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The 12-day-long Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines II has finally concluded with the prestigious Championships Event crowning a winner in China’s Xixiang Luo. The event had registered a field size of 265 entries generating a jaw-dropping PHP 19,278,700 (~₹2.63 Crores) prize pool! Luo triumphed over the massive field to claim his career-first APT trophy, along with PHP 4,594,800 (~₹62.81 Lakhs) in prize money.
Luo had entered the final table as the chip leader and brought about the eliminations of Jeonggyu Cho, Jung Seungmook, Benigno Ledina and eventual runner-up Graeme Siow, who also happened to be the defending champion, en-route to capturing the sought-after title.
Talking about his win in the post-event interview, Luo said, “I’m very happy! I just kept staying optimistic and I was also very lucky!”
Team India’s Akshay Nasa and Jaideep Sajwan, both played the Championships Event and had qualified for Day 2 with below-average stacks of 35,600 and 21,600, respectively. Sajwan was the lone Indian pro to carry forward his stack to Day 3, ultimately finishing in 13th place for PHP 277,000 (~₹3.78 Lakhs).
As for Akshay Nasa, he had busted the Championships Event on Day 2 but managed to log in his third score at the series in the Monster Stack 2. This is also his second final table cash of the series following his runner-up finish in the High Rollers 1 Single Day for PHP 786,000 (~₹10.81 Lakhs), while his only non-final table score was in the High Rollers 2 where he placed 10th for PHP 180,700 (~₹2.46 Lakhs). Nasa ended the series on a winning note by pocketing PHP 197,500 (~₹2.69 Lakhs) by finishing sixth in the Monster Stack 2. Guam’s Joshua Chargualaf came out on top to win the Monster Stack 2 for PHP 1,022,000.
A plethora of events rushed to declare winners as the series wrapped up proceedings and among those seen winning APT trophies were Ferlyn Cabaling (MegaSportsWorld Deep Stack Turbo for PHP 233,000), Lee Wan Yong (No Limit Hold’em 2 for PHP 461,200), Renato Villanueva (WeLoveSport Deep Stack Hyper Turbo for PHP 146,300), Seiji Morimoto (Super Deep Stack Turbo for PHP 385,500), Joonhee Yea (High Rollers #3 for PHP 948,900), Elmer Kalaquian (Deep Stack Turbo for PHP 117,200), Lei Yu (High Rollers Single Day 3 for PHP 1,093,400) and Yik Yin Chiu (Deep Stack Hyper Turbo for PHP 135,300).
The final day of the Championships Event resumed action with the eight finalists returning to the felts, headlined by China’s Xixiang Luo. In fact, Luo was the only player on the final table to hold an above-average stack of 4.68 Million.
Final Table Chip Counts
1. Xixiang Luo – 4,685,000
2. Seung Mook Jung – 2,335,000
3. Jehun Hong – 1,555,000
4. Juyuk Park – 1,435,000
5. Graeme Siow – 1,045,000
6. Benigno Ledina – 975,000
7. Alex Lee – 785,000
8. Jeonggyu Cho – 440,000
Final Table Recap
Singapore’s Alex Xiang Wei Lee made an early exit from the final table. On the fourth hand of the day, Lee pitted his against Jehun Hong’s . Though Lee did find a pair of tens on the flop, it wasn’t enough to overcome Hong’s pocket jacks, leading to the former eighth-place finish.
Seven hands later, short-stacked Jeonggyu Cho jammed with and Xixiang Luo called holding . The board bricked for Cho, resulting in his seventh-place elimination.
Play continued for 34 more hands before the next elimination came about. With the board open , Jehun Hong‘s clashed against Jung Seungmook’s . While Hong had rivered two pairs of aces and queens, it was no match for Seungmook’s turned quads, ending Hong’s run in sixth place.
Finishing in fifth place was Juyuk Park when his were bested by Graeme Siow’s which bettered to three-of-a-kind queens on the runout .
On the 75th hand, Jung Seungmook‘s ran into Luo’s . The board revealed and Luo rivered a hearts flush, ousting Seungmook in fourth place.
Three-handed play continued for quite some time before Benigno Ledina elimination set the heads-up clash. On the 142nd hand, Ledina raised from the small blind for 350,000 and Luo called from the big blind to see the flop open . Ledina shoved all-in with and Luo called with . The and completed the board. Though both players had made two pairs on the board, Luo`s stronger hand sent Ledina packing to the rail.
Xixiang Luo entered the heads-up play with defending champion Graeme Siow holding a 5:1 chip advantage. The heads-up match lasted for 15 hands, at the end of which Luo walked away with the coveted ‘Golden Lion’ trophy.
On the final hand, Siow moved all-in with , and Luo called holding . The community cards missed both players. However, Luo’s ace kicker was good enough to win him the pot, relegating Siow to a runner-up finish. Luo collected his first APT title, along with the PHP 4,594,800 up top!
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Xixiang Luo – PHP 4,594,800
2. Graeme Siow – PHP 3,063,000
3. Benigno Ledina – PHP 2,129,000
4. Jung Seungmook – PHP 1,538,000
5. Juyuk Park – PHP 1,150,000
6. Jehun Hong – PHP 887,700
7. Jeonggyu Cho – PHP 704,900
8. Alex Xiang Wei Lee – PHP 574,300
You can watch the final table action below.
The Monster Stack 2 logged in 190 entries with only the top 32 places receiving payouts. Guam’s Joshua Chargualaf trounced the playing field to lift the APT trophy, along with a cash prize of PHP 1,022,000.
India’s Akshay Nasa picked up his second final table score at the series (his third overall at the stop) by finishing sixth for PHP 197,500 (~₹2.69 Lakhs).
Other notables who also finished in the money included Daiki Horikawa (13th for PHP 73,900), Satoshi Isomae (16th for PHP 61,600) and Zhang Jie (31st for PHP 35,700).
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Joshua Chargualaf – PHP 1,022,000
2. Rico Meno – PHP 681,500
3. Jose Maria Ancochea – PHP 473,700
4. Sebastian Wong – PHP 342,200
5. Mohammad Samara – PHP 255,900
6. Akshay Nasa – PHP 197,500
7. Zheng Xiaosheng – PHP 156,800
8. Anacleto Quijano – PHP 127,800
The lone female player to clinch a title in this series was Ferlyn Cabaling from the Philippines. She championed a field of 226 entries in the MegaSportsWorld Deep Stack Turbo, which had generated a prize pool of PHP 1,096,100, and claimed a PHP 233,000 top prize. Cabaling is no stranger to the APT series with this being her seventh APT trophy; however, it is her first APT trophy in a non-ladies event.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Ferlyn Cabaling – PHP 233,000
2. Wanxin Sun – PHP 155,300
3. David Erquiaga – PHP 108,000
4. Kong Chisung – PHP 78,000
5. Daniel Leuck – PHP 58,300
6. Reniel Galvez – PHP 45,000
7. Carla Ragay – PHP 35,700
8. Kim Hak Do – PHP 29,100
You can watch the final table action below.
The No Limit Hold’em 2 was a two-day event which pulled in 89 entries, leading to a prize pool collection of PHP 1,726,600. In the end, Lee Wan Yong bested Edgar Eui Kimg heads-up to capture the trophy and top prize of PHP 461,200. Kimg took away PHP 307,600 for his runner-up finish.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Lee Wan Yong – PHP 461,200
2. Edgar Eui Kimg – PHP 307,600
3. Lhun Yu Ma – PHP 213,800
4. Khoo Kah Hock – PHP 154,500
5. Song Seok Hwan – PHP 115,500
6. Ryutaro Okuda – PHP 89,200
7. Huung Kuo Chen – PHP 70,800
8. Sebastian Wong – PHP 57,700
You can watch the final table action below.
Renato Villanueva shipped the WeLoveSport Deep Stack Hyper Turbo, banking PHP 146,300 in first-place prize money. He defeated a field of 123 entries which included eventual runner-up Richard Nakila to claim his second-ever APT title.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Renato Villanueva – PHP 146,300
2. Richard Nakila – PHP 97,600
3. Edward Penaflorida – PHP 67,900
4. Michael Fuerte – PHP 49,000
5. Choi Young Yi – PHP 36,700
6. Lemmor Patulot – PHP 28,300
7. Loh Shu Chuan – PHP 22,500
8. Saiki Tanaka – PHP 18,300
You can watch the final table action below.
Attracting 104 participants, the Super Deep Stack Turbo was a fast-paced event which culminated on September 19. Japan’s Seiji Morimoto bagged his first-ever APT trophy at the event along with PHP 385,500 in prize money.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Seiji Morimoto – PHP 385,500
2. Ogo Nobuhito – PHP 257,200
3. Gan Soon Ann – PHP 178,800
4. Francesco Morales – PHP 129,100
5. Soo Jo Kim – PHP 96,600
6. Raji Rivera – PHP 74,500
7. Yosuke Yamauchi – PHP 59,200
8. Miyazaki Shohei – PHP 48,200
Korea’s Joonhee Yea outlasted 20 entries in the High Rollers #3 pocketing PHP 948,900 for his win.
Final Table Results (PHP)
The Deep Stack Turbo crowned a champion in local player Elmer Kalaquian who netted PHP 117,200 in prize money.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Elmer Kalaquian – PHP 117,200
2. Ayaka Muraishi – PHP 78,200
3. Ignac Hozjan – PHP 54,400
4. Shen Yue – PHP 39,300
5. Lensuke Kila – PHP 29,400
6. Ryutaro Okuda – PHP 22,700
7. Xia Qi – PHP 18,000
8. Jose Marie Cinco – PHP 14,700
Lei Yu was the last man standing in a field of 41 entries that were registered in the High Rollers Single Day 3 and earned a payout of PHP 1,093,400 in the process.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Lei Yu – PHP 1,093,400
2. Erik Roger Spets – PHP 702,700
3. Choi Young Jun – PHP 473,700
4. Oliver Fortea – PHP 333,800
5. Takeo Hanayama – PHP 244,900
6. Alex Lee – PHP 186,400
7. Kjell Dyb – PHP 146,700
The final event of the series, Deep Stack Hyper Turbo, brought in 111 entries and was taken down by Hong Kong’s Yik Yin Chiu. Chiu defeated China’s Xia Ning heads-up to win PHP 135,300.
Final Table Results (PHP)
1. Yik Yin Chiu – PHP 135,300
2. Xia Ning – PHP 90,300
3. Shinya Fukutomi – PHP 62,800
4. Akiko Tanaka – PHP 45,400
5. Rommel Angeles – PHP 33,900
6. Michael Enriquez – PHP 26,200
7. Rick Ambata – PHP 20,800
8. Yoichi Uesugi – PHP 16,900
Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour