Main Event up to 663 Entries with Flight B Drawing 257 Runners; Australia's Laurence Hall Tops Counts

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

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, November 1, 2024 — The second flight of the largest guaranteed Main Event in Philippines' poker history is in the books, with Flight B drawing 257 runners (213 unique) bringing the total number of entries up to 663 with two more flights left to play.

It is Laurence Hall sitting atop the chip counts after the six 45-minute levels and four 60-minute levels played out, with the happy-go-lucky Australian enjoying a great day at the tables.

Hall was the only Flight B player to crack the 300K mark, concluding the action with a stack of 312,000 and cracked a bottle of vino with his tablemates as the last level drew to a close to celebrate the occasion before immediately jumping into Event #48 Turbo - PL Omaha High – proving that he's still got what it takes to give the young guns of the game a run for their money.

The Philippines' Jeorge Lagatuz bagged the second biggest stack, but sits some way behind Hall in the counts, finishing the day on a stack of 228,000.

Ionut-Aurelian Stochita rounded out the top three stacks, and the Romanian will be bringing a stack of 216,200 into Day 2.

Bracelet winner Georgios Skarparis of Cyprus followed up his deep run in the Mystery Bounty—where he finished in third place—by bagging a top ten stack, with a total of 110 players successfully circumnavigating the tournament minefield.

MAIN EVENT TOP TEN FLIGHT B STACKS

Former APT Main Event champion Feng Zhao also made the Day 2 cut, and the Singaporean will be returning with a stack of 145,500 with which to make his play for another Main Event title.

Other notables who fought their way through include Israel’s Daniel Benor (142,300), Event #39: Hyper Turbo - Super Hold'em champion Rex Clinkscales (123,300), two-time Main Event champion Lester Edoc (113,100), France’s Felix Favre (109,400), South Korea’s Youngshin Im (108,200), the UK’s Craig Cooper (100,600), New Zealand’s Thomas Ward (82,400), and Malaysia’s Isaac Phua (58,300).

For Main Event Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE

For Main Event Flight Survivors please CLICK HERE

With two more starting flights left to play out, there are still opportunities for those unsuccessful in their endeavours to win their way through.

The final two starting Flights C & D—both boasting six 30-minute levels and four 40-minute levels each—get underway on Saturday, November 2, at 11am and 6pm respectively, although late registration remains open until the start of Day 2, which kicks off at 11am on Sunday, November 3.

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

All tournament information can be found on the Main Event - Flight B tournament page.

Joseph Cheong Hunting Second Superstar Challenge Title; Leads Final Three with PHP 8M (~USD 283K) Up Top

The USA’s Joseph Cheong is looking to make APT history by becoming the first player to claim two Superstar Challenge titles

While the PHP 1.5M Event #41: Superstar Challenge does not draw the biggest fields, it does boast the biggest buy-in on the schedule and attracts the cream of the Asia-Pacific’s poker playing community and also pulls in big names from across the pond.

The APT Manila 2024 Superstar Challenge proved to be no exception, drawing 12 (11 unique) high rolling entries, with poker luminaries such as the USA’s Alex Keating, and Joseph Cheong, former WSOPE champion Jack Sinclair, bracelet winner Mike Takayama, and Australia’s Daniel Neilson all in the mix, duking it out for a share of the PHP 16,672,500 (~USD 283,430) prize pool.

For Superstar Challenge Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

Of the aforementioned notables, only Cheong and Takayama remain in contention for the PHP 8,002,500 (~USD 136,040) top prize, with the Philippines’s Vamerdino Magsakay the only other player to make the cut for the Final Day after the sixteen 40-minute levels played out.

All three remaining players are already guaranteed a PHP 3,335,000 (~USD 56,695) payday, but it is the exclusive black lion Superstar Challenge trophy and the accolades that come with it that all are aiming for.

However, it is APT Jeju Superstar Challenge champion Cheong the man leading the final three, bagging up a chip leading 2,120,000. Cheong is looking to make tour history by becoming the first player to win two Superstar Challenge titles, and currently holds over 70 percent of the total chips in play for a commanding lead.

Both Magsakay (570,000), and Takayama (310,000) are returning with 23 big blinds and 12 big blinds respectively, and will have their work cut out trying to derail the Cheong express. Still, this being tournament poker, stranger things have happened, and it is not a done deal yet.

SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE FINAL THREE STACKS

The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am local time on Saturday, November 2 with the final table live streamed via the official APT YouTube channel.

For Superstar Challenge Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE

For Superstar Challenge Day 1 Survivors 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 Superstar Challenge Day 1 tournament page.

Superstar Challenge final three (l-r): Mike Takayama, Jospeh Cheong, Vamerdino Magsakay