Final Table of APT’s Largest Philippines Main Event Set; USA’s Daniel Lee Leads

APT MANILA 2024 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | PLAYER LISTS | IMAGES | WINNERS

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, November 5, 2024 — The final table of the APT’s largest Main Event ever to run in the Philippines is set with nine players out of the initial 1,081-strong field remaining in contention for a share of the PHP 100 million (~USD 1.7 million) prize pool.

Playing out in the Grand Ballroom of the City of Dreams Manila luxury resort in partnership with Soul Poker, Day 4 of the PHP 85,000 APT Manila Main Event saw 48 players return to the felt all guaranteed a payout of at least PHP 316,000 (~USD 5,370).

However, all had just the one goal in mind, fighting their way though to a place in the final nine for a shot at the PHP 18,060,000 (~USD 307,020) top prize and the award-winning 24K gold lion APT Main Event trophy and all the accolades that come with it.

The USA’s Daniel Lee is the man returning in the driver’s seat after concluding the day’s action by sending South Korea’s Sung Jin Yun to the rail in tenth place for a PHP 1,117,000 (~USD 18,990) payday—the second largest cash of his poker career—midway through the seventh 60-minute level played.

The pot shot Lee to the top of the leaderboard and the US player will be returning for his third career APT final table with a stack of 6,620,000, which is valued at 55 big blinds when play resumes at 11am local time on Wednesday, November 6.

Gab Yong Kim will join Lee at the summit after bagging the second-largest stack of 5,820,000 (49 big blinds) and the South Korean player will be looking to add to his over USD 3 million in live tournament winnings and ten tournament titles, which include two APT titles.

Edgar Antezana rounds out the top three stacks with 5,805,000 in chips (48 big blinds), and the South African will be hoping his third career APT final table appearance is the one that earns him his maiden major title.

However, with Chinese bracelet winner Renji Mao (4,660,000 for 39 big blinds), and New Zealand’s Vincent Huang (3,250,000 for 27 big blinds) still in contention the outcome is far from decided.

MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE STACKS

For APT Manila 2024 Main Event Final Table Player Profiles please CLICK HERE

Back row (l-r): Gab Yong Kim, Edgar Antezana, Daniel Lee, Renji Mao, Jaejoong Kim Front row (l-r): John Costiniano, Ferdinand Lu, Vincent Huang, Sandagdorj Munkhbaatar

Whatever happens however, one thing is guaranteed and that is the crowning of a brand new champion after former Main Event champion Soo Jo Kim fell in 11th place for a PHP 1,117,000 (~USD 18,990) payday.

Both two-time Main Event champions Mike Takayama (13th for PHP 1,001,000/~USD 17,020), and Lester Edoc (39th for PHP 371,000/~USD 6,305) ran deep but were unable to go the distance.

Other notables to make Day 4 but come up short of a place in the final nine included APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event finalist Jae Wook Shin (15th for PHP 901,000/~USD 15,320), the USA’s Jordan Westmorland (28th for PHP 427,000/~USD 7,260), and Rex Clinkscales (33rd for PHP 371,000/~USD 6,305), series double Masters champion Li Ta “Leon” Hsu (34th for PHP 371,000/~USD 6,305), and the USA’s Ronnie Tate (40th for PHP PHP 316,000/~USD 5,370), and Joey Weissman (45th for PHP 316,000/~USD 5,370).

For Main Event Day 4 Player List please CLICK HERE

For Main Event Day 4 Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Main Event Day Final Table Draw please CLICK HERE

The Final Day gets underway at 11am local time on Wednesday, November 6, where the nine remaining players will battle it out for the award-winning 24K gold lion APT Main Event trophy and title. The action will be live streamed via the official APT YouTube channel.

You can follow all the Main Event Day 4 action as it happened via the APT Blog, or watch the action as it played out via the Main Event Day 4 live stream. All tournament information can be found on the Main Event - Day 4 tournament page.

USA’s Jospeh Cheong Scores Second Series Title in Record-Setting Zodiac Classic

The USA’s Joseph Cheong continues his stellar series with victory in the Zodiac Classic

Just 63 players out of the 226 entry (156 unique) field returned for the Final Day of the APT’s largest-ever Philippines-based PHP 125,000 Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8 - PHP 15,000,000 GTD to duke it out for a share of the PHP 24,662,250 (~USD 419,260) prize pool — the richest this tournament has ever generated in the country.

With a min-cash coming in at PHP 217,000 (~USD 3,690) and only the top 31 places paid, players fought tooth and nail for a place in the hallowed money spots.

Fittingly, it was none other than Joseph Cheong who claimed the plaudits with the US poker professional following up his record second Superstar Challenge title with yet another victory.

Cheong was aided in his quest for victory by busting start-of-day chip leader Alex Keating to burst the money bubble with the two clashing in a huge pot towards the end of level 18, with all the chips going in on the flop; Keating’s two pair up against Cheong’s flush and open-ended straight draw which came in on the river to end the former’s hopes of a third series title, at least for this event.

Cheong is no stranger to APT success and already sits atop the APT All-Time Money List with over USD 1.9 million it tour scores, with the PHP 5,216,250 (~USD 88,675) top prize pushing his APT winnings up to over USD 2 million.

It took Cheong fourteen 40-minute levels to claim his second title of the series, defeating APT Taipei Poker Classic Main Event runner-up Abraham Ceesvin heads-up to snag his fourth career APT title and the coveted silver lion silhouette trophy, bringing his total live tournament winnings up to over USD 19 million.

While Ceesvin came into the heads-up match with only six big blinds less than Cheong, the Singaporean was forced to settle for second once again, banking PHP 3,512,000 (~USD 59,700 for his runner-up finish – the fourth-largest score of his poker career.

The USA’s Benjamin Jacobs rounded out the winner’s podium, collecting PHP 2,476,000 (~USD 42,090) for his bronze finish – his third-largest career score.

ZODIAC CLASSIC FINAL TABLE RESULTS

Australia’s Yoon Koo Kang narrowly missed out on making the final nine, collecting PHP 451,000 (~USD 7,670) for his tenth place finish.

Other notables to make the money but come up short of the final table included Japan’s Jun Obara (16th for PHP 328,000), Malaysia’s Isaac Phua (26th for PHP 242,000), the Philippines William Ysmael (27th for PHP 242,000), and last woman standing Youngshin Im of South Korea (28th for 217,000).

For Zodiac Classic Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE

For Zodiac Classic Results please CLICK HERE

You can follow all the action as it played out via the APT Blog.

All tournament information can be found on the Zodiac Classic - Final Day tournament page.

Taiwan’s Yu Chun Chen Leads APT’s Largest Philippines Double Stack

Taiwan’s Yu Chun Chen bagged the chip lead in the Double Stack

The PHP 20,000 Event #81: Double Stack - PHP 4,000,000 GTD is another APT Manila 2024 event to set a new tour country record, with the tournament drawing a total of 434 entries (282 unique) over the two starting flights.

This generated a PHP 7,493,444 (~USD 127,390) prize pool—also an APT Philippine’s prize pool record for this event—with a total of 62 combined survivors making it through to the Final Day and the paying positions.

The 62 combined survivors will all return in the money, guaranteed a payout of at least PHP 32,000 with the eventual champion walking away with a PHP 1,448,444 (~USD 24,620) top prize – the largest this tournament has ever awarded in Manila.

For Double Stack Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

It was Flight A kicking off the Double Stack action at 11am local time, drawing a field of 222 entries (179 unique), with the action playing out over twenty 30-minute levels.

Flight A front runner Marco Espela

This saw 32 players make it through to the Final Day, with the Philippines’ Marco Espela following up his career-best victory in Event #1: Philippines National Cup and runner-up finish in Event #20: Super Stack by bagging the top Flight A stack. Espela will be returning second in the overall chip counts after bagging a stack of 1,431,000.

Japan’s Junichi Kato concluded play with the second-largest Flight A stack of 1,094,000, putting him fourth in the overall chip counts.

South Korea’s Wooseok Kim (1,036,000) rounded out the top three Flight A stacks, with the top ten as follows:

DOUBLE STACK FLIGHT A TOP TEN STACKS

Other notables to make it through included France’s Felix Favre (191,000), and the USA’s Ronnie Tate (34,000), the latter of whom jumped straight into the action after his deep run in the Main Event.

For Double Stack Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE

For Double Stack Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack - Flight A tournament page.

Flight B drew a further 212 entries (174 unique), with the action playing out over twenty 20-min levels and 30 players making it through to the Final Day.

It is Yu Chun Chen who will be returning in pole position, with the Taiwanese player topping the Flight B chip counts and bagging up a chip leading stack of 1,499,000.

Israel’s Ben Gur, who has also enjoyed deep runs in the Philippines National Cup and the Super Stack, bagged the second-largest Flight B stack of 1,342,000 and will be returning third in the overall counts. Greece’s Nikolaos Kiourntzidis (915,000) rounded out the top three Flight B stacks, with the top ten as follows:

DOUBLE STACK FLIGHT B TOP TEN STACKS

Others to find a chip bag at the end of the evening’s play included the USA’s Nellie Park (199,000), and South Korea’s Seungmook Jung (191,000).

For Double Stack Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE

For Double Stack Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Double Stack Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am local time on Wednesday, November 6, as the 62 survivors duke it out for the trophy and title. All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack - Flight B tournament page.