Side event winners: Chi Chung Ho, Masato Yokosawa, and Kota Nakano

It was a day of champions at APT Philippines II 2019 with three players owning the competition at their respective side events. The Head Hunter was first to complete with Hong Kong’s Chi Chung Ho claiming his first APT trophy on his first-ever APT Philippines visit. In the evening, two players joined the winners circle; Masato Yokosawa shipped the High Rollers Single Day 1 and Kota Nakano took down the Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split. Recaps below.

The Final 8 of the Monster Stack 1, Head Hunter, & High Rollers Single Day 1 streamed live and uploaded on APT Twitch and APT YouTube for you viewing enjoyment.

Current results and standings:

Event Results 

APT Player of the Series

Side Event recaps

Head Hunter: Chi Chung Ho – Hong Kong – PHP 385,500 (~USD 7,400)

Chi Chunh Ho – Head Hunter champion

The PHP 19,800 (~US$ 380) buy-in Head Hunter event ran for two days with 137 jumping in for a prize pool of PHP 1,844,000 (~US$ 35,400). Action went its usual fast pace with players looking to pocket an instant PHP 4,000 for every player scalped. The money was reached at the fall of Kuang “Luke” Lee A 6 to Korea’s Gyeong Byeong Lee 10 9 straight on a board of  Q 5 K 2 J

Bubble! 

The day closed with the final 8 players formed led by Singapore’s Alex Goh in seat #5. 

Final 8 players

The final day race took only three hours to complete. Plenty of action in the first two hours with the chip lead stolen by multiple players. Goh lost momentum and fell in 7th place to Martin Dahle Rottem who slid into second chip lead just behind Chi Chung Ho. The two big stacks then met in a big hand that saw Rottem three-bet jam with A K, Ho called with K K, the board bricked. Rottem busted in 6th place to award Ho a monster pile. Three eliminations later, it was heads up with Ho ahead 2.5:1 to Joven Huerto

Heads up: Joven Huerto vs Chi Chung Ho

Heads up: Joven Huerto vs Chi Chung Ho

Early in the battle, Huerto shipped a pot that switched command. Ho called the turn and river bets on a board J 9 4 2 4 and mucked upon seeing Huerto’s A4c} trips. The players then agreed on an ICM deal with PHP 40,000 and the trophy set aside for the winner.

Ho went on to reclaim the lead with K J earning him a large pot on a board 6 J K 8 10. The final hand arrived with Huerto calling to his doom. The board completed A K 10 10 8. Ho bet on fourth street and jammed on fifth street, Huerto called with A 4 that lost to 10 3 trips. Ho seized the title, PHP 385,500 in cash, and four bounty rewards. 

Final 8 payouts
1st Chi Chung Ho – Hong Kong – PHP 385,500 (deal made)
2nd Joven Huerto – Philippines – PHP 352,600 (deal made)
3rd Jose Mari Cinco – Philippines – PHP 205,200
4th Iori Yogo – Japan – PHP 148,200
5th Damon Shulenberger – USA – PHP 110,800
6th Martin Dahle Rottem- Norway – PHP 85,500
7th Alex Goh – Singapore – PHP 67,900
8th Rogelio Paca – Philippines – PHP 55,300

High Rollers Single Day 1: Masato Yokosawa – PHP 1,178,900 )~USD 22,700)

Masato Yokosawa – High Rollers Single Day 1 champion

The PHP 86,000 (~USD 1,600) High Rollers Single Day 1 attracted attention from 50 heavy-hitters for a prize pool of PHP 3,880,000 (~USD 74,600). Among the sluggers were Mike Takayama, Andre Lettau, Florencio Campomanes, and Hamish Crawshaw however all exited before the money. John Tech fell in the worst spot with K Q running into Jae Wook Shin’s A A

With the remaining 9 players all guaranteed to profit, the chase to the title was fierce and fast. At the  immediate fall of Martin Stausholm, the final 8 players were moved to the RIFD feature table. The action streamed live in our APT media channels so make sure to check that out especially the heads up between Akshay Nasa and Masato Yokosawa .

Brief rundown of the action, Nasa entered the final 8 as chip leader. After the fall of Nobuhito Ogo (8th), Gab Yong Kim (7th), Charlton Hawes (6th), and Phachara Wongwichit (5th), Nasa rivered out Lester Edoc (4th) with 5 7 straight to Edoc’s 10 4 two pair on a board 10 6 8 8 9. Nasa check-shoved on the flop and Edoc called. Nasa then railed Shin (3rd) on the next hand to enter heads up against Yokosawa with a 4.5:1 chip advantage. 

Heads up between Akshay Nasa and Masato Yokosawa

It was the longest bout of the final 8 with the chip lead exchanging multiple times. Yokosawa doubled up with K 2 trips on a board 2 2 J Q 8. Nasa was still ahead but on Yokosawa’s second double up – 9 8 rivered pair on a board 5 K 4 3 8 to defeat Nasa’s A 10 – he lost the lead for the first time since the final 8 began.

Nasa made up ground with a double up of his own. This time, he caught the river 9 8 10 4 7 for a straight holding K J over Yokosawa’s pocket threes. Nasa picked up a few more pots to retake the lead. Yokosawa battled back landing his third heads up double up. Yokosawa had A J, Nasa A 10, the board dropped a jack on the flop. With Yokosawa back on top again, he was able to close it out. The final hand saw shoves preflop. Nasa held K 9, Yokosawa A 9, the board 7 Q 3 6 7. With no hits for either player, Yokosawa shipped it and pocketed PHP 1,178,900. 

Payouts
1st Masato Yokosawa – Japan – PHP 1,178,900
2nd Akshay Nasa – India – PHP 786,000
3rd Jae Wook Shin – Korea – PHP 546,400
4th Lester Edoc – Philippines – PHP 394,700
5th Phachara Wongwichit – Thailand – PHP 295,100
6th Charlton Hawes – New Zealand – PHP 227,800
7th Gab Young Kim – Korea – PHP 180,900
8th Nobuhito Ogo – Japan – PHP 147,400
9th Martin Stausholm – PHP 122,800

Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split: Kota Nakano – PHP 163,700 (~USD 3,100)

Kota Nakano – PLO HI-Lo Split champion

With plenty of action going on all day, only 23 runners turned up for the PHP 16,500 (~USD 320) buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split event. This produced a prize pool of PH p334,600 with only four players deserving a cut. 

On fire was Japan’s Kota Nakano who not only delivered the bubble but also proceeded to knockout the rest of his opponents to claim the trophy and the PHP 163,700 first prize. The last hand saw him call a preflop raise then check raise all in on the flop that Takami Kunishina called. Nakano K A J 7 straight, Kunishina A Q 8 3, the board A 10 9 K 8

Payouts
1st Kota Nakano – Japan – PHP 163,700
2nd Takami Kunishima – Japan – PHP 87,800
3rd Ryota Horikoshi – Japan – PHP 51,000
4th Sidney Gilpatrick – USA – PHP 32,100