HomeThe Asian Poker Tour Philippines 2016 II wrapped up another exhilarating card-flipping day with three tournaments going the distance and trophies awarded to the mightiest of all. The events of note were the Battle of the Nations, the High Roller Open Face Chinese Pineapple Shootout, and the Ladies of Poker. The Head Hunter US$100/Bounty event also occupied a large section of the floor but paused at the final eight players.
Tsuchikawa/Funabashi come from behind to win the Battle of the Nations
Champions of the Battle of the Nations event, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa and Jun Funabashi of Team Japan
The Battle of the Nations event took center stage today with the three remaining teams out of the 17 entries returning after a night’s rest. With all of them guaranteed a payout, it was now a race to claim the top cash prize and the title. Korean tandem Ji Young Kim / Sungho Park had a tough hurdle to cross having to face two Japanese teams equipped with well-known pros. Their attempts would fall short bowing out early in 3rd place.
At heads up, it was team Tetsuya Tsuchikawa / Jun Funabashi versus team Kosei Ichinose / Yoichi Uesugi. For quite some time, the Tsuchikawa/Funabashi tandem was in the hot seat with lots of ammo needed to pump up their ailing stack. The battle was rough but their patience was eventually rewarded with a couple of crucial double ups to shift the momentum entirely their way. The first double up was A♠ K♠ besting J♣ 8♥ on a board of 4♥ 8♦ K♣ 7♥ K♥ while the second one shipped in nearly ninety percent of the chips with their 6♦ 7♣ two pair all in on a turn board of 7♥ A♥ 9♦ 6♥ improving to an unbelievable full house against Ichinose/Uesugi’s J♥ 5♥ flush when a 6♣ fell on the river. Several hands later, Tsuchikawa/Funabashi finished the job with their K♣ 10♣ hole cards pairing up on the board, defeating Ichinose/Uesugi’s 9♣ 9♥.
Battle of the Nations payouts:
1st Tetsuya Tsuchikawa / Jun Funabashi – Japan – US$2,640
2nd Kosei Ichinose / Yoichi Useugi – Japan – US$1,580
3rd Ji Young Kim / Sungho Park – Korea – US1,060
*Last Team Standing: Manuel Mascunana / Julian Lagman – Philippines – US$1,320
High Roller Open Face Chinese Pineapple Shootout results
High Roller OFC Champion, Derrick Dimayuga
The High Roller Open Face Chinese Pineapple Shootout met half the maximum entries with six players ponying up the US$1,100 entry fee. This poker variant has been one of the fastest growing games in Asia despite it not having one of the most bragged about elements in poker, the act of bluffing. The event saw Filipino player Derrick Dimayuga rise to victory after defeating Taiwan’s Yu-en Kuo at the heads up round. Dimayuga earned his first-ever APT event trophy along with the first place purse of US$3,300.
High Roller OFC Pineapple payouts:
1st Derrick Dimayuga – Philippines – US$3,300
2nd Yu-en Kuo – Taiwan – US$1,520
3rd Terry Gonzaga – Philippines – US$1,000
Ferlyn Cabaling wins her sixth Ladies of Poker title
Ferlyn Cabaling is Poker Queen as she wins her sixth Ladies title
Whenever Filipino player Ferlyn Cabaling enters the Ladies of Poker event, there is no doubt that she is the woman to keep a watchful eye on having won this tournament an impressive five times. At today’s event, Cabaling was one of the ten ladies who graced the felt, and with each one paying up the US$165 entry fee the prize pool reached $1,450. Due to the small field, only two players were guaranteed a payout. After several hours of play, half of them fell to the wayside, and the rest were moved to the RFID feature table. At this point, Japan’s Mio Nagasaka clearly took charge. Nagasaka eliminated two players to become the chip leader at the critical bubble stage. But the tides of success would shift far away from Nagasaka and she eventually met her demise as the unfortunate bubble at the hands of Cabaling.
At the heads up round between Cabaling and Filipino player Christina Ito, the former held such a big chip advantage that all Ito could do was pick a spot to get it all in. Ito eventually did holding pocket fours and was on a coin flip for her tournament life against Cabaling’s A♥ 10♠. Cabaling bagged her sixth-ever Ladies of Poker title when a ten landed on the river. Cabaling earned the US$940 first prize and Ito took runner-up for US$510.
You can watch some of the action at the Ladies of Poker and Battle of the Nations event on APT Twitch.tv.