Main Event

After 30 levels of play, beating a field of 512, Richard Marquez is crowned the new Manila Megastack 20 Main Event Champion. His tournament took a decisive turn after doubling up against Alvir Inocentes with pocket Nines versus Ace-Four and went on to take out his remaining three opponents all by himself, including the defending champ William Ysmael in 3rd having pocket Nines again versus William's Ace-Two.

In an interview with SMP, champion Richard Marquez shared:

SMP: How does this win compared to your other poker tournament wins?

RM: I had really hard time against Will, that was the main problem for this tournament. My main focus was to eliminate William. I felt I had a good chance versus the other players.

SMP: What was the turning point of the tournament?

RM: I had a chance to win when William was short-stacked and Rene Mar David was getting lucky so I had to change my game plan.

SMP: What strategies did you have during the tournament?

RM: I used my pocket Nines as a trap on a three-way. It worked with Alvir at first so I felt my pocket Nines were lucky so I had to gamble it on the next hand against Will.

SMP: Are you going to be joining any other events soon?

RM: I will be joining the nice events definitely. There will be an event in Taiwan so i will be joining that. I will also be joining World Series Circuit in Canada on January.

Translated from Tagalog by Blaise De Leon.

Right the next hand David Rene Mar shoves with 7♠ 3♣ and Richard Marquez decides J♦ 8♣ is good enough to win the tournament right here and now. The dealer makes his premonition come true by hitting the felt with 2♣ K♣ T♥ K♥ 4♠ crowning him new Manila Megastack 20 Main Event Champion.

After a few small pots went to David Rene Mar to take the lead it is Richard Marquez who kicks off the action with a raise to 250,000. BB David Rene Mar jams his massive stack to put Richard all-in. After some deliberation he decides it's go-time and calls his remaining 6,400,000 with Q♦ 9♦ . David flips over K♥ 6♦ for a close race. The dealer keeps it interesting until the end with T♣ 3♥ J♦ T♥ 8♠ to give Richard a straight on the river and pushes this massive pot into his direction.

With the BU opening 270,000 and SB Richard Marquez calling in SB, BB William Ysmael jams 2,430,000 with A♦ 2♠ . Richard calls with 9♥ 9♦ and it is looking dire for the defending champ. The dealer agrees by tabling 9♠ A♣ 7♣ Q♥ A♥ to take us heads up.

With a big blind battle against William Ysmael going Richard Marquez' way just the hand before, we see Alvir Inocentes jamming his last 240,000 from CO with 4♣ 4♦. Richard Marquez calls with J♣ J♦ and the dealer has a player at risk. Flipping over K♠ 8♣ 7♣ K♥ 3♥ we are down to the last three players.

With next hands just pushing chips around with not much changing in stack sizes we jump back in when SB Alvir Inocentes open-jams 2,400,000 with A♦ 4♣ and BB Richard Marquez wakes up with 9♦ 9♥ to call and dominate. The dealer flips over 6♠ J♥ 4♠ 5♣ 3♦ to hand Richard a double and leave Alvir with two big blinds.

#135 and #136 both get picked up by Alvir Inocentes with min opens from BU an CO.

#137 kicks off with CO Richard Marquez raising to 200,000, BU William Ysmael calls and Alvir Inocentes puts down the hammer with a jam for 2,800,000 to scoop up the pot.

#138 is a walk for Richard Marquez

#139 has David Rene Mar raise to 225,000 to take BU Alvir Inocentes to the flop A♦ T♠ J♣ where a 175,000 c-bet gets called for the turn 4♣ that gets checked to the river A♠ . David slides out another 425,000 with A♣ 9♠ that's called by Alvir who mucks.

Opening 225,000 from BU, David Rene Mar takes both blinds to the flop J♦ T♣ 9♠ that gets checked all the way to the river 3♣ 2♠ where BB Richard Marquez tries to bluff with 270,000, but immediately mucks when David says call.

#131 gets picked up by Alvir Inocentes with a min from BU.

#132 is a limped blind battle to the flop A♥ 5♥ 2♠ with BB David Rene Mar sliding out a 100,000 winning bet.

#133 has BU William Ysmael raise 200,000 and both blinds defend to see the flop 5♥ J♣ T♠ that gets checked round to the turn 3♥ where SB David Rene Mar leads 225,000 and only William continues to the river 7♠ . Separating another 500,000 from his stack with Q♠ J♠ , David gets paid by William who mucks.

#125 goes to Richard Marquez with a min from BU.

#126 has Alvir Inocentes raise 250,000 in SB to take it down.

#127 is another walk for William Ysmael.

#128 kicks of with SB William Ysmael limp, but decides to let it go after BB David Rene Mar pumped it to 300,000.

#129 goes to Alvir Inocentes with a walk.

#130 starts with David Rene Mar raise to 225,000 from BU and SB Alvir Inocentes calls to see the flop K♥ 4♠ 6♠ that gets checked to the river T♣ T♦ where Alvir takes over the reins with a 350,000 lead holding A♠ 9♦ , but gets called by David with J♥ 6♥ .

#121 is another limped blind battle with a flop K♥ 6♠ 5♥ that gets checked to the turn J♦ where David Rene Mar slides out a winning bet of 125,000.

#122 goes to David Rene Mar again, making it 225,000 from the button

#123 is a walk for William Ysmael

#124 starts with Alvir Inocentes min-raising from CO, SB William Ysmael three-bets to 650,000, but goes deep in the tank when faced with a 2,400,000 jam. He lets it go with the aid of two times banks.

#117 has David Rene Mar open 250,000 from SB and Alvir Inocentes defends to see the flop Q♦ A♣ A♠ where a 100,000 c-bet is enough for David to scoop the pot.

#118 goes to Alvir Inocentes min raising SB.

#119 kicks off with a 225,000 raise from CO David Rene Mar that gets called by SB Alvir Inocentes before Richard Marquez three-bets 750,000 to scoop the pot.

#120 is picked up by Richard Marquez with a three-bet again, this time making it 600,000 against Alvir Inocentes' min open.

#113 is picked up by Richard Marquez with a raise to 220,000 from UTG

#114 goes to William Ysmael making it 200,000 from UTG and gets a walk in #115.

#116 kicks off with Richard Marquez min-opening the button, SB William Ysmael three-bet 650,000 and the flop 8♥ 8♣ J♦ gets checked all the way to the river 2♦ 5♣ where William lays out another 450,000 to pick it up uncontested.

#110 is min-raised by William Ysmael and SB Alvir Inocentes pumps it to 550,000 to go to the flop Q♣ T♦ 2♥ . A c-bet of 300,000 takes it down for Alvir.

#111 is a limped blind battle for a flop 8♣ 5♥ T♦ where BB William Ysmael takes the lead for 100,000, gets called for the turn J♥ and a check around to the river A♠ . SB Richard Marquez takes over with a 400,000 bet to take it down.

#112 kicks off with Alvir Inocentes making it 200,000 from CO and BB David Rene Mar defends to see the flop 3♠ J♠ 5♣ . A 150,000 c-bet gets called for the turn 2♥ and a check-check completes the board Q♠ . Checked to Alvir, a 350,000 bluff effort with 8♦ 7♦ enters the middle, but gets called by David holding 9♥ 5♥ to scoop the pot.

Richard Marquez min-opens 160,000 from his button and watches BB Yusuf Cassidy jam 985,000 with A♣ J♥ . Richard snaps with K♦ K♣ and the dealer servers another knock out by flipping over 7♥ 4♦ 6♣ 4♣ 3♥ .

Richard Marquez picks up #105, #106 with a min-raise each and gets a walk in #107.

#108 starts with Richard Marquez again, open limping his SB to take BB William Ysmael to the flop A♥ 5♣ 7♠ . Richard decides to lead for 100,000, gets called and we check it to the showdown on the river 5♥ 3♣ with William Ysmael tabling the winner T♠ 3♥ against Richard's K♥ T♦ .

Andy Chan looks at K♦ Q♦ in the CO and says all-in for 740,000. SB William Ysmael is the only one to call with A♥ J♠ and the interested onlookers are watching the dealer hit the felt 6♦ 4♠ 4♦ T♥ 5♥ thus bringing Andy Chan's Cinderella story to an end and putting William Ysmael in an even better position to hunt for his 2nd Main Event title in a row.

#99 gets min raised by HJ Alvir Inocentes, Richard Marquez counters with a three bet to 450,000 and is forced to make a pivotal decision, when Alvir pumps it up to 1,050,000. After two time banks already went to the dealer he finally lets it go.

#100 is picked up by William Ysmael with a min-open from BU

#101 goes to William again, after three-betting 425,000 into Richard Marquez' min-open.

#102 has Alvir Inocentes pick it up, also three-betting 500,000 into a 175,000 open from David Rene Mar.

#103 is a walk for William Ysmael

The action gets folded to Andy Chan again, he looks down at 3♥ 3♠ and announces all-in for 410,000. William Ysmael fills up his BB with K♥ 5♥ and the dealer takes center stage again. The board completes 6♦ 7♣ T♥ 6♣ 6♥ granting Andy another double up.

#95 goes to William Ysmael with a CO min-open.

#96 is taken down by another min from Richard Marquez in UTG.

#97 gets folded to SB Andy Chan - who made it all the way here after starting day 2 with five big blinds - he jams his remaining 165,000 with 9♥ 4♣ and gets called by BB Richard Marquez with 9♦ 7♥ who is dominating. Having grown up with Disney movies, the dealer wants the Cinderella story to continue and tables A♦ 4♠ 3♣ 3♥ 8♠ to grant Andy Chan a suck out and a much needed double up.

Jamming his remaining 245,000 with K♠ 8♠ from UTG, Sham Wing Sheuk watches BB David Rene Mar fill up and show K♣ 4♦ for a good chance to double up. The dealer has other ideas and flips over 3♦ 7♣ 4♥ 7♠ A♥ to bring us down to six players.

Alvir Inocentes initiates the action in #92 with a min-raise and BB William Ysmael defends big to see the flop A♠ 6♠ K♠ that gets checked to the turn 6♥ where Alvir lays out the winning c-bet of 80,000.

#93 is min-opened by BU Richard Marquez and SB William Ysmael fills up again for the flop K♦ A♣ 2♥ to be revealed. Another check-check takes us to the turn 9♥ where William takes the lead for 185,000 to take it down.

#87 is raised by BU David Rene Mar and William Ysmael defends big to lay eyes on 8♣ 9♥ 3♣ and check-call a continuation of 180,000 for the turn K♣ that gets checked to the river T♣ with David coming out on top holding J♥ T♣ .

#88 goes to William Ysmael with a min from CO.

#89 to Richard Marquez with a 165,000 raise from +1

David Rene Mar picks up #90 from CO with a 170,000 raise.

#91 is a walk for Richard Marquez

#83 starts with William Ysmael min open to 160,000 from +1 and CO David Rene Mar picks it up with a 400,000 three-bet.

#84 is a limped blind battle that's checked to the turn 5♦ 5♣ Q♦ 2♣ where SB Richard Marquez put out a feeler for 80,000 that is met with a call for the river 3♣ . Checked to BB William Ysmael, 425,000 go over the line for another win in position.

#85 has William Ysmael open his SB for 175,000 and Yusuf Cassidy fills up his BB to see the flop Q♠ K♥ 6♣ check-check to the turn A♣ . When checked to again, Yusuf lays out 200,000 and gets called for the river 8♥ with both players checking again and Yusuf tabling the winner A♦ 9♣ against Will's K♦ 4♥ .

Andy Chan kicks off the action with a 160,000 raise from UTG and BB alvir Inocentes defends his big to see the flop 3♠ 6♠ 8♣ where a 150,000 c-bet finds a caller to go to the turn 4♦ that has both players check to complete the board A♦ . Alvir is done checking and switches to a lead of 375,000 instead which brings the hand to an end.

#75 gets lead by Richard Marquez with a 125,000 raise from +1 that takes CO and BB to the flop 4♠ 9♠ A♥ where a 175,000 c-bet goes over the line and only BB Alvir Inocentes elects to call for the turn 3♥ that gets checked to the river 7♣ and two more checks let Richard table the winning A♣ Q♦ against Alvir's A♦ 2♦ .

#76 and #77 are picked up by David Rene Mar with two min-raises.

#78 has BB William Ysmael push SB limper Richard Marquez off of his hand by making 110,000 more.

#79 starts with a UTG raise to 125,000 from David Rene Mar and Yusuf Cassidy defends BB for the flop 7♠ 5♣ 4♠ checked to the turn Q♦ . A delayed c-bet of 160,000 does the trick for David to scoop the pot.

#80 and #81 both go to William Ismael with a min-raise from BU and a 135,000 raise from CO.

Hand #74 kicks off with a jam from +2 Andy Chan for 625,000, holding A♠ 7♥ and gets called by short stack Oliver Duran with T♠ T♦ . The dealer reduces Oliver's chances to two outs by flipping over the A♥ first and finds neither of them by completing the board 9♠ 8♣ 3♣ K♦ to end Oliver Duran's Run in 8th place.

#68 is a limped blind battle that gets taken down on the flop 2♥ 2♣ 5♣ by a 60,000 lead from BB Alvir Inocentes.

#69 has David Rene Mar slide out a winning raise from CO.

#70 is a walk for Richard Marquez, who min-raises hand #71 from SB to take down two in a row.

#72 has William Ysmael defend his big with 9♠ 5♠ to flop a flush draw on T♣ Q♠ 4♠ and tests the water on the turn 6♦ with a 135,000 that gets called, but ultimately loses to Alvir Inocentes with 7♣ 7♥ on the river 4♣ .

#73 goes to Richard Marquez with a min open.

#66 gets min-opened by Alvir Inocentes and both blinds defend to see the flop 7♦ 6♠ 5♥ that gets checked to the river K♦ 7♠ where BB David Rene Mar forks out a lead of 250,000 to take it down.

#67 looks similar with Richard Marquez raising 125,000 from LJ to take William Ysmael to the flop 4♠ 2♦ T♦ and a 150,000 c-bet enters the middle. Will calls for the action killer J♦ and we check to the river 8♥ and further to the showdown where Richard shows A♦ A♠ to scoop the pot.

David Rene Mar opens hand #65 for 135,000 from UTG, Yohei Katsuragawa jams his remaining 320,000 with A♥ Q♠ and is flipping against David's J♦ J♠ . The Dealer tables T♦ K♦ 9♠ 7♣ 4♣ and delivers the first knockout of the day.

Min-opening from BU, Richard Marquez takes William Ysmael to the flop 6♦ 7♥ J♠ where a 150,000 c-bet finds a customer to reveal the turn 4♦ that gets checked around to the river 4♣ . Will decides to lead 120,000 for a bluff with T♣ 9♥ , but gets called by Richard with top pair K♠ J♣ .

#58 won by Richard Marquez with a 175,000 open.

#59 goes to David Rene Mar with a 130,000 steal from the button

#60 taken by William Ysmael with a 130,000 open.

#61 has Alvir Inocentes jam his SB for a win.

#62 gets jammed for 785,000 by HJ Sham Wing Sheuk

#63 goes to Yusuf Cassidy with a min-raise from +1

Hand #55 gets open-limped from BU Richard Marquez and BB William Ysmael waives his option to see the flop 5♣ 6♦ J♥ that gets checked around to the turn 8♠ . Will leads 70,000 and gets called for the board to complete 7♠ . Another 425,000 lead gets the job done.

Hand #56 is taken down by Alivir Inocentes with a 120,000 open from the LJ.

Hand #57 has William Ysmael back in the drivers seat, making it 120,000 from the button and BB David Rene Mar defends his big to see the flop 4♠ 6♦ 5♠ that gets checked to the turn 5♣ . David decides to switch gears with a 100,000 lead that gets called for the river T♣ to be revealed. Back to a check, David faces a 485,000 bet from Will and decides to fold, losing a time bank in the process.

Starting off Hand #54 with a 150,000 raise from +1, Yusuf Cassidy takes HJ Yohei Katsuragawa to the flop 6♠ A♠ T♥ that gets checked all the way to the river K♠ 2♥ where Yusuf leads 150,000 with A♥ J♠ , gets called by Yohei with K♦ Q♦ and increases his stack by 30%.

With a min-open from Richard Marquez and William Ysmael defending big, Hand #53 gets dressed up with a flop 3♥ T♣ 4♦ . A 110,000 c-bet wanders over the line, gets called and the A♠ hits the felt for a check around to the river T♥ . Richard makes a last ditch effort with another 400,000 bet, but gets called and insta mucks.

#48 starts with a limp from Richard Marquez in the HJ, but gets taken down by a 100,000 raise from BB David Rene Mar.

#49 is min-opened by William Ysmael from the CO to take BU Yusuf Cassidy to the flop T♣ A♥ 8♠ where a check-check reveals the turn 8♣ . A delayed c-bet of 100,000 and a call complete the board 9♣ that gets checked to showdown for a split between A♠ 5♥ for Will and A♦ 6♥ for Yusuf.

#50 is a quick one again with a 735,000 jam from Oliver Duran that finds no takers.

#51 kicks off with a 100,000 open from Sham Wing Sheuk that gets countered by a 570,000 jam from SB Yohei Katsuragawa to recover a bit.

#52 sees another min-open from Richard Marquez in UTG and +2 William Ysmael tags along to the flop 8♠ 7♣ J♥ , A 50,000 c-bet gets raised to 175,000 by Will and Richard pays to lay eyes on the turn 3♣ . Checked to Will, 410,000 slide over the line, enough to make Richard fold and Septembers Main Event Champ is back over 3M.

#47 kicks off with Richard Marquez opening 100,000 from CO to take BB Yusuf Cassidy the the flop 8♠ 9♣ 6♥ that gets checked to the river J♥ 4♣ where Yusuf leads 100,000, gets called and tables the winner Q♦ 9♥ .

#45 is a walk for Oliver Duran.

#46 starts with Richard Marquez raising 100,000 from BU and BB William Ysmael defending big to see the turn 4♣ 5♠ K♣ where a 100,000 c-bet gets called to see the turn 4♦ that gets checked to the river 2♦ where, after two more checks, Richard tables the winner A♠ 8♥ against William's 8♦ 6♥ .

After winning hand #43 with a min-raise from UTG, William Ysmael kicks off Hand #44 with another 100,000 min from +1 that takes +2 and BB along for the ride and watch the dealer hit the felt J♣ 4♥ 6♥ . Checked to +2 Yusuf Cassidy, 150,000 go into the middle and only Will calls to see the turn 5♠ where he check-calls another 275,000 to complete the board 3♠ . Back in the drivers seat, Will seperates 775,000 from his stack that sends Yusuf in the tank, who lets it go after careful consideration and the use of a time bank.

#40 has William Ysmael recover by taking down the pot with a 100,000 raise from CO

#41 sees William Ysmael kick off with another 100,000 from HJ to take CO and BB to the flop 3♦ 8♠ K♣ where he takes it down with a 125,000 c-bet.

#42 starts with David Rene Mar opening 110,000 to take CO Sham Wing Sheuk to the flop 5♦ T♥ 9♦ where a 110,000 c-bet and a call take us to the turn 8♥ . Slowing down to a check, David Rene Mar watches Sham Wing Sheuk consume two time banks before jamming his remaining 595,000. With the aid of one of his own time banks, David lets it go.

Hand #39 starts with a 100,000 open from William Ysmael in the button, SB Yusuf Cassidy jams 950,000 with A♥ Q♣ and William calls with A♠ T♠ . The dealer awakens from her slumber and for the first time today has a player at risk. The board J♥ 7♥ K♥ 9♠ T♣ lets Yusuf Cassidy stay on top to double up.

#31 David Rene Mar limps SB and BB Sham Wing Sheuk waives his option to see the flop 4♠ 9♣ J♥ that gets checked to the turn 7♠ where Sham Wing Sheuk slides out 60,000 to win.

#32 David Rene Mar opens 110,000 from BU, but Sham Wing Sheuk takes it with a 830,000 jam from SB. David needs a time bank to make the fold.

Hand #33 has Sham Wing Sheuk open for 100,000 from BU, but folds when faced with a 275,000 three-bet from Alvir Inocentes.

Hand #34 goes to Richard Marquez with a 110,000 open from UTG going unanswered.

#35 kicks off with William Ysmael raising 110,000 from +1, but +2 Yusuf Cassidy announces all-in for his last 780,000 to scoop the pot.

#36 has David Rene Mar open to 110,000 from +2 and this time Andy Chan jams 940,000 from BU to get back to 1,200,000 where he started the day.

Hand #24 gets opened for 85,000 from CO David Rene Mar and Alvir Inocentes defends big for the flop 5♣ A♦ 2♣ to be revealed. Another 85,000 c-bet takes it down.

Hand #25 goes to Oliver Duran with a 100,000 open from +1.

Hand #26 goes to Oliver Duran as well with another 100,000 raise from UTG. He has 960,000 after winning his first two hands of the day.

Hand #27 is scooped by Alvir Inocentes with a raise to 80,000 from CO.

Hand #28 is gifted to William Ysmael with a walk.

Hand #29 has Sham Wing Sheuk recover with a raise to 80,000 from +1.

Hand #30 is pocketed by CO Richard Marquez with an 80,000 raise and no takers again.

Hand #20 kicks off with a raise to 85,000 from UTG David Rene Mar and Yusuf Cassidy defend his big blind to see the flop T♦ A♣ 4♦ with a follow up 85,000 and another call to the turn 3♥ . A second barrel of 230,000 goes unanswered and David Rene Mar scoops up.

Hand #21 goes to Richard Marquez with a single 80,000 raise from HJ.

Hand #22 starts with UTG Yohei Katsuragawa wanting 85,000 from UTG and CO William Ysmael comes along for a ride to the flop 9♥ Q♦ 5♥ that gets checked to the turn 6♣ . Yohei Katsuragawa lays out a delayed c-bet of 110,000 that gets called to the river 4♣ where Yohei Katsuragawa is back to checking and lets it go against 285,000 from William Ysmael

Hand #23 has Yohei Katsuragawa come back after defending big against an 85,000 open from William Ysmael to see the flop J♥ 8♦ 4♠ and then check raises all-in 500,000 when faced with a 75,000 c-bet. William folds.

Hand #15 goes to Richard Marquez with a 100,000 open from +1.

Hand #16 scooped up by David Rene Mar with a 210,000 three-bet from HJ against LJ Yusuf Cassidy's 80,000 open.

Hand #17 sees Yohei Katsuragawa try to make a move, raising to 85,000 from CO, but SB Andy Chan counters with a 225,000 re-raise. Yohei Katsuragawa finds the fold with the aid of a time bank.

Hand #18 starts with Yusuf Cassidy opening for 80,000 from +1 to take CO Alvir Inocentes to the flop 3♣ 3♥ A♦ where a 90,000 c-bet and a call is all she wrote until the river 8♥ 6♠ and Yusuf Cassidy flipping over the winner 5♠ 5♥ against Alvir Inocentes' K♥ J♦ .

Hand #19 goes to Sham Wing Sheuk with a 85,000 open from UTG.

Hand #13 goes to Alvir Inocentes with an 80,000 raise from +2.

Hand #14 kicks off with William Ysmael opening from HJ to take BU Rene David Mar to the flop 3♠ K♥ 5♠ that gets checked to the turn 5♥ , where a delayed c-bet of 125,000 slides over the line. Mar makes the call to see the board complete A♥ , is faced with another 285,000 barrel and goes in the tank before finally declaring raise to 750,000 with the addition of a time bank. Now it is Ysmael who has to brood, coming to the conclusion that fold is the best option and also hands two time banks to the dealer.

Hand #11 is taken down by a 125,000 open from William Ysmael in SB

Hand #12 starts with Yohei Katsuragawa raise 80,000 to take HJ Richard Marquez to the flop 7♣ 6♦ 6♥ where a 100,000 c-bet gets the job done for the short stack.

Hand #8 goes to David Rene Mar with an 85,000 open from LJ.

Hand #9 has William Ysmael do the same from UTG.

Hand #10 starts off with Yohei Katsuragawa open 85,000 from LJ, Raised to 245,000 by HJ Alvir Inocentes and BB William Ysmael puts down the hammer with a 650,000 cold four-bet to scare off his opposition.

Hand #7 starts with William Ysmael opening 85,000 from +1 and BB Andy Chan defending to see the flop 2♦ T♣ 7♥ that has Ysmael continue for 80,000 and Chan calls for the turn 9♠ to be revealed. A second barrel of 285,000 ends the hand for Ysmael to scoop the pot.

Hand #5 goes to birthday boy Yusuf Cassidy with a raise to 140,000 from CO and no takers.

Hand #6 has Sham Wing Sheuk open 80,000 from BU, called by SB and BB Alvir Inocentes pumps it to 165,000 to take it down.

Hand #2 goes to William Ysmael again, after three-betting 285,000 from SB against Richard Marquez' opening of 85,000 from CO.

Hand #3 has David Rene Mar gets a walk.

Hand #4 goes to David Rene Mar again with an 110,000 open from SB that goes unanswered.

Trying to make history with back-to-back victories, Manila Megastack 19 Main Event Champ William Ysmael defends his big blind against Richard Marquez' 80,000 open from the button to see the flop 7♥ 5♠ 8♣ that gets checked all the way to the river J♠ K♦ , where Marquez tries to steal with a 50,000 bet in position, but gets called by Ysmael with T♣ 8♥ to scoop the pot. Marquez insta mucked but said he had queen ten.

Shuffle up and deal!

With an exiting journey through the ITM stage down to the final table yesterday, we are getting ready for the final 9 battle over the lion share of the P20,113,920 prize pool with P3,713,920 on top.

Live updates will start when the players are ready.