With High Roller events making up 22 out of the 109 scheduled tournaments at the upcoming APT Manila 2024 festival––running October 28 to November 7 in partnership with Soul Poker at the City of Dreams Manila luxury resort––the APT’s contingent of dedicated high rollers are spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding what to play.
Whether you are planning to take your first shot at the big leagues or are a seasoned high stakes professional there is something to suit everyone, with daily high roller events on offer ranging from buy-ins of PHP 25,000 (~USD 445) for single day Hyper Turbo High Roller tournaments all the way up to the giddy heights of the two-day PHP 1.5 million (~USD 26,700) Superstar Challenge.
Then there are the tour’s two signature events, the PHP 600,000 APT Super High Roller and the PHP 200,000 APT High Roller, which both boast PHP 15 million (~USD 267,000) prize pool guarantees. You can read about those in more detail in the APT Manila 2024: The Preview feature.
All APT high roller tournaments start with a shot clock in effect, although the time this is set to can range from 30 seconds for standard blind levels, dropping down to 15 seconds for Turbo and Hyper Turbo tournaments.
Read on as we look under the hood of the APT Manila 2024 High Roller schedule and examine the tournaments on offer in more detail:
High Rolling Highlights
Event #2 Single Day High Roller – Freezeout
Date: Oct 28
Buy-in: PHP 100K (~USD 1,780)
The opening high roller tournament on the schedule is a classic freezeout, with players starting with 100,000 in chips and battling it out over 30-minute blind levels.
The largest field this event has drawn was 84 entries, set during the Hanoi Billions back in December 2023 which saw seasoned Hong Kong tournament grinder Alan Lau claim the lion’s share of the VND 5.1 billion (USD 211,690) prize pool, banking VND 1.4 billion (USD 58,000) for his victory.
Event #11 Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty (PHP 55K Bounty)
Date: Oct 29
Buy-in: PHP 130K (~USD 2,320)
First introduced during APT Incheon 2023, the Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty has become an APT high roller staple, with PHP 55,000 of every buy-in going to the bounty pool.
Bounties kick in once the field is reduced to twice the amount of paying positions, so if the tournament drew 100 entries and 12 percent of the field make the money then the bounties would come into play once the field was down to the last 24 players.
The UK’s Asa Smith was the last Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty champion crowned, besting a field of 21 entries and eliminating six out of the eight bounty paying places to bank winnings of KRW 51 million (USD 37,000) for his victory.
Event #32 & #64 High Roller – Double Stack
Date: Oct 30-31, Nov 3-4
Buy-in: PHP 120,000 (~USD 2,140), PHP 180,000 (~USD 3,200)
There are two High Roller – Double Stack tournaments on the schedule, both of which are two-day tournaments; Event #32 is the cheaper of the two with a PHP 120,000 (~USD 2,140) buy-in, with Event #64 coming with a slightly higher PHP 180,000 (~USD 3,200) buy-in.
Both tournaments come with 40-minute blind levels and 200,000 chip starting stacks as well as a 30-second shot clock with players receiving five time banks, reset at the start of the Final Day, with the opening flights of both playing sixteen levels.
Date: Nov 1-2
Buy-in: PHP 1.5M (~USD 26.7K)
While the Superstar Challenge does not come with a guarantee, it does boast the largest buy-in on the schedule and regularly attracts some of pokers top tournament professionals.
The USA’s Joseph Cheong was the last man to claim the exclusive Black Lion Silhouette Trophy back during APT Jeju 2024, overcoming a 36-strong field to seize the largest share of the KRW 1 billion (USD 735,655) prize pool, banking KRW 374 million (USD 272,160) for his victory.
Day 1 gets underway on Friday, November 1, with a shot clock in play and players receiving five 30-second time banks, reset at the start of the Final Day. If more than 16 players make it through, this will also be reset at the Final Table. Entrants start with 250,000 in chips and compete over sixteen 40-minute levels. The survivors will return for the Final Day on Saturday, November 2.
Event #43 & #52 Single Day High Roller
Date: Nov 1, Nov 2
Buy-in: PHP 150,000 (~USD 2,670), PHP 120,000 (~USD 2,140)
Playing out on consecutive days, the two non-turbo Single Day High Roller tournaments on the schedule––Event #43 and Event #52––get underway on November 1 and November 2, with buy-ins of PHP 150,000 (~USD 2,670) and PHP 120,000 (~USD 2,140) respectively.
Both tournaments come with 30-minute blind levels and see players start with 100,000 in chips with 30-second shot clocks in effect from the start. Players get five time banks, reset at the Final Table.
Date: Nov 5
Buy-in: PHP 300K (~USD 5.3K)
First introduced during APT Taipei 2024, the Baby Superstar drew 41 entries on its debut, which saw Austria’s Klemens Roiter scoop a TWD 3.8 million (USD 122,130) top prize.
Romania’s Marius Cirlea was the last man to claim the Baby Superstar crown, overcoming a field of 46 entries during APT Jeju to earn a career best score of KRW 122.7 million (USD 89,470).
Like its bigger brother the Superstar Challenge, the Baby Superstar does not come with a guarantee. This is a single day event with 25-minute levels and gets underway on Tuesday, November 5. Players start with 100,000 in chips with a shot clock in effect from the start and entrants starting with five 30-second time banks, reset at the Final Table.
Event #103 High Roller – Last Chance
Date: Nov 7
Buy-in: PHP 100,000 (~USD 1,780)
The PHP 100,000 High Roller – Last Chance does just what it says on the tin, offering the festival’s high rolling contingent their last chance at winning some silverware.
Blind levels are 20-minutes in length with players starting with 100,000 in chips and a 30-second shot clock in effect from the get-go; players receive five time banks, reset at the Final Table.
The current record for field size for this event was set during the New Era rebrand back during APT Taipei 2023, which saw South Korea’s Seungyeol Kim see off challenges from a field of 149 entries to claim the biggest slice of the TWD 6.5 million (USD 212,460) prize pool, earning a TWD 1.5 million (USD 40,400) top prize.
Turbo and Hyper Turbo High Rollers There are a further 11 single day Turbo and Hyper Turbo High Roller tournaments on the schedule:
Event #8 and Event #106 are both Turbo High Rollers with a PHP 35,000 (~USD 620) buy-in that come with a 20,000 chip starting stack, 15-minute levels and a 15-second shot clock, with players receiving two time banks, reset at the Final Table.
The remaining nine are PHP 25,000 (~USD 445) Hyper Turbo High Roller tournaments: Event #17, #29, #50, #59, #68, #79, #92, #100, #109. These come with a 20,000 chip starting stack, 10-minute levels and a 15-second shot clock, with players receiving two time banks, reset at the Final Table.