HomeIt was the first day of crowning moments at the Asian Poker Tour Philippines III 2016 with three players emerging victorious at Resorts World Manila. Here is a review of the events that wrapped up along with the exciting tales of the winners.
Mark Amparo takes down the APT-RWM Opening Event 50,000 Guaranteed
After two nonstop action packed days, Filipino player Mark Amparo overcame a field of 262 entries and a seemingly unstoppable Will.T to claim the first place cash prize of USD 15,860 and the first trophy of the festival.
APT-RWM Opening Event Champion, Mark Amparo
Success! That was the word of the day at the APT-RWM Opening Event 50,000 Guaranteed coined by second place finisher Malaysia’s Will. T. To say it was a wild day may actually be an understatement. It began with 66 players returning to the felt with Filipino Rodolfo Feliciano as the leader. Many players fell before reaching the money, including notables John Tech, Julius Lagman, Sim Jae Kyung, SJ Kim, and Joven Huerto.
When the field neared the bubble, Will. T was the man in charge. He eliminated several players including Japan’s Shinichiro Tone to surge way ahead in chips. After Filipino player Alexis Lim delivered the bubble by eliminating fellow countryman Dexter Salmingo, Will.T fluctuated a bit but still held the lead while Amparo finished off Korea’s In Chul Sin to slowly climb up the ranks.
One of the hardest to fall was India’s Dhaval Mudgal. On a board of 5♥ 8♠ 6♥ 7♠, Mudgal pushed all in (with a sizable stack) and Will. T called. Mudgal had 9♥ 8♥ straight and Will. T with a shocking A♣ 2♠ ace high. Looking like a double up was headed Mudgal’s way, the river turned up a 9♦ for both players to split the pot. The table was stunned while Will. T exclaimed “success!” Two hands later, Mudgal was sent packing when his A♥ Q♥ was crushed by Will. T’s A♦ J♠ full house on a board that ran 5♣ 6♣ J♦ J♣ A♠. Will. T once again rejoiced “success!” as he crossed the million chip mark. Just before the Final 8 was set, Filipino BJ Perez joined him as one of the dominating chip leaders by eliminating USA’s Ron Manning.
The Final 8 saw Korea’s You Hyun Kim out in 8th place at the hands of Will. T; Filipino pro Mike Takayama sent Filipino Vamerdino Magsakay packing in 7th place; Amparo doubled up after besting Perez’s pocket queens with pocket fives improving to a set, then proceeded to claim the chip leader’s status by railing Filipino Ian Marcos in 6th place. From that moment onwards, Amparo never lost his grip nor his eyes on the prize. He dominated the table, eliminating Takayama in 5th place, which he followed up with a well-deserved pot by calling out Will. T’s river bet bluff. Amparo had A♠ 7♦ pair on a board of 7♠ 4♣ 5♦ J♦ Q♦ and Will. T had 8♠ 9♠ missed draw. Will. T made up some of the lost chips by railing Perez in 4th place but Amparo answered back by amassing more chips, eliminating Lim in 3rd place.
The heads up round between Will. T and Amparo was heavily sided in Amparo’s direction with a slightly above 4:1 chip advantage. Despite Will. T beefing up his stack with a few small pots, the final hand was dealt. Amparo had A♣ 6♥ and Will. T with 10♣ 10♦. The board ran A♠ 7♥ 4♥ K♦ 8♦ and with a higher pair, Amparo took down the opening event. Overheard, Will. T told Amparo that from the beginning of the day, he knew that he was a very good player. Amparo humbly replied that he just gets lucky.
You can view the Final 8 action of this event in the APT twitch.tv channel.
Final 8 Payouts
1st Mark Amparo – Philippines – USD 15,860
2nd Will. T – Malaysia – USD 9,150
3rd Alexis Lim – Philippines – USD 6,230
4th BJ Perez – Philippines – USD 4,450
5th Mike Takayama – Philippines – USD 3,620
6th Ian Marcos – Philippines – USD 2,920
7th Vamerdino Magsakay – Philippines – USD 2,350
8th You Hyun Kim – Korea – USD 1,910
Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa wins the Ante Up for Charity; Event earns USD 1,900 in proceeds
Ante Up for Charity Champion, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa
The Ante Up for Charity event attracted a total of 38 players for an accumulated prize pool of USD 5,700. A third of the proceeds was set aside for the Foundation for These-Abled Persons, Inc., a nongovernmental organization providing livelihood and rehabilitation programs for persons with disabilities. The amount generated was USD 1,900. The remaining cash was up for grabs with five players seeing some pay. The final heads up battle saw Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa defeat USA’s Alfredo Reyes with 6♥ 5♣ felting a lucky trips on a board of 10♦ A♥ 5♦ 5♠ 9♣ against A♦ 10♠ two pair. Tsuchikawa now adds another APT trophy to his victory shelf.
Payouts
1st Tetsuya Tsuchikawa – Japan – USD 1,520
2nd Alfredo Reyes – USA – USD 950
3rd Jim Bonanno – Guam – USD 570
4th Iqbal Imran – Pakistan – USD 420
5th Samad Razavi – UK – USD 340
Korea’s Chang Hun Lee wins the PLO High Rollers
PLO High Rollers Champion, Chang Hun Lee
The Pot Limit Omaha High Rollers event only drew in five players to the felt. This meant that the winner would scoop up the entire pot of USD 9,700. Entering the heads up round it was Korea’s Chang Hun Lee up against UK’s Edward Pastoll. Pastoll had the edge with more chips but in a crucial hand, Lee connected with a straight to win a massive double up and cripple Pastoll in the process. Several hands later, it was over. Lee won with his 10♦ 10♠ Q♦ K♦ on a board of 9♦ K♠ 8♦ 4♥ 6♦. You can view the heads up action of this event in the APT twitch.tv channel.
Battle of the Nations recap
The Battle of the Nations event had a total of 29 teams (58 players) waving their respective flags at the table. With a buy-in of USD 440 per team, the prize pool generated was USD 11,250 with USD 2,250 for the Last Team Standing cash prize. Play was halted when the field dwindled down to 8 players and will resume tomorrow for the final battle. Out of those remaining, only one tandem was still intact, USA’s Noel Martin and Nemesis Carners. They were awarded the LTS payout. Closing the night with the most chips was a tandem from Japan, Aso Seitaro and Kakiuchi Yasuke with 162,700 chips. Team Korea’s Sang Han Wool and Gyeong Byeong Lee came in second with 103,000 chips.