Ken Chung Lau outduels Thijs Hilberts at NLH Single Day; APT Player of the Series update

With the spotlight on MAIN EVENT Day 1B, only 62 entered the lone side event No Limit Hold’em Single Day for a prize pool of Php 902,100 (~US$ 17,220). After nine hours of play, Hong Kong’s Ken Chung Lau defeated Dutch player Thijs Hilberts for his first ever APT title and Php 260,400. You can watch the final 8 race via our media channels APT YouTube and APT Twitch or read on for the recap. 

Final table kicked off with Philippines player Adones Carmona in the lead while eventual champion Ken Chung Lau was one of the shortest. Jan Jason Leoncio was first to fall with pocket Fours outdrawn by Kenro Ujita‘s A-Q suited. The next all in clash, Lau doubled up with pocket Aces dominating Carmona’s pocket Kings. Dutch player Thijs Hilberts sent Taku Tanaka packing next then grabbed the chip lead after winning a massive pot against Carmona. During the hand, Carmona bet heavy on the turn and river A J 8 8 2, Hilberts called with K 8 trips, exposing Carmona’s K Q bluff in the process.

Hilberts fueled in more chips by railing Satoshi Kuriga in 6th place, Ujita fell to Carmona, and Lau racked up as well by eliminating Malaysia’s Neil Lawrence. Down to three players, Lau doubled up again with K K holding strong against Carmona’s J 10 gamble. Carmona was left with crumbs and managed to double up but only to send it all back to Hilberts. 

Heads up: Thijs Hilberts and Ken Chung Lau

Heads up kicked off with Hilberts in the lead until Lau caught a lucky break with K Q straight on the river 10 3 J 4 A to dust A 3 top pair. This gave Lau the lead for the first time. Hilberts resumed the grind and successfully reclaimed the chip lead on a board 4 10 J 9 2, calling Lau’s big river bet with a higher two pair J 4 over 10 9

It didn’t take long for Lau to grab it back with K Q doing the job again by hitting queen top pair to overtake A J. The final hand soon arrived. Hilberts pushed Q 10, Lau called with Q 2, the final spread came 9 5 2 J 6 for a victorious pair to Lau. 

Date: April 30
Buy in: Php 16,500 (~US$ 315)
Entries: 62
Prize pool: Php 902,100 (~US$ 17,220)
ITM: 11 places

Payouts

1st Ken Chung Lau – Hong Kong – Php 260,400
2nd Thijs Hilberts – Netherlands – Php 173,600
3rd Adones Carmona – Philippines – Php 120,700
4th Neil Lawrence – Malaysia – Php 87,200
5th Kenro Ujita – Japan – Php 65,200
6th Satoshi Kuriga – Japan – Php 50,300
7th Taku Tanaka – Japan – Php 39,900
8th Jan Jason Leoncio – Philippines – Php 32,500
9th Janno Riga – Philippines – Php 27,100
10th Ryan Thomas White – USA – Php 22,600
11th Emmanuel Segismundo – Philippines – Php 22,600 

APT Player of the Series update

The APT Player of the Series race is well underway with six side events tallied out of 23 total events. Only the top three places at the end of the series wins special prizes. The ultimate winner receives the APT Player of the Series Trophy, APT Player of the Series Ring, MSTR watch, and US$ 800. For 2nd and 3rd place, they each receive a trophy and US$ 100.

Current front runner is Henrik Tollefsen who earned a mountain of points for his victory at the Mystery Bounty series opener. In second rank is John Flores, and to round out the top three is Ellezer Castillo. All three race leaders earned their points at the opener. On their tail are Head Hunter champion Feng Zhao and Filipino player Edgar Asehan . We should also see Satoshi Kuriga climb up the ranks, becoming the first player to cash in three events. 

APT Player of the Series leaderboard