APPT Manila Championship

With Ngo spiking the two-outer, Chu is eliminated in 3rd place.

Hand #87: Button Thomas Ward looks down at A♥ A♣ and raises 240,000, small blind Justin Chu likes his K♠ T♦ and re-raises 750,000, Ward replies with a four-bet shove of 6,900,000, Chu folds.

Hand #88: Justin Chu Q♣ J♠ opens 240,000 from the button and small blind Hieu Ngo Q♥ 9♣ calls. On the flop and turn J♦ T♦ 5♠ 2♣ , Chu bets 200,000 and 700,000, Ngo check-calls both to head to the river 9♦ . Ngo switches up and leads out with a shove, Chu is well covered and folds top pair.

Hand #82: Thomas Ward looks down at A♦ Q♠ and raises 240,000, big blind / chip leader Hieu Ngo T♠ 8♥ calls to head to a flop 8♦ 6♥ Q♥ . Ward continues 325,000, Ngo thinks about it then folds.

Hand #83: Hieu Ngo A♣ 5♠ and Justin Chu A♥ 5♥ battle on a board 3♥ 7♥ 4♦ Q♠ 2♣ . Chu bets 120,000 on the river, Ngo raises 1,500,000, Chu tanks before three-betting 3,500,000. Ngo calls and splits the pot.

Hand #84: Thomas Ward 4♥ 4♦ raises 240,000, Hieu Ngo 9♦ 6♦ defends his big blind. On the flop Q♠ 2♣ 3♥ , Ward bets 180,000 and just like that, he wins the pot.

Hand #85: Facing a raise of 240,000 from button Justin Chu J♥ T♣ d, big blind Thomas Ward 8♠ 8♣ three-bets 800,000, Chu calls. At the flop 6♠ 2♥ 5♣ , Ward barrels 550,000 and gets called again by Chu. On the turn 9♣ , Ward checks, Chu lays out 1,100,000, Ward answers with a shove of 4,500,000 that pushes out Chu from the pot.

Hand #80: Button Justin Chu 6♣ 5♣ raises 200,000 then calls small blind Hieu Ngo's J♥ J♣ three-bet of 800,000. On the flop 2♥ Q♥ 9♠ , Ngo continues 500,000, Chu tosses his hand in the muck pile.

Hand #81: Button Hieu Ngo Q♠ 6♠ raises 240,000 and doesn't get past big blind Jusin Chu 2♥ 2♣ who calls. At the flop K♦ 6♥ 4♠ Ngo c-bets 150,000 and Chu check-calls. On the turn 7♦ and river 5♦ , both players check. Ngo takes it with the higher pair.

Hand #77: Button Justin Chu 9♦ 9♣ min-raises and is joined to the flop 8♥ 6♣ 4♠ by caller Thomas Ward A♣ T♦ from the big blind. Chu continues 225,000 and quickly wins the pot.

Hand #78: Thomas Ward J♦ 8♣ limps in and big blind Justin Chu 5♠ 2♣ checks. Ward bets 800,000 on a flop A♠ A♥ 9♦ and this time he quickly take the pot.

Hand #79: Justin Chu 5♠ 5♣ limps from the small blind then calls big blind Hieu Ngo's K♠ Q♣ raise of 350,000. At the flop 7♣ A♥ 2♣ , Chu bets 300,000 and Ngo calls. Both players check the turn 3♥ and river T♥ . Chu rakes it in with his small pair.

Hand #72: Small blind Thomas Ward 9♦ 7♣ limps in and big blind Justin Chu 9♠ 7♥ checks. On a flop Q♣ 7♠ 6♠ , Ward c-bets 100,000, and Chu calls. Both tap felt on the turn 8♠ for a free river 8♠ . Ward checks again, Chu bets 500,000, Ward calls and it's a chopped pot.

Hand #74: Justin Chu opens from the button and wins the blinds and ante.

Hand #75: Button Hieu Ngo K♥ 6♥ raises 500,000 and big blind Justin Chu Q♣ J♥ gives action. On the flop and turn 9♥ 4♠ T♣ 3♥ , Chu check-calls 150,000 and 700,000. On the river 2♦ , Chu checks, Ngo fires 1,100,000, Chu folds.

Hand #76: Limped pot sees a flop A♥ 4♠ 8♠ . Big blind Hieu Ngo K♠ 3♠ bets 100,000 and small blind Justin Chu K♦ 2♥ calls. Both check the turn 4♠ then Chu sends out 100,000 on the river 7♠ , Ngo raises 800,000, Chu gives it up again.

Button Hieu Ngo raises 200,000 and big blind Justin Chu Q♠ 4♦ defends to head to the flop 5♠ K♠ K♥ . Ngo c-bets 200,000 and Chu sticks with him to see the turn A♦ . Ngo barrels a third time, 350,000, Chu check-calls. On the river 3♥ , Ngo sends out 1,100,000, Chu tank-calls.

Hieu Ngo shows 3♠ 3♣ full house, Chu mucks. Ngo retakes the lead by a small margin.

Hand #68: Button Justin Chu T♦ T♣ raises 160,000, small blind Hieu Ngo 2♦ 2♣ and big blind Thomas Ward Q♦ 9♠ both call. On the flop J♣ T♥ J♠ , blinds check to Chu who c-bets 200,000, only Ward gives him action. On the turn 7♥ , Ward leads out 350,000, Chu flats his boat. The river 6♦ , Ward misses his draw and checks, Chu bets 2,000,000, Ward folds.

Hand #65: Facing a raise from button Justin Chu 5♥ 4♥ , big blind Thomas Ward A♣ 8♣ re-raises all in for 2,000,000, Chu folds.

Hand #66: Small blind Hieu Ngo J♠ 7♣ raises and big blind Justin Chu J♣ 9♦ calls. Ngo continues on the flop and turn Q♦ 6♣ T♠ 4♦ with 250,000 amd 600,000 bets. Chu check-folds on the turn.

Hand #67: Thomas Ward Q♥ Q♣ raises from the button and big blind Hieu Ngo J♥ 8♣ calls. When the board completes 2♣ J♠ Q♦ 3♦ 6♣ , Ward bets 110,000, 380,000, and all in for 1,600,000, Ngo check-calls throughout. Ward gets paid in full for his set of queens.

Hand #54: Button Justin Chu A♥ 8♥ raises 160,000, Thomas Ward J♠ 9♠ defends his big blind. Both players check to the turn 9♠ 5♥ 2♦ A♣ . Chu bets 150,000 and ward calls. The river 8♠ has Chu firing 800,000, this time, Ward chooses to fold.

Hand #55: From utg, Justin Chu 6♦ 2♦ bumps it up to 160,000, big blind Jun Beum Chun J♥ T♣ calls. On the flop 8♥ 5♠ J♦ , Chu c-bets 125,000 then folds to Chun's check-raise of 350,000.

Hand #56: Utg Hieu Ngo A♣ 4♣ raises 175,000, Justin Chu with 9♥ 9♠ just flats. On the flop 3♠ 4♠ 7♦ , Chu check-calls 130,000 then on the turn 2♦ and river K♣ , Chu takes charge firing 275,000 and 375,000. Ngo folds to the river bet.

Hand #57: Utg Thomas Ward A♥ 8♦ raises then folds to button Jun Beum Chun's A♣ 5♥ three-bet of 420,000.

Hand #58: Utg Jun Beum Chun likes his 7♦ 5♦ and raises 160,000 only to fold to button Justin Chu's A♠ T♥ three-bet of 400,000.

Hand #59: Jun Beum Chun J♦ 8♣ defends his big blind by calling Justin Chu's A♠ 3♣ preflop raise. Chun opts to lead out 125,000 on the flop 6♦ 5♠ 7♣ and wins the pot with Chu folding.

Hand #39: Cutoff Justin Chu K♣ J♦ min-raises and Thomas Ward A♥ 7♣ defends his big blind. Both check to the river T♠ 4♠ 9♣ A♠ Q♥ , Chu bets 200,000 and Ward folds top pair.

Hand #40: From hijack, Justin Chu 3♥ 3♦ raises again then calls button Hieu Ngo's A♥ J♠ re-raise of 475,000. On the flop 9♠ 8♠ K♥ , Ngo continues for 275,000 and Chu seeing three overcards gives up his small pair.

Hand #41: Justin Chu K♠ Q♦ continues to drive the action with a raise from utg, no callers.

Hand #17: Thomas Ward K♥ 3♠ raises then folds to William Ysmael's A♦ 2♠ 425,000 three-bet.

Hand #19: Thomas Ward Q♣ J♣ min-raises then folds again to a three-bet, this time from Justin Chu A♣ Q♣ of 360,000.

Hand #20: Thomas Ward 7♠ 7♣ raises 120,000, no callers.

Hand #21: Jun Beum Chun 5♦ 5♣ raises 125,000, no callers.

Hand #22: From small blind Thomas Ward T♦ 8♦ limps and Justin Chu checks. Both check to the turn J♦ T♠ A♥ 6♦ , Ward leads out 60,000 and takes it on Chu's fold.

Hand #23: Button Thomas Ward Q♦ 9♦ continues to drive the action with a min-raise, small blind Justin Chu J♦ J♥ three-bets 400,000, Ward flats. On the flop 4♥ 5♣ 2♥ , Chu fires 450,000, Ward gives it up.

Hand #10: Hieu Ngo opens from the button, blinds fold.

Hand #11: Lester Edoc opens from hijack, no callers.

Hand #12: Thomas Ward A♣ Q♥ min-raises and is joined to the flop 2♥ 3♦ T♠ by big blind Justin Chu 4♥ 3♣ . Ward continues 110,000, Chu check-calls. Both knock on the turn A♥ , then Ward returns to betting on the river Q♠ . Chu folds.

Hand #4: From cutoff Lester Edoc raises 100,000, Thomas Ward calls from the small blind then folds to Edoc's 800,000 c-bet on the flop K♥ 6♠ 8♣ .

Hand #5: Small blind Jun Beum Chun opens 175,000, William Ysmael defends the big blind. On the flop 5♣ 9♥ T♣ , Chun checks then folds to Ysmael's 225,000 bet.

Blinds up - 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000

Hand #6: Hieu Ngo ( T♠ 9♣ ) raises 120,000 from hijack, big blind Justin Chu ( A♥ 7♣ ) calls for a flop A♣ K♣ 8♦ . Chu check-calls 100,000, then both check the turn K♦ . Chu leads out on the river 5♠ for 60,000 and wins it uncontested.

Hand #7: Jun Beum Chun ( Q♦ 9♥ ) opens 125,000, small blind Justin Chu ( A♦ 7♣ ) three-bets 225,000, Chun folds.

Here are the Final 6 of the inaugural APPT Championship and the action will conclude tomorrow (Sunday, October 27) still here at the Okada Manila.

Everyone at this point is guaranteed PhP2,360,000 (~US$40,430) and the eventual champion takes home PhP11,610,000 (~US$199,100).

Hand #60: Martin Gonzales in the D goes all-in against William Ysmael in the BB. Ysmael folds.

Hand #61: Folded to Korea's Beum Chun Jun on the D, he raises gets no callers.

Hand #62: Ysmael raises from the with K♠ T♥ D and gets called by Justin Chu of Taiwan in the SB with 7♦ 6♦.

The flop is T♠ 7♣ 6♣ as Chu checks his bottom two pairs. Ysmael CBets to 175,000 with his top pair with a King kicker and gets check-raised to 500,000. Ysmael calls. The turn card is the 5♣ as Chu goes all-in for 3,400,000. Ysmael folds.

Hand #63: Ysmael raise from the CO for 100,000 with A♠ 7♠ and gets called by Chu in the D with JdTc and Hieu in the BB with J♥ 7♥.

The flop is 3♠ 9♦ 8♦ to give the callers straight draws. All check. The turn is the Q♣ that gives Chu the nut straight. It goes check-fold.

Hand #48: Taiwan's Justin Chu draws Q♠ Q♥ UTG and raises. He picks up two callers in Lester Edoc of the Philippines in the D with 6♠ 6♥ and Hieu Ngo in the BB on a defense with K♠ 3♦ .

The flop is 3♠ 7♠ 4♦ as Edoc picks up a gutshot while Hieu has bottom pair. Chu CBets to 100,000 and gets raised by Edoc to 275,000 as Hieu folds. Chu makes the call. The turn is the J♠ and both check while the river is the K♦ . Again, it goes check-check.

Edoc pulled the brakes just in time.

With still nine players remaining, here is where everyone stands at as the blinds go up:

Everyone is still guaranteed PhP1,237,720 (US$21,205).

Hand #32: After Filipino pro Martin Gonzales raised from UTG with 7♥ 7♣ , he dragged in two callers in Justin Chu of Taiwan with A♠ 2♠ on the +2 position and fellow Filipino Lester Edoc with 5♥ 5♦ in the HJ.

Gonzales immediately saw good news as the flop came 4♦ 7♦ J♠ , flopping middle set. Gonzales checked and Chu tried to make a play at it with a bet of 120,000 which was initially called by Edoc. But then Gonzales came over the top and raised to 275,000 and both opponents fold.

Hand #25: William Ysmael raises from UTG and get s Justin Chu of Taiwan and Korea's Beum Chun Jun to come along.

On the flop of 5♦ T♣ J♠ Beum checks and Ysmael CBets to 130,000. Chu folds but Beum with his open-ender buys one street. The turn is the 9♥ giving the Korean a pair. Beum checks. Ysmael unloads again for 275,000. Beum doesn't continue in the hand.

Ysmael is now trying to run the show.

Hand #9: Chip leader Thomas Ward of New Zealand gets dealt A♠ Q♦ and raises from the +2 position for 80,000. He gets called on a BB defense by Taiwan's Justin Chu who has T♥ 7♥ .

The flop comes 3♠ 2♥ T♠ as Chu gets top pair. Chu checks and Ward fires the CBet of 75,000. Chu makes the call. The turn is the 2♦ and this time Chu grabs the betting lead for 130,000. Ward now becomes a caller. The river is the K♣ as the Taiwanese player lays out a value bet of 40,000. Ward still makes the call.

The hit doesn;t realy dent the New Zealander, but does give additional ammunition to Chu who has easily been the most active at the table thus far.

Hand #4: John Edward Perry of Australia raises from UTG with A♥ Q♥ and gets a call in the HJ from Justin Chu who has 9♣ 9♠ .

The flop is 2♣ J♥ T♠ to give Perry a gutshot as he checks. Chu probes with a bet to 45,000 and Perry calls. The turn is the 6♣ as Perry checks again and this time Chu ups it to 75,000. Perry refuses to buy any further and folds.

Hand #1: The very first hand of the Final 9 finds chip leader Thomas Ward of New Zealand making a raise from the +1 position and gets called all the way in the SB by Taiwan's Justin Chu. However, local bet Lester Edoc 3-bets to 90,000 from the BB as both make the call.

The flop is A♦ 4♠ A♠ as the blinds check. Ward fire a bet of 70,000 and gets a call from Chu, but a fold from Edoc. It is heads up to the turn of the K♠ as both players check. The river is the 2♣ as Chu fires for 30,000 and gets called by Ward.

Chu's queens hold to draw 1st blood.

Here are the last nine players who are now all guaranteed PhP1,237,720 (~US$21,205). They will play down to the last six for the official final table that will commence tomorrow (Sunday, October 27).

The action gets folded to the D of Taiwan's Justin Chu who makes a raise to 60,000. Former chip leader John Edward Perry 3-bets it to 415,000 from the SB and gets a call from Beum Chun Jun in the BB. Chu folds.

The flop comes K♥ 6♦ A♥ as Perry checks. Beum puts the Australian all-in with a bet of 300,000. Perry chucks in his remaining 115,000 to make the call.

Beum shows T♦ T♥ while Perry tables K♣ Q♠ for second pair on the flop.

The last two community cards are the 6♠ and the J♣ as Perry doubles up and makes a strong case for final table appeanace with with still ten players remaining.

With 16 players reaming, here's where they stand:

China's Wu Yuanning opens the action from UTG for 50,000 and gets called in the HJ by Justin Chu of Taiwan. But from the CO, Korea's Beum Chun Jun 3-bets to 175,000. Wu steps away but Chu makes the call.

The flop is Q♣ 9♣ 8♣ as both players check the monochrome board. The turn brings out the A♣ , completing a one card flush. Chu leads out for 150,000 and gets a call from his Korean opponent. The river is the J♣ completing the mono-textured board. Chu bets 250,000 as Beum goes into the tank and uses one Time Bank card in the process. The Korean then raises to 600,000. Chu decides to fold.

Former overall chip leader John Edward Perry of Australia has dropped all the way to eighth place in the first leaderboard update of the day. Fellow Australian Thomas Ward now occupies the top spot as he and Filipino pro Lester Edoc are the only ones breaching the two million chip mark at the moment.

Chip counts at end of Level 22:

The action is folded to the D of Korea's Lee Seokjun who raises to 40,000. On the BB, Justin Chu of Taiwan comes back with a 3-bet to 160,000 which Lee opts to call.

The flop is J♠ 2♥ T♣ . Chu CBets to 100,000 and gets called. The turn is the 8♦ as the Taiwanese player stops and ponders, using one Time Bank card before betting 180,000. It's Lee's turn to tank and also burn one Time Bank card before deciding to call. The river card is the K♦ . Chu checks and Lee goes all-in for 235,000. Chu tanks but eventually folds.

The 28 players remaining will reconvene on Saturday (October 26) at 12NN (UCT+8) and will play down to the Final 6 players.

Check out the Livestream that begins at 4:00PM.

APPT Manila Championship remaining players:

Event #31 APPT Manila Championship

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Venue: Okada Manila, Parañaque City, Philippines

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$1,028,270)

Entries: 416

Players ITM: 63

Total Chips in Play: 20,800,000

Average Stack: 742,857

Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)

Remaining players: 28

Saquing is the finally casualty of Day 2 as after this hand, it became an uneventful end to an otherwise highly eventful day of competition,

Folded to the blinds, local pro William Ysmael raises to 38,000from the SB but Taiwan's Justin Chu isn't going anywhere and chooses to defend his BB.

The flop is K♥ 8♥ 3♥ as Ysmael CBets to 24,000. Chu makes the call. The turn is the T♣ and it doesn't deter the Filipino who fires once again, this time for 85,000. But the Taiwanese player appears to also be unperturbed and still sticks around. The river is the T♠. This time, Ysmael checks and Chu decides to check behind.

Ysmael turns over K♣ 9♦ for top pair on the flop. Chu mucks his hand.

William Ysmael of the host nation opens the action from the HJ with a raise to 25,000 and gets a call from Taiwan's Justin Chu in the CO. However, chip leader John Edward Perry of Australia 3-bets to 100,000. Both gentlemen decide to stick around.

The flop is K♠ J♥ Q♣ as Ysmael and Chu check to Perry who fires a second shot for 90,000. The Filipino opts to step aside, but Chu still makes the call. The turn is the 2♠ as Chu checks again. Perry now fires for 200,000 and the Taiwanese player decides that prudence is the better part of valor.

Here are the top ten stacks presently:

Taiwan's Justin Chu raises from the D to 16,000 and gets called by Filipino pro William Ysmael on the BB.

The flop is A♥ K♦ 2♠ . Ysmael donks for 35,000 and Chu makes the call. The turn is the 7♥ as Ysmael fires again, this time for 88,000. However, Chu raises to 180,000 as Ysmael calls. The river card is the K♠ . Ysmael bets 200,000. Chu goes into the tank and stays there so long that he consumes three Time Bank cards in the process.

Chu eventually makes the call and turns over K♣ J♦ . Ysmael chooses to muck but after taking a huge hit to his chip stack.

Justin Chu of Taiwan opens the action from the CO for 16,000 and gets callers in Filipino pro Lester Edoc in the D and Kim Kiyoung in the BB.

The flop comes 7♣ Q♥ 4♠ as Kim checks. Chu CBets to 21,000 and gets a call from both. The turn is 6♥ as Kim checks again. This time, Chu slows down and checks as well. Edoc bets 65,000. Kim tanks and uses a Time Bank card before opting to fold. Chu follows suit.

The action is getting more tense at the PokerStars poker room at Okada Manila with the action of Day 2 at the APPT Manila Championship about to reach the bubble. 16 one-hour levels have been played so far and 75 players of 416 entries are still competing for a chance to take a chunk from the PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000) prize pool. 63 players will be guaranteed a payout, and there is still a lot of poker to go.

Australian John Edward Perry currently stands out as the chip leader from the 75 players that remain with 963,000 chips. Korean Kim Kiyoung has been consistent and ranks second with 700,000. Irishman Patrick Clarke holds the third spot with 630,000 so far.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 277,300

Blinds: 2,000/5,000 Ante 5,000

Remaining players: 75

ITM: 63

Two Day 1 flights including some last minute Day 2 registrants brought the final total entries to 416, each of whom coughed up the buy-in of PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) to take part in APPT Manila Championship main event. The total entries built the prize pool to PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000), surpassing the PHP 55,000,000 guarantee. 102 players are still competing with 63 guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP250,000 (~US$ 4,285). Of course, all eyes are focused on the grand prize of PHP 11,610,000 (~US$ 200,000).

Of the 102 players remaining, Moses Saquing of the Philippines stands as the chip leader with 744,000 chips. Flight B chip leader Kim Kiyoung is staying on course with the second biggest stack with 711,000. Rounding up the top three is John Edward Perry with 538,000. 14 Levels have been played so far with 7 more to go before the survivors bag their chips for another leg on Day 3 tomorrow. There's still a lot more poker and anything can happen.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 203,900

Blinds: 1,500/3,000 Ante 3,000

Remaining players: 102

ITM: 63

Seokchul Hwang raised to 7,000 from UTG+2 and Justin Chi Jen Chu defended the big blind. Both players were thrown a 2♠ Q♦ 8♠ flop. Chu check-called the 8,000 bet of Hwang to see a T♠ river. Both players checked to get a free A♥ on the river. Chu checked then folded when Hwang bet out 12,000.