HomeKorea’s Siyoung Lee rose to victory at the Championships Event after overcoming a deficit at heads up against two-time winner Japanese pro Iori Yogo. This was Lee’s APT maiden triumph and received a handsome P5,295,900 (~USD 102,000) for his achievement. Lee was also awarded the exclusive APT Championship Ring and Trophy.
The Championships Event ran from May 1 to 5. It drew a record-breaking 316 entries. With each buy-in at P82,500, it amassed a huge P22,989,000 (~USD 442,700) prize pool. Day 3 saw players paid starting at 32nd place. The Final 8 showdown took place today. You can relive the final dash to the title via our media channels APT Twitch and APT YouTube.
Final 8 race
Today began with Iori Yogo bringing in the largest stack. He was also the most decorated player in the lineup with numerous major titles including two APT Championships Events earned last year.
Bottom of the rung players Seongsu Kong (8th), Li Rongshan (7th), and Inaki Santos (6th) were the first to drop. The five remaining players began to chip away at Yogo’s stack and all balanced off until Byungwook Ahn banked a massive double up against Gyeong Byeong Lee. The hand saw progressive bets on a board 5♦ J♦ 7♥ 8♦ 6♥ with Ahn holding 9♣ 8♣ straight. Gyeong Byeong was crippled to 10 bbs and met his end in 6th place at the hands of Siyoung Lee. Siyoung’s A♣ Q♥ got lucky on the river against K♥ 10♣ on a board K♦ 8♣ 9♣ 5♦ A♠. Gyeong Byeong shoved at the flop.
The longest round was four-handed. During that time, Ahn swung wildly going from massive chip leader to out in 4th place. He catapulted upwards in a big hand against Siyoung that didn’t result in a showdown. Instead big bets were fired on every street on a board that completed J♠ 9♣ 10♦ 10♥ 6♦. Ahn jammed on the river and Siyoung folded.
Byungwook Ahn
His rise didn’t last. Ken Foo Hsien Loong shaved off a chunk calling a big river bet holding 9♦ 7♦ on a board 9♠ A♣ 8♥ 5♠ Q♥. Ahn had 8♦ 6♦. Ahn’s continued to plummet and Yogo shut the door. Ahn three-bet shoved preflop with 8♣ 8♠, Yogo busted him in with J♣ 10♥ straight on a board 7♦ K♠ Q♣ A♥ 4♦. This gave Yogo back the chip lead and grew further by eliminating Loong in 3rd place.
Ken Foo Hsien Loong
Entering the heads up round, Yogo had a 4:1 chip advantage. Siyoung shipped a fast double up when his 2♦ 2♥ improved to a full house over 10♦ 9♦. Yogo would recover the lost chips and distance himself further however, Siyoung proved to be a very tough opponent. Siyoung took the lead with A♣ 7♦ getting good pay on a board 5♠ 6♥ 5♦ 6♦ 2♣.
From there, Siyoung began to pull away and the last hand arrived. With blinds at 100k-200k ante 200k, Yogo raised to 500k and Siyoung called. On the flop 9♦ 3♣ J♠, Siyoung check-called a 400k c-bet. On the turn 4♦, Siyoung checked, Yogo bet 1M, Siyoung shoved, and Yogo called.
Yogo was ahead with Q♦ Q♣ overpair to Siyoung’s J♣ 5♣ top pair, however the river 5♦ came down to improve Siyoung to two pair. Yogo bowed out in runner-up just missing a third title.
Congratulations to Siyoung Lee! He is the newest APT Championships Event winner!
Final 8 payouts
1st Siyoung Lee – Korea – P5,295,900
2nd Iori Yogo – Japan – P3,530,300
3rd Ken Foo Hsien Loong – Malaysia – P2,454,200
4th Byungwook Ahn – Korea – P1,772,600
5th Gyeong Byeong Lee – Korea – P1,325,600
6th Inaki Santos – Spain – P1,023,100
7th Li Rongshan – China – P812,500
8th Seongsu Kong – Korea – P661,900
Full APT Philippines 2019 results
You can read up on the previous days results via the Live Updates.