HomeAustralian Ace: Michael Mariakis Storms to Top of Day 1B of the APT-RWM Poker Finale 2014 Main Event
No storm warning could stop 174 players from trooping to the Resorts World Manila (RWM) in Pasay City, Philippines for Day 1B of the APT-RWM Poker Finale 2014 Main Event. When the felt battles were over, a only 71 players survived and the field towed by Australian Michael Mariakis, who hauled in 135,500 in chips, for the best stack of the day.
Main Event Day 1B Chip Leader, Michael Mariakis
A slew of others had similar success as Mariakis; Martin Gonzales from the Philippines who finished with 125,500; Azusa Maeda from Japan with 115,100; Keith Seah of Singapore with 107,600; and Bae Sung Sik of Korea with 100,600. 38 survivors from Day 1A will join the latest qualifiers upping the total number of runners remaining to 109 players, all of whom still has a shot at poker glory for the final APT event in the Philippines this year.
The champion for this event will go home with PHP 3,185,000 with 35 others finishing in the money sharing over $12M in the total prize pool. Check complete payout scheme here.
Mariakis’ most memorable hand was when his big slick A♠ K♦ bad beat Sam Razavi’s rockets down to oblivion; in the process, crippling the stack of the two-time APT Player of the Year as well as building up his own stack. Flop 6♠ 10♦ Q♠ set up a gutshot straight draw and he got it on the river J♠. Another Mariakis’ A♠ K♣ eliminated a player in the latter levels. Read Mariakis’ and other players’ exploits on Day 1B with the APT Team’s Live Updates.
Other notable pros who advanced to Day 2, which is set at 1:00 PM on Monday (December 8), are Yo Doi (Japan) with 95,700; Norbert Koh (Singapore) with 86,700; John Tech (Philippines) with 75,900; David Steicke (Hong Kong) with 71,300; Feng Zhao (Singapore) with 57,200; Flo Campomanes with 56,700; Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (Japan) with 48,500 and Douglas Olsson (Sweden) with 45,800, among many others.
While Mariakis led the Day 1B field, he won’t be the leader entering Day 2 as Sam Nee of Malaysia with 165,500 holds that honor. Mariakis’ stack is almost equal to Mike Takayama’s (Philippines) stack of 133,200. For full chip counts for Day 2, go to Chip Count page.
Meanwhile, the APT is reminding all players who are qualified for Day 2 and poker enthusiasts playing in the side events— the NLH 2 event (PHP 16,500 buy-in at 3:00 PM) and the WeLoveSport.com Ante Only Turbo event (PHP 5,500 buy-in at 7:00 PM)— to come early because of the adverse weather conditions expected tomorrow in the Philippines because of Typhoon Hagupit and probable traffic congestion is expected. For details of the remaining tourneys, go to the Events Schedule page.