If opening day of APT Philippines 2022 is a glimpse of what’s to come, then players are in for an explosive series. The festival opener Mystery Bounty came charging out of the gates with Flight A attracting 128 runners and Flight B pulling in 126. This amassed a total of 254 entries, and with buy in at Php 16,500 a pop, it crushed the 2M guarantee for an immense opening prize pool of Php 3,695,700 (~US$ 70,918). At night’s end, a total of 63 players advanced to the Final Day.
When the survivors return, they will be gunning for a spot in the money round. Only 26 will earn a piece of the cash pot and have a chance at the mystery bounty prizes. While everyone will be hunting down the Php 583,300 first place cash prize and the bragging rights first event title, they will also be looking to lady luck for one of the Php 225,000 top mystery bounty prizes.
Payouts
Total Cash prize pool = Php 2,425,700
Mystery Bounty prizes
Total Mystery Bounty rewards = Php 1,270,000
![](https://www.theasianpokertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IAN_5317.jpg)
John Matsuda
Players most likely to take it deep are Flight A leaders John Matsuda, Dek Cruz, and Christopher Mateo. These three players are running red hot. Last week, they grabbed poker headlines for racking up the biggest stacks at a local event. Matsuda closed out Flight A as front runner with 312,000 in chips, Cruz with 288,000, and Mateo bagged 234,500. Brandon Mifsud also finished strong with 252,000. Notable players making the cut in this heat were decorated pro Iori Yogo, John Tech, Henrik Tollefsen, and Mike Takayama.
![](https://www.theasianpokertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IAN_5685.jpg)
Ji Jian Feng
At Flight B, China’s Ji Jian Feng ruled the charts with 302,000, placing him second overall just 3 BB behind the leader Matsuda. Feng was already chip leader when the last hands were announced however that didn’t stop him from pumping in more chips. He railed a player when 10♣ 10♦ held against A♠ K♣ that missed. Notable players qualifying from this heat were Mystery Bounty Weekend Series champion Richard Marquez, India’s Manish Lakhotia, Lester Edoc, and Jeorge Lagatuz.
Chip counts by rank and Table / Seat assignment = 63 players
Rank | Name | County | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
1 | John Matsuda | Japan | 312,000 | 2 | 4 |
2 | Ji Jian Feng | China | 302,000 | 3 | 8 |
3 | Dek Cruz | Philippines | 288,000 | 2 | 1 |
4 | Brandon Mifsud | Malta | 252,000 | 5 | 5 |
5 | Christopher Mateo | Philippines | 234,500 | 7 | 2 |
6 | Cheong Yun Rong | Singapore | 190,500 | 4 | 4 |
7 | Iori Yogo | Japan | 184,000 | 4 | 2 |
8 | Ellezer J. Castillo | Philippines | 164,500 | 7 | 1 |
9 | Manish Lakhotia | India | 159,000 | 3 | 6 |
10 | Flores, John Paul N. | Philippines | 150,000 | 3 | 1 |
11 | Lee Yun Xiang | Singapore | 144,000 | 6 | 3 |
12 | Buddy Boy Blue | Philippines | 139,000 | 3 | 7 |
13 | Ryan Thomas Whitw | United States | 134,500 | 4 | 6 |
14 | Chris Pasion | Philippines | 127,500 | 4 | 9 |
15 | Richard Marquez | Philippines | 125,500 | 5 | 2 |
16 | John Cordero | Canada | 125,000 | 2 | 7 |
17 | Janno Alvarez | Philippines | 123,500 | 8 | 4 |
18 | Song Wing Keong | Singapore | 117,500 | 4 | 3 |
19 | Kelvin Lim Choon Kwang | Singapore | 116,500 | 5 | 7 |
20 | Vicente Pena | Philippines | 111,500 | 6 | 4 |
21 | Nguyen Duy Tung | Vietnam | 111,000 | 7 | 9 |
22 | Vu Minh Tri | Vietnam | 109,500 | 8 | 7 |
23 | Lester Timonera | Philippines | 107,000 | 2 | 8 |
24 | Junnie Pamplona | Philippines | 106,000 | 3 | 3 |
25 | Yamaguchi Yudai | Japan | 99,500 | 2 | 3 |
26 | Joseroy Jeremias | Philippines | 97,500 | 3 | 9 |
27 | Kim Enriquez | Russia | 94,500 | 6 | 2 |
28 | William Acciad | Philippines | 93,500 | 8 | 6 |
29 | Matt Veciichlovich | Australia | 89,500 | 6 | 7 |
30 | Terrence Jhon Dizon | Philippines | 88,500 | 4 | 8 |
31 | Lester Edoc | Philippines | 88,000 | 4 | 1 |
32 | Noel Martin | United States | 84,500 | 7 | 4 |
33 | John Tech | Philippines | 81,500 | 8 | 3 |
34 | Noel Araniel | Philippines | 81,500 | 8 | 9 |
35 | Henrik Tollefsen | Norway | 80,500 | 6 | 9 |
36 | Jose F. Padilla | Philippines | 79,000 | 5 | 6 |
37 | Luis Bernardo II | Philippines | 72,500 | 6 | 5 |
38 | Leo Agustin II | Philippines | 68,500 | 5 | 4 |
39 | Rick Jason Ambata | Philippines | 68,000 | 2 | 5 |
40 | Park Jung Woong | Hong Kong | 67,500 | 5 | 3 |
41 | Edgar Asehan Jr. | Philippines | 62,000 | 4 | 7 |
42 | Mike Takayama | Philippines | 58,500 | 7 | 5 |
43 | Satoshi Kuriga | Japan | 58,000 | 7 | 8 |
44 | Joshua Chargualaf | Guam | 56,500 | 2 | 2 |
45 | Chad Fullmer | United States | 56,000 | 6 | 8 |
46 | Edwin Dela Cruz | Philippines | 54,500 | 7 | 6 |
47 | Go Mori | Japan | 52,500 | 4 | 5 |
48 | Jingliang Chen | China | 52,000 | 2 | 9 |
49 | Yoichi Uesugi | Japan | 50,500 | 8 | 5 |
50 | Thomas Lee | Canada | 50,500 | 5 | 1 |
51 | Norman Grande | Philippines | 47,000 | 3 | 4 |
52 | Czardy Rivera | Philippines | 47,000 | 7 | 7 |
53 | John Niko Costiniano | Philippines | 44,500 | 3 | 2 |
54 | Jan Jason Leoncio | Philippines | 43,500 | 6 | 6 |
55 | Joris Michl | Netherlands | 43,500 | 5 | 9 |
56 | Jeorge “Egoy” Lagatuz | Philippines | 41,000 | 3 | 5 |
57 | Gil G. Marca Jr. | Philippines | 37,000 | 8 | 8 |
58 | Rafael Chan | Philippines | 36,500 | 8 | 1 |
59 | Niroshan Loganathan | Canada | 35,000 | 6 | 1 |
60 | Venoni “Bong” Paltep Jr, | Philippines | 34,500 | 2 | 6 |
61 | Juno Hyeon | Korea | 33,500 | 7 | 3 |
62 | Christian Florendo | Philippines | 27,500 | 5 | 8 |
63 | George Salud | Philippines | 25,000 | 8 | 2 |
Flight A = 128 Entries / Flight B = 126 | |||||
Total Entries 254 | |||||
Chips in Play 6,350,000 / 100,793 Average Chips |
Up next: High Rollers and Head Hunter
Day 2 of APT Philippines 2022 will see another two side events light up the tables at Resorts World Manila. Both are two-day events running on Thursday, April 28.
14:00: High Rollers – Php 107,500 buy in
15:00: Head Hunter – Php 19,800 buy in (Php 4K goes to the bounty pool)
For those looking to get in the Main Event for cheap, there is a Satellite Hit and Run format at 18:00. Buy in is Php 6,000.
Full APT Philippines 2022 schedule and Event Structures
Up ahead: Main Event and Championships Event
Following this event is the APT’s most highly revered tournament, the Main Event featuring a boosted Php 15 Million guarantee (~US$ 287,139). Through the years, this event is considered to have one of the best deep stack structures in the region with slow escalating 60 minute blinds. For this installment, the guarantee is a third higher than previous. To enter, there are two starting days with one final hour of registration open on Day 2. Live reporting starts once registration closes. The final table will stream live on APT YouTube and APT Twitch.
Dates: April 29 to May 3
Buy in : Php 55,000
Guarantee: Php 15,000,000
Day 1A: Friday, April 29
Day 1B: Saturday, April 30
Day 2: Sunday, May 1
Day 3: Monday, May 2
Final 8: Tuesday May 3
Running back to back is the Championships Event with Php 8,000,000 (~US$ 153,140) guaranteed in tow. It runs from May 4 to 8. Due to its high buy in of Php 82,500 (~US$ 1,580) this event tends to gather a tight field of heavy hitters. It is considered the Main Event for high rollers. Like the main, it extends a deep structure and slow escalating 60 minute blinds. Registration closes at the start of Level 10 in Day 2. Live reporting starts once registration closes. The final table will stream live on APT YouTube and APT Twitch.
Dates: May 4 to 8
Buy in: Php 82,500
Guarantee: Php 8,000,000
Day 1A: Wednesday, May 4
Day 1B: Thursday, May 5
Day 2: Friday, May 6
Day 3: Saturday, May 7
Final 8: Sunday, May 8
Modes of Payment
Joining APT Philippines is even easier ever with multiple modes of payment accepted. We accept Philippine Piso, bank transfer, USDT, and Skrill. Foreign Currency is also accepted with buy back at the same rate up to the last day of the event.
APT Player of the Series
At every APT festival, a Player of the Series title is awarded to the player who has accrued the most points. At the recently concluded APT Vietnam Phu Quoc, Filipino pro Vamerdino Magsakay blew away the competition by bagging three wins to capture the POS title. Along with the prestige, the winner will receive an APT POS Trophy, APT POS Ring, exclusive watch, and US$ 800.