HomeThe Asian Poker Tour concluded its biggest event of the year, the APT Championships Philippines 2017 at Resorts World Manila with twelve days of action packed poker festivities running from April 26th – May 7th. There were over 36 countries represented with 3,800 player entries, and 730 unique players in attendance. With three major tournaments and 18 side events on the schedule, the festival generated a massive grand prize pool of USD 1.7 million. In addition, the Main Event had a record-breaking 442 entries. Here are some of the top stories and highlights.
APT Player of the Series winners
photo L-R: Huu Dung Nguyen (2nd), Kim Gab Yong (1st) and In Chul Sin (3rd)
Korea’s Kim Gab Yong, the wolf in the big red jacket, was on fire at the series. He stormed through the festival winning the 56-player High Rollers event and the 189-field Head Hunter event. Yong also finished 4th in the APT Championships featured event. For his impressive achievements, he earned a total of USD 79,540, the APT Player of the Series first place trophy, the APT Player of the Series Ring, and an exclusive Meister luxury watch.
Taking second place in the APT POS is a newcomer, Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen who captured two huge events, the APT-RWM Opening Event with 318 entries and the big one, the first-ever APT Championships. He also cashed in the No Limit Hold’em 1 event with a 21st place finish. Nguyen is the biggest cash winner of the series banking a total of USD 111,590 in winnings. He was awarded the second place APT POS trophy.
Korea’s In Chul Sin rounded out the top three winners of the APT POS running deep in three events. He placed 6th at the APT Championships, 3rd at the Pot Limit Omaha event, and 8th at the APT Japan Corp 8-Max. Sin took home a total of USD 21,110 in earnings and the third place APT POS trophy.
Filipino pro Mike Takayama wins record-breaking Main Event
Main Event Champion, Mike Takayama
The APT Main Event with a USD 1,100 buy-in saw a record breaking 442 entries for a massive total prize pool of USD 428,740. Outlasting them all was Filipino pro Mike Takayama, who captured his second APT Main Event title and the enormous USD 105,530 first place purse. His performance was truly outstanding climbing out of a very short stack of five big blinds to eventually own the throne.
Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen is the first-ever APT Championships winner
APT Championships 2017 Winner, Huu Dung Nguyen
The series held its first-ever APT Championships with Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen shipping in the USD 91,670 first place cash prize, the APT Championships trophy, and the APT Championship Ring. Nguyen defeated a field of 189 entries that saw a prize pool of USD 366,660. Impressively, he entered the Final 8 as the utmost runt of the litter with less than eight big blinds then closed it out on the opposite end as the mighty champion.
Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani misses two but wins Champions Cup
Champions Cup Winner, Dhanesh Chainani
The Sam Razavi Champions Cup Invitational event was nearly won by the English pro Razavi himself but Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani denied him that privilege, defeating him at the heads up round. Chainani had a great run at the series; in addition to his victory, he nearly captured two other events, placing second in both the No Limit Hold’em 2 event and the 6 Handed Turbo w/Antes.
The APT Championships Philippines 2017 saw a high attendance of players from all over the world but it was the Japanese who dominated the poker room. They ultimately claimed seven of the side event trophies. One of their countrymen, Shinobu Tanaka, came close to a major victory, finishing in runner-up position at the APT Championships. There was also a big showing of players from Vietnam, Korea and Guam.
One event that didn’t have a trophy was the PokerFishS SitnGo invitational. It was a winner-take-all event with four APT head honchos and four PokerFishS players battling it out. In a rare moment, Samad Razavi and Iori Yogo faced off. Both players have battled before for the APT Player of the Year title, but this one-on-one at the felt was quite a treat. In the end, it was Razavi who prevailed. He claimed the USD 2,400 cash prize.
You can read up on all the great moments and winners of the series in the News page. All the payouts can be viewed in the Event & Results page. But if you want to watch the live action, check out the daily highlights in the APT YouTube channel and in the APT Twitch channel for many of the Final 8 bouts.
The Asian Poker Tour would like to thank everyone for their support, all the players, the staff, and of course the railbirds cheering on their friends. This was a fantastic festival with lots of great stories to remember. Our next big event is the APT Macau 2017 at the Macau Billionaire Poker room in the Babylon Casino. We look forward to seeing all of you there for another action packed poker experience.