APT Finale Philippines 2018: Aditya Sushant Finishes 4th in Championships Event For PHP 973,300 (₹13.02 Lakhs), Iori Yogo Crowned Champion For PHP 2,872,800

The 2018 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Finale Philippines Championships Event has crowned a champion. Once again it is Japan’s poker superstar Iori Yogo who has proved his undoubted mettle on the felts by taking his fight to the finish line. Yogo defeated Malaysia’s Anthony Thong Boon Tee in the heads-up play to claim the APT trophy along with PHP 2,872,800(~₹38.43 Lakhs) in prize money.

Indian challenger Aditya Sushant, who had entered the final table with a below average stack placed sixth in chips with 188,000, made a commendable bid to improve on the final day, and he did. Though Sushant missed out on the APT title, he scored a deep fourth-place finish to pocket PHP 973,300 (₹13.02 Lakhs). This is Sushant’s biggest score in an APT event till date. Back in 2011, Sushant finished third in the 2011 APT-Asian Series Goa ₹20K NLHE for ₹1.29 Lakhs. In 2015, Sushant finished 18^th in the 2015 APT Philippines, Manila 1$770 NLHE Monster Stack NLHE for ₹97,000. Last year, he finished 10^th in the $220 NLHE 1-Day Event at the 2017 APT Championships Manila for ₹37,405.

Coming into the Championships Event, Sushant eliminated several opponents along the way including Stephan Miles on Day 2. On the final day, Sushant was active from the get-go in his usual aggressive style. Early on, he doubled up through Roger Spets to chip up. However, a swingy ride saw Sushant fall low on stacks and he was eventually eliminated at the hands of third-place finisher Bobby Zhang, who outran Sushant’s pair with his two-pair.

Team India’s Madhav Gupta had also entered the event. Gupta advanced to Day 2 alongside Sushant, holding a stack of 126,400. However, his run was cut short before the money bubble.

For Yogo, the APT trophy is just another tick on an otherwise very impressive scorecard. Starting from the 2018 APT Philippines Championships (PHP 55,000 NLHE 2-Day event for PHP 727,500)hosted in March, Yogo has already claimed five titles this year. His latest wins came in August at the 2018 APT Korea Incheon (KRW 1.1M NLHE Main Event for KRW40,463,000), and the 2018 APT Philippines (PHP 16,500 PLO-Hi Lo Split for PHP 212,300) in September.

A total of 12 players cashed in the event including Takao Shimizu (10th for PHP 277,300), Jim Bonanno (11th for PHP 237,000) and Masaki Fujitani (12th for PHP 237,000).

The final eight players bagged up for the day after the elimination of Jin Yong (9th for PHP 324,400).

Final Table Chip Counts

1.Bobby Zhang – 1,001,000

2. Anthony Thong Boon Tee – 793,000

3. Iori Yogo – 652,000

4. Roger Spets – 435,000

5. Andrew Nguyen – 210,000

6. Aditya Sushant – 188,000

7. Lim Yohwan – 162,000

8. Henrik Tollefsen – 110,000

Final Table Recap

Several hands into the final table, Andrew Nguyen fell prey to Iori Yogo in a hand where Nguyen 3-bet shoved his remaining 191,000 and Yogo called. Nguyen tabled versus Yogo’s . Though in the lead, Nguyen saw Yogo improve to a set on the flop and had no chances left when the on the turn brought quads for Yogo, making the on the river of no consequence. Nguyen was eliminated in eighth place.

The action then saw a series of double ups, with Lim Yohwan winning a pot off the final day chip leader Bobby Zhang and Henrik Tollefsen doubling on Yohwan.

Team India’s Aditya Sushant then made an aggressive attempt to chip up. In the hand, Sushant moved all in from the small blind and was called by big blind Roger Spets. Sushant tabled against Spets’ . Spets missed the board, bringing a much-needed double up for Sushant that propelled him up to 186,000.

Shortly thereafter, Norway’s Henrik Tollefsen who had gone short on stacks ran his into Zhang’s , while the rest of the table folded. The board offered no help to Tollefsen who left the final table in seventh place.

Roget Spets was the next casualty. After suffering a big loss with his kings being run down by Yohwan’s nine-high straight, it wasn’t long before Spets moved all in with and found a caller in Yogo who held . The board bricked, ending Spet’s run in sixth place.

Within minutes, the next elimination was witnessed, when Lim Yohwan raised to 22,000 and big blind Zhang defended. The flop fell and Zhang checked, while Yohwan bet 16,000. Zhang raised to 35,000 and Yohwan tank called. After the appeared on the turn, Zhang moved all in with his huge stack and was called by Yohwan. Zhang tabled for three-of-a-kind against Yohwan’s for two pair. Zhang’s hand saw him win the pot through the river and Yohwan made his way out in fifth place.

2017 WSOP bracelet winner Aditya Sushant who’d gone low on stacks made several all in attempts to improve. In the third such all-in move, Sushant got called and saw his tournament run end in fourth place. The hand saw Zhang leading out from under-the-gun for 20,000 and he was called by small blind Anthony Tee while Sushant also made the call from the big blind. As the flop ran , the blinds checked while Zhang led out for another 20,000. Tee folded here, and Sushant shoved, prompting a call from Zhang. Both players tabled their cards.

Sushant:

Zhang:

Though Sushant had hit one pair, it was no match for Zhang’s two pair. The on the turn and the on the river didn’t bring any relief for Sushant whose bid for an APT title ended in a fourth place finish.

The play slowed down here, and both Bobby Zhang and Yogo were seen tussling over the lead. However, soon, it was Zhang who faced risk to his tournament life. In the hand, Yogo opened with a raise by 60,000 to see Anthony Thong Boon Tee call and Zhang shoved. Yogo folded and Tee called. Zhang looked all set to scoop the pot with his dominating Tee’s . However Tee spiked one pair on the flop and kept ahead on the turn and the river. Zhang was bounced out in third place, paving the way for the heads-up match between Yogo and Tee.

The heads-up between Anthony Thong Boon Tee and Yogo saw the latter pushing Tee to the edge by winning one pot after the other. Though Tee claimed a couple of good pots, it was Yogo who ruled the heads-up play towards the latter part. The finale was reached when Yogo raised to 100,000 and Tee called it off. On the flop , Tee led out for 100,000 and Yogo raised to 300,000. Tee called again and the appeared on the turn, where Tee checked and Yogo bet another 250,000. Tee shoved and was quickly called by Yogo. Tee tabled for three-of-a-kind, but to his disappointment, Yogo held for a full house. The on the river did little to improve Tee`s hand and he was eliminated in second place, even as Yogo picked up yet another APT trophy!

Final Table Results (PHP)

1.Iori Yogo – PHP 2,872,800

2. Anthony Thong Boon Tee – PHP 1,915,100

3. Bobby Zhang – PHP 1,337,100

4. Aditya Sushant – PHP 973,300

5. Lim Yohwan – PHP 735,600

6. Roger Spets – PHP 574,900

7. Henrik Tollefsen – PHP 463,000

8. Andrew Nguyen – PHP 383,000

Content & Images courtesy – www.theasianpokertour.com.

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