HomeJulian Lagman of the Philippines bagged the first side event title of the APT Asian Poker Series Cebu 2015 at the All In Poker Club located at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino Lahug in Cebu, Philippines.
The Filipino bested a 247-player field in the 1 Million Guaranteed Opening Event of the nine-day poker festivities even as two other players won the pair of side events scheduled on Wednesday (August 12).
1M GTD Opening Event Champion, Julian Lagman
The first side event, which easily broke the million-peso guarantee, had a total prize pool of PHP 1.677M, and the lion’s share of PHP 362,000 went to Lagman, who had to survive a long battle when play was four-handed for the side event crown.
Play re-started at 1:30 PM Wednesday after two flights the previous day and the champion was decided in the wee hours of Thursday morning when Lagman beat compatriot Delfin Ty in the heads-up round, after a deal was made between the two.
Ty settled for the runner-up finish but still took home an impressive PHP 299,100 for his efforts.
Filipinos got five of the first six ITM spots but perhaps the most impressive effort came from Japanese Shingo Cho, who started Day 2 in 60th out 63 runners, but still managed to reach third place for PHP 164,400.
Meanwhile, two other APT regulars, Junichi Nakagiri of Japan and Sam Razavi of the United Kingdom, joined Lagman in the winners’ circle in the second day of APT action.
NLH Re-Buy Champion, Junichi Nakagiri
Nakagiri beat fellow Japanese Azusa Maeda in the heads-up round of the NLH RB+AO event, which had a prize pool of PHP 529,600 after 59 entries, 79 re-buys and 44 add-ons. For his efforts, Nakagiri won PHP 146,600 while Maeda settled for PHP 90,600.
Ante Up for Charity Champion, Sam Razavi
Three-time APT Player of the Year Razavi won the Ante Up for Charity event, where a third of the buy-in/prize pool will be donated to the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children, a non-profit organization that provides educational and residential assistance to Cebu City’s street children.
Action continues Thursday (August 13) for the third day of the poker festivities. The Head Hunter (PHP 16,500 buy-in) and Ladies of Poker (PHP 5,500) events are set at 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM, respectively. Go to the APT Asian Poker Series Cebu event schedule page for complete details.