HomeThe first trophy of the APT Philippines 2017 II has been claimed with the host country’s Eugene Co defeating Japan’s Yoichi Uesugi at the heads up round of the APT-RWM Opening Event. Co earned the USD 8,190 first place cash and now leads the APT Player of the Series race.
Opening Event Champion, Eugene Co
Prior to Co’s claim to the throne, the opening event saw the return of the 55 players out of the 186 entry field to Resorts World Manila. With the money starting at 27 places, half the field was destined to go home dry. Among those casualties were two of the day’s entering chip leaders, Korea’s Sang Ho Cho and USA’s Marcel McGray. While McGray darted off during the first hour of play, Cho got close to the cash until two costly hands sent him packing. The hardest to fall though was Filipino player John Clyde Tan with two A-J hands during the bubble round that failed him.
The crowd reacts as the bubble bursts
The money round immediately saw players beeline for the cashier. Several notables in the list were JC Sayo (17th), Shinichiro Tone (16th), Emmanuel Segismundo (15th), Steffen Endres (14th), including Korea’s Jeon Seung Soo. Throughout the day, Jeon was one of the leaders until Uesugi’s 10-7 both paired up on the board to overtake Jeon’s Q-Q. From there, Jeon had difficulty recovering and was eliminated in 12th place. The final 8 was reached with Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (9th) denied an appearance at the RFID feature table.
Final 8 recap
Speaking of the feature table, you can relive and enjoy the final 8 action in the APT Twitch and APT Youtube channels. The video has been uploaded and you can view it anytime. Here’s a brief recap of the action.
The Final 8 kicked off with Co polishing his brazos by sending out Filipino Jerick Almusajin in 8th place. This elimination gave Co the chip lead for the first time in the tournament. Additionally, this was the first of four heads he would claim at the final 8. Not long after, Co’s lead was momentarily grabbed by Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani who punished Korea’s Doug Young Hyun in two hands, booting him out in 7th place. From there, the war for the chip lead was on.
Co reclaimed the top spot by eliminating Japan’s Yoshihiro Inoshita in 6th place. Inoshita was one of the most consistent players all day, entering second-in-command and bringing his game all the way to the final 8. He was stopped by Co with J-J over 8-8. Out next was the struggling Martin Corpuz who entered the final 8 as the shortest stack and was given no opportunity to boost up. He was eliminated in 5th place by Chainani taking his one remaining big blind.
Co claimed his third head of the final table, busting out Finland’s Pasi Heinanen In 4th place. For Heinanen, his story was quite incredible. With 14 players remaining, he went from a very short stack (4 big blinds), to a triple up with his Q-Q besting two players each with A-K. From there, he proceeded to rail two contenders to become the chip leader at the unofficial final table of 10 players.
The three handed round saw several hands until a deal was discussed and reached. Each player was now guaranteed USD 7,000 plus an additional USD 1,190 to the champion. The first big action came with Co calling out Chainani’s bluff that in reward shaved off a third of the Singaporean’s stack. Uesugi took charge next, finishing off Chainani in 3rd place with K♥ Q♣ outdrawing 7♣ 7♠ on a board of 6♥ A♠ K♦ 8♣ J♣. For the first time all day, Uesugi owned the chip lead as they entered the final duel.
After several exchanges, Uesugi was crippled down massively. On an unraised pot preflop, the board came 8♥ 7♠ 9♥. Both players battled in chips until all of it was wagered by both players. Co had 10♣ 6♣ and Uesugi with A♦ A♣. The turn 6♥ and river 5♠ gave Uesugi a straight but Co had higher and doubled up to 10:1 in chips. Co closed it out with Q-8 over A-6 on a board of 8-3-J-K-7.
Final 8 payouts
1st Eugene Co – Philippines – USD 8,190 (deal made)
2nd Yoichi Uesugi – Japan – USD 7,000 (deal made)
3rd Dhanesh Chainani – Singapore – USD 7,000 (deal made)
4th Pasi Heinanen – Finland – USD 3,160
5th Martin Corpuz – Philippines – USD 2,570
6th Yoshiro Inoshita – Japan – USD 2,070
7th Doug Young Hyun – Korea – USD 1,670
8th Jerick Almusajin – Philippines – USD 1,350
Friday September 15: Events on the floor
Now that the first trophy has been claimed, the next one is up for grabs with the Final 8 of the No Limit Hold’em event getting underway at 1pm. This will be featured on the RFID table so be on the watch for it at the APT Twitch and APT Youtube channels starting at 130pm. Leading the crew is USA’s Marcel McGray. During 9-handed, McGray seized all of Janno Alvarez’s chips with A-J spiking an ace on board to overtake K-K. Several hands later, McGray eliminated Alvarez to close out the night. Alvarez did not leave empty-handed, he earned the first payout of the tournament, USD 1,020.
The No Limit Hold’em event drew in 66 entries and at USD 330 a piece, this generated a prize pool worth USD 19,210. The eventual winner will ship in the USD 5,320 purse.
Also on the floor is the NLH One-Day Event 1. This event begins at 2pm. Buy-in is USD 220.
Event details
Starting stack: 10,000
Opening blinds: 25-50
Level duration: 20 minutes
Late registration / re-entry: closes at the start of round 7
Then in the evening, players have another chance to get into the USD 1,650 buy-in APT Main Event at a lower cost with the second Main Event Mega Satellite running at 7pm. Buy-in is USD 185. One seat will be awarded per ten players.
Full APT Philippines 2017 II schedule