HomeFrom a combined total of 134 entries at day one, down to 67 players into day 2, then 20 into day 3… we have reached the Final 8 of the Asian Poker Tour Kickoff 2016 Main Event! Ending day 3 with the largest stack was Thong Botho with 610k chips.
APT Kick Off 2016 Main Event Final Eight
Botho’s rise to the chip leader’s seat began with a double up against Filipino player Terry Gonzaga with his A-7 offsuit connecting with a straight. After that, he landed an even bigger double up, this time against Julius Malzanini, with his pocket kings holding strong against big slick. With over 350k chips, he went head-to-head against big-stacked Seung Soo Jeon and claimed a massive pot on a board of 10♥ Q♣ 6♥ K♥ 10♦ without a showdown.
Sitting second-in-rank was Germany’s Julius Malzanini with 457k chips. Malzanini eliminated five players today starting with Korea’s SJ Kim in the bubble. After that, he railed Russian player Andrei Dementev, American player Gerald Casey, Filipino player John Sayo, and Korea’s Kwang Suk Yuh. With Yuh’s elimination, the final table of 8 was sealed.
Climbing into the third spot was Korea’s Byeongcheol Kim with 400k chips. Kim earned a large portion of his stack when he doubled up with A♦ 10♠ against Gonzaga’s pocket jacks. Next in line was fellow countryman Seung Soo Jeon with 358k chips. Jeon eliminated two players in his path, namely Nick Blackburn and Lim Yo Hwan. Jeon had quite an exciting moment when he doubled up with A♣ K♦ against Jim Bonanno’s pocket queens on a board of A♦ K♥ K♠ Q♦ 2♣. Another Korean player followed in rank, Dong Hyun Kim with 283k chips. Kim was the reason for some early drama at the table when he moved all in on SJ Kim during the bubble stage.
Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa with 223k chips, Guam’s Jim Bonanno with 198k chips, and local player Terry Gonzaga with 152k claimed the other three spots. Tsuchikawa scalped two tough contenders today, namely Sim Jae Kyung aka Simba and Hong Kong’s Kwan Kit Kwok. Bonanno didn’t scalp anyone today, instead, he went from four big blinds in the last level of the day to winning two successful all ins to earn him his final table berth. Lowest stacked player Gonzaga had a big day of swings but maintained enough to ensure his seat at the final table.
Congratulations to the Final 8! We will return tomorrow at 1:30pm for the battle to the finish.
Main Event Payouts:
9th Kwang Suk Yuh – Korea – P198,000
10th John Sayo – Philippines – P171,000
11th Nick Blackburn – USA – P159,000
12th Sim Jae Kyung – Korea – P159,000
13th Jun Saito – Japan – P136,000
14th Kwan Kit Kwok – Hong King – P136,000
15th Gerald Casey – USA – P136,000
16th Andrei Dementev – Russia – P120,000
17th Lim Yo Hwan – Korea – P120,000
18th Bell John Perez – Philippines – P120,000
*Incidentally, the bubble burst when Malzanini eliminated SJ Kim in 19th place. Kim availed of the Main Event Bubble Protection which earned him a free seat to the next APT Main Event of the same fee. He can also opt to exchange it for APT credits.
Check out the Live Reporting section of the website for all the action at Day 3. See how your friends and idols fared at the Main Event felt. We will also be posting live updates on all the action at the final table of 8.