Manila Megastack 20: Jeffrey Ponce Kills Two Aces With One King To Win Mystery Bounty

On a swingy final three, Filipino player Jeffrey Ponce knocked out two players simultaneously to win the Manila Megastack 20 Mystery Bounty. This was Ponce’s first tracked live win and largest score of ₱360,000. He also drew a combined ₱67,000 in bounties for a grand total payout of ₱427,000 (~US$ 7,270).

In a post win interview, the newly minted Ponce shared,

“I am very happy to win this event. I did not expect to have this much success during this tournament. There were a lot of obstacles and good players that joined.”

During three three handed, Ponce’s stack swung, and shared his strategy to overcome his opponents,

“I only played a few good hands but the number one factor for me was ‘timing’. I also based my actions on their facial expressions. In the final hand, I knew they had aces in their hands so I was confident. My hands had a lot of outs and opportunities to win.” 

[Translated from Tagalog by Blaise De Leon]

After a three-way ICM deal with Ponce ahead in the count, he went on to knockout the last two players in a single hand with K♥10♥ spiking a king to deny the A♦J♣ and A♣9♠. Here are the final 9 payouts.

Manila Megastack 20 Mystery Bounty

The Manila Megastack 20 Mystery Bounty ran from December 1 to 3, 2024 at Okada Manila in the Philippines. A crowd of 193 turned up across two flights for prize pool of ₱3,294,896 (~US$ 56,100). On the final day, 30 players returned, each one guaranteed to money and on the hunt for the biggest bounty.

Mystery Bounty Review

• Date: December 1 to 3, 2024
• Guarantee:₱2,000,000 (~US$ 34,000)
• Entries: 193
• Prize pool: ₱3,294,896 (~US$ 56,100)
• ITM: 30 players

Masayuki Suzuki Draws Biggest Bounty

The luckiest player of the day was Japan’s Masayuki Suzuki who drew the largest bounty prize of ₱250,000 on his single bounty ticket. Suzuki finished 18th for a total of ₱284,000 (~US$ 4,835).

Francisco Sanchez Biggest Earner

Francisco Sanchez may not have taken down the title however he did collect a mountain of bounties amounting to a whopping ₱402,000. When combined with his ₱267,500 ICM payout, he earned ₱669,500 (~US$ 11,400) in cash making him the biggest earner of the tournament.

Jeffrey Ponce Wins The Mystery Bounty Title

Entering the final day as fifth in chips, Jeffrey Ponce continued to chip up throughout the day, making it to the final table wedged in the middle. He eliminated Yuki Nishio in 8th place was a big break, then induced a bluff with top pair against Michael De Leon to extend his lead then later eliminate De Leon in 4th place to enter the three-way deal with more chips than 2nd and 3rd combined. After an ICM deal, Ponc’s double elimination stole the spotlight and the glory.

For runner up Michael Cerbito his a great run closed in 2nd for ₱282,500 from the regular prize pool and an additional ₱41,000 in bounties and 3rd place Francisco Sanchez, who was extremely active from the get go taking home ₱267,500 from the deal and six bounties worth a whopping ₱402,000, making him the biggest winner of the day.

For more on the action, read up via the SMP Live Updates.

Links:

MM 20 – Schedule 
MM 20 – Live Updates
MM 20 – Photo Gallery