APT Philippines 2019: Christopher Mateo Emerges as the Main Event Champion, Banks PHP 4,376,000 (~₹58.87 Lakhs)

The dust has finally settled on the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines PHP 10 Million (~₹1.34 Crores) GTD Main Event! The final eight contenders returned to the tournament arena at the Resorts World Manila on Tuesday, and in just under four hours, the event crowned a champion. Local talent Christopher Mateo (cover image) struck an ICM deal with Singapore’s Lu Zhenghao with PHP 100,000 and the APT trophy left in play. Mateo eventually defeated Zhenghao heads-up, and along with the PHP 5,085,400 (~₹68.13 Lakhs) cash prize, he added a third APT trophy to his repertoire of accomplishments!

Mateo`s who is a regular on the Asian circuit and a familiar face at APT events, won his first APT title in 2015 when he took down the PHP 7,500 NLHE Ante Up For Charity at APT Manila for PHP 4,818. He began 2019 on a winning note by taking down the PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 10 PHP 8,000 NLHE Freezeout Turbo for PHP 78,000 in January this year.

The Indian run in the event was headlined by Yasheel Doddanavar who got a great headstart on Day 1A and was one of the top stacks with 85,300 in chips coming into Day 2. Doddanavar did well to make Day 3 with 115,000. A resurgent Doddanavar kept an upward drive on Day 3 but suffered significant setbacks towards the tail end of the day’s play. He fell short of the final table ending his run in 15^th place for PHP 306,600 (~ ₹4.11 Lakhs).

The thrills of the Main Event may be over, but keeping the excitement alive is another marquee event at the stop. The Championships Event, just like the Main Event boasts of a prize pool guarantee of PHP 10 Million and will be taking off with its first starting flight today. Alongside Day 1A of the Championships Event PHP 10 Million GTD, also on tap today is the 12^th event of the series, the NLH Single Day -2 (Shot Clock).

Coming back to the APT Philippines Main Event, two starting flights brought in 429 runners and late registrations on Day 2 added more numbers creating a field of 503 players – making this the biggest APT tournament to be ever hosted in the Philippines!

Only 70 returned on Day 3, and the money bubble burst in level 19 with Sze Chi Fu becoming the last player to hit the rail empty-handed.

The top 51 finishers made it in the money with a min-cash worth PHP 102,700. Some notables who crossed the money line were Sebastian Wong (14th for PHP 306,600), Victor Chen (16th for PHP 255,000), Joseph Sia (20th for PHP 212,900), Fu Bang Huang (33rd for PHP 147,900), David Erquiaga (46th for PHP 102,700), Tobias Peters (47th for PHP 102,700), Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (49th for PHP 102,700) and Samad Razavi (51st for PHP 102,700).

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Christopher Mateo – 3,940,000
2. Jung Seung Mook – 2,235,000
3. Marvin Rettenmaier – 1,710,000
4. Su Tianhong –1,670,000
5. Vamerdino Magsakay – 1,380,000
6. Lu Zhenghao – 865,000
7. Keiichiro Sugimoto – 665,000
8. Jessie Supnet – 605,000

Final Table Recap

Eventual runner-up Lu Zhenghao scored the first two eliminations on the final table. He first scalped Jessie Supnet who had brought the shortest stack into the final table and moved all in from the small blind. Big blind Zhenghao’s call brought the showdown, and Zhenghao tabled against Supnet’s . He was trailing, but an ace showed up on the window sending Supnet out in eighth place.

As for Marvin Rettenmaier, he was down to crumbs after his pocket jacks ran into Su Tianhong’s pocket kings. The German pro was eliminated by Zhenghao whose ran over his . Rettenmaier collected the seventh place payout.

Mateo then amped up the aggression on the final table. He clashed with Keichiro Sugimoto who risked it all with an all-in shove holding but saw Mateo making the call with . The board bricked for Sugimoto, and he joined the rail in sixth place.

Over the next few hands, Jung Seungmook lost two sizeable pots to Mateo and dropped down to just 11 big blinds. He eventually moved all in with but failed to get past Vamerdino Magsakay’s .

With the final table whittled down to half, Mateo climbed up to a dominant position after ending Su Tianhong’s run in fourth place with his holding up against the latter’s .

The three-handed play didn’t last long, and soon Vamerdino Magsakay check-raised all in on the flop only to see Mateo making the call instantly. It was a no-brainer since Magsakay tabled for top pair versus Mateo’s . Nothing consequential came up on the turn, or the river and Magsakay was eliminated in third place.

Down to the heads-up, Mateo and Lu Zhenghao immediately chalked out an ICM deal, with the trophy and PHP 100,000 set aside for the winner. It was then that the actual match began. After bluffing into the chip lead, Zhenghao went on to score two double ups, but Mateo fought hard and reclaimed the lead. The final hand saw Mateo’s pitched against the latter’s . The flop brought a pair for both players but Mateo was leading, and the rundown confirmed Mateo as the champion!

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. Christopher Mateo –PHP 4,376,000*
2. Lu Zhenghao – PHP 4,100,000*
3. Vamerdino Magsakay – PHP 2,357,100
4. Su Tianhong – PHP 1,702,500
5. Jung Seungmook – PHP 1,273,200
6. Keichiro Sugimoto – PHP P982,600
7. Marvin Rettenmaier – PHP 780,300
8. Jessie Supnet – PHP 635,700

*denotes heads-up deal

Watch the final table in action here:

Alongside Day 1A of the Championships Event PHP 10 Million GTD, opening today is the 12^th event of the series, the NLH Single Day -2 (Shot Clock).

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

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