APT Manila Poker Classic 2025: Rishi Mehra & Siddharth Karia Fly the Indian Flag Into Day 4 of Record-Breaking APT Main Event

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Manila Poker Classic 2025 is racing towards its climax at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, and the past week has been a spectacle in the Filipino capital. The Indian contingent has been blazing a trail, racking up an impressive 35 cash finishes, including 18 final table appearances—with nine of those coming from the Natural8 India APT Manila Classic – India Exclusive Tournament—and four victories!

Several Indian challengers have kept the nation’s momentum surging with deep runs and final table showings. But it’s Rishi Mehra and Siddharth Karia who are carrying the Indian flag into Day 4 of the record-breaking ₱60 Million GTD APT Main Event. With a stunning ₱11,069,680 (~1.65 Crores) top prize up for grabs, the tension is almost unbearable. Can they conquer the final hurdles and etch their names into poker history?

And the Indian success stories don’t stop there! Bhavik Khatsuria narrowly missed the trophy in Event #62: ₱18,000 NL Hold’em – Single Re-Entry. His incredible run ended with a second-place finish, earning him a hefty ₱477,000 (~₹7.15 Lakhs).

Adding to India’s poker domination, Ish Agarwal locked up a sixth-place finish in Event #65: ₱12,000 PL Omaha High – Lazy Rivers, taking home ₱34,000 (~₹51,000). Mishira Sumay also made his mark, finishing seventh in Event #70: ₱9,000 Super Hyper Turbo and grabbing ₱20,000 (~₹30,000). The hits keep coming.

Immediately after his Day 3 exit from the APT Main Event, APT Philippines National Cup champion Raju Jaruplavath jumped straight into Event #64: ₱100,000 Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8. He’s advanced to Day 2 with a healthy stack of 93,500, hungry to add another APT title to his growing collection!

APT Main Event Day 3 Recap

The tour`s biggest-ever Main Event in the Philippines is now at the business end. The once-massive 1,202-entry field has been whittled down to a mere 48. The Grand Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Galleria has been the scene of intense poker warfare.

Day 3 began with 175 hopefuls, each guaranteed a slice of the ₱62,311,680 prize pool, a minimum of ₱94,000. Six gruelling one-hour levels later, the poker gods delivered a dramatic twist. Japan’s Senan Inoue, so close to Day 4, was eliminated in 49th place. His ₱190,000 consolation prize was a bitter pill to swallow, with Hong Kong’s Jie Zhang playing the role of the executioner, bringing the day`s play to an end!

With Inoue’s elimination, Zhang catapulted to the top of the leaderboard with a colossal 3.93 Million in chips – the lone wolf above the 3 Million mark! But lurking behind him are Russia’s Alexander Ugay (2,335,000) and Austrian high roller Samuel Mullur (2,065,000). Zhang is eyeing his first APT title, the colossal ₱11,069,680 first-place prize, and an APT Championship ticket to the TWD 165 Million GTD end-of-year poker extravaganza. The stakes are sky-high.

The race for a spot at the final table begins today at 11 AM local time as the #APTManilaClassic2025 Main Event continues!

After five intense days of play, the 1,202-entry field has been whittled down to just 48 players, with Hong Kong’s Jie Zhang leading the way with 3,930,000… pic.twitter.com/ITBRFfcVNR

— Asian Poker Tour (@AsianPokerTour) February 14, 2025

Team India’s Heroes: Rishi Mehra & Siddharth Karia Still in the Fight

Seven Indian players entered Day 3 with high hopes, but the action was unforgiving. Only two gladiators—Rishi Mehra and Young Gun Siddharth Karia — are left in contention for the Main Event crown.

Mehra (an OnLiv qualifier) is riding a wave of confidence. He bagged the ninth-largest stack of 1,465,000, keeping India’s championship dreams alive! A seasoned APT competitor, Mehra captured his first APT title in Event #103: ₱100K High Roller – Last Chance in November at APT Manila 2024. Now, he’s guaranteed at least ₱190,000 (~₹2.85 Lakhs) in this event (his first cash of the series)—with much bigger rewards in sight.

Siddharth Karia has been making waves in the South Asian poker circuit, racking up deep runs across multiple stops. Coming into this series with a string of solid results at the Manila Super Series 21, he started Day 3 with 345,000 chips and worked up his stack to a workable 940,000 by the end of play.

One of the most unforgettable moments of Karia’s run was his clash with Shyh Lim. With the flop showing , Lim moved all-in for 365,000 with . Karia, after carefully considering his options and using all his time banks, made the gutsy call with , holding an open-ended straight draw with a Jack kicker. The tension was thick as the dealer revealed the turn and the river. Lim’s hand was no good, and he was eliminated in 63rd place, taking home ₱157,000.

While five other Indian players fell short of Day 4, they all secured valuable cash finishes. Somasekhar Sanampuri (98th) and Bharath Jayaram (103rd) each pocketed ₱119,000 (~₹1.78 Lakhs). Rahul Rajendra Darak finished 137th for ₱106,000 (~₹1.59 Lakhs), and Raju Jaruplavath earned ₱94,000 (~₹1.41 Lakhs) for his 145th place finish. Ish Agarwal rounded out the Indian scores with a 166th place finish, also worth ₱94,000 (~₹1.41 Lakhs).

The penultimate Day 4 kicked off at 11 AM (local time) as the remaining 48 players battle for a spot on the final table.

Want to relive the action from Day 3? Check out the replay of the featured table coverage on APT’s YouTube channel!

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 3

1. Jie Zhang – 3,930,000
2. Alexander Ugay – 2,335,000
3. Samuel Mullur – 2,065,000
4. Geno Gendrano – 1,995,000
5. Po-Shuo Huang – 1,755,000
6. Jayden Zalac – 1,740,000
7. Tetsuya Tsujisaka – 1,630,000
8. Egidijus Digrys – 1,609,000
9. Rishi Mehra – 1,465,000
10. Niklas Warlich – 1,365,000

Content and Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour & Natural8 India

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