HomeDay 3 of the APT Main Event was action packed, filled with rising stars and big celebrations with the Final 8 established. While there were many players deserving of praise today, it was the day’s entering chip leader, Filipino pro Czardy Rivera, who earned the highest recognition, remaining solid on his throne with the largest stack of 1,276,000 in chips.
Main Event Final 8 Chip Leader, Czardy Rivera
Rivera earned his first sizable pot by calling Hyung Taek Jo’s bet on the river while holding just bottom pair. This not only exposed Jo’s bluff but it also hurt Jo’s stack. Rivera continued to accumulate more chips with numerous uncalled raises, crossing over the seven-digit chip mark well before the unofficial final table of ten. He later eliminated Singapore’s Clarence Poli, then won a big pot against GACKT with his A♦ Q♠ top pair to finish the day as the commanding ruler. Click here for Rivera’s hand reports.
Japan’s Takumi Samejima was undoubtedly one of the day’s rising stars. He entered Day 3 below the average stack and slowly climbed up the ranks. At the unofficial final table of ten, he was still below average, but after winning two big pots, one against Rivera with pocket aces and the other against China’s Yin Zhang with a nut flush, he was out of the woods. Samejima eventually finished off Zhang in 10th place then zoomed into the million range after claiming a massive pot with his 9♥ 9♦ full house on a board of 9♠ 3♠ 3♦ J♣ J♠ against compatriot Yoichi Uesugi’s K♠ Q♠ flush. He ended the day second in command with 1,193,000 in chips. Click here for Samejima’s hand reports.
Takumi Samejima of Japan
Another player who ran well today was Filipino player Anthony Gabitan. Out of the 17 players entering Day 3, Gabitan came in with the shortest stack of just 7 big blinds. However, his two double ups early in the day earned him enough chips to cause dents to the average stacks. Like Samejima, Gabitan successfully maneuvered his way into the unofficial final table of ten. His impressive run ended one spot short of a Final 8 berth, eliminated in 9th place by Uesugi with A♦ 8♠ besting A♣ Q♣ on a running board of 8♣ 3♠ 9♣ 10♦ 4♠.
The unfortunate bubble player was Vietman’s Tien Quyet Pham. Prior to his downfall, Pham was the most aggressive player at his table. He entered many pots causing his stack to fluctuate dramatically. He was the ATM machine for a couple of players, Uesugi and Phua Si Yang, both doubling up through him. His final hand was K♣ J♣ against Uesugi’s A♥ 5♥ that landed a nut flush on a board of 10♥ 6♥ J♥ 3♦ 3♠. But Pham won’t be leaving empty-handed. He was eligible for the bubble protection which rewards him a consolation prize of “one free seat to the next APT Main Event of the same value”.
Among the Final 8 players, three of them were past APT Main Event champions, Rivera, Samad Razavi, and Alexis Lim, all gunning for their second championship title.
Congratulations to the Final 8 players! You can read up on all the Day 3 Main Event action, chip counts, and payouts in the Live Updates section of the website.
Final 8 Chip Counts
Czardy Rivera – Philippines – 1,276,000
Takumi Samejima – Japan – 1,193,000
Charly Wittmann – Germany – 749,000
GACKT – Japan – 721,000
Samad Razavi – UK – 385,000
Yoichi Uesugi – Japan – 211,000
Alexis Lim – Philippines – 130,000
Phua Si Yang – Singapore – 126,000
Main Event Payouts
9th Anthony Gabitan – Philippines – US$6,590
10th Yin Zhang – China – US$5,990
You can watch the Main Event Final 8 action in the APT Twitch channel. It can also be viewed in the Live Updates page.
The Asian Poker Tour has been hosting its first festival of the year, the APT Kickoff 2017, at Resorts World Manila. The event is scheduled to run from January 11th-19th. The APT Main Event has been running for four days with the newest champion to be determined tomorrow, January 18th.
Main Event stories:
GACKT rules Day 1A
Benjamin Gonzva tops Main Event Day 1B
Czardy Rivera emerges as the leader in Main Event Day 2