HomeOpening day of APT Philippines 2019 wrapped up with the Dream Maker and High Rollers #1 bagging up just before the midnight hour. Remaining players return today to Resorts World Manila to battle it out for the first series trophies and the hefty first prize money attached to them.
Dream Maker
The Dream Maker may not seem attractive to players that bust out early but for players that find their way to the money, it is nothing short of exciting. This unique event pays out only 5% of the field making for big returns to the winners. With 88 entries dragged in at P16,500 each, the event generated a prize pool of P1,280,400 (~USD24,500) of which only 5 players are due to earn a slice. Here’s a look at the payouts:
1st: P547,000
2nd: P317,100
3rd: P196,300
4th: P129,400
5th: P90,600
The event bagged up at ITM. Owning the chip leader status was Christopher Mateo with 383,000 in chips. Throughout the final table of ten players, Mateo was in command. He amassed half of the chips in play after railing David Chargualaf Sr. during the bubble round with A♠ K♦ over A♥ J♠.
The final five showdown gets underway at 1pm. It will stream live on APT Twitch and APT YouTube. Here are the finalists:
Christopher Mateo – Philippines – 383,000
Low Zi Cheng – Singapore – 263,500
Samad Razavi – UK – 108,500
Hiroyuki Yoshimura – Japan – 70,500
Netnapit Muksatean – Thailand – 54,000
Opening blinds: 3K-6K ante 6K
Chips in play: 880,000
Average stack: 176,000
Blinds duration: increases every 30 minutes
High Rollers #1
The first of six High Rollers events on the schedule took flight on opening day. The event drew 43 entries each one contributing the P107,500 buy-in for a prize pool of P4,171,000 (~USD 80,000). Almost everyone seated was a decorated pro in the Asian and/or international circuit. The list included Henrik Tollefsen, Marvin Rettenmaier, Ying Lin Chua, Lester Edoc, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa, Wilson Lim, however none of them advanced to today’s final round. Surviving the twelve 40 minute rounds are the 14 players listed below led by Hirasawa Fumimasa.
Hirasawa Fumimasa – 227,500
Iori Yogo – 218,000
Linh Tran – 195,500
Tobias Peters – 167,500
Mike Takayama – 159,500
John Tech – 133,500
Markus Garberg – 126,500
Argyle Akjandria – 124,000
Bobby Zhang – 85,000
Kannapong Thanarattrakul – 85,000
Phachara Wongwichit – 78,000
Naoki Yamamoto – 59,000
Alex Lindop 42,500
Mak Wai Sum – 27,500
Out of these fourteen returnees, only 8 of them will ship some cash with the champion marked for a sweet P1,308,900 (~USD25,000) first prize. This event will also stream live on both APT media channels so be on the lookout.
Opening blinds: 1500-3000 ante 3000
Chips in play: 1,720,000
Average stack: 122,857
Blinds duration: increases every 40 minutes
APT Player of the Series
As always, the APT rewards players with points throughout the series. Winners of the events above will set the pace in the APT Player of the Series race. Ultimately, the top three players in points at the end of the festival will be recognized and awarded special prizes. For the winner, an exclusive watch, a customized APT POS ring, a trophy, and USD 800. For 2nd and 3rd, a trophy an USD 100. We will have the leaderboard up and updated at the end of each event.
More events are lined up, more points and more trophies to be earned. The Main Event is also around the corner. It begins Friday, April 26 with buy-in of P55,000. Head to this link for all the info.
Full APT Philippines 2019 schedule