APT Philippines 2019: Yasheel Doddanavar Makes Day 3 in Record-Smashing Main Event, Marc Rivera Leads 70 Survivors

The weekend has been busy at Resorts World Manila where Day 2 of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines PHP 10 Million (~₹1.34 Crores) GTD Main Event played out on Sunday.

A total of 223 returned for Day 2 play, and with registration open till the start of the second level, an additional 74 entries joined in. With a record-breaking field of 503 runners – the previous record for the biggest APT Main Event field was set in 2017 when 442 entries were registered – the tournament set a new series record in the Philippines.

A sizeable prize pool of PHP24,395,500 (~₹3.26 Crores) was generated at the event with only 70 players left standing for Day 3.

India`s Yasheel Doddanavar is among the many notables still in contention to win the title and the PHP 5,085,400 (~₹68.13 Lakhs) top prize. Doddanavar had come in through Day 1A with a stack of 85,300 and did well to spin it up to 115,000 yesterday.

However, leading the survivors is local pro Marc Rivera. Rivera most recently scored a third-place finish at the PokerStars Players NLHE Championship (PSPC) in the Bahamas early this January and is widely acknowledged as one of the top poker players in the Philippines. Though he entered the Main Event late, Rivera wasted no time to climb up the ranks. He closed Day 2 with a dominating stack of 438,000, well ahead of fellow countryman Ivan Tabucal (414,000) and Korea’s Jung Seung Mook (394,500).

In side events, the NLH Single Day (Shot Clock) was taken down by Japan’s Junya Kubo for PHP 393,400 (~₹5.27 Lakhs). An additional event, APT Japan Corp. Invitational Freeroll Event played down to the eight-handed final table on Sunday.

Day 3 of the Main Event was already underway by the time this report was filed, and as per updates, the money bubble had burst with Sze Chi Fu falling on the bubble at the hands of Sang Jun Lee, leaving the remaining 51 players in the money. Indian challenger Yasheel Doddanavar was still going strong in the event at that time.

Two tournaments – the Super High Rollers and Short Deck (Shot Clock) will crown champions today. Also on tap today is the Short Deck High Rollers Single Day (Shot Clock) that has a guarantee of PHP 86,000 (₹1.15 Lakhs).

Main Event – Day 2 Recap

With a buy-in of PHP 55,000 (~₹73,805), the APT Philippines Main Event offered a very generous PHP 10 Million (₹1.34 Crores) prize pool guarantee. Players joined the action in large numbers (Day 1A -124, Day 1B – 305) and if 56 of them advanced from Day 1A, the second starting day, Day 1B added another 167 to this number.

In all, 223 took to the felts when Day 2 kicked off and late registration increased the field size to 503, a number hitherto unseen in any live event in the Philippines. With a final prize pool of PHP24,395,500 (~₹3.26 Crores), a lucrative top prize of PHP 5,085,400 (~₹68.13 Lakhs) awaits the winner.

After eight hours of intense action, the field was whittled down to the final 70 players.

Yasheel Doddanavar is the lone Indian standing in the event and started the day with a stack of 115,000.

Accomplished local pro Marc Rivera remains at the forefront with a stack of 438,000 with Ivan Tabucal (414,000) and Jung Seung Mook (394,500) close behind. Other notables advancing further are Bobby Zhang (59,500), Joven Huerto (82,500), Alex Lee (125,000), Xiaobo Zhou (192,500), Samad Razavi (199,500), Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (226,000) and Marvin Rettenmaier (322,000).

It didn’t go so well for former APT champion Henrik Tollefsen, Lester Edoc, Linh Tran, Paul Hockin, John Tech, Cao Ngoc Anh, Gyeong Byeong Lee, and Kannapong Thanarattrakul, who were all eliminated before the end of play on Sunday.

Top 10 Chip Counts At the End of Day 2

1. Marc Rivera – 438,000
2. Ivan Chev Tabucal – 414,000
3. Jung Seung Mook – 394,500
4. Christopher Mateo – 391,000
5. Gerardo Lubas III – 380,000
6. Su Tian Hong – 365,000
7. Gonzva Benjamin – 359,000
8. Sung Jin Han – 350,000
9. Vamerdino Magsakay – 343,500
10. Edgar (Eui) Kim – 326,500

NLH Single Day (Shot Clock)

The only event running alongside the Main Event was the PHP 16,500 buy-in NLH Single Day with shot clock format. The tournament saw its heads-up showdown between Japan’s Junya Kubo and Korean Kim Jungnam. At the end of play, Kubo beat Jungnam to the title and pocketed the lion’s share of PHP 393,400 (~₹5.27 Lakhs).

The event attracted a total of 106 entries making for a total prize pool of PHP 1,542,300 (~₹20.66 Lakhs) that was distributed among the top 18 finishers.

Final Table Recap

The first elimination of the table was Jose marie Cinco followed by France’s Benjamin Gonzva who left in seventh place.

UK’s Rory John MacDo was the next one out, and Singapore’s Henry Ng followed suit shortly after that in fifth place.

Local pro Ernesto Ouano settled for the fourth spot, and after the elimination of Kim Jitae in third place, the heads-up battle between Kubo and Kim Jungnam commenced.

Kubo started the match in the lead and finally took down the event after his beat Jungnam’s on the rundown .

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. Junya Kubo – PHP 3,93,400
2. Kim Jungnam – PHP 2,62,100
3. Kim Jitae – PHP 1,82,200
4. Ernesto Ouano – PHP 1,31,600
5. Henry Ng – PHP 98,400
6. Rory John MacDonald – PHP 76,000
7. Benjamin Gonzva – PHP 60,300
8. Jose Marie Cinco – PHP 49,100

The live stream of APT Japan Corp. Invitational Freeroll Event Final Table can be seen here:

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

Keep following PokerGuru for more exciting updates from the 2019 APT Philippines!