Event champion Henrik Tollefsen, WPT winner Jonald Garcia, and Metro Team pro Joseph Sia as well.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Player | Flag | Chip Count |
| Edoc Lester | Philippines | 797,000 |
| Ungria Jr Alexander | Philippines | 465,000 |
| Cerbito Marvin | Philippines | 403,000 |
| Lesmana Charles | Singapore | 360,000 |
| Cardyn Nicolas | France | 302,000 |
| Gnusaev Dmitrii | Russia | 289,000 |
| Concepcion Michael Gabby | Philippines | 255,000 |
| Haitao Luan | China | 247,000 |
| Ang Boon Seng | Singapore | 242,000 |
| Gur Ben | Israel | 239,000 |
Full Day 2 chip counts can be found under the Main Event tab:
PS Manila Megastack 18 – Main Event Live Updates
Manila Megastack 18 Main Event Review
Date/s: February 21 – 25, 2024
Buy-in: PHP 45,000 (~USD 804)
Guarantee: PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 357,430)
Flight A: 176 entries, 27 qualified
Flight B: 231 entries, 35 qualified
Flight C: Friday, February 23
Flight D (Turbo): Friday, February 23
Day 2: Saturday, February 24
Final Day: Sunday, February 25
Check out the highlights here:
