Jeorge Lagatuz takes down first ever APT Mystery Bounty Main Event; Renniel Galvez wins the most bounties

Filipino player Jeorge Lagatuz emerged victorious to be crowned the first ever APT Mystery Bounty Main Event champion. Lagatuz bulldozed through the final table, eliminating five players to capture the PHP 600,400 first prize and PHP 76,050 in bounty rewards for a career high payout of PHP 676,450 (~US$ 13,000). 

You can catch the final table race via APT Twitch and APT YouTube. We also have a recap for you down below. 

Jeorge Lagatuz – Main Event champion

Buy in: PHP 13,200 
Entries: 348
Main prize pool: PHP 2,784,000 
Bounty pool: PHP 1,392,000
ITM: 35 places

Final table payouts

1st Jeorge Lagatuz – Philippines – PHP 600,400 + PHP 76,050 bounties = PHP 676,450
2nd Lester “Hazel” Timonera – Philippines – PHP 400,200 + PHP 72,750 bounties = PHP 472,950
3rd Terence Navales – Philippines – PHP 278,20o + PHP 31,900 bounties = PHP 310,100
4th Renniel Galvez – Philippines – PHP 201,000 + PHP 377,200 bounties = PHP 578,200
5th Lim Choon Kwang – Singapore – PHP 150,300 + PHP 21,000  bounties= PHP 171,300
6th Iori Yogo – Japan – PHP 116,000 + PHP 15,100 bounty = PHP  131,100
7th Mark Joson – Philippines – PHP 92,100 + PHP 8,800 bounty = PHP 100,900
8th Janno Alvarez – Philippines – PHP 75,000 + PHP 8,800 bounty = PHP 83,800

Event recap

The Main Event drew 348 entries across four flights to generate a guarantee crushing prize pool of PHP 4,176,000. 91 players advanced to the final day led by two Korean players, Yoon Chung Hyo (Flight C leader) and Go Tai Young (Flight A leader). Leading up to the money round, notable players John Tech, John Paredes, Chris Mateo, Joven Huerto, William Teoh, and Nicolo Valenton all missed the mark. Local pro Vamerdino Magsakay delivered the bubble when his A 7 rivered a seven to boot a short stack’s A K

With the money intact, excitement grew at every bust as winning players drew for their mystery bounty reward. The prizes ranged from PHP 8,800 to the highest of PHP 233,700. USA’s Suheil Saliba was first at the drawing table after his pocket aces sent a player packing in 35th place. Out of the 35 cards on the table, Saliba opened one of the three coveted top prizes – PHP 233,700 – to earn a huge applause from the crowd. Korean player Hwang In Je missed the top prize on his first two draws but on his third attempt, he scored it leaving only one in the mix.

Renniel Galvez

Just before the final table was formed, local player Renniel Galvez delivered a total of six kills, the most by any player during the money round. This awarded him six mystery bounty tickets, one of which was the last remaining PHP 233,7000 top prize. Galvez walked away the biggest bounty winner, amassing a collective PHP 377,200. The day’s entering chip leader Hyo missed the final table by one spot on a busted flush draw against Lester “Hazel” Timonera

Final table recap

Final table – Main Event

The final table got underway with Timonera as frontrunner followed by Galvez. Local player Janno Alvarez managed to squeeze into the table but his one big blind stack finished him off on the first hand. Joining him at the rail was Mark “Chikoro” Joson in 7th place with Timonera cleaning him out.

Lester “Hazel” Timonera

Out of all the players, Japanese pro Iori Yogo had the biggest jump, going from 68th rank to the final table. However his bid for the title was also cut short. Yogo lost a huge pot to Lagatuz with Q 10 straight dominated by Q 2 flush on a board A K 5 J J. Several hands later, Lagatuz took the rest with K J spiking both cards to crush Yogo’s 8 8.

Lim Choon Kwang

With momentum on his side, Lagatuz claimed another huge pot, this time against Lim with a set over second pair; and just like Yogo, he proceeded to take the rest of Lim’s chips to steal the chip lead which held to the end. Lagatuz finished off the next three players starting with Galvez with A 10 quads over A Q full house on a board 4 10 Q 10 10. Despite Galvez’ exit in 4th place, he was still the second biggest earner of the final table. He cashed PHP 201,000 and collected a massive PHP 377,200 in bounties for a career high payout of PHP 578,200 (~US$ 11,130). 

On the next showdown, Terence Navales managed to double up but still met his end in 3rd place. Navales was all in with A 10, Lagatuz called with K J, the jack found the board. Navales collected PHP 310,100 (~US$ 6,000) for his deep run. 

Jeorge Lagatuz and Terence Navales

Before heads up kicked off, Lagatuz and Timonera agreed to split the remaining unopened bounties down the middle for a guaranteed score of PHP 54,650 each. Action resumed with Lagatuz ahead 65 BB to Timonera’s 21 BB. Lagatuz continued his aggression to drag in pot after pot until Timonera got lucky with K Q flush against A 8 on a board 6 7 10 5 5 to avoid elimination. However, lady luck did not strike again. Lagatuz shipped it all on the next shove with A K beating Q 10. For his outstanding performance, Lagatuz claimed his largest live tournament career high score of PHP 676,450 (~US$ 13,000) and his second ever career APT title. For runner up Timonera, it was an equally impressive run to earn a career high PHP 472,950 (~US$ 9,100). 

Congratulations to Jeorge Lagatuz for his victory at the first ever APT Mystery Bounty Weekend Main Event!