The biggest headliner went out to Filipino ace Mike Takayama as he took down his unprecedented fourth title here by capturing (Event #36) the PhP150,000 (US$2,645) 2-Day High-Rollers event that also ensured his third Player of the Series (POS) feting, capping off one of the most dominant individual runs in the tour’s recent memory. 

Mike Takayama (PHI) wins his fourth APT title in these proceedings by prevailing in the PhP150k 2-Day High-Rollers

The WSOP Bracelet holder’s victory also had him garnering PhP1,708,000 (US$30,123) to add to his ridiculous haul during these proceedings. His being named POS also enabled him to attain a free seat to the Main Event of the upcoming APT 2022 Vietnam in Danang next month.

Second place went to Korea’s Kim Nam Hyung for PhP916,200 (US$16,159) while Ori Haim Elul of Israel picked up yet another ITM finish for his third place effort and received PhP532,400 (US$9,390).

Filipino pro Czar Ian Marcos won his third APT crown by taking down (Event #37) the Monster Stack tiff and outlasted a field of 168 entries in the process.

Czar Ian Marcos (PHI) claims his third career APT title in the Monster Stack event

Marcos, who had won in 2013 and 2018, was part of an ICM deal involving Indonesia’s Jimmy Johan and fellow Filipino Duroy Gopez and ended up with the trophy and PhP735,600 (US$12,974) while Johan got PhP627,800 (US$11,072) and Gopez collected PhP623,400 (US$10,995). 

In (Event #40) the Hyper Deep Stack Turbo (H-DST), Joris Michl from The Netherlands emerged victorious as he bested a field of 46 entries en route to the championship and the PhP112,100 (US$1,977) top prize.

Joris Michl (NED) took down the last of the H-DST events

Second place went to Japan’s Takayuki Fukagawa for PhP74,700 (US$1,317) while third went to Manuel Mascuñana of the Philippines for PhP51,900 (US$915).

The final tilt was (Event #41) the PhP80,000 (US$1,411) Single-Day High-Rollers which was taken down by Kim Dong Hyun of Korea for PhP465,600 (US$8,212).

Kim Dong Hyun (KOR) won the final trophy at stake in the PhP80k Single-Day High-Rollers

The next entry here will recap this record-breaking two-week stint in the Philippines.

Mike Takayama (PHI) wins his third Player of the Series by winning an unprecedented four trophies in this APT staging

Takayama, who was also previously feted as POS in the 2019 Taiwan leg and just last summer in the initial Philippines sortie, was officially named the best performer in a simple ceremony held earlier. He finished the leg with a total of 1,572.27 ranking points.

The WSOP Bracelet holder prevailed in (Event #8) the PhP60,000 (US$1,058) Single-Day High-Rollers, (Event #16) the PhP60,000 (US$1,058) Hyper Single-Day High-Rollers, (Event #30) the PhP40,000 (US$705) High-Rollers 6-Max Hyper Turbo and just today triumphing in (Event #36) the PhP150,000 (US$2,645) 2-Day High-Rollers.

He also finished as the Runner-Up in (Event #1) the Mystery Bounty. 

For taking down the POS title, Takayama receives a special trophy, the POS Ring of Honor and an automatic seat in the Main Event in Danang for the APT 2022 Vietnam this coming December.

Kawai, who notched two titles and six ITM placings, finished in second place with 1,103.03 while Christopher “Big Time” Mateo of the Philippines, who took second place in the Main Event but also had three ITM finishes, placed third with 903.63. Both gentlemen garner special trophies for their achievement.

Paul Kiem (USA) needed only one hand in Heads-Up to win the APT Championships Event

Kiem, whose older brother Peter is a veteran on the tour, came into the Heads-Up encounter for the title with a stack of 8.6 million after busting out third placer James Mendoza of the Philippines. Prior to that he was in a huge hand against Teoh wherein which he almost leveled the chip-counts. 

Before coming over on the prodding of Peter, Paul had a few cashes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas but none anywhere close to the significance of this haul.

Teoh, on the other hand, lands his second runner-up finish in the Championships Event as also feel short against eventual titlist Dave “Spade” Erquiaga last September. 

Making it to two straight Heads-Up showdowns, though, is more than impressive for the young Malaysian whose aggressive brand of play has made him among the most feared competitor in the field. 

(R) William Teoh (MAS) made it to the Heads-Up finale in back-to-back stagings

Teoh collected PhP2,797,700 (US$49,342) for his amazing effort while Mendoza got PhP1,944,900 (US$34,302) for his third place finish. 

Here are complete payouts of the Final 8 in the Championships Event:

1. Paul Kiem (USA) – PhP4,196,300 (US$74,008)
2. William Teoh (MAS) – PhP2,797,700 (US$49,342)
3. James Mendoza (PHI) – PhP1,944,900 (US$34,302)
4. William Fasano (ENG) – PhP1,404,800 (US$24,776)
5. Renniel Galvez (PHI) – PhP1,050,000 (US$18,519)
6. Bell Perez (PHI) – PhP810,800 (US$14,300)
7. Li Lok Ching (AUS) – PhP643,800 (US$11,354)
8. Jose Drilon (PHI) – PhP524,600 (US$9,252)

Sanehira blitzed the field of 31 entries in this edition after besting 74 in the previous staging (Event #34). His win netted him PhP102,900 (US$1,815) to add to his PhP179,100 (US$3,159) haul last night for a two-day total of PhP282,000 (US$4,974). He has also moved up to sixth in the Player of the Series (POS) race.

Yosuke Sanehira (JPN) wins his second consecutive DST title

Second place went to China’s Chen Xuexing for PhP63,300 (US$1,116) while reigning POS Dave “Spade” Erquiaga of the Philippines got third for PhP41,100 (US$725).

In the last tiff of the night, Lee denied Maltese pro Mark Berman another title in the H-DST by refusing a chop and eventually prevailing in three hands during the Heads-Up duel for the crown. 

Berman, who also finished second last night in the same variant, offered a significant percentage of the cash prize to Lee for the trophy. But being down nearly 2-1 in chips heading into the final showdown hampered his bargaining position and had to settle for second place anew.

Lee also won the top prize of PhP91,600 (US$1,616) while Berman, who vows to try again tomorrow, got PhP56,200 (US$991) for placing second. Filipino pro Richard Nakila, who won this event two days ago, busted in third for PhP36,500 (US$644). 

Suya Lee (KOR) takes down the H-DST crown

Meanwhile, Erquiaga wasn’t done for the day as he also saw action in the 2-day High-Rollers and came away with the overnight chip-lead with 162,700. 

Erquiaga, who failed to defend his Championship Event title by getting eliminated at 29th place, took all his frustrations out on the hapless field of 31 entries and has kept his closest pursuers at bay as Korea’s Kim Nam Hyung is a distant second with 88,500 while fellow Korean Jung Seongmook is third with 69,500. 

Dave “Spade” Erquiaga (PHI) has a commanding lead in the PhP160,000 2-Day High-Rollers event

Registration for this event will still be open until the end of the first level after the resumption tomorrow at 1:00PM (UCT+8).

Lastly, the Monster Stacks event drew 168 entries that more than doubled its original guaranteed prize pool of PhP2M (US$35,273) which is now up to over PhP4.6M (US$81,481).

Leading the way into the finale is Japan’s Nobuaki Ono with 365,500 in chips while Natalie Teh of Malaysia is currently in second with 272,000. Super Deep Stack Turbo (S-DST) titlist Masatoshi Tanaka is at third with an even 200,000. 

The Final 8 of the APT Championships Event has four Filipinos, 1 Malaysian, 1 Englishman, 1 Australian and 1 American

After a riveting competition that had one elimination follow another to start he day, the ITM Bubble was finally breached when veteran Filipino tournament grinder Rico de la Cruz was waylaid in a classic race situation with his A♣ K♦ ran into Englishman William Fasano‘s Q♠ Q♥ and never got the break he needed to overturn the disadvantage.

Eventually, it was whittled down to the last nine players and then it took several hours before former chip-leader Lester Edoc was finally sidelined by Malaysia’s William Teoh in another coinflip situation with Edoc holding 7♣ 7♦ and Teoh covered the Filipino and had two over cards in K♥ J♥. 

Teoh immediately hit his Jack on the flop and followed that up with a Jack on the turn to eliminate the former Main vent titlist and set the finale for tomorrow.

The host nation is well represented in the Final 8 with four participants. Paul Kiem is from the United States, Li Lok Ching hails from Korea, Fasano is back from England and the current chip-leader is Teoh–who is making his second final table appearance in this event after finishing as runner-up to David Erquiaga last September.

Here is the complete cast of characters for the APT Championships Event Final 8 with the corresponding seat assignments and chip counts:

1. William Teoh (MAS) – 3.070,00o (Seat 4)
2. James Mendoza (PHI) – 2,830,000 (Seat 6)
3. Li Lok Ching (AUS) – 1,370,000 (Seat 5)
4. Renniel Galvez (PHI) – 1,235,000 (Seat 1)
5. Paul Kiem (USA) – 1,195,000 (Seat 2)
6. Bell Perez (PHI) – 900,000 (Seat 3)
7. Boyet Drilon (PHI) – 605,000 (Seat 8)
8. William Fasano (ENG) – 535,000 (Seat 7)

Frazin, a Texas native who has already amassed 14 cashes in the WSOP, was the chip leader when he proposed an ICM Chop that had the remaining prize money divided equally and just play for the championship. Frazin won his second APT title in the process after taking down the Short Deck title during the 2018 APT Ho Chi Minh staging in Vietnam.

Tim Frazin (USA) collects his second APT title and first since 2018

He along with Ayesh Hetti of Australia and Giuseppe Biasella of Italy each received PhP178,300 (US$3,145).

Later on, the Japanese juggernaut struck anew with three trophies hauled beginning with (Event #33) the PhP43,000 (US$758) High-Rollers 6-Max Hyper Turbo where Kosei Fujiwara triumphed and also got the top prize of PhP309,600 (US$5,480). 

Kosei Fujiwara (JPN) led the Japanese juggernaut in Friday’s side event domination

Second place went to Hong Kong’s Huen Kayin for PhP152,100 (US$2,683) while another Japanese player in Matotsugu Ando got third for PhP81,500 (US$1,437).

Following that victory, Yosuke Sanehira captured (Event #34) the Deep Stack Turbo (DST) facing off against “Women of Poker” titlist Hazel Timonera of the Philippines. 

Yosuke Sanehira (JPN) outlasted “Women of Poker” champion Hazel Timonera to win the DST

Sanehira pocketed PhP179,100 (US$3,158) while Timonera settled for the PhP119,300 (US$2,104) swecond place prize. Filipino grinder Richard “Hot Sauce” Marquez finished in third for PhP83,000 (US$1,464).

Finally in (Event #35) the nightcap Hyper Deep Stack Turbo (H-DST), Fukagawa Takayuki snared the title against international campaigner Mark Berman of Malta in the Heads-Up duel for the crown.

Fukagawa Takayuki (JPN) closed Japan’s searing run with the victory in the H-DST

Takayuki also collected PhP112,100 (US$1,977) for his victory while Berman–who has yet to win in Asia–got PhP72,000 (US$1,270). 

Izumi Yuta, also from Japan, ended up in third for P48,500 (US$855).

Later today (November 26th), Day 3 of the APT Championships Event commences at 1:00PM (UCT+8) while four more side events go down, inckuding the much awaited Day 1 of (Event #37) the Monster Stack, which has a guaranteed prize pool of PhP2M (US$35,267).

Action resumes tomorrow (November 26) at precisely 1:00PM (UCT+8) with a Livestream starting 1:30PM on the APT YouTube and Twitch channels.

Malaysia’s William Teoh, who was the runner up in this same event in the last previous staging here, amassed 1,359,000 while William Fasano of England, who made it to the Final 8 of the Super High-Rollers here last September, came in a close second with 1,220,000. 

(L-R) William Teoh (MAS) and William Fasano (GBR) are the runaway chip-leaders thus far at the end of Day 2

So dominant was the run for the duo that Filipino Bell Perez is the distant third placer with 903,000 in chips. 

The surviving combatants now contest a spot for being ITM and with six eliminations from being part of the guaranteed payout, it will be a dogfight at at the onset of tomorrow’s resumption. 

24 places will get paid with the minimum cash at PhP146,400 (US$2,581). The winner of this event gets PhP4,196,300 (US$73,969). 

Defending champion Dave “Spade” Erquiaga is still in the battle at 28th place with exactly 100,000. 

Initially having 196 entries at the end of the Day 1s, Day 2 has brought the total number of entries up to 238 with the eventual winner taking down PhP4,196,000 (US$74,060).

Starting today until its completion, the Championships Event will be Livestreamed on the APT YouTube and Twitch channels.

And what a treat it would be for those watching because the Featured Table has three of the top ten in the Philippines’ all-time money list in ninth ranked Dave “Spade” Erquiaga (the defending champion of this event) on Seat 1, second ranked Mike “Tsuke” Takayama on Seat 2 and top ranked “Chief” Marc Rivera on Seat 4. 

All three gentlemen just paid the PhP83,000 (US$1,463) buy-in today.

Erquiaga, who took down the APT Player of the Series in the last staging by virtue of a runner-up finish in the Main Event and eventually claiming the win in this event, is looking to add to his 26 total APT cashes that includes two titles. 

Takayama is currently locked in a heated battle for this leg’s POS wit Japan’s Katsuhiro Kawai and has already taken down two High-Rollers trophies plus a runner-up finish in the opening Mystery Bounty event. The WSOP Bracelet holder has over 60 cashes and was a former two-time Main Event titlist.

Rivera, for his part, has amassed over US$2.6M in his illustrious career and is hoping to snare his third APT title. He used this similar strategy in the last staging’s Main Event and made it all the way to seventh place.

Dave “Spade” Erquiaga (L) seated beside Mike “Tsuke” Takayama while Marc “Chief” Rivera (R) just arrived at the Featured Table

Meanwhile, action is also heating up in (Event #32) Day 1 of the Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) competition as well as (Event #33) the PhP43K (US$758) High-Roller 6-Max Hyper Turbo while later on, (Event #34) the Deep Stack Turbo (DST) commences at 6:00PM (UCT+8) and (Event #35) the Hyper Deep Stack Turbo (H-DST) at 10:00PM. 

128 entries almost doubled the Day 1A turnout bringing the total entries to 196 in this PhP80,000 (US$1,412) buy-in event. Registration closes at the end of the break following Level 10 (Blinds: 1,000/2,000 BB Ante 2,000) which happens during Day 2 tomorrow (November 25th) at precisely 1:00PM (UCT+8). 38 advanced from Day 1A.

Day 1B saw the rise of Germany’s Samuel Tebege to the top of the leaderboard with 318,500–good for second overall as 63 made it through to the next phase.

Tegebe, who was among those waylaid by Matthew Holley of the North Marianas Islands in yesterday’s 2-Day No Limit Hold’Em (NLH) has had cashes in the United States, Belgium, Malta and the Czech Republic prior to his first APT cash yesterday. 

Following Tebege is Filipino Randee Clybouw with exactly 300,000 while Korea’s Ha Woojong finished the session at third with 243,500.

13-time APT champion Lester Edoc continues to pace the field with 348,000 in chips.

Meanwhile, Takayama triumphed anew, this time in (Event #30) the High-Rollers 6-Max Hyper Turbo wherein he finished fourth in the last staging less than 24 hours ago.

Mike Takayama (PHI) now joins Katsuhiro Kawai with two titles in these proceedings

The win was the second in these proceedings by the WSOP Bracelet holder and pocketed PhP287,500 (US$5,075). However, the 161.99 POS points he garnered puts him once again at the heels of Japan’s Katsuhiro Kawai in the POS battle and trails in that race by a mere 43.45 points, 1,006.28 to 962.83. 

It is one of the closest duels in recent memory.

Local bet Ephraim Guevara captured second place for PhP141,200 (US$2,492) while third went to Hon Yeong Woo of Korea for PhP75,700 (US$1,336). 

(Event #29) the Super Deep Stack Turbo (S-DST) attracted 43 entries and ultimately had Japan claiming a 1-2 finish as Masatoshi Tanaka emerged victorious and received PhP195,600 (US$3,452) while Kazuhiro Tamura got PhP131,000 (US$2,312) for his second place finish. Ayesh Heiti was the third placer for PhP91,000 (US$1,606).

Masatoshi Tanaka (JPN) tops the field in the Super Deep Stack Turbo (S-DST)

Finally, just before the APT Players Party got underway, Japan snared another trophy as Sho Sakui outlasted 39 entries en route to the title in (Event #31) the Hyper Deep Stack Turbo (H-DST) for his first APT crown and sixth cash. Sakui, whose only other title came in Switzerland in 2018, also took home PhP78,000 (US$1,377) after an ICM Chop was agreed upon during the three-handed portion of the tiff. 

The Philippines Joseph Sia got PhP77,000 (US$1,356) for being the runner-up while finishing in third was another Filipino in Joshua Cordova for PhP60,900 (US$1,075). 

As the APT Players Party rages on, players will take whatever rest they can before Day 2 of the Championships Event happens as three more Turbo events plus the opening of (Event #32) the 2-day Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) tourney unfolds at 3:00PM. 

Cards fly for Day 1B at 1:00PM (UCT+8) in this event that has a PhP10M (US$176,392) guaranteed prize pool.

13-time APT champion Lester Edoc of the Philippines bullied his way past the Day 1A field to amass an incredible stack to lead the 29 who advanced from the initial session into Day 2. 

Edoc brings a staggering 348,000 in chips into the next phase that happens tomorrow (November 25th).

In the meantime, action takes off in the three “Turbo” side events that accompany Day 1B with (Event #29) the Super Deep Stack Turbo (S-DST) at 2:00PM, (Event #30) the PhP40K High-Rollers 6-Max Hyper Turbo at 2:30PM and (Event #31) the Hyper Deep Stack Turbo (H-DST) starting earlier this time at 5:00PM.

If all fall into place, the grinds will be over once the doors open and the music starts playing for the APT Players Party at 10:00PM featuring the best DJs and the hottest dance crews in the metropolis descending upon this venue.