What to expect at the upcoming APT Philippines Championships 2018

The Asian Poker Tour is about to unleash one of its biggest events of the season. Coming to Resorts World Manila on March 21 – April 2 is the second edition of the much-anticipated APT Philippines Championships 2018. This 12-day festival offers over 10 Million in guaranteed prizes featuring two highlighted tournaments, the Main Event 8 Million Guaranteed and the Championships Event. Also filling up the schedule are 19 action-packed side events and a special event, the Super High Rollers.

Last year, the festival drew in 730 unique players and amassed US$1.7 Million in prizes. Despite no guarantees offered to the Main Event, there were 442 entries with Philippines pro Mike Takayama winning his second APT Main Event title.

FEATURED EVENTS

The APT Philippines Championships offers two featured events, the Main Event and the Championships Event. Both events run a total of 5 days each. These tournaments showcase the brand’s best structure, with its deep starting stack and slow increasing blinds of 60 minutes per round. At the start of the year, the APT extended late registration to all of their featured events. Players will now be able to jump in before the start of Level 10.

Main Event 8 Million Guaranteed

The first of the two highlighted tournaments in the lineup is the Main Event with an Php8 Million guaranteed prize pool. This event runs from March 24 – 28 with two starting days, both running on the weekend, followed by Day 2, Day 3, and the Final 8. Buy-in is Php55,000 with unlimited re-entries.

Championships Event

The Championships Event takes off right when the Main Event is on its last day. This event runs from March 28 – April 2 with two starting days, followed by a one-day break on March 30 to observe Good Friday, one of the country’s religious holidays. Action resumes on March 31 onwards for Day 2, Day 3, and the Final 8 on the festival’s last day. Buy-in is P110,000 with unlimited re-entries.

GUARANTEED EVENTS

In addition to the Main Event 8 Million Guaranteed, there are two other events with guarantees declared. The APT-RWM Opening Event has a Php2 Million Guarantee. This is a two-day event kicking off on the festival’s opening day, Wednesday March 21. There are two flights offered on the same day, Flight A at 1pm and Flight B at 5pm. The final day is on Thursday March 22. Buy-in is Php11,000.

On Sunday April 1, one of the festival’s sponsored events, the MegaSportsWorld Deep Stack Turbo, treats players to a Php500K Guaranteed prize pool. This is a one-day event with cards flying at 6pm. Buy-in is only Php5,500.

SPECIAL EVENT

The Super High Rollers event takes off on opening day, March 21, and has a hard-punching Php1,000,000 buy-in. Through the years, these very high buy-in events have grown in popularity bringing in an exclusive group of heavy-hitters with pros and businessmen usually comprising the mix. This is a scheduled two-day event. Players that have pre-registered by Friday March 16 will receive a free 1 night stay at the Marriott Hotel.

HIGH ROLLERS

The High Rollers event holds the largest buy-in of the side events coming in at Php107,500. This is a two-day event running on March 27-28. More manageable to the pocket than the SHR event, the High Rollers attracts players interested in a smaller field with big stakes and big returns.

SATELLITES

For players looking to jump into the featured events and the High Rollers at a fraction of the buy-in, scheduled satellites will be running at the festival premises:

– Main Event offers three satellites, two of them have a Php6,000 entry running on March 22-23 with the last one on March 24 at Php11,000.
– Championships Event offers four satellites with three at Php12,000 entry running from March 25 -27 and the last one at Php24,000 on March 28.
– High Rollers event offers one satellite on March 26 with an entry fee of Php18,000.

Players can also join online satellites to the Main Event via Natural8. Satellite A has already concluded however Satellite B is ongoing until March 18. For as low as US$15, players have a chance at winning a seat worth Php55,000.

SIDE EVENTS

In addition to the events mentioned above, the APT Philippines Championships 2018 comes in packed with 18 side events ranging from Php5,500 – Php55,000. This includes a variety of No Limit Hold’em games, Monster Stack, Bounty Tournament, Ladies Event, Charity Event, and Turbo events.

For Pot Limit Omaha enthusiasts, there are two events on the list, the Pot Limit Omaha Hi Lo Split on March 24, and a Pot Limit Omaha Hi on March 31. Both events have a Php16,500 buy-in. One of the last side events offered is the Open Face Chinese Pineapple with a Php22,000 entry fee.

More: APT Philippines Championships 2018 Players’ Booklet

LIVE STREAM

The APT and the Hong Kong Poker Players Association (HKPPA) recently entered into an agreement that would see select APT events streamed live in Chinese. The first stream will be the APT Philippines Championships festival. According to the announcement,

“The stream will broadcast in Hong Kong and mainland China through HKPPA’s new Douyu channel. ”

Additionally, the APT will live stream the final table of their featured events – Main Event and Championships Event – including a majority of the side events at the APT Twitch station.

Asian Poker Tour Championships Philippines 2018 Official Video Plug

Article by Triccia David