Things sometimes take a bit longer in the Cebu.
It’s a vacation location that runs on vacation time. Scheduled times are constantly pushed back and when there’s a “5-minute wait” you can expect to be waiting for at least 10 minutes. A simple to-go order of just chocolate cake can require three different people and at least two mixups.
But while things may take a little longer, they’re well worth the wait. If you’re waiting to go to a beach, the second you get there will make you forget about anything else that isn’t the beautiful paradise in front of you. When the creamy, perfectly chilled cake with chocolate in all different states of matter jumps on the tastebuds, the world is good.
It’s a part of island life. The people are so happy enjoying their lives they don’t mind waiting around. But there’s something that’s been breaking that island tradition. APPT Cebu has been flying by. While the days have been short, the action has been incessant.
We got down to our final table quicker tan expected and now, during the first level and-a-half of play, we’ve nearly halved our final table. We started the day with 32 minutes and 54 seconds left in Level 18, and by the time the last few seconds ticked off Level 19, we were down to five players.
The person responsible for the change of pace in this poker kingdom is Jae Kyung “Simba” Sim.
The first three eliminations were rapid-fire ones. Within the first 30 minutes of play we lost three players. The first to go was Andrew Nguyen. Nguyen started the day slightly below average with 316,000 and then lost about 120,000 to Jim Collopy in one of the first hands of the day.
Then he lost the rest of his chips. Simba raised from under-the-gun, people called and Nguyen moved all-in from the small blind. Simba called, everyone folded and Nguyen showed A♠Q♦ for his tournament life.
Simba raised A♥ K♦ into the sky and the tournament sparrows flew by.
The board brought all low cards and our first elimination. Andrew Nguyen was out in 9th and earned PHP 350,000.
Then our teeny stack would go a few minutes later. Michael Allmrodt was down to 28,000 and put it all-in. Daniel Spence and Simba called, bringing a 3♥ Q♦ 8♠. Both players checked, bringing a 7♠and more checks. There was a 9♣ on the river and more checks.
Allmrodt showed K♠6♠for not much, Spence had low cards but paired his three and Simba had a Q♣ to pair the Q♦ on the flop. Allmrodt finished 8th for PHP 458,000.
The sparrows circled around Simba’s head and his ascent continued.
Then the lion king did it again. He banished the Turkish businessman from his kingdom. Timo Kohijoki moved all-in for 88,000 and Simba called, turning over A♥ 10â™ and dominating Kohijoki’s J♥ 10♣ .
Simba was ahead and the board didn’t improve either players hand. Kohijoki became our 7th place finisher and will get PHP 564,000 for his efforts.
Just like that we were down to six. Level 19 started a few minutes later and we got one more elimination before the break.
Can you guess who did it? We’ll give you a hint: Every chip the felt touches is his kingdom. Simba remained the sole executioner at the final table when he eliminated Hyunshik Yun. Simba was already up to about 1 million and way in the lead when Yun was eliminated.
Daniel Spence started the battle. He raised to 24,000 and then Simba made it 94,000 from the small blind. Yun was in the big blind and decided to challenge Simba to a duel. Yun moved all-in for 400,000, Spence folded and Simba called. Yun showed A♣ K♦ but Simba turned over A♦ A♥ .
The J♠5♠7♦ 4♣ 3♠brought zero help for Yun and he was eliminated in 6th place, earning PHP 705,000.
Simba is now up to about 1.5 million. Yesterday Jim Collopy dominated the field with his reign of queso, but now Simba has come to reclaim the kingdom.
For more live updates on APPT Cebu, check out our live-updates page.
Alexander Villegas apologizes for his puns at the PokerStars Blog.
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