Main Event

Following nearly ten hours on the floor, the biggest Main Event qualifier saw its 475 entry field draw down to a final 72 players advancing to tomorrow’s Day 2. Kang Yunku ended the day with the lead, holding down a 536,000 chip count to cap the games. Italy’s Riva Lorenzo stacks amongst the highest with a 427,000 count, closely followed by Lam Wo Kui with 400,000. Still a far reach from yesterday’s Flight B chip leader, Karen Talamayan remains way ahead of the pack with her 929,000 Day 2 stack putting her in prime position to bag a juicy payout.

Each survivor is now guaranteed a piece of the MSS record PHP 21,800,944 prize pool! Day 2 action kicks off at 13:00, Saturday, June 1st.

Hijack Ron Ryan Mesina limp called a 25,000 raise from small bind Peng Ching Kai and saw flop J♠ Q♠ 9♠ . Checked to Peng, he bet all-in for 38,000 and was instantly called by Mesina with the nut straight K♦ T♦ . Peng drawing to a chop with K♠ 9♣ , found no hope on either turn 4♣ or river 5♥ to leave him out of the Main Event running right on bubble time.

Utg+1 Raymundo Gomez opened to 20,000 and was a met with a click back from small blind Benjamin Mangaliman. Gomez answered with an all-in for 170,000, called by Mangaliman. A cooler situation, the jack high board J♥ 3♦ 2♦ 4♦ 7♥ left Mangaliman crippled down to 7 BB.

Utg Matsushita Akihisa flicked in his 45,000 stack with A♠ 9♠ and was called by the cutoff with K♣ 9♦ . Ahead of his opponent, Matsushita shipped the double up after the board 3♥ 7♠ Q♠ 4♣ 9♣ delivered no bad beats.

Utg+1 open shoved 98,000 in with K♣ K♦ and was called by small blind Riva Lorenzo with J♠ J♦ . A huge underdog, Lorenzo was in luck as the flop 2♦ 4♣ J♣ A♥ 3♦ felted his two outer to snag the win.

Button Lam Wo Kui opened to 20,000 and called a 135,000 jam from small blind Kim Hyeonbae. The board ran A♣ Q♥ Q♦ 3♣ 2♦ , and quickly Lam the favor to knock his opponent out close to the money bubble.

With 72 players guaranteed a spot into Day 2, Flight C is nearing its money bubble action with six more eliminations to go before the day wraps up.

Hijack Benjamin Wu open shoved his remaining 72,000 in with A♠ K♦ and was up against John Calamiong’s J♦ J♥ . In for a flip, Calamiong was instantly ahead on board 6♣ 6♦ 6♥ J♠ 6♠ , up until the river landed a fourth six to counterfeit his full house. Wu ships the pot with ace high and quads on board and survives through.

Jay Padilla defended his big blind against button Flores Cordero Luis Javier’s 13,000 open and saw flop 9♠ 2♥ Q♥ . Flores continued for 15,000 yet threw in the fold shortly after Padilla raised for 20,000 more.

Mp Kim Hyeonbae opened to 13,000 and faced a 34,000 three bet from button Darren Yu. Kim completes and sees flop 2♣ 6♦ 3♣ . Checked to Yu, he sends out 21,000, Kim with a fold.

Utg+1 opened to 10,000 and was met with a three bet to 20,000 from button Ignacio San Gabriel. Big blind Lester Edoc cold calls, urging the original raiser to push all-in for 226,000. Both opponents call and sees three stacks in the middle on board 3♣ 7♥ Q♦ K♣ 4♠ .

Ignacio way ahead, soars to chip lead status with his top set easily delivering a double elimination.

A three way raised pot headed to flop T♣ 6♣ Q♣ . Small blind Ignacio San Gabriel led for 20,000, called by button Pam Song Hau. On turn 4♦ , Ignacio churned out another 20,000, enough to convince Pam to throw in the fold.

Cutoff Matsushita Akihisa opened to 10,000 and called the 19,000 more after small blind Aoki Yuta moved all-in. Running a flip, Aoki dodged elimination after the board 4♥ Q♣ K♦ T♦ 8♠ paired him up for the win.

A blind vs blind battle saw Choi Jeongwook bump it up to 12,000, called by Ellezer Castillo behind. On flop 7♠ K♣ A♣ , Choi led all-in for 80,000 and was called by his opponent, putting him at risk. Choi shows A♠ 2♣ for top pair up against Castillo’s flush draw Q♣ 8♣ . The turn 7♥ and river 9♥ missed a third club, giving Choi the full double up.

Utg Ellezer Castillo opened to 9,000, called by button Chung Ju Won along with big blind Choi Jeongwook. On flop Q♠ 4♠ 8♥ , Castillo fired 11,000 and saw both players continue to turn K♥ . Castillo this time, bet overpot for all of his opponents’ remaining chips. Both Chung and Choi gives it up and throws their hands in the muck.

Utg opened to 8,000, called by player right behind. Mp Jung Yujin fired a strong three bet to 33,000 and raked in no calls to pick up the pot.

Utg+1 opened to 8,000 and was met with a three bet from big blind Ethan Monteverde for 16,000. Opponent four bet jammed 70,000 in and was quickly called by Monteverde with K♠ K♥ . Player at risk is behind with A♠ T♣ and failed to catch up on board 6♠ T♥ J♦ K♦ 5♠ to bust him out.

Hijack Redentor Edoc defended his open and called a 22,000 three bet from button Jo Gyumock. On flop 6♣ 4♦ K♦ , Edoc easily check folded after Gyumock sent out a 19,000 bet.

Mp Kim Gwanwoo opened to 7,000, joined by Kitamura Keita a seat after on flop 5♦ 9♠ K♥ . Kim check called a 6,000 bet from his opponent and headed to turn 6♣ . Kim this time, sent out 7,000 and called a click back from Kitamura. On river K♦ , Kim moved all-in for 65,500 and Kitamura makes the final call. Kim shows A♦ K♠ , crushing Kitamura’s J♦ 9♦ entirely.

Utg pushed all-in for his last 31,000 with A♣ Q♣ and was called by small blind Ungria Alexander Jr with 9♠ 9♣ . Player at risk landed top pair on turn 5♦ 4♥ 7♥ Q♥ 9♦ to gain the advantage but was quickly knocked out after the river landed Ungria a set.

Utg+1 Michael Bueza open shoved his remaining 26,500 in with A♠ K♣ and faced big blind Tchong Kue Seong’s A♥ 6♣ . A huge favorite, Bueza cruised to a double up with the board felting 5♣ 3♥ 4♠ A♣ 5♠ to lock it in.

Hijack Kang Yunku shoved his remaining 27,000 in with A♥ 8♠ and was called by the big blind with K♦ Q♦ . Up for a race, Kang locked in the win on board 8♣ 6♠ 6♣ 3♣ 9♣ to survive through.

Utg+1 open shoved his remaining 19,500 in with A♣ K♥ and was called behind by David Sumaoi with Q♠ Q♣ . A classic NLH flip, the board J♦ 8♥ 2♠ 7♠ J♥ steered clear of the overcards, earning Sumaoi the much needed boost.

Mp moved all-in for 8,500 with J♠ T♠ , followed by a raise to 20,0000 from button Lance De Vera. Small blind Chong Zi Heng reshoved for 109,000 total and was called by De Vera for a three way all-in.

Board ran 5♠ 8♥ 2♠ 6♥ 4♥ and awarded Chong’s overpair the massive pot.

Utg Alvir Inocentes opened to 5,500 and called the 9,500 more after Lee Dongso moved all-in. At risk, Lee failed to pair up on board T♣ 2♠ J♥ 6♠ 9♦ , leaving him out of the Main Event running.

Adding another 475 entries onto the Main Event tally, this season’s Manila Super Series has already surpassed the tour’s standing record prize pool at over PHP 13 Million. Current pot is listed at a massive PHP 19,359,648 with registration still open for Flight D!

Flight C will conclude once the field is down to 72 players.

Michael Gabby Concepcion defended his big blind against cutoff Kim Enriquez’ 2,500 open and headed to flop A♣ Q♥ 2♦ . Enriquez continued for 5,000, check called by his opponent. Turn 9♦ went check check, leading Concepcion to lead out river 2♠ for 1,200. Sensing weakness, Enriquez put in a raise to 14,000 and picked up the pot after his opponent threw in the fold.

An all-in preflop situation saw Alghanim Luqman as a huge underdog with pocket jacks. Fortunately for him, the board 2♦ A♦ 7♣ K♦ 9♦ ran a one card flush to his diamond, snagging him the win.

Mp open shoved 13,400 in with J♦ J♥ and faced button Curt Livemore’s A♥ Q♣ . In for a flip, the board 7♣ A♣ 3♣ 10h 5♦ quickly ran in favor of the overcards, giving Livemore a boost to 34 BB.

Utg+1 Tasaki Riki opened to 2,500 and called off Renniel Galvez’ shove for 16,400 total. Running a flip, Galvez landed the double after the board T♦ 8♥ 6♥ Q♣ 6♦ felted none of Tasaki’s overcards.

Mp Hsieh Yi Chun opened to 2,500, called by two players behind. Big blind Im Heesoo squeezed all-in and saw Hsieh call off for his stack with 5♥ 5♣ . Im is a huge favorite with T♦ T♣ , and claimed the win after the board J♦ 8♦ A♠ 4♠ 2♦ spared no fives.

Cutoff Richard Marquez opened to 3,000, joined by both players on the blinds on flop J♥ 4♥ 7♥ . Big blind Matsuda Michihiko led out a 6,000 bet, called by Marquez along with the small blind. On turn 2♥ , Matsuda fired another 5,000 followed by Marquez with a raise to 10,500 behind. Small blind folds and Matsuda shoves his 48,500 in, meriting no call from his opponent for the pot.

Utg opened, followed by a three bet to 6,500 from button Rick Jason Ambata. Big blind Park Jaehyung shoved all-in for 36,000 total and was called by Ambata with 6♥ 6♠ . Park at risk with A♣ Q♣ , was drawing slim after Ambata flopped a set on J♦ 6♦ K♦ T♠ 5♠ yet quickly bounced back as the turn awarded him a straight to take it down.

Utg+1 David Howard opened to 3,200, called by the hijack behind to see flop 9♠ T♦ 4♦ . Howard bet 6,000 and another barrel on the turn 2♦ , earning a call for his opponent’s remaining 13,500. Howard shows A♣ K♦ and is behind against two pair T♠ 2♠ . Lucky for him, the river 9♦ came another diamond to save him from the loss.

Mp Christopher Pasion opened to 2,000, called by small blind Luqman Alghanim. Flop came Q♣ J♦ 8♠ with Pasion firing a continuation bet of 3,000. Luqman clicked back to 6,000 and called off with J♣ 8♦ after Pasion moved all-in. Pasion is ahead with a better Q♠ J♣ yet was instantly crushed after the runout came 8♣ 9♣ to turn the tables. Luqman ships the pot with a full house for a full double up.

Mp Lee Hyeok opened and called off Oliver Duran’s shove with 9♦ 9♣ . Duran tables A♦ J♣ for a flip and was saved from elimination after the board ran 6♦ K♥ T♥ T♠ K♠ to counterfeit Lee’s pocket pair.

With an early open and three calls ahead, button John Dela Cruz squeezed all-in with his 17,800 stack and was called by Raymond Tiu with A♥ T♥ . Dela Cruz with 9♣ T♠ is behind and remained that way all through the river J♦ 2♠ T♦ 5♦ A♠ for his elimination.

A five way raised pot saw flop K♦ 8♥ 3♥ . Checked to the raiser, he bet 6,000, called by two opponents behind. Turn 9♠ was checked through, revealing river 4♠ . Checked to button Jonald Garcia, he bet 7,000 and shortly called a check raise to 15,000 from small blind Pham Van Tan. Garcia puts in the call and rakes it in with his K♥ J♠ , beating Pham’s K♣ T♦ for the win.

Mp Choi Jeongwook opened to 1,300 and was met with a three bet to 3,000 from button Kim Gwanwoo. Small blind shoved all-in for 12,200 total, followed by a push from Choi for his 13,400 stack. Kim makes the final call, covering both opponents for a three way showdown.

SB A♠ 6♥

Choi A♦ Q♣

Kim J♦ T♠

Board ran 9♣ Q♦ 6♦ 7♥ T♦ with Choi’s top pair good for the taking.

Utg Arvin Tamilsilvam opened to 1,600, called by two players after. Big blind Artem Iakumov put in a raise to 7,500 to which only Tamilsilvam found a call. Flop came 5♥ 2♦ 9♣ and saw Iakumov check call for 5,500. On turn 2♠ , Tamilsilvam fired a heftier 11,500 and Iakumov gives it up.

Facing an early open, small blind shoved his 18,000 stack in with 8♦ 8♣ and was called behind by big blind Tanaka Hideyaso with A♦ A♥ . A smashing spot for Tanaka, his rockets quickly landed him the win with no eights showing up on board 7♠ 7♦ 5♣ 6♣ J♠ .

Cutoff Yun Jaewon opened to 2,000 and saw both players on the blinds come along on flop 3♦ 5♦ 6♣ . Small blind Chong Zi Heng led for 4,500 and picked up the pot after none of his opponents found a call.

Hijack open shoved all-in for 14,000 with A♦ Q♣ , called by button Renniel Galvez. Small blind Lee Youngjun reshoved for 17,200 and Galvez puts in the final call.

Board ran T♣ K♠ 2♠ 7♦ 3♠ , earning Lee a nice boost for his pair of sevens.

Mp Juan Miguel Espino opened to 1,300, called by two players behind to reveal flop T♠ 3♥ 9♥ . Checked to button Paul Panganiban, he bet 5,000 and saw both opponents put in the call. Turn came another 3♠ and Espino led for 10,000. Hijack folds and Panganiban moves all-in for 900 more. Espino flicks it in, only to find his J♣ T♣ drawing dead against Panganiban’s quads 3♣ 3♦ .

With an open and a call in front of him, button Han Seung Hyuk fired a three bet to 5,500 and saw original raiser Michael Gabby Concepcion complete. Flop came 9♠ 8♦ K♠ and Han sent out a 4,500 bet. Concepcion quickly check folds and moves on to the next hand.

Cutoff opened to 1,000, followed by a three bet to 4,000 from button Dam Xuan Truong. Only the big blind Artem Iakumov finds a call and heads to flop 2♦ 9♥ 3♠ . Truong bets another 4,000, Iakumov with a check fold.

Utg+1 Alfredo Boligor opened the action, joined by three other players on flop 9♦ K♠ 2♦ . Boligor continued for 1,500, called behind by Sakui Sho and big blind Aihara Takayuki. On turn 6♣ , Boligor fired another 5,500 and was met with a raise to 14,000 from Sakui. Both opponents fold, earning Sakui the boost.

Hijack Federick Cruz opened to 1,200, called by big blind Masaki Sotaro. Flop came A♦ 6♣ 9♦ and Cruz continued for 1,500. Masaki puts in the call and heads to turn 7♠ . Cruz barreled another 2,000 and called a check raise from his opponent to 6,500. By river 7♦ , both stacks rushed to the middle with Cruz eventually revealing 9♣ 9♠ for a set to crush Masaki’s A♥ 8♠ .

Facing an early open and a call, small blind Dexter Santos pushed a three bet to 6,000 and was followed by an all-in for 29,500 from big blind Alessandro Taranto. No callers behind meant Taranto earned an additional 16 BB to his stack.

Following a utg limp, Lester Timonera bumped it up to 1,000, joined by Anthony Gapitan on the small blind along with the limper. Flop came 4♣ 2♥ A♠ and Timonera sent out a bet of 2,000. Gapitan makes the call and gets to showdown after no bets were collected on both turn 3♥ and river 8♦ . Gapitan shows A♦ 6♣ and Timonera mucks.

Aoki Yuta defended his big blind against Parsacalla Rodillo Jr’s 2,000 open and saw flop A♣ 9♥ T♥ . Parsacalla continued for 3,000, check raised by Aoki to 6,500. Parsacalla answered with another raise to 15,000 with Aoki continuing to turn K♣ . Parsacalla then pushed all-in for 17,500, Aoki with a check fold.

Four players headed to flop 6♦ K♥ 9♠ , led by raiser Duhan Lee. Big blind led for 1,600 with all other opponents putting in the call. Turn 8♣ was checked through, peeling river 4♥ . Checked to Lee, he bet 4,500, called by Pozdnyakov Andrey. Lee shows A♠ K♦ for top pair to claim the pot.

Utg+1 Verbruggen Tom Henricus opened to 1,000, called by a player behind. Button Chin Dickson fired a three bet to 4,500 and saw Verbruggen bump it up further to 11,500. Both opponents fold, earning Verbruggen the dead money in the middle.

Three way all-in preflop.

Board came 2♠ 5♦ 3♦ J♣ T♠

Utg opened and saw Winifred Obedoza a seat after, fire a three bet to 3,000. Button Artem Iakumov cold calls, followed by a squeeze all-in for 19,900 total from small blind Seongbae Han. Obedoza and Artem call for their stacks for a three way showdown.

Board ran 8♦ 4♣ 6♣ 3♦ 5♣ , earning Artem the pot with his overpair while sending both opponents out of the Main Event flight.

Hijack Ireneo Javalera opened the action to 800, called by the button. Small blind Monziar Villariaza chucked out a three bet to 3,000 and saw only Javalera continue to flop 3♠ A♥ Q♠ . Villariaza bet 2,500, called by his opponent. Both players checked turn K♣ and river 6♥ through and revealed Javalera’s K♣ Q♣ for the win against Villariaza’s J♣ J♦ .

Utg Chung Ju Won opened and called a 4,000 three bet from Yoshida Shintaro behind. On flop Q♥ 6♠ 3♣ , Chung bet 15,000 and saw Yoshida move all-in for 38,700. Chung makes the call with A♦ Q♠ and is crushed against his opponent’s monster K♠ K♦ . No help arrived on either turn 6♦ or river 9♠ , leaving Chung to fork over the pot.

Warm up winner Liao Po Hsun fired a 3,000 three bet against utg Leonard Aban’s open and moved on to flop A♠ 2♦ Q♥ . Aban led for 2,500 and another 6,000 on turn J♥ . Liao called two streets with both players checking the river T♦ for showdown. Aban reveals A♦ T♥ , no good against Liao’s better two pair A♥ J♣ .

Another four way raised pot headed to flop 5♥ T♥ 5♣ . Checked to Oh Kyu II, he sent out a 1,500 bet, called by Park Chang behind. Turn 3♦ saw Oh barrel another 1,500 and call a raise to 3,500 shortly from his opponent. On river T♦ , Chang bet 4,300, Oh with a check fold.

Utg Muir Albert Jr defended his open against Aoki Yuta’s 3,600 three bet and saw flop J♣ 6♠ 6♥ . Muir led for 3,000, called by Aoki. On turn 3♠ , Muir check called for 6,000 and a final 6,000 on river T♥ . Aoki shows K♣ K♦ , good against Muir’s Q♥ Q♠ .

A four way raised pot saw flop 7♠ 3♥ 4♦ . Checked to cutoff Oliver Duran, he shoved his remaining 9,800 in with 3♦ 4♥ and was called by Alfredo Boligor with 6♣ 6♦. Way ahead, Duran bagged the double up after the turn K♣ and river J♦ sealed the win for Duran.

Button Oliver Duran opened to 800, joined by small blind Aihara Takayuki on flop 4♣ Q♥ K♥ . Aihara led for 1,000 and was met with a raise to 3,700 from Duran. Aihara answered with an all-in for 15,500, called by his opponent.

Aihara A♣ K♦

Duran A♥ T♥

Up against a combo draw, Aihara’s flopped top pair held for the win after the runout A♦ 8♦ bricked for Duran.

Utg+1 Takagi Sakae opened to 600, called by button and big blind Eum Joong Hoon. On flop 6♠ J♠ T♦ , Takagi continued for 500, called behind by the button. Action on Eum, he fired a check raise to 2,400 with only Takagi continuing to turn A♥ . Eum bet all-in for 15,300 and claimed the pot following a fold from the original raiser.

Utg Aihara Takayuki defended her open vs Alfredo Boligor’s 800 three bet and headed to flop 9♣ Q♠ 3♦ . Boligor continued for 600, check called by his opponent. Turn 9♠ went check check, urging Aihara to lead 1,000 on river 5♣ . Boligor bumped it up to 3,000 and shipped the pot after Aihara failed to complete.

Utg+2 opened to 800, called by button Oh Kyu II and big blind Koon Manhei Jason. Flop K♣ K♥ J♥ was checked to Oh who bet 1,500. Both players continued to turn 9♥ where Oh fired another 3,000. This time only Koon made the call and headed to river 10d . Koon opted for a final check call for 6,000, only to muck after Oh revealed Q♦ J♠ .

Hijack Won Grael opened to 400, called by button Hoshi Keigo. Flop came 8♣ T♥ 4♠ and saw Won continue for 500. Hoshi makes the call and gets to showdown after the turn 5♣ and river T♠ were checked through. Won shows A♠ 3♥ , Hoshi with a muck.

Action began with a limp, followed by a raise to 500 from cutoff Peter Steiner. Small blind Thomas Lamb comes along and limper folds, revealing flop J♠ T♠ 6♥ . Both players check it through with Lamb leading out 500 on turn 6♦ . Steiner calls yet gave it up shortly after Lamb fired a final 1,800 on river J♦ .

Utg+1 Kao Sze Ngai opened to 600 and was joined by four other players on flop 6♣ 9♠ T♥ . Checked to Kao, he continued for 2,600. Hijack Lee Han Sic threw in a raise to 4,000 to which only the raiser completed. On turn J♠ , Kao was left pulling a check fold after Lee moved all-in.

Facing a utg open and two calls, big blind Seiya Nagumo fired a three bet to 1,100 and saw only the button behind complete. On flop 8♠ 2♥ K♥ , Seiya led for 2,600 and picked up the pot after his opponent folded.

The 20th Edition of the Manila Super Series Main Event runs its final two flights on schedule today, the first one Flight C kicking off at 1pm. Entering players begin with a stack of 30,000, equivalent to 300 times the opening blinds. Blinds increase every 30 minutes with registration closing at the start of Level 11 (approximately 8:20pm). From there, the flight plays down to ITM of 15% of the field.

Dates: May 29 to June 2, 2024

Buy in: PHP 20,000 (~USD 350)

Guarantee: PHP 10,000,000 (~USD 171,800)

ITM: 15% of the field

From the two concluded flights, a collective 85 survivors have qualified for a spot into the Day 2 games. The PHP 10 Million guarantee was surpassed early across Flight B with this season’s Main Event festivities poised to breach a new MSS record prize pool. A final Turbo Flight will also hit the felt at a later 6pm in the evening, allowing players to fire a last minute entry.

In addition to the juicy payouts, the top two finishers of the Main Event will receive an APPT Manila Main Event Package – seat and accommodation, valued at PHP 120,000 (~USD 2,090) taken from the prize pool.

Somuchpoker will be onsite from start to finish.