APPT Manila 2018: India’s Akshay Nasa & Jasven Saigal Among Top Stacks Going Into Day 3 of National Event

The captivating action at the 2018 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila edition continues to march along with the conclusion of nine events. Currently the APPT National, Megastack-Shot Clock & Big Blind Ante events are underway, making for a total of 13 more events that are yet to crown a champion.

The tension in the air and the swift round of eliminations dominated the play in the National Event where 230 runners returned to the felts on Day 2 for a shot at the title and one of the 5 Platinum Passes up for grabs at the series. The day was swingy for the 18 Indian players who had made it through the opening flight to Day 2. While 12 of them fell out through the day’s play failing to make it to the money, Akshay Nasa (1,423,000) and Jasven Saigal (728,000) made it among the 34 survivors who made Day 3. While both bagged big stacks, Nasa sits comfortably on the leaderboard with the fourth biggest stack, while Saigal will also start among the top 10 stacks today. Four Indians managed to make it in the money in the event, namely Vidwath Shetty (43^rd for ₱87,000 ~₹1.12 Lakhs), Amanpreet Singh (49^th for ₱78,000 ~₹1 Lakhs), Abhinav Iyer (52^nd for ₱78,000 ~₹1 Lakhs) and MadOverPoker pro Zarvan Tumboli (71^st for ₱69,000 ~₹89,258).

A big group of Indians, 30 in all entered Event 9: Megastack-Shot Clock & Big Blind Ante that kicked off with 650 players, and by the end of day’s play, 187 bagged their stacks for Day 2, including 16 from the Indian contingent. Team India got off to another strong start as Siddarth Singhvi (279,500), Zarvan Tumboli (269,000) and Aditya Sushant (244,000), are all among the frontrunners going into Day 2.

Meanwhile, Singaporean pro Edmund Eng took down Event 8: ₱8,000 NLH for ₱243,200 (~₹3.14 Lakhs), while Khanh Ngoc Le topped Event 10: ₱10,000 Turbo, banking ₱122,900 (~₹1.59 Lakhs).

Event 4: APPT National

Attracting a massive field of 829 entries, the APPT National event ran past its starting flights to enter Day 2 of play where 230 survivors retuned to compete for the title, the top prize of ₱4,559,000 and the coveted Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players Championships (PSPC), Bahamas.

A total of 18 Indians, five from Day 1A and 13 from Day 1B were in the mix. Now, 34 players are taking their chips to Day 3, including Indian pro Akshay Nasa (1,423,000) who will resume play with the fourth biggest stack, while Jasven Saigal (728,000) is ninth in chips among the 34 contenders. Vinod Megalmani (561,000) is also in contention from the Indian clan.

The tournament run ended on Day 2 for Indian pros Vidwath Shetty (43^rd for ₱87,000 ~₹1.12 Lakhs), Amanpreet Singh (49^th for ₱78,000 ~₹1 Lakhs), Abhinav Iyer (52^nd for ₱78,000 ~₹1 Lakhs) and Zarvan Tumboli (71st for ₱69,000~₹89,258), even as Sahil Chutani, Alok Birewar, Kartik Ved, Dhaval Mudgal, Kanishka Samant, Vivek Rughani, Ashish Ahuja, Jaydeep Dawer, Ramandeep Singh Gujral, Aditya Sushant, Vinayak Malani and Pranav Khandalkar all left empty-handed.

Three Filipino players feature in the top ten chip counts going into Day 3, with Redentor Edoc (1,680,000) topping the leaderboard, followed closely by fellow countryman Marc Richelieu Rivera (1,568,000). Another Filipino player Jessie Leonarez (785,000) stands eighth in stacks, while Chinese pro Yi Ye (1,446,000) is third in chips.

The huge entry field has taken the prize pool to ₱21,711,510 and since the top 99 finishers made it in the money, the remaining 34 are all guaranteed a payday of at least ₱96,000. The money bubble was reached midway through the day.

Prominent players who remain in action include WSOP bracelet winner from Philippines Mike Takayama (401,000), Korean pro Vivian Young-Shin Im (255,000), and Hong Kong’s Carson Ka Shing Wong (207,000).

Many notables however, fell out on Day 2 including Alan Lau (58th for ₱73,000), Martijn Gerrits (74th for ₱65,000) and Norwegian pro Henrik Tollefsen (99th for ₱61,000). Two Team PokerStars pros, Celina Lin and Randy Lew were eliminated before the money bubble.

Top 10 Stacks At The End of Day 2

1. Redentor Edoc – 1,680,000

2. Marc Richelieu Rivera – 1,568,000

3. Yi Ye – 1,446,000

4. Akshay Nasa – 1,423,000

5. Xiaoling Gan – 1,400,000

6. Seonjin Lee – 1,252,000

7. Ivan Hon Cheong Lee – 894,000

8. Jessie Leonarez – 785,000

9. Jasven Saigal – 728,000

10. Lappas Charalampos – 700,000

Event 8: ₱8,000 NLH

The ₱8,000 NLH Event pooled in 137 entries creating a prize pool of ₱935,546. With only 15 places assured a min-cash of ₱14,000, the competition was tough, but Singapore’s Edmund Eng came out with flying colors!

India’s Meherzad Munsaf was seen in thick of action at the event as well and managed to make it to the final table. He eventually finished sixth for ₱56,200 (~₹72,754).

Some notables who made it in the money include Choul Seung Byun (11^th for ₱18,700), Hiroshi Suzuki (13^th for ₱14,000), Ruei Jiun Liang (14^th for ₱14,000) and Rhommel Atiga (15^th for ₱14,000).

Wei Hsun Chen (10^th for ₱23,346) bubbled the nine-handed final table.

Eng had previously won the ₱10,000 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout at the Manila Megastack 8 in November 2017, making this his second PokerStars LIVE title. Ranked 64^th on the Singapore All Time Money List, Eng’s total live tournament earnings have exceeded $36,000 with this win.

Though the runner-up Richard Marquez narrowly missed out on his second PokerStars LIVE title, he took home a commendable ₱163,700 for his efforts, bringing his total live earnings to well over $131,000.

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. Edmund Eng – ₱243,200

2. Richard Marquez – ₱163,700

3. Mark Robert Sy – ₱107,600

4. Calvin Tan – ₱84,200

5. Noli Cruz – ₱65,600

6. Meherzed Viraf Munsaf – ₱56,200

7. Pete Yen Han Chen – ₱46,800

8. Michael Bueza – ₱37,400

9. Daryl Green – ₱28,100

Event 9: Megastack-Shot Clock & Big Blind Ante

The Megastack – Shot Clock & Big Blind Ante event opened with 650 players and a number of players fired multiple bullets since the event allowed re-entry. After intense action on the felts, 187 players have stormed into Day 2 of the event.

From the Indian contingent, 30 players jumped into the competition and among them, 16 players led by Siddarth Singhvi (279,500), Zarvan Tumboli (269,000) and Aditya Sushant (244,000) bagged chips for Day 2. Others who found a bag include, Young Gun Abhinav Iyer (165,000), Vinayak Malani (137,500), Anup Palod (118,000), Chiraag Patel (114,000), Kartik Ved (114,500), Ashish Ahuja (98,500), Ramandeep Singh Gujral (83,000), Romit Advani (77,500), Kunal Patni (56,500), Abhishek Jalan (53,000), Varun Gupta (46,000), Jaydeep Dawer (32,500) andSajal Gupta (27,500).

However, Sahil Agarwal, Saurabh Arora, Alok Birewar, Sahil Chutani, Kavin Shah, Pranav Khandalkar, Manish Lakhotia, Dhaval Mudgal, Atul Nagpal, Ravi Priya, Vivek Rughani, Kanishka Samant and Vidhwath Shetty were eliminated before the money bubble.

The event offers the winner a chance to take home one Platinum Pass worth $30,000 for the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) scheduled for January 2019 in the Bahamas.

The huge entry field led to a ₱11,349,000 prize pool, with the top 81 places assured a minimum ₱36,000 and the winner is set to take home ₱2,440,000.

Top 10 Stacks At The End of Day 1

1. Yudong Yang – 327,000

2. Min Soon Lim – 309,000

3. Siddarth Singhvi – 279,500

4. Richard Marquez – 271,500

5. Benjamin Gonzva – 270,500

6. Zarvan Tumboli – 269,000

7. Chuanshu Chen – 268,500

8. Renjie Ye – 259,500

9. Nonaka Masayuki – 255,000

10. Aditya Sushant – 244,000

Event 10: ₱10,000 Turbo

The fast-paced ₱10,000 Turbo attracted a field of 36 players, collecting ₱307,296 in prize money. With only the top five seats receiving payouts, the race to the top was thrilling. In the end, Vietnamese pro Khanh Ngoc Le outlasted them all to pocket the ₱122,900 top prize.

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. Khanh Ngoc Le – ₱122,900

2. Jongmoon Park – ₱73,800

3. Hiroyuki Yoshida – ₱49,200

4. Go Mori – ₱36,796

5. Tsai-Feng Liu – ₱24,600

Stay tuned to PokerGuru for more updates from APPT Manila 2018!

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