Here we go! The PokerStars Live Manila P1M Guarantee gets underway with 51 players returning for their final battle. The eventual winner will take home P190,000 in cold hard cash and the victory trophy. Coming in with the largest stack is Julius Lagman with 262,500 chips and bringing up the rear is John King with 25,000 chips. We will post random updates throughout the day and a blow-by-blow reporting of the final table.
6:50PM: Michael De Leon wins the Main Event!
Michael De Leon and Julius Lagman saw 9 hands at the heads up round with the last one finally seeing some cards on the board. Action went, De Leon shoved and Lagman called. De Leon had [kd][4c] and Lagman had [kc][3c]. This was a must win hand for De Leon because if Lagman were to double up, the chip lead would quickly shift. When the dealer laid out the flop of [7d][4s][jh], De Leon improved to a pair, and with the turn of [9c], that was it. Lagman was drawing dead and De Leon reigned victorious. De Leon earned himself P140,000, the Main Event trophy, plus a seat to the Manila Megastack 5.
Although he ran one spot short, Lagman collected P130,000 for his deep run plus a seat to the Manila Megastack 5.
6:45PM: Heads Up
We are now down to the last two players.
Michael De Leon 3,495,000
Julius Lagman 1,590,000
Blinds up 80k/160k ante 20k
6:40PM: Antonio Ona settles for third place - P115,000
After losing to Julius Lagman, Antonio Ona was all in and Michael De Leon made the call. De Leon had [ad][9s] and Ona had [4s][7s]. The board offered no improvement for Ona and he finished his run in third place. He collected P115,000 and a seat worth P25K to the Manila Megastack 5.
6:30PM: Lagman hits Ona again
Both Antonio Ona and Julius Lagman were at it again with Ona holding [qd][9s] and Lagman with [th][ts]. The board bricked and Lagman hits back at Ona. Lagman now at 1.5M chips.
6:25PM: Ona retaliates
Immediately after losing to Julius Lagman, Antonio Ona retaliated and took his chips back. He went all in with [jd][th] and Lagman called with [qh][jc]. The board produced a ten on the flop giving Ona a pair that held on to the end. He is back up to over 1.4M while Lagman fell to 660K.
6:20PM: Lagman doubled up by Ona
After several orbits of no flop action, the two short stacks were all in, Julius Lagman and Antonio Ona. Lagman had [as][5s] and Ona had [ad][9h]. The board was nutty as it ran [kd][ah][3c][2s][4s] landing Lagman a straight on the river and a double up to 1.3M chips.
6:15PM: Blinds up
Blinds are up to 60k/120k with 20k ante. We are still three-handed.
6:10PM: De Leon takes down another big pot
Michael De Leon is clearly way ahead in chips and he earned another big pot in a hand against Antonio Ona. With a pot of 650k already in the middle and a board of [th][7d][8h][ac][2d], De Leon bet 300k and was shipped the hefty pile after Ona folded. De Leon now has 2.5M chips, nearly half the total number of chips.
6:05PM: Vivencho Nachor finishes in 4th place - P55,800
With nothing but shoves going on, Vivencho Nachor moved all in with 510k and Michael De Leon tossed in the binding chip. Nachor had [jc][9d] and De Leon had [qc][jh]. The board ran [8h][jd][3h][td][as] and with that, Nachor took 4th place. He earned P55,800 and a seat worth P25k to the Manila Megastack 5.
6:00PM: Jay Lapidin ends in 5th place - P40,600
Jay Lapidin was the next to fall. He shoved with 700k and Michael De Leon entered the challenge. Lapidin had [kd][td] and De Leon had [9c][9s]. The board ran low and De Leon's hand sent Lapidin packing in 5th place. Lapidin earned P40,600 and a seat worth P25k to the Manila Megastack 5.
5:55PM: Lagman takes chip lead with a big double up
Julius Lagman went all in and Vivencho Nachor made the big call of 890k. Lagman had [ad][kd] and Nachor had [ah][js]. The board bricked and Lagman doubled up to 1.9M chips. He is the current chip leader.
5:50PM: Ona folds to Nachor
Antonio Ona raised to 250k only to face Vivencho Nachor's shove of an additional 885k. Ona folded.
5:45PM: Sam Peralta exits in 6th place - P32,100
Sam Peralta went all in with his 435k stack and Vivencho Nachor matched him up. Peralta had [ah][3h] and Nachor had [4h][4c]. The board ran [qc][qs][kc][7d][4h] filling up Nachor to a dominating boat and Peralta exited in 6th place. He collected P32,100 for his finish.
5:40PM: Ona pushes out Nachor
From the button Vivencho Nachor raised to 160k and Antonio Ona on the big blind called. At the flop of [kd][3h][jd], both checked to get a free turn of [7h]. Ona took the reins and bet 150k, Nachor quick-called. On the river of [6c], Ona announced all in and won it without a challenge.
5:35PM: Darwin Santelices railed by Lapidin in 7th place - P25,400
With action folding to the blinds, Darwin Santelices went all in with his ailing 190k chips and big blind Jay Lapidin called. Santelices had [qc][ts] and was behind Lapidin's [kh][5c]. The board offered no help to Santelices and he bowed out in 7th place. He earned P25,400 for his finish.
5:30PM: Lagman dodges two overcards
With blinds up to 30k/60k and 10k ante, players saw Vivencho Nachor raise twice with no challengers. On his third raise he laid out 200k and ulius Lagman answered with a shove to a total of 400k. Nachor called. Lagman had [7h][7s] and Nachor had [ad][jh]. The board bricked and Lagman doubled up to almost 900k chips.
5:25PM: Celebratory flush for Peralta
Sam Peralta went all in with his remaining 300k and Antonio Ona called after Vivencho open folded his [ad][2d]. Peralta had [ks][js] and Ona had [kd][jh]. Despite having similar hands, the board showed why suited cards are an advantage. It ran [jd][3s][4s][ts][qh] giving Peralta flush and a double up to over 600k.
5:20PM: Ona doubles up and goes into 1M range
Antonio Ona went all in and this time there was action with Vivencho Nachor calling. Ona had [ac][ts] and Nachor had [kc][jh]. The board kept Ona ahead [as][qh][8s][kd][5c] and he was awarded a double up. Ona entered the 1M chip mark.
5:15PM: Blinds are up
Back from the break, blinds are up 25k/50k with 5k ante. The first six hands saw Antonio Ona, Michael De Leon, Sam Peralta, Jay Lapidin, Julius Lagman and Vivencho Nachor win the blinds and antes with shoves/raises that saw no callers. Only Darwin Santelices hasn't taken his share of the blinds and antes.
5:05PM: Nachor tanks Peralta
With a raised pot preflop before them, the dealer felted [th][7s][6s]. Sam Peralta bet 40k but then tanked when Nachor moved all in. Well covered by Nachor, Peralta squirmed in his seat then opted to fold. Nachor now has over 1.5M chips.
5:00PM: Santelices doubles up through Nachor
Darwin Santelices was all in with [ad][7h] and big stacked Vivencho Nachor called with [3h][3d]. The board landed an ace at the flop and Santelices higher pair held on for a double up.
4:50PM: Zhinning Chen bows out in 8th place - P21,100
Zhinning Chen was all in with his short stack and Vivencho Nachor felt obliged to call with his massive arsenal. Chen had [ad][qs] and Nachor had [jh][2d]. The board was [4c][9d][6c][ks][2c] connecting Nachor with a pair and Chen bowed out of the Main Event. He earned P21,100 for his finish.
4:45PM: De Leon rails Pumicpic in 9th place - PP16,900
Conrado Pumicpic's aggression at the table was put to a dead halt when he tangled against Michael De Leon in an all in shove preflop. De Leon had [ah][kd] and Pumicpic had [as][th]. The board ran [4d][ac][4s][3s][5s] allowing De Leon's kicker to be in play. After the chips were counted, Pumicpic was covered and he was the first casualty of the final table. He earned P16,900 for his finish.
4:40PM: Nachor takes on Pumicpic and climbs to 1M chips
Vivencho Nachor backed down on Conrado Pumicpic's all in earlier but not this time. Nachor raised to 85k, Pumicpic shoved, and Nachor called. Nachor had [as][ks] and Pumicpic had [6h][6d]. The board ran [ts][4d][4c][ac][5h] giving Nachor the win and the massive double up. He now has over 1M chips. Nachor also won the next hand by shoving and finding no callers.
4:35PM: Pumicpic's aggressive plays
Conrado Pumicpic defended his big blind in a hand against Vivencho Nachor. It began with Nachor raising to 80k and Pumicpic calling. At the flop of [jc][2c][th], both players checked. On the turn of [8h], Pumicpic checked again, Nachor bet 115k, and Pumicpic snap called. On the river of [3s], Pumicpic quickly announced all in and won the hand with Nachor folding. Pumicpic showed his [kc][5c] bluff.
Pumicpic continued with his control of the table when he shoved again on top of Michael De Leon's raise of 80k. De Leon folded and Pumicpic took down another pot. He revealed his pocket twos.
4:30PM: Pumicpic wins first hand; Peralta wins next hand
Conrado Pumicpic raised to 260k on blinds of 15k/30k with a 5k ante. Antonio Ona tanked for a bit then opted to fold. Pumicpic won the first hand of the final table with no callers.
Action folded all the way to the small blind Sam Peralta who raised and won it with big blind Julius Lagman folding
4:15PM: Final Table of Nine
Sam Peralta 540k
Julius Lagman 435k
Conrado Pumicpic 560k
Darwin Santelices 405k
Jay Lapidin 730k
Vivencho Nachor 710k
Zhinning Chen 290k
Michael De Leon 725k
Antonio Ona 705k
4:00PM: Lapidin rails two
Jay Lapidin railed David Perreau when his queen-jack bested Perreau's king-queen with a jack gracing the felt. Immediately after, he called Ronald Dimaano's all in and took that down too. Dimaano had [js][ts] and Lapidin had [ah][5h]. The board ran [2s][td][jd] giving Dimaano the jump to two pair, then the turn of [ad] gave Lapidin hope, and with the river of [2h], Lapidin landed a higher two pair. Lapidin now has 730k chips. With Ronald Dimaano's elimination, the final table of nine was determined.
3:45PM: Exciting win for Santelices; Marzan's ladies fall to Ona
Action began with Manny Padernal all in with his remaining 21k chips and was called by five players. At the flop of [6s][5d][9d], three players checked, David Perreau shoved, and without much hesitation, Darwin Santelices followed suit. Everyone got out of the way and it was a three-way showdown. Padernal had [ts][2s], Perreau had [9s][8s] top pair, and Santelices with [ad][7d] gut shot flush draw. The turn landed [3c], Perreau still ahead, but with the river of [jd], Santelices connected with a nut flush. Santelices doubled up through Perreau and claimed the pile in the middle. He now has around 570k chips.
Edwin Marzan bowed out when his pocket queens could not hold up against Antonio Ona's ace-eight off suit. An ace landed on the turn.
3:30PM: Leano rails Ramel, climbs to over 600k; Chen doubles up
Action began with Ponciano Ramel raising to 50k only to see Dereck Leano three-bet to 185k. After the rest of the players folded, Ramel decided to tango and placed all his chips in the middle. Ramel had [ac][kh] and Leano had [kd][ks]. The board bricked and Leano scooped up his winning pot while Ramel got up to leave.
Zhinning Chen was once holding a big stack but after many pitfalls, he was down to 130k and needed to land a double up to be in fighting contention. He moved all in with [kh][qc] and was called by Ronald Dimaano with [th][tc]. The shove was a good decision as the board kindly felted [6s][kc][7d][qd][7h] pairing up both of his cards and bagging the double up.
3:15PM: A happy moment for Perreau's ducks
Catching the action only on the river, Arthur Uyao was all in and a side pot between Ronald Dimaano and David Perreau was generating some intensity. The board showed [4h][3c][9s][ad][2s] with Perreau laying out a 52k bet. This sent Dimaano tanking and the crowd hushing. He eventually called and shook his head in disbelief when he saw Perreau's [2d][2h] set. Dimaano had [td][th]. Interestingly, Uyao had [3h][4c] for two pair but not good enough and Perreau was shipped a massive pile. Perreau now has 490k chips.
3:00PM: Santelices ends Erquiaga's run; Pumicpic badbeats Regidor, climbs to 600k
Darwin Santelices finished off Dave Erquiaga who lost a chunk of his chips earlier to Sam Peralta. Erquiaga decided to go all in with [tc][2c] and was called by Santelices with [kd][td]. The board ran [th][7d][9s][7s][8h] and with that, Santelices won with his higher kicker.
Meanwhile, Conrado Pumicpic has done it again. Jovanie Regidor was all in with pocket queens and was momentarily looking good against caller Pumicpic with pocket jacks. Regidor's hopes of a double up were painfully crushed when a jack landed on the turn giving Pumicpic the lead and all of his chips. Pumicpic is now the leader with 600k chips.
2:45PM: Peralta doubles up; Berber's cowboys burned by Pumicpic
Sam Peralta shoved his short stack several times and no one was brave enough to call. When his chips grew to 150k, he shoved again and this time found a caller in Dave Erquiaga on the big blind. Peralta had [ad][kc] and Erquiaga with [ac][5s]. The board was a beauty for Peralta as it spread [qd][4d][jd][9c][th]. He doubled up with his dominating straight.
Bryan Berber on the other was not so fortunate. He was all in with Conrado Pumicpic right there with him. Berber had [kh][kd] and Pumicpic held [qd][qc]. As poker goes, when the flop was laid out, [2h][as][qh], Pumicpic quickly seized the lead and with the turn of [8s] and river of [js], Berber was eliminated from the field. Pumicpic climbed to over 400k.
2:30PM: Big pot for Chen, Heinikangas railed; Ona tanks De Leon
Zhinning Chen and Niilo Heinikangas faced off with Chen holding ace-queen and Heinikangas with ace-jack. The board ran a surplus of low cards which allowed Chen's higher kicker to give him the edge. Heinikangas bowed out and Chen climbed to 540k chips.
Antonio Ona and Michael De Leon tangled in a hand that had a big pot preflop already weighing down the middle of the table. At the flop of [3s][3d][6h], Ona bet 45k and De Leon flat-called. On the turn of [jd], Ona was relentless and moved all in for a total of 135k for De Leon to call. Although De Leon had a big stack backing him up, he tanked for a long time until his indecision led to a timed out. Ona was awarded the pot.
2:15PM: Stroem rails Corpuz then falls to De Leon
Tommy Stroem snap called Martin Corpuz's all in and it was a showdown with Corpuz holding [as][qc] and Stroem with [6h][6d]. The board ran [th][7h][8d][6s][8h], giving Stroem a sweet boat and all of Corpruz's chips. His win however was short-lived because several hands later, he snap called Michael De Leon's all in and despite exposing the bluff, he still lost all his chips. De Leon had [3h][9h] while Stroem had [ah][qs]. The board ran [9s][qc][6h][kh][3d], landing De Leon two pair.
2:00PM: Hui railed by Ona
Yao Hui and Antonio Ona were all in. Hui held [ah][6h] and Ona with [kc][jc]. The board landed a king for Ona and Hui was sent packing.
1:45PM: Segismundo crushed by Leano's boat
Dereck Leano was shipped in a hefty pile of chips when he doubled up against Emman Segismundo. Leano had pocket fours and Segismundo had ace-three. On a board of [3d][4c][3s][td][qh], Leano trapped Segismundo to eventually get his full house paid to the last chip. This left Segismundo with 1k and he busted out immediately after.
1:30PM: Eliminations galore
After one hour of final day action, 13 players have already fallen to the wayside. First to get the domino boot rolling was Kevin Paul dela Cruz followed by Christian Ortanez, Nominel Maturan, Joe De Guzman, Anacleto Quijano, Cristopher Runas, and surprisingly, one of the big stacks of the day, Christopher Mateo.