Friday, 29th March 2024 12:59
Home / Uncategorized / Yasutake Oka wins first major title taking down Manila Megastack 10 Main Event for ₱2,562,000

Japan’s Yasutake Oka battled back from close to a 1:3 chip deficit against the Philippines’ Martin Gonzales to take the Manila Megastack Main Event title, trophy and the equivalent of US$48,500, which includes a ₱100,000 package to APPT Manila.

Manila Megastack 10 Champion Yasutake Oka

MAIN EVENT RESULTS

Heads-up between the pair saw Oka go for it early and climb into the lead after chipping away at his opponent before both players took it in turns to get it in behind. Both times the player with the dominated hand caught the perfect card to re-take the lead.

However, after 30-minutes of action-packed heads-up play, Oka held a narrow lead of 6.3 million to Gonzales’ 6.2 million. The Filipino moved all-in from the button with ten-nine offsuit and was beaten into the pot by Oka, who had woken up with pocket tens. The pair held to grant Oka his largest ever career score, more than quadrupling his previous live winnings.

Manila Megastack 10 Final Table (l-r in seat order) Martin Gonzales, Harsh Dembla, Yasutake Oka, Marius Zalpys, Jessie Supmet, Joachim Chia, Flo Campomanes, Rob Glasspool, Siyoung Lee

Gonzales took home ₱1,542,000 for his runner-up finish, with a total of 50 players cashing for a share of the ₱10,921,230 prize pool.

The final table was wrapped up in a little under four and a half hours, with Siyoung Lee coming in with the chip lead. The Korean player lost a big early pot to Gonzales and then got outflopped by the UK’s Rob Glasspool for a chunky pot that saw the latter, holding pocket tens, flop a set and improve to quads, cracking Lee’s pocket kings in the process.

It was Harsh Dembla who became the first final table casualty, with the Indian player running pocket jacks into the kings of Oka to drop down to a sixth of a big blind. Despite spinning this up to two big blinds, Dembla could not recover and departed shortly afterwards at the hands of Lee when his ace-king was outdrawn by the Koreans’ queen-jack. Dembla took ₱243,000 for his ninth place finish.

The Philippines’ Jessie Supmet was next out the following level, busting to fellow countryman Flo Campomanes in a three-way hand also featuring Malaysia’s Joachim Chia. Supmet’s king-nine suited proved no match for Campomane’s ace-queen, with the latter also earning a double through Chia on an ace-high board when the pair got all their chips in on the turn. Supmet made ₱298,000 for eighth.

Minutes later Marius Zalpys departed at the hands of Campomanes, the Lithuanian’s shove with nine-eight suited running into the Filipino’s pocket kings. Zalpys took ₱354,230 for seventh.

That pot shot Campomanes near the top of the counts, but the next elimination minutes later saw Lee climb back into contention after railing Chia with the Malaysian’s king-queen suited unable to overcome the Korean’s ace-ten. Chai took home ₱433,000 for sixth.

Lee’s comeback did not last however and he departed at the hands of Gonzales after shoving the small blind with king-ten suited and running into the Filipino’s pocket jacks. Lee claimed ₱541,000 for fifth and Gonzales took the chip lead.

A massive hand between Gonzales and fellow big stack Glasspool saw the Brit seize a commanding lead and over 50% of the chips in play before play paused for a break.

When the tournament resumed, Flo Campomanes became the next casualty, running pocket nines into the tens of Gonzales to hit the rail in fourth for ₱730,500.

Glasspool and Gonzales tangled in numerous pots, with the latter finally coming out on top and seizing the lead once more. The Brit tried to make a comeback but was left short after his ace-queen suited was outdrawn by Oka’s king-nine suited and Glasspool departed not long after, falling at the hands of Gonzales. Glasspool locked up ₱952,500 for third.

A total of 90 players returned for Day 2 with the bubble reached and breached before the first break, the unlucky Peter Plater getting it in good against Gonzales pre-flop, but losing out to the Filipino’s runner, runner flush to bring the 50 remaining players into the money.

Peter Plater’s exit guaranteed the remaining field a ₱48,500 payday

Notables to depart shy of the cash spots included reigning Asia Player of the Year Mike Takayama and Hong Kong’s Vincent Li, who both busted well before the bubble.

Notables to cash but come up short of the final table included Sweden’s Roger Spets (50th for ₱48,500) PokerStars LIVE Manila regular Anthony Abram (49th for ₱48,500), Norway’s Kai Paulsen (36th for ₱59,500), the USA’s Steve Cody (24th for ₱81,000) and the UK’s Hassen Judeh (11th for ₱162,000). Singapore’s Jie Chew narrowly missed out on making the final table, busting in 10th for ₱190,000.

You can veiw the Main Event Official Results here.

That concludes the PokerStars Blog live coverage for the tenth instalment of the Manila Megastack, we hope you enjoyed reading about all the poker action as much as we did writing about it. Feel free to read all the action as it happened below. Until the next time.

0:20am: Martin Gonzales eliminated in 2nd place (₱1,542,000)
Level 34 – Blinds 150,000/300,000 (BB ante 300,000)

Martin Gonzales

There was a ridiculous amount of action with the 15-minutes played of level 34 proving all that was needed to bring things to a close. A lot happened in that quarter of an hour, with the chip lead changing hands again, both players coming from behind to narrowly avoid elimination by catching the perfect card at the perfect time.

Yasutake Oka almost closed it out on the first hand played with Martin Gonzales shoving the button with A6 and the Japanese player making a quick call with A8.

The Japanese and Filipino rails crowded around and both players were on their feet as the sweaty 475 flop hit the table to give Gonzales a straight draw, though Oka held one of his outs.

It didn’t matter though, with the 8 turn putting Gonzales in front and the 5 river saw the local rail go nuts as the Filipino doubled to re-take the lead and climb to 9 million – close to what he entered play with – with Oka dropping to 3.5 million.

The next hand saw Oka jam the button, this time with A8 and Gonzales snapped him off with AQ. Again both players rails competed to see who could out-scream each other – we’d call it a draw.

What was not a draw was the hand, which Oka took down when the board ran out KK8J4 to double the Japanese player to 7 million to Gonzales’ 5.5 million, giving Oka the lead once more.

The next hand it was all over. Gonzales moved all-in from the button and Oka called extremely quickly, flipping over 1010 and from the grimace on the his face, this was not a good thing for the Filipino, who turned over the dominated 109.

Volume from both rails reached deafening proportions and the crowd, sensing the end was nigh, pressed closer.

The final run out came 5Q7A8 to lock up the win for Oka, who was hoisted high by his Japanese supporters. When he was grounded, Oka came over to shake Gonzales’ hand before celebrating wildly with his fellow countrymen. Gonzales was gracious in defeat, congratulating Oka on the win before heading off to collect the ₱1,542,000 runner-up prize money.

0:10am: Oka in front
Level 34 – Blinds 150,000/300,000 (BB ante 300,000)

Blinds have climbed and Japan’s Yasutake Oka has proved to be a tough heads-up opponent, digging deep and fighting it out for quite a few pots to take the lead.

The pair took it in turns to swap blinds and antes and of the 15 hands played on level 33, Oka won nine of them, including the only two that made it to showdown.

It was the last pot that proved the most expensive one though and aptly ended the level. Oka made it 550,000 to go on the button with Martin Gonzales making the call.

Gonzales checked the Q72 flop over to Oka, who continuation bet 500,000 and got called. The 9 turn saw both players check, with Gonzales choosing to take a stab on the 9 river for 1 million.

Oka did not take long to make the call, with Gonzales turning over K4 for king-high. While that was leading pre-flop, Oka’s K2 had made the best hand and that pot put him in front with 7.5 million to Gonzales’ 5 million.

23:52pm: The final stretch
Level 33 – Blinds 100,000/250,000 (BB ante 250,000)

Heads up with Yasutake Oka (left) and Martin Gonzales

There was talk of a deal, but none materialised so it will be the Philippines’ Martin Gonzales bringing in the chip lead, sitting on 9,280,000 to Yasutake Oka’s 3,230,000.

Cards are now back in the air, so let’s see if the hometown hero can close out the win, or if the visiting team can cause an upset.

11:30pm: Robert Glasspool eliminated in 3rd place (₱952,500)
Level 33 – Blinds 100,000/250,000 (BB ante 250,000)

Rob Glasspool

The UK’s Rob Glasspool could not quite manage to come back after taking that brutal beat at the hands of Yasutake Oka earlier, despite doubling up the hand after.

The end came not long after, with Glasspool shoving the button and Martin Gonzales making the call from the small blind.

Rob Glasspool: Q4
Martin Gonzales: A8

Gonzales stayed in front the whole way, locking up the hand on the turn with the runout coming J22AJ to bring the field down to two. Glasspool shook both opponent’s hands and headed to the cash desk to collect ₱952,500 and the clock was paused for the obligatory heads-up photo.

11:20pm: Oka outdraws Glasspool who takes from Gonzales
Level 33 – Blinds 100,000/250,000 (BB ante 250,000)

There was a slight lull after the blinds climbed before an explosion of action saw a lot of chips change hands in two back-to-back pots with Rob Glasspool involved in both.

In the first the Brit jammed the button with AQ to send Yasutake Oka deep into thought, though he would eventually choose to roll the dice and make the call for his tournament life with K9.

While Glasspool paired his queen on the flop, the Japanese player got there on the turn with the 6Q4K3 runout proving a brutal one for the Brit, dropping him down to 600,000. Oka stacked up to 4 million after that timely catch.

The next hand Glasspool was all-in pre-flop with 1010 and up against the J9 of Martin Gonzales. The 34K flop kept the Brit in the lead, with the 10 turn giving him a set. The 4 river saw Glasspool climb back to around 1.25 million.

11:05pm: Gonzales takes lead
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000/200,000 (BB ante 200,000)

The last hand of level 32 saw Rob Glasspool and Martin Gonzales battle once more, with Glasspool making it 440,000 on the button and Gonzales three-betting to 980,000 from the small blind.

While Yasutake Oka took his time about it, the Japanese player eventually folded and Glasspool made the call to swell the pot to over 2 million.

The 638 flop saw Gonzales fire for 700,000 and Glasspool thought it over for a while before sliding out the call to swell the pot to ~3.5 million.

The 8 turn paired the board and Gonzales eyed up his opponent before deciding to pull the trigger. Glasspool sat back in his chair and did not look happy, eventually giving it up to drop to 2.6 million and leaving Gonzales to rake in the giant pot, climbing to 8 million and taking the chip lead.

10:55pm: Double for Gonzales
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000/200,000 (BB ante 200,000)

Rob Glasspool had been applying the pressure, winning four of the last nine hands played, none of which made it to showdown to increase his lead.

However, on the tenth hand back after the break Martin Gonzales managed to earn himself a double at Glasspool’s expense. It was the Brit who pulled the trigger first, moving all-in from the small blind with Gonzales thinking it over for a minute before choosing to risk it all.

Rob Glasspool: Q5
Martin Gonzales: KJ

The Filipino had a slight edge and paired his jack on the JA9 flop. Glasspool picked up an open-ended straight draw on the 10 turn but a queen now would give Gonzales the straight. The J river saw Gonzales lock in the double and climb to 4.85 million, Yasutake Oka has 1.8 million and Glasspool has 5.86 million.

10:35pm: Break
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000/200,000 (BB ante 200,000)

Blinds have climbed once more but the clock has been paused for a short five-minute break. Martin Gonzales pushed Rob Glasspool off a hand to increase his stack just before they headed off.

When the trio return Rob Glasspool will still hold the lead with 6,001,000, Gonzales has 3,650,000 and Yasutake Oka has 2,859,000.

10:20pm: Glasspool gets value
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000/160,000 (BB ante 160,000)

We missed the pre-flop betting but picked up the action on the turn in a hand featuring Rob Glasspool and Martin Gonzales as the two battled in the blinds. With the board reading 2395 and around 1.2 million in the pot both players checked.

The 4 river saw Glasspool lead for a pot-sized 1.2 million and Gonzales looked him up, but could only fold when the Brit rolled over 66.

“Nice hand.” said Gonzales graciously as the pot was shipped Glasspools way to chip him up further. Glasspool is now on 8.3 million or so, with Yasutake Oka on 2.4 million and Gonzales on 1.7 million.

10:14pm: Double double for Oka
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000/160,000 (BB ante 160,000)

Japan’s Yasutake Oka is still the short stack but has managed two double ups in consecutive orbits, both times through the UK’s Rob Glasspool.

In the first Oka jammed from the small blind for close to 600,000 with Q2 with the Glasspool making the call with 910. While the Brit flopped top two on the 9108 flop, Oka hit the J turn to make a straight and the A river saw him double to 1.2 million.

The next orbit Oka got this in from the small blind with AK and Glasspool looked him up with 88 and it was off to the races. The Q7K59 runout was a good one for the man with the overcards, and Oka stacked up to 2.4 million and while he’s still the short stack, he now has some more breathing room.

10:02pm: Flo Campomanes eliminated in 4th place (₱730,500 )
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000/120,000 (BB ante 120,000)

Flo Campomanes

With just minutes to spare before the end of the level there was a sudden burst of action that resulted in the final table’s two remaining Filipino’s battling it out, resulting in Flo Campomanes hitting the rail.

It was a bit of a setup hand if we’re honest, especially considering the size of the blinds in relation to stacks, with Rob Glasspool the only player who can be considered deep stacked.

Campomanes jammed for around 900,000 from the cutoff and Martin Gonzales made a speedy call from the small blind.

“Really?” queried Yasutake Oka standing up and looking incredulous. Oka rechecked his cards and then grudgingly mucked, telling the two he folded pocket eights.

It was a good thing he did as these would have been behind to Campomanes’ 99, which were trailing to Gonzales’ 1010.

The watching rail crowded around and both players were on their feet. It was Gonzales who hit the flop though, spiking a set with the runout coming 410JJK.

Campomanes shook everyone’s hand and gracefully headed for the cash desk to pick up the ₱730,500 fourth-place prize money, Gonzales stacked up to a little over 4 million and the final table is now down to three.

9:50pm: Lots of shoving
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000/120,000 (BB ante 120,000)

So far, 13 hands have been played since the break, only two of which saw a flop dealt, and only one of those made it to showdown.

Of course, this was an anti-climatic chop with Flo Campomanes shoving A6 into Yasutake Oka’s big blind with the latter calling with A6 and both missing the board by miles.

Rob Glasspool still holds the lead, extending slightly to 7.4 million, with Martin Gonzales the next biggest stack on 3 million. Oka (1 million) and Campomanes (900,000) are the shorties.

9:18pm: Glasspool pushes off Gonzales
Level 29 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (BB ante 100,000)

A monster pot played out between big stacks Rob Glasspool and Martin Gonzales that saw the clock paused so it would not eat into the break.

It was another battle of the blinds, with Glasspool pumping it up to 280,000 from the small blind and Gonzales flat calling the big blind.

The 3104 flop saw the Brit load up a barrel and fire out a 350,000 continuation bet, which the Filipino again flat called to swell the pot to over 1.2 million.

All the fireworks happened on the 10 turn, which saw Glasspool shoot a second barrel of 750,000. Gonzales re-raised to 1.75 million in total and Glasspool pulled the trigger for a further 2.06 million to send Gonzales deep into the think tank. It was a lengthy visit and Gonzales looked pained over the decision. Eventually though, he gave it up leaving Glasspool free to scoop the massive pot and climb into a commanding lead of 7.3 million.

The four remaining players are on break for 10-minutes with the other three stacking up as follows:

Martin Gonzales: 2.05 million
Yasutake Oka: 1.4 million
Flo Campomanes: 1.4 million

9:08pm: Siyoung Lee eliminated in 5th place (₱541,000 )
Level 29 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (BB ante 100,000)

Siyoung Lee

Korea’s Siyoung Lee had an up and down final table but his time there has come to an end. Lee and nemesis Martin Gonzales got into it in a battle of the blinds, and it was one the Filipino player would win convincingly.

Action folded around to Lee in the small blind and he completed before Gonzales juiced it up to 700,000. Lee shoved for 2.1 million and was beaten into the pot by Gonzales and the cards went on their backs.

Siyoung Lee: K10
Martin Gonzales: JJ

Gonzales held the lead on the 57A flop, improving to a set on the J turn and for the second time this final table a player made quads, with the case J coming in on the river. After stacks were counted down Lee found out some more bad news, Gonzales had him covered and he headed off the cage to collect ₱541,000, while Gonzales stacked up to 4.3 million – which puts him in the lead.

8:45pm: Joachim Chia eliminated in 6th place (₱433,000)
Level 29 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (BB ante 100,000)

Joachim Chia

The bust outs are coming thick and fast now with the rising blinds and antes increasing the pressure on all the remaining players.

The latest man to feel the heat was Joachim Chia and tt was Korea’s Siyoung Lee the man to send Chia crashing out, opening the action pre-flop and then calling the Malaysian’s big blind shove.

Joachim Chia: KQ
Siyoung Lee: A10

Lee paired his ten on the 998104 runout to chip up to 2.41 million, while Chia wished the rest of the table the best of luck and bowed out gracefully, ₱433,000 better off for his sixth place finish.

8:35pm: Marius Zalpys eliminated in 7th place (₱354,230)
Level 28 – Blinds 40,000/80,000 (BB ante 80,000)

Marius Zalpys

Less than five minutes after Supnet’s departure and the final table was reduced to six. Marius Zalpys moved all-in pre-flop but found no customers so took the blinds and antes.

However, when he did this for the second hand in a row, Flo Campomanes made the call from the hi-jack. Both blinds folded and Zalpys, holding the speculative 98 found himself in trouble against Campomanes KK.

The devil’s flop of 666 saw Zalpys on his feet and packing his stuff, with the Lithuanian drawing dead on the Q turn. The K river improved Campomanes to a bigger boat, just to rub it in, and he stacked up to 2.9 million, while Zalpys headed for the cash desk to collect ₱354,230.

8:30pm: Jessie Supnet eliminated in 8th place (₱298,000 )
Level 28 – Blinds 40,000/80,000 (BB ante 80,000)

Jessie Supmet

Jessie Supnet’s time at the final table is over, courtesy of Flo Campomanes, who also took a big bite out of Joachim Chia’s stack in the process.

Supnet moved all-in pre-flop for 318,000 from the cutoff and Chia flat called the button. This sent Campomanes into the think tank, where he remained for a minute or so before sliding out the call, leaving himself 452,000 behind.

Both live players in the hand checked the 559 flop, with Campomanes shoving the A turn and Chia tossing in a single 50k brown chip to represent the call and the cards were turned over.

Jessie Supnet: K9
Joachim Chia: A10
Flo Campomanes: AQ

Campomanes had Chia outkicked and the river did not change that fact. Supnet busted in 8th for ₱298,000, Chia dropped down to 1.1 million and Campomanes climbed to ~2 million.

8:10pm: Harsh Dembla eliminated in 9th place (₱243,000)
Level 27 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (BB ante 60,000)

Harsh Dembla

India’s Harsh Dembla did not get to enjoy his newly won chips for long, running pocket jacks into the pocket kings of Japan’s Yasutake Oka to hit the danger zone with a paltry 11,000 left after the hand.

Despite spinning this back up to 117,000 the very next hand after hitting trips queens with Q10 in hand, the following hand it was all over.

Dembla found AK with which to make a stand the very next hand, finding callers in Oka and Rob Glasspool, before Siyoung Lee squeezed all-in for 900,000 from the small blind.

Both Oka and Glasspool folded and Lee turned over QJ. The 1042J9 runout spelt the end of the road for Dembla with Lee pairing his jack and hitting the rail in 9th for a ₱243,000 payday, while Lee stacked up to 1.2 million.

7:55pm: Double for Supnet, triple for Dembla
Level 27 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (BB ante 60,000)

Players are getting the chips in with increasing frequency. Two beneficiaries of all this action are Jessie Supnet and Harsh Dembla.

It was Supnet the man to shove first, moving all-in from under-the-gun for 259,000 and getting looked up by neighbour Joachim Chia and it was off to the races.

Jessie Supnet: 33
Joachim Chia: AQ

Supnet spiked a set in the window, with the runout coming 321094 and doubled to 530,000, while Chia dropped down to 2 million.

A couple of hands later a similar scenario played out with Dembla moving all-in for his last 130,000 or so. Yasutake Oka flat called the button, before Marius Zalpys gave Dembla some protection and re-shoved from the blinds.

Oka folded and this time it was Dembla with the crabs 33 and Zalpys with the big chick AQ. While the Indian player did not hit a set, the 510J92 run out saw his pair hold and he climbed to 600,000 or so, while Zalpys dropped to 500,000.

7:45pm: Level up
Level 27 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (BB ante 60,000)

Blinds have climbed and all nine finalists are still in action. The UK’s Rob Glasspool in in the lead with a stack of 3 million, with Martin Gonzales giving some chips back to Siyoung Lee. Gonzales is second in the counts with 2.7 million, followed by Malaysia’s Joachim Chia (2.2 million). Lee has climbed back up to 2 million.

7:30pm: Glasspool makes a monster
Level 26 – Blinds 25,000/50,000 (BB ante 50,000)

Things are not going Siyoung Lee’s way, though this last hand proved to be a brutal cooler for the Korean, with the UK’s Rob Glasspool handing out a nasty beat.

All the chips went in pre-flop with Glasspool pulling the trigger for 1.3 million from the cutoff with 1010 only to see Lee snap call with KK.

Before both players revealed their hands, big blind Harsh Dembla had a decision, open-folding AQ and leaving the pair to get on with it.

Dembla was rewarded for his solid play when the flop fell QA10 to give Glasspool a set, much to Lee’s displeasure. Further salt was rubbed into the wound with the Brit improving to quads on the 10 turn. The river was a meaningless J and Glasspool climbed to 2.8 million while Lee dropped to 820,000.

7:15pm: Gonzales picks off Lee
Level 26 – Blinds 25,000/50,000 (BB ante 50,000)

While Siyoung Lee might have come into the final table with the chip lead, that is not the case now. The Korean player was using his monster stack with all the subtly of a club and got into a big pot against Martin Gonzales.

We missed the pre-flop action, picking things up on a flop of A57. Gonzales was the pre-flop aggressor, with Lee checking from the big blind. The Filipino bet 75,000 on the flop, which was close to half pot, with Lee choosing to check-raise to 185,000.

After some time in the tank, Gonzales made the call with the 4 turn bringing in a possible flush. Both players checked and the dealer peeled off the 4 river.

Now Lee reached for chips, cutting out a big stack of blue 10k chips for a bet of 300,000 and Gonzales did not take long to make the call.

Lee rolled over 98 for a missed gutterball and Gonzales tabled QQ to scoop the chunky pot to climb to 2.8 million and chip leader, while Lee dropped to 2.42 million.

7:10pm: The Final Table
Level 26 – Blinds 25,000/50,000 (BB ante 50,000)

Manila Megastack 10 Final Table

The 417-strong Manila Megastack 10 Main Event field has been whittled down to the final nine players. The man in the lead is Korea’s Siyoung Lee who will be bringing in a stack of 3.05 million with the rest of the table as follows:

Seat 1: Martin Gonzales (Philippines) – 2,326,000
Seat 2: Harsh Dembla (India) – 476,000
Seat 3: Yasutake Oka (Japan) – 1,026,000
Seat 4: Marius Zalpys (Lithuania) – 751,000
Seat 5: Jessie Supnet (Philippines) – 494,000
Seat 6: Joachim Chia (Malaysia) – 2,226,000
Seat 7: Flo Campomane (Philippines) – 752,000
Seat 8: Rob Glasspool (UK) – 1,406,000
Seat 9: Siyong Lee (Korea) – 3,056,000

The blinds have been rolled back to 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante and cards are now in the air.

6:50pm: Final Table is set
Level 27 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (BB ante 60,000)

Hassen Judeh enjoyed a deep run but came up short of the final table, moving the last of his chips in pre-flop with ace-seven and running into the ace-jack of Marius Zalpys. A jack-high flop saw Judeh depart in 11th place for ₱162,000.

Singapore’s Jie Chew fell less than an orbit later, hitting the rail in 10th for ₱190,000 to set up the final nine. Counts to follow shortly so watch this space. All nine remaining finalists are now on a 10-minute break

6:40pm: Dembla and Lee one-two punch Yamashita, Lee gets Siyo
Level 27 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (BB ante 60,000)

Harsh Dembla

There are now 12 players left in contention following the departure of Japan’s Hiroshi Yamashita. It was not a quick end for the Japanese player, but the loss of two coin flips around an orbit apart brought his tournament to and end.

The first flip was against Harsh Dembla, who moved all-in from the cutoff over the top of a Yamashita early position open. Yamashita made the call and Dembla was the at-risk player.

The poker gods were in a generous mood however, at least for Dembla with the flop falling 8K5 to give the Indian player a set, which improved to quads by the river. Dembla climbed to 450,000 while Yamashita dropped to 510,000.

An orbit later this was in the middle following an early position open from Siyoung Lee. Yamashita jammed from the big blind for ~500,000 and Lee made a quick call.

Hiroshi Yamashita: 33
Siyoung Lee: A6

It was off to the races, with Lee pairing his six on the K68J2 runout to send Yamashita out in 13th for ₱135,000.

John Carlo ‘JC’ Sayo fell in 12th shortly afterwards, also to a rampant Lee, though we were unable to catch all the gory details. Sayo took home ₱162,000 and Lee stacked up to ~2.9 million, which is good for the chip lead.

6:20pm: Seo, Lagman and Hilberts out
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

Dongyoon Seo

Korea’s Dongyoon Seo hit the rail in 16th for a ₱108,000 payday though we missed his exit hand. We did however, get 15th place finisher Julius Lagman’s exit at the hands of Hiroshi Yamashita.

The hand before his exit, Lagman opened early for 120,000 but folded out to a Siyoung Lee three-bet when the Korean made it 280,000 to go from one seat over. Lee stacked up to 1.56 million while Lagman dropped down to 410,000.

This ended up in the middle the following hand after Lagman and Japan’s Hiroshi Yamashita got into it in a blind on blind battle. Yamashita pulled the trigger first, shoving Q9 from the small blind and Lagman made the call for his tournament life with ace-seven.

Julius Lagman

The 9J2 flop saw Yamashita spike a pair and a distraught Lagman got to his feet calling for an ace. There was none to be seen on the 3 turn and 2 river and Lagman’s Main Event is now over with the Filipino collecting ₱135,000 for his deep run.

Thijs Hilberts, the field’s sole dutchman, also busted hitting the rail not long after Lagman, cashing for ₱135,000 for his 14th place finish.

6:05pm: Dembla doubles through Judeh
Level 25 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

Hassen Judeh

Level 25 is coming to an end and the field has thinned further with Korea’s Wang Yong Lee (18th for ₱108,000) and the USA’s Harold Mc Donald (19th for ₱108,000) hitting the rail in quick succession.

India’s Harsh Dembla has managed to snag a double at the expense of the UK’s Hassen Judeh, with the latter moving all-in from the button with ace-nine and Dembla waking up in the blinds with JJ.

Dembla spiked a set on the 7J6 and while Judeh paired his ace on the A turn this would still not be enough to win the hand, with a meaningless Q on the river granting the Indian player the double. Dembla now has 710,000 while Judeh has dropped to 320,000.

5:55pm: Play resumes
Level 25 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

The 18 remaining Main Event players are now back in action with the Philippines Flo Campomanes in the lead with 1.8 million in chips, followed by fellow countryman Martin Gonzales (1.6 million) and Korea’s Siyoung Lee rounds out the top three with 1.3 million in chips.

5:45pm: Re-draw time
Level 25 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

Two quick bust outs following Clybouw’a departure have brought the field down to the last two tables and the clock has been paused for a re-draw.

5:40pm: Hilberts gutterballs Lagman, Chia gets Clybouw
Level 25 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

We have a new contender at the top of the counts and it is the field’s sole Netherland’s representative Thijs Hilberts. In what proved to be a sickening hand, at least for Lagman, all the chips went the Dutchman’s way.

It was Lagman who was the initial raiser in position with Aqh], calling off Hilbert’s ambitious big blind shove with 85.

The K47 flop saw Hilberts trailing, but he had a gutshot draw, and as you can probably tell from the post title, he got there on the 6 turn, with the 3 river merely a formality. Hilberts climbed to 1.3 million and took the chip lead, while Lagman dropped to 300,000.

Randee Clybouw

Randee Clybouw became the 20th place casualty, falling at the hands of Malaysia’s Joachim Chia when the pair got all the chips in pre-flop. While both held ace-queen – Clybouw AQ and Chia A[Qx] – the latter ran out four to a flush to bring the Belgium’s Main Event run to an end. Chia now has 1.2 million, while Clybouw will take home ₱92,000.

5:30pm: Game on
Level 25 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (BB ante 40,000)

The 22 remaining players are now back in action, so let’s see who has what it takes to make the final table.

5:15pm: Breaktime

The 22 remaining Main Event players are on a 10-minute break.

5pm: Stacks
Level 24 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (BB ante 25,000)

Siyoung Lee

While this is by no means a full list of chip counts – the action is too mental for that – here’s how the field is shaping up.

The 27 remaining players have quickly become 22, with Korea’s Siyoung Lee the man who has bludgeoned his way to the top of the counts with a stack of 1.3 million. Some of the more notables and big stacks in the running as follows:

Julius Lagman (Philippines) – 990,000
Jessie Supnet (Philippines) – 850,000
Hiroshi Yamashita (Japan) – 760,000
Martin Gonzales (Philippines) – 700,000
Marius Zalpys (Lithuania) – 600,000
Harsh Dembla (india) – 600,000
Hassen Judeh (UK) – 600,000
Flo Campomanes (Philippines) – 560,000
Thijs Hilberts (Netherlands) – 560,000
Harold Mc Donald (USA) – 510,000
Rob Glasspool (UK) – 500,000
Randee Clybouw (Belgium) – 500,000

Recent eliminations include Steve Cody who departed in 24th place and was kind enough to tell us all the gory details of his departure.

Steve Cody

Cody moved all-in from under-the-gun plus two for 12 big blinds with pocket threes but was unfortunate to run into Joachim Chia holding aces, and another player with pocket kings. Chia’s aces held and he scooped the lot to climb to 650,000, while Cody headed for the cash desk to collect ₱81,000.

China’s Pengyu Lin joined Cody on the rail shortly afterwards, running pocket eights into the pocket kings of Dongkyoon Seo, who is now on a stack of 560,000.

4:35pm: Oka rails Mak, Zalpys cripples Takai
Level 23 – Blinds 10,000/25,000 (BB ante 25,000)

Yasutake Oka

Wai Cheong Mak’s tournament has come to a close, with Japan’s Yasutake Oka the closer. Mak opened the action from the hi-jack before Oka responded with a re-raise. Just before we could get the betting amounts Mak moved all-in for around 250,000 or so and Oka called immediately – usually not a good sign if you are the player who has just moved all in.

Mak was in bad shape, his 33 trailing to Oka’s two red ladies QQ and the 105628 runout saw the Malaysian player hit the rail in 30th for a ₱65,000 payday.

We caught Marius Zalpys in the thick of it once more over on one of the other three tables shortly afterwards. Zalpys was in the blinds so looked to have defended to a Takai shove and the Lithuanian, holding 99 was all-in and at risk against Japan’s Akihide Takai who was holding A8.

The 97A flop brought something for both players, which meant Takai was behind as top pair is not as good as middle set. The 8 turn and J river locked in the double for Zalpys and dropped Takai down to 11,000.

Despite quadrupling this the next hand against Zalpys (again), the Japanese player could not mount a comeback, busting shortly afterwards in 28th place for ₱65,000. That left 27 players and the clock was paused for a table re-draw.

4:15pm: Supnet in front, Zalpys riding rollercoaster
Level 23 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (BB ante 16,000)

The field has shrunk further with Filipinos Redentor Edoc and Carlo Calingasan, Japan’s Naoki Sugawara and Norway’s Kai Paulsen all hitting the rail in quick succession.

Julius Lagman is still one of the bigger stacks, but has dropped some chips and fallen to 920,000. The man currently occupying the top spot is local player Jessie Supnet who has climbed to 1.1 million in chips.

We caught Supnet opening a hand from late position with a raise to 57,000 but he was shut down immediately when Singapore’s Jie Chew moved all-in for ~550,000. Supnet mucked, with Chew obligingly flashing him the A to climb to around 600,000.

Over on one of the other tables, Hassen Judeh opened the action with a raise to 54,000 but found no customers and scooped the blinds and antes to climb to around 500,000.

Former frontrunner Marius Zalpys has been riding a tournament rollercoaster today, and after narrowly avoiding becoming the bubble boy earlier (see 3pm post) has been quite active.

We caught Zalpys battling Nelson Ong, with the Lithuanian opening the action with a raise to 54,000 and calling Ong’s shove. It was a race, with Ong holding 66 and Zalpys on KJ.

The 27410K runout saw Ong on his feet before he realised that the river had given him a flush, which trumped Zalpys’ top pair. Ong climbed to 250,000 while Zalpys just shook his head and paid the Filipino out, dropping to 132,000.

3:45pm: The floodgates have opened
Level 22 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (BB ante 16,000)

Julius Lagman

As predicted, the floodgates have opened following the bubble as all the short-stacks who were holding on for dear life attempted to go big or go home, and for many of them a trip home was on the cards.

Sweden’s Roger Spets was the first paying casulaty, with other recent eliminations including Singapore’s Aaron Lam and Australia’s John Jong (42nd for ₱54,000).

One of the more tournament-defining bustouts was the exit of PokerStars LIVE Manila regular Anthony Abram, whose exit shot Julius Lagman to the top of the counts, a place the Filipino should be familiar with after enjoying a stint as top dog on Day 1B.

An increasingly active Lagman opened the action from the button with pocket fours and Abram moving in pre-flop from the blinds with ace-seven. Despite the Aussie pairing his ace on the flop, Lagman hit a four to make a set, sending Abram out in 49th for ₱48,500.

You can see all the payouts via the Official Results tab here and at the top of the page.

It appears that Lagman and Joachim Chia tangled following Abram’s exit, with Chia dropping to 540,000 while Lagman is sitting pretty on 1.2 million – the only player to currently boast a seven-figure stack.

Other notables still in the running include the USA’s Harold Mc Donald (500,000), the UK’s Rob Glasspool (350,000) and the USA’s Steve Cody (330,000). Harsh Dembla has popped up on the radar also, much improving his standing in the counts.

The Indian player began the day with a stack of 77,000 and has managed to spin this up to 520,000, making him one of the larger stacks.

3:10pm: Pop!
Level 21 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (BB ante 16,000)

Peter Plater Money Bubble

The action picked up right where it left off before the break – at Defcon 2, right at the cusp of thermoglobal nuclear war. There were two simultaneous all-ins with the short-stacked Ruben Clamares forced all-in from the big blind for his last 10,000.

Malaysia’s Joachim Chia had raised the action from early position with A5 and Clamares found himself in great shape with 55. The 1094
58 runout saw the Filipino spike a set to survive and triple to 30,000. Chia still has heaps though and has been busy running up his stack and punishing around the bubble, and is sitting with over 800,000 even after the hand.

That brought us over to the other all-in, with Martin Gonzales shoving the button with QJ and Australia’s Peter Plater defending from the big blind and making the call for his tournament life with A10.

The entire remaining field crowded around and both players got to their feet, with tension in the room increasing noticeably. Plater was the player at risk with a slight lead which improved on the 1074 flop. The 2 turn gave Gonzales some additional outs, and the river was one of them, the 4 bringing Plater’s tournament to a brutal close. The Australian was gracious in defeat, shaking Gonzales’ hand before hitting the rail empty-handed and granting the remaining 50 players a ₱48,500 payday.

3pm: Drama brings in the break
Level 20 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (BB ante 12,000)

Marius Zalpys

Thijs Hilberts and Flo Campomanes tangled in a hand, with the latter raising the button and calling a Hilberts’ three-bet from the blinds. The dutchman’s 60,000 continuation bet on the Q46 flop was enough to take down the pot, and Hilberts now has 530,000 at his disposal, while Camponmanes dropped to around 380,000 or so.

Singapore’s Jie Chew then gave Martin Gonzales a beat see the Filipino get short, right around the time you don’t want to be – close to the bubble. We picked up the action on the turn with the community cards spread A107J just as Chew (button) pulled the trigger for 160,000.

Gonzales chewed over the decision before making the call and discovered some bad news, his KK had been outdrawn by Chew’s KQ with the latter turning Broadway. There was no queen on the river, meaning Chew climbed to 690,000 while Gonzales dropped below 200,000,

The exit of Jonald Garcia, departing in 52nd place, brought the 51 remaining players to the money bubble. Garcia’s A10 unable to overcome Randee Clybouw’s QQ, with the field’s sole Belgium stacking up to close to 350,000 after the hand.

It looked at though Marius Zalpys would become the bubble boy, getting the last of his chips in with K7 and running into the QQ of Korea’s Siyoung Lee. However, the KA7 flop gave the Lithuanian two pair, much to Lee’s chagrin, and with no queen to be seen Zalpys doubled up to 250,000 while Lee dropped to 280,000 with all that action bringing in the 10-minute break.

2:45pm: Campomanes busts Wastel to take lead
Level 20 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (BB ante 12,000)

Flo Campomanes

The action is coming to the boil now, with the UK’s Philip Wastel becoming one of the latest casualties to drop the field down to 54.

It was local grinder Flo Campomanes the man to send the Brit packing, opening the action with a raise and calling Wastel’s all-in shove.

Campomanes had pocket jacks and was leading Watel’s A7 and while the flop was a sweaty one featuring two clubs, Camponmanes was able to fade the draw and Wastel hit the rail.

Clearly, Camponmanes cuts an imposing figure at the tables as just as we were counting up his stack we caught the Filipino in action against fellow countryman Mark Almusajin.

We picked up the action on the turn, with close to 80k in the pot with the community cards spread 8QQ8 just as Camponmanes fired out a bet of ~45,000. Almusajin gave his opponent maximum respect and folded pocket aces face up, leaving Campomanes free to rake in another pot and climb to 480,000 and take the top spot, while Almusajin dropped to 240,000 – around 20 big blinds.

Harold Mc Donald (430,000) and Joachim Chia (420,000) are still up there though, as is Martin Gonzales who has a little over 400,000. Day 1B frontrunner Yasutake Oka is also still in the running with a stack of 275,000 and while Marius Zalpys is also still in, the Lithuanian is circling the drain with a stack of 90,000 so will need to get busy if he wants to make the money.

2:30pm: Bubble incoming
Level 20 – 6,000/12,000 (BB Ante 12,000)

The field has shrunk to 55 and the bubble is fast approaching. At the speed players have been busting we expect it to burst at some point in the next 30-minute level before the first break of the day. Watch this space…

2:20pm:All change at the top
Level 19 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (BB ante 10,000)

Players continue to drop like flies with Chee Seng Lim just one of the many who have hit the rail over the last few levels. Marius Zalpys has taken a sizable hit dropping down to 180,000, and tablemate Harold Mc Donald appears to have been the beneficiary and is now sitting on a stack of 375,000.

We caught Mr. Mc Donald using some of his now sizable stack to raise to 25,000 from the button, only for Kai Paulsen to move all-in from the button for 158,000 in total. Mc Donald thought if over, but couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger, tapping the table before mucking KJ face-up. Paulsen didn’t show, but seemed happy enough to rake in the pot and he climbed to 185,000 or so, while Mc Donald dropped down to 350,000.

Martin Gonzales returned as one of the larger stacks today and is also sitting on around 350,000. With Zalpys dropping down the counts, it looks as though we have a new chip leader in Malaysia’s Joachim Chia, who has spun the 291,000 he came into Day 2 with up to what looks to be 450,000, which is good for the chip lead presently.

1:45pm: Double double for Glasspool, Suganuma falls to Lin
Level 18 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (BB ante 8,000)

Rob Glasspool

An excited Rob Glasspool called us over to regale us with his survival story, and we deemed it worthy enough to feature here, especially as Glasspool has managed to spin his 69,000 up to 253,000 – impressive stuff.

Lady Luck was responsible for Glasspool’s first double after the Brit got it in for his last 15 big blinds from the hi-jack with ace-jack, only to run into an opponent’s ace-queen.

However, the Glasspool was able to runout two pair with aces and jacks to survive. The next orbit saw him find pocket kings in the small blind after a great deal of pre-flop action, with the cowboys holding to send a player out and start what may well be a tournament-defining comeback for the UK player.

While we were being regaled with tales of Glasspool’s card catching skills, Japan’s Yoko Suganuma moved all in pre-flop from middle position and found a caller in the form of China’s Pingyu Lin in the cutoff.

Once the rest of the table got out of the way, the two ladies flipped over their cards and it was off to the races, Suganuma’s AK up against Lin’s 1010.

Unfortunately for Suganuma the flop fell a decisive 8105 to give Lin top set, with the 6 turn leaving the Japanese player drawing dead. The J river would be the last card Suganuma would see in the Main Event and she headed for the rail, while Lin stacked up to over 300,000.

The field has now been reduced to 63, meaning the remaining players are just 13 bustouts away from a ₱48,500 min-cash.

1:25pm: Zalpys extends lead, Takayama out while Seo profits
Level 17 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (BB ante 6,000)

There have been quite a few early casualties with some of the short stacks unable to spin it up. It has been a case of wrong place, wrong time for us, and we have missed all the bust outs so far. The first level played, Level 17, has not long concluded and one of the main beneficiaries of all the action is frontrunner Marius Zalpys, who has extended his lead and climbed to 460,000.

Julius Lagman has not hit the red-hot form he enjoyed towards the end of play yesterday but is chugging along nicely with a stack of 300,000.

The UK’s Philip Wastel has also increased his holdings, climbing to over 200,000 and Norway’s Kai Paulsen (180,000) is also going strong.

Another player who managed to increase their standing, at least briefly, was reigning Asia Player of the Year Mike Takayama, earning himself a double to climb to 60,000.

Takayama was in the big blind as we wandered past his table, with Korea’s Siyoung Lee opening the action to 13,000. Fellow countryman Dongkyoon Seo was the only customer, with Takayama folding his big blind.

There was not all that much action, with both players checking the 536 flop. The 8 turn saw Lee make a delayed continuation-bet of 20,000, and that was enough to take it down and he climbed to 140,000 after the hand.

The next time we walked past Takayama’s table his seat was conspicuously empty, with Seo stacking up a pile of chips. While we were unable to get his exit hand we can confirm that Takayama is now out of the running, while Seo now has a stack of 250,000.

1pm: And we’re off
Level 17 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (BB ante 6,000)

The 90 survivors are in their seats and cards are in the air. We expect a slew of early bust outs, followed by play tightening up as the bubble rears it’s ugly head. As soon as that bursts then the bust outs should come thick and fast, bottlenecking once more as the final table approaches. So let’s see if our predidiction pans out…

Welcome back to the Manila Megastack 10 Main Event
Greetings poker aficionados and welcome to the final day – Day 2 – of the Manila Megastack 10. Just 90 of the 417-strong field remain in contention and all will have their eye firmly on the ₱2,562,000 top prize, in addition to a ₱100,000 package to the APPT Manila next year.

Manila Megastack 10

However, only 50 of them will be cashing for a share of the ₱10,921,230 prize pool so we expect the competition for hallowed money spots to be fierce.

You can see what they are playing for on the Official Payouts page here.

The man leading the charge is Day 1A chip leader, Lithuania’s Marius Zalpys, who will be returning with a stack of 381,000, closely followed by Day 1B frontrunner, Japan’s Yasutake Oka.

You can see how all the players are stacking up via the Day 2 Seat Draw here.

Blinds will be starting at 3,000/6,000 with the big blind also paying the 6,000 ante.

Cards are in the air at 1pm local time and we expect an action-packed day of poker on the way to the final table and beyond.

So let’s see who has what it takes to become the tenth Manila Megastack Champion.

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