The stage is set for the final two flights of the 2026 Gods Of Poker (GOP) Manila Main Event, which has attracted 168 entries across the first three flights so far. This figure will likely be smashed today as many poker enthusiasts from near and far are expected to enter the fray in the PHP 82,500 buy-in to take a shot at the massive PHP 30 Million (∼ USD 500,000) guarantee, after all there might be quite some extra value in the form of overlay up for grabs.
The Arena of Champions will be inside of the Grand Ballroom at the City of Dreams Manila Luxury Hotel Resort & Casino not far from the international airport. Some hopefuls may even jump right from the plane into the action, in fact Tom Verbruggen did that a few days ago. His first attempt wasn't fruitful but he won the Titan Stack High Roller with it's stylish rose gauntlet trophy yesterday.
It all kicks off at 12.30 p.m. local time with Flight D, which features three hours of play during the late registration with a 60-minute level at blinds of 500-1,000/1,000 followed by a 120-minute level at 1,000-2,000/2,000. The level duration thereafter will be 30 minutes each.
Flight E is then the last chance to enter the crown jewel of the 2026 GOP Manila festival and it kicks off at 6 p.m. local time. The registration period is identical with Flight D and closes at approximately 9.30 p.m. local time, after which the levels last 20 minutes each.
Both of the heats follow the same principle as the previous three flights and play down to the money for approximately the top 13.5% of each respective field. So far, 24 players have qualified for Day 2 and locked up a cash prize already.
If any of those previous survivors wish to join again, they can do so to try and run up their 120,000 starting stack to a larger tally. Multiple bags will be rewarded with a min-cash and the larger stack is carried into the money stage.
The GOP updates will focus on Flight D to begin with until the money bubble has burst while keeping an eye on the overall progress of the last flight as well before switching over for the remainder of the night.