HomePASAY CITY, Philippines – Filipino player Hernan Jaybee Villa entered the APT Philippines II Main Event ranked fourth in chips and after five and a half hours of play, he emerged victorious to capture his first ever major APT title. Along with the trophy and champion’s ring, Villa pocketed a career high Php 4,560,000 (~US$ 80,250) payout deal. This was Villa’s first APT Main Event since the brand moved to Newport City.
We had a chance to chat with the champ who had this to share on his win,
Villa: Sa totoo lang nung nag final table na ako, nung gabi bago ako matulog inisip ko na kung ano ang bibilhin. Sa isip ko talaga, second or first ako. As of now very happy para sa family ko, hindi na kami mahihirapan.
[Translation: In truth, the night I reached the final table, before I went to sleep I was already thinking of all the things I would buy because I felt confident I was going to finish second or first. As of now, I am very happy for my family because life just became easier.]
APT: What was going through your mind when you risked half of your stack by calling Bonifacio Mondalo’s four-bet shove on the first hand with 9-3 offsuit?
Villa: It’s almost a min raise to my re-raise and if I lost, I know how to make it back.”
APT: The first time you tanked was with set of Aces against Sofia Lovgren Fullmer’s river shove on a board 7♣ 5♦ J♣ A♣ 2♦. What was running through your mind and what made you call?
Villa: Nahirapan ako kay Sofia, ang galing. Pwede siya flush. Kahit ako ayaw ko i-check back pag nag flush, alam niya marunong ako. Nag isip ako na matagal na bakit di niya ako ni re-raise sa flop. Isip din ako na kung flush siya dapat mag pa bayad siya. Tataya siya value bet na 300k. Kaya nakita ko chips ko pag nag lay down, wala naman rin mangyayari. Nag time bank ako five times. Nag isip ako baka i-outplay ako. Yun ang pinag pilian ko na decision. Blanco siya, if meron naman, two pair lang siya.
[Translation: I had a hard time with Sofia, she is really good. It is possible she had a flush there. Even me, I won’t check if I had the flush. I was asking myself why didn’t she re-raise me on the flop? And also thinking that if she had the flush, she would just value bet 300k. So I looked at what chips I would have left if I laid down my hand I felt there’s nothing else I can do with it. So I decided that she was trying to outplay me and that she had nothing or two pair at best.
APT: How did you feel going up against David Erquiaga at heads up? Did you have a plan?
Villa: Nakita ko mga tira niya wala ipapapnalo sa tira ko the way siya mag heads up. Kaya confident ako that moment nung heads up palang.
[Translation: I saw that from the way Dave plays heads up, his attacks don’t win against mine. That’s why I was confident at the start of heads up.]
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| 1st | Hernan Villa | Philippines | Php 5,046,000 ($80,250)* |
| 2nd | Dabid Erquiaga | Philippines | Php 3,364,000 ($67,400)* |
| 3rd | Sofia Lovgren Fullmer | Sweden | Php 2,338,800 ($41,160) |
| 4th | Hwany Lee | Korea | Php1,689,000 ($29,725) |
| 5th | Jung Ho Young | Korea | Php 1,263,300 ($22,228) |
| 6th | Jacques Le Guennec | France | Php 975,000 ($17,160) |
| 7th | Marc Rivera | Philippines | Php 774,200 ($13,625) |
| 8th | Bonifacio Mondalo | Philippines | Php 630,800 ($11,230) |
*Heads up deal
Final 8 recap
The Main Event ran from September 8 to 13 at partner venue Newport World Resorts. A roaring 497 entered at Php 55,000 (~US$ 970) each to shatter the Php 15M guarantee for a wealthier Php 24,104,500 (~US$ 434,225) prize pool. After three starting days and two elimination stages, the field trimmed to the Final 8 led by Sweden’s Sofia Lovgren Fullmer with a stack over 100 BB.
Bonifacio Mondalo and Hernan Villa
On the first deal of the day, cutoff player Bonifacio Mondalo looked down at K♥ K♣ and raised, cutoff Hernan Villa three-bet more than double, back to Mondalo who shoved his entire 18 BB stack. After a bit of calculating, Villa decided to risk it, giving up half of his stack if he lost. To everyone’s shock Villa turned over 9♦ 3♣ and was even more stunned when the board ran 6♣ 5♣ 3♠ 8♠ 9♣ for a winning two pair. Just like that, Mondalo busted in 8th place.
The next two to go were Filipino pro Marc Rivera (7th) and France’s only hope, Jacques Le Guennec (6th). Both players entered with stacks needing work however didn’t get much traction to bust early.
At five remaining, Villa landed a massive double up that sent him catapulting to the top and Fullmer down to the middle of the pack. During the hand, Fullmer shoved on a board 7♣ 5♦ J♣ A♣ 2♦, Villa used up five time banks then called.
From there, the battle for command switched multiple times with Hwany Lee and David Erquiaga also earning their time up top. For Erquiaga, the first pot that sent him soaring was Korea’s Jung Ho Young (5th) bad timing shove with air against Erquiaga’s set on the flop. It took another hour before Korea was denied the title. The lone player holding up the flag, Lee, was downed in 4th place in a classic flip with pocket Threes outdrawn by over cards.
Three-handed lasted only half an hour with Fullmer K♣ 2♣ shoving on a board 5♣ Q♣ 6♠ 8♠ 8♦. Villa tank-called again and shipped it with K♦ Q♦ two pair. Heads up opened with both players very deep. Villa ahead 128 BB to Erquiaga’s 78 BB. After two attempts, a deal was struck with additional money left aside for the eventual champion. The more seasoned player Erquiaga nearly matched up to the leader, climbing to just 8 BB behind, but couldn’t maintain the rise. Instead, Villa jumped back out front and reclaimed command from which he never relinquished. After an hour and a half of chips being splashed in the middle, Erquiaga was drained to just 6 BB and busted with 9♦ 9♣ against A♥ K♣ that saw an Ace quickly drop on the flop.
Congratulations to the newest APT Main Event champion Hernan Jaybee Villa!