HomeAnother two APT Philippines Championships 2018 event trophies left the awards table today and into the hands of Japanese pro Iori Yogo and USA’s Alfonsa Caszatt. Have a read below on the action that led to their victories.
Iori Yogo rises to victory at the NLH Two Day Event
The second event of the festival was the NLH Two Day Event with a buy-in of Php55,000. This drew in a tight field of 46 players and a healthy prize pool of Php2,231,000. On the first day, action was brutal with the field trimmed down to just 11 players. They returned to the felt today and after nine hours, rising to victory was Japanese pro Iori Yogo. Yogo was awarded the Php727,500 first place cash and the APT event trophy to add to his already big collection.
NLH Two Day Event Champion, Iori Yogo
Despite being the most decorated player at the final table, getting to the top wasn’t a walk in the park for pro Yogo. He was in danger of elimination a number of times. At six-handed, he lost a sizable portion of his chips to Lim Chee Kuan with his A-4 losing to Kuan’s A-5 when the kicker played. From there, it was a grueling uphill battle that lasted for several hours. It seemed every time his stack would increase, it was also followed by a tumble.
Yogo finally picked up momentum at four-handed with his A♠ Q♥ spiking an ace on the river against Torii Ayumu’s 8♥ 8♠. After Kuan railed Oyama Masahari in 4th place, the race to the title got even tougher. Yogo picked up a double up with Q♦ Q♥ over Ayumu’s K♣ 10♦, then secured a big chip lead on his next winning pot. Ayumu made up a little ground by eliminating Kuan in 3rd place.
Heads up between Yogo and Ayumu
The heads up round began with Yogo in the lead backed by over a million chips to Ayumu’s 800k. Both players charged at each other like bulls sending the chip lead swinging back and forth a couple of times. At one point, Yogo fell behind 3:1 but recovered with 10♠ 7♠ flush over Ayumu’s A♥ 2♣ two pair on a board of 6♦ 6♠ 2♠ 3♠ 9♠. Ayumu shoved at the flop and Yogo risked his tournament life.
Crippled down, Ayumu doubled up though still behind Yogo. Not long after, the final hand arrived. Yogo limped and Ayumu checked. At the flop K♣ 5♦ 6♠, Ayumu bet 65k and Yogo called. On the 8♦ turn, another 65k from Ayumu that Yogo called. The river 2♦ saw Ayumu fire out 200k, Yogo went all in, and this time it was Ayumu who was at risk. Yogo had 4♠ 3♣ for a victorious straight over Ayumu’s 8♠ 6♣ two pair.
Payouts
1st Iori Yogo – Japan – Php727,500
2nd Torii Ayumu – Japan – Php469,200
3rd Lim Chee Kuan – Php317,000
4th Oyama Masahari – Japan – Php224,200
5th Yasuyuki Asakura – Japan – Php166,500
6th Huu Dung Nguyen – Vietnam – Php129,600
7th Marius Zalyps – Lithuania – Php106,000
8th Yasuo Tanoda – Japan – Php91,000
You can catch the Final 8 action in the APT Twitch station or the APT YouTube channel.
Alfonsa Caszatt dominates the Ladies Event
Although we were busy following the NLH Two Day Event, we took glances at the Ladies Event that had 16 players sign up. The field downsized to one table pretty quick and soon a clear leader was emerging, USA’s Alfonsa Caszatt.
Ladies of Poker Champion, Alfonsa Caszatt
At the bubble round, with four players gunning for a piece of the Php155,200 prize pool, it was all Caszatt. We saw her claim a beefy pot against Ayano Sugiyama on a board showing 8♥ 10♥ 6♠ K♠ 9♥. Caszatt kindly showed her Q-J straight after Sugiyama folded and showed her K-10 top two pair.
With a massive stack to bully with, Caszatt dominated the table then finally delivered the bubble. With three left and every lady in the money, she proceeded to rule, eliminating Sugiyama in 3rd place to face Janette Dee at the heads up round. By then, Caszatt had a 10:1 chip lead that Dee simply couldn’t overcome. The final hand saw Dee shove with K♣ 6♣ and Caszatt call with 9♥ 10♣. The board ran J♥ J♠ Q♥ 6♠ K♦ for a victorious straight.
Payouts
1st Alfonsa Caszatt – USA – Php90,000
2nd Janette Dee – Philippines – Php41,900
3rd Ayano Sugiyama – Japan – Php23,300
Upcoming Events
On Saturday, March 24, get ready for the featured tournament, the APT MAIN EVENT! This event comes in with a huge PHP8 Million guarantee! Buy-in is Php55,000. The first of two starting days gets underway promptly at 1pm.
Here’s Everything You Need To Know About the Main Event
A couple of events will also be on the floor during the main, the Head Hunter event returns from a night’s break with the final 8 players getting on the RFID table at 1pm. We’ll have a recap on that for you but you can also follow the action in APT Twitch.
At 2pm, the Pot Limit Omaha Hi Lo Split hits the felt. Buy-in is Php16,500. We will also have a Last Chance “1 in 5” Main Event Mega Satellite at 5pm. Buy-in is Php12,000.
Full APT Philippines Championships schedule