HomeAs expected, it was a quick day at the Championships Event of the APT Philippines Championships 2018 with the field going from 17 players down to the Final 8 in just over three hours. We have that recap for you below but first, let’s have a look at the Final 8 and all the goods they are packed with for their race to the title and the Php2,402,500 first place purse.
APT Championships 2018 Final Eight
Lester Edoc – Philippines – 1,347,000
Iori Yogo – Japan – 1,196,000
Henrik Tollefsen – Norway – 794,000
Kosei Ichinose – Japan – 738,000
Teng Wei Yang – Taiwan – 538,00
Fu Bang Huang – Taiwan – 315,000
Ichiyo Niwa – Japan – 292,000
Chua Shan Hui – Singapore – 180,000
Gauging by that incredible lineup, it is going to be an epic battle to the finish. Interestingly the top four players are highly decorated pros while the bottom half are players still looking to make a huge mark in the live tournament arena.
Lester Edoc – Philippines – 1,347,000
Recently crowned APT Main Event champion, Lester Edoc, holds court as highest rank with 1,347,000 in chips. Edoc is attempting to be the first player to land back-to-back major victories at the same series. He is one of the Philippines’s top live tournament earners with three major titles already shipped this year alone. Read here for the biggest pot Edoc claimed at the event.
Iori Yogo – Japan – 1,196,000
Just a stone’s throw away from the leader is another top Asian player, Japanese pro Iori Yogo with 1,196,000 in chips. Yogo is a very familiar face in the APT circuit. Aside from being decorated with an APT Main Event title, he also won the APT POY race in 2016. At the ongoing festival, Yogo won the NLH Two Day event. Read here for the biggest pot Yogo claimed at the event.
Henrik Tollefsen – Norway – 794,000
Next down the chip rung is Norwegian pro Henrik Tollefsen, a two-time APT Main Event champion. He first won it in July 2013 then claimed a second in August 2015. On October 2016, he got very close to a third Main Event title finishing 6th at APT Macau. At the ongoing series, Tollefsen finished 4th at the High Rollers event.
Kosei Ichinose – Japan – 738,000
Wedged in the middle of the pack is Japanese pro Kosei Ichinose with 738,000 in chips. Ichinose is still hunting for his first major APT title; his deepest run was an 11th place finish back in December 2017. He is packed though with 3 APT High Roller titles along with a long list of achievements earned at other festivals. At Day 2, Ichinose delivered the bubble with his Q-Q set improving to a full house on the river to crush a player’s made flush at the turn.
Teng Wei Yang – Taiwan – 538,000
Interestingly, the bottom half of the chip rung consists of players that have not ever cashed at a major APT tournament, though some have cashed at the side events. Taiwan’s Teng Wei Yang comes in with 538,000. He is a newcomer to the APT and is already looking to pick up his largest live tournament score no matter what place he lands.
Fu Bang Huang – Taiwan – 315,000
Taiwan’s Fu Bang Huang is next down the rung with 315,000. Huang is a well-known player in the Asian circuit though he rarely frequents the APT. He has two small APT side event cashes in his career and this is his first APT major tournament appearance. If he places 6th or higher, he will be looking at earning his largest live score, surpassing the US$11,431 payout earned at the WSOP 2016 for his 10th place finish at the $1500 Mixed PLO 8 or Better & Big O.
Ichiyo Niwa – Japan – 292,000
Japan’s Ichiyo Niwa sits in seventh rank with 292,00 in chips. Niwa earned five cashes at the APT last year, two of them in Incheon and three in Noumea. This will be his first major APT tournament appearance and no matter what place he lands, he will have scored his largest live tournament win. Just a bit of added info on Niwa, he nearly missed the Final 8. With 9 remaining, he was all in with K-J but spiked a king on the board to overtake Huang’s A-J and double up.
Chua Shan Hui – Singapore – 180,000
Bringing up the rear is Singapore’s Chua Shan Hui with 180,000 in chips. Chua is running well at the series. He has already cashed in three side events and getting this far at the Championships Event is impressive. He has already ensured himself the biggest payout of his young live tournament career.
The APT Philippines Championships 2018 at Resorts World Manila saw 100 total entries for the Championships Event. At Php110,000 buy-in each, the prize pool summed up to Php9,700,000 with the top 17 places earning a cut.
The Final 8 takes place on Monday, April 2 at 130pm. They resume at Level 20: Blinds 8000-16000 ante 2000 with the clock down to 28 minutes. Average stack is 625,000. Total chips in play is 5,000,000.
We will be streaming live on APT Twitch and APT YouTube. We will also be streaming in Chinese through the Hong Kong Poker Players Association (HKPPA). This will be broadcast live in Hong Kong and mainland China through the HKPPA’s new Douyu channel.
Day 3 recap
You can read up on all the exciting Day 3 action in the Live Updates or you can check out the short recap below.
15th – 18th place – PHP188,200
Day 3 began with 17 players back at the felt, each one guaranteed a piece of the PHP9,700,000 prize pool. Action came in turbo speed with short stacks shoving get-go. This led to the fall of Japan’s Shinichi Takenouchi in 17th place with A-Q losing to Huang’s A-K.
Out next was Korea’s Siyoung Lee in 16th place. Lee was first seen at the APT during the APT Kickoff Vietnam in January where he placed 11th at the Main Event. Alike Takenouchi, Lee fell holding A-Q against Ichinose’s K-K.
Yun Bong aka “Tiger” was eliminated in 15th place. He went head-to-head against Chua for two pots that cost him his tournament life. His last hand was with a desperate J-10 shove that lost to 6-6.
12th – 14th place – PHP217,300
Like Yun, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa also shoved with J-10 and lost. He was railed in 14th place by Dhanesh Chainani with 9-9 that even improved to a set. But as quick as it came, Chainani found himself sent to the rail in 13th place. He shoved with A-K and Lim Sung Min had him with 7-7. Taking 12th place was Hideaki Ohashi who seesawed with his short stack then bumped off by Chua.
10th – 11th place – PHP249,300
Falling just one spot shy of the unofficial final table was Lim Sung Min. Lim was seen joining in a high number of pots and running well claiming a good share however, when his stack began to dwindle, he shoved with A-2 and was railed by Eugene Co with Q-Q.
Down to the unofficial final table with 10 players hunting a coveted Final 8 berth, Kunal Patni risked it all with K♦ Q♦ only to get bounced out of the running in 10th place by Teng Wei Yang with K♣ K♠.
9th place – PHP285,200
Missing the Final 8 by one spot was Eugene Co. Co lost an enormous pot to Yogo to spiral down to two big blinds. The hand saw both players engage in a raise war that led to shoves. Yogo had A-Q and Co with 9-9. The board ran clean until the river with a lady showing up. Co was out on the next hand.