GOP Main Event - Flight A - (120/120/40 Mins) - PHP 30M GTD

Christian Cloutier

John Costiniano raised to 40,000 and then called the all-in by the table short stack Christian Cloutier for 204,000.

Christian Cloutier: A ♦️ J ♠️

John Costiniano: 5 ♦️ 5 ♥️

The pocket pair remained ahead all the way on the Q ♣️ 10 ♥️ 4 ♥️ 9 ♣️ 9 ♦️ board as Cloutier missed out on making Day 2 in his first attempt.

Full chip counts of the seven survivors will be published shortly.

Alexander Allen won a pot via three-bet while Ramon Mendis got one shove through before he went through the blinds.

Allen then raised to 40,000 and Christian Cloutier defended the big blind to check-fold the 4 ♠️ 4 ♣️ 3 ♦️ flop to a bet of 30,000.

Christian Cloutier is still in the tournament but has barely played a hand. He got a shove through and John Costiniano jokingly said they woke up the monster.

Steven then limped from under the gun and Joris Michl followed suit on the button, Alexander Allen joined in the small blind and Costiniano checked. They checked to the J ♣️ 10 ♣️ 5 ♣️ 6 ♥️ turn on which Costiniano bet 16,000 and earned three calls.

All then checked the A ♣️ river and checked again their cards if they had a flush out there, all nodded.

Allen showed a naked pair of deuces while Costiniano was ahead with the 9 ♣️ 6 ♠️ for the flush. It won the pot, and he said "thanks for the banana pot".

Ryan Hong

The action started with a raise to 32,000 by Alexander Allen and John Costiniano three-bet to 78,000 in the cutoff. Ryan Hong in the big blind then four-bet to 205,000 and Allen folded, Costiniano used a time bank and called.

Following the A ♠️ J ♣️ 3 ♠️ flop, Hong used one time bank to then bet 105,000 out of a stack of around 425,000 and Costiniano called.

Both checked the 2 ♦️ turn and Hong jammed the 7 ♣️ on the river. Costiniano bet him into the pot and was shown the K ♣️ Q ♦️ for a bluff, which he had beat with the J ♦️ J ♥️ for a set of jacks.

Ramon Mendis

Early into the nine-handed table, Ramon Mendis pushed for 136,000 and Alexander Allen in the cutoff called. Sangjin An in the big blind used three time banks and folded.

Ramon Mendis: 7 ♥️ 7 ♣️

Alexander Allen: A ♣️ K ♦️

The K ♥️ 6 ♦️ 5 ♣️ flop left the Swiss in rough shape but he found a way on the 9 ♣️ turn and 8 ♥️ river.

Tom Verbruggen

Steven limped the small blind and then folded when Tom Verbruggen jammed just under 20 big blinds, exposing the A ♣️ 2 ♥️ .

"You were definitely behind," Verbruggen said and flashed the A ♦️ only.

One hand later, Steven raised to 32,000 and instantly called the shove by Verbruggen in the small blind.

"You have a better hand that just now?" the Dutch player asked before the cards were shown.

Tom Verbruggen: A ♦️ 10 ♦️

Steven: Q ♠️ Q ♣️

"I feel like an ace is coming," Verbruggen said. It did not, and he was drawing dead on the Q ♦️ J ♠️ 7 ♥️ 7 ♠️ turn to make the 9 ♠️ river a formality.

They will now redraw for the nine-handed table and need to lose another two players before bagging.

Joseph Magnotti limped the small blind and Alexander Allen checked from the big blind. They checked to the Q ♦️ J ♥️ 8 ♦️ 7 ♠️ turn on which Magnotti's bet of 32,000 won the pot.

With new blinds of 8,000-16,000 and a big blind ante of 16,000, the average is at 36 big blinds three eliminations away from the conclusion of Flight A.

Joris Michl

There has been a major shift in momentum and it has propelled Joris Michl to the top of the leaderboard while former big stack Takamasa Kojima has been eliminated in 11th place prior to the next 15-minute break.

Michl raised off a comfortable stack and Kojima just called from the big blind after which they checked the 5 ♦️ 5 ♠️ 2 ♣️ flop. On the 8 ♥️ turn, Kojima led for 28,000 and Michl raised to 79,000.

Kojima clicked it back to 250,000 and then called the all-in of Michl for 383,000 with nearly the same stack.

Joris Michl: A ♥️ 5 ♣️

Takamasa Kojima: 8 ♠️ 2 ♦️

The river was the 4 ♠️ and Kojima was ready to leave, but had a few chips more.

Shortly after, Michl raise-called the shove by Kojima in the small blind.

Takamasa Kojima: 10 ♥️ 9 ♥️

Joris Michl: K ♥️ 8 ♦️

The Q ♠️ 6 ♣️ 3 ♦️ 4 ♥️ 3 ♠️ board kept king-high head, the rest of the level brought no more craziness.

Rudy Edenata

On a heads-up turn of A ♥️ 9 ♣️ 2 ♥️ Q ♠️ , Steven check-raised all-in for 230,000 out of the big blind. Rudy Edenata had bet 30,000 and reluctantly called, after which Steven knew he was in trouble.

Steven: 10 ♦️ 9 ♠️

Rudy Edenata: Q ♣️ J ♠️

The river came to the rescue with the 9 ♥️ and Edenata went to a severe short stack.

Edenata was in the big blind next and defended, then went for a stop and go shove on the 10 ♣️ 3 ♥️ 2 ♠️ flop to get called by Ryan Hong.

Rudy Edenata: J ♥️ 7 ♦️

Ryan Hong: A ♥️ 10 ♦️

The 7 ♠️ turn gave Edenata outs but the 2 ♦️ river was not among them.

Steven raised it up to 24,000 in he cutoff and Rudy Edenana called on the button. Tom Verbruggen jammed for 333,000 and Steven asked for a count, then folded. Edenata also let go.

One table over, Joris Michl faced a raise to 30,000 by Joseph Magnotti and a call by Alexander Allen. He jammed, too, to make for the Double Dutch Delight.

They are 12 players left and the goal is reaching the last seven with a current average of 40 big blinds. Please pour me a fresh coffee at Starbucks next door ...

Atsushi Takeuchi pushed all-in for 121,000 in late position and Sangjin An called in the cutoff, all other players folded.

Atsushi Takeuchi: A ♠️ 3 ♠️

Sangjin An: K ♠️ J ♦️

The J ♣️ J ♥️ 4 ♥️ flop left Takeuchi with a mountain to climb and he gasped an "wow ... nice call". The A ♥️ turn gave some possible way out but the 6 ♦️ river ended his run in Flight A.

"That would have been one hell of a suckout," Joseph Magnotti said.

Marius Talampas

On a flop of 6 ♣️ 4 ♠️ 3 ♦️ Marius Talampas was all-in for 75,000 and Ryan Hong looked him up.

Talampas was at risk with the 8 ♠️ 7 ♣️ versus 4 ♣️ 4 ♥️ and couldn't get there on the 7 ♠️ turn nor Q ♦️ river.

Moments later on the other table, Atsushi Takeuchi was at risk for only 53,000 with Q ♦️ 10 ♣️ versus J ♠️ 10 ♥️ . The Q ♣️ 6 ♣️ 6 ♦️ 3 ♥️ 3 ♠️ runout kept Takeuchi best against Alexander Allen.

In the meanwhile, the blinds have already gone up to 6,000-12,000 with a big blind ante of 12,000.

Fendy Kosasih

Fendy Kosasih was spotted on his way out and briefly showed pocket aces with the A ♣️ on a jack-high board with three clubs.

However, it was no good as former short stack Sangjin An had 6 ♣️ 5 ♣️ for the flopped flush to send the Indonesian to the rail.

Cheng-Pin Hsu

Ryan Hong raised to 20,000 and then reluctantly called the shove by Cheng-Pin Hsu for what appeared to be 96,000. The dealer was about to try and sort out the chips to make the pot and Hong told her "let's do it after":

Cheng-Pin Hsu: A ♠️ Q ♣️

Ryan Hong: A ♣️ 5 ♣️

There was no need to sort out any double-up as Hong spiked his weaker kicker on the 9 ♥️ 5 ♠️ 4 ♠️ 7 ♥️ 2 ♠️ board.

"Unlucky," Hong told his opponent on the way out.

A player from Indonesia had been atop the leaderboard for what seemed to be the last three hours but that is no longer the case.

Rudy Edenata was forced out when John Costiniano jammed the K ♠️ 7 ♣️ 3 ♣️ 7 ♦️ turn in a massive pot and Edenana couldn't call the shove of the local rising star.

One table over, Alexander Allen fired a bet of 100,000 on the 10 ♣️ 8 ♦️ 6 ♣️ flop and Fendy Kosasih folded. "Ace king?" Allen asked and Kosasih shook his head.

Seunghee Park

Seunghee Park pushed all-in for 101,000 from late position and Tom Verbruggen then rejammed in the cutoff to isolate.

Seunghee Park: A ♥️ J ♦️

Tom Verbruggen: Q ♦️ Q ♠️

The queens held on a board of K ♠️ 8 ♥️ 3 ♠️ 7 ♥️ 3 ♣️ to send Park out of Flight A with now 16 players remaining.

Fendy Kosasih raised and then had an easy call when Michael Diniega jammed for what appeared to be 11 big blinds.

Michael Diniega: 10 ♣️ 10 ♦️

Fendy Kosasih: A ♦️ A ♥️

The board ran out A ♠️ 8 ♥️ 7 ♠️ 6 ♣️ 5 ♥️ and Kosasih prevailed with top set.

Ville Pohjalainen

Early into the new level, Ville Pohjalainen flipped with his short stack holding the 5 ♥️ 5 ♠️ and was up against table big stack Rudy Edenata who had the A ♠️ K ♠️ .

The K ♥️ :tc: 7 ♥️ K ♣️ 8 ♦️ board gave Edenata trips kings to bring the field down to the last two tables.

Alexander Allen

Three ways to the 10 ♣️ 5 ♣️ 4 ♦️ 8 ♦️ turn, Michael Diniega in the small blind bet 25,000. Alexander Allen then raised to 60,000 in the big blind and Joris Michl folded.

Diniega used three time banks before he called and led the 3 ♠️ river for 40,000. Allen was perplexed about the small sizing and asked to see the stack behind of his opponent before he called and showed his 4 ♣️ 4 ♠️ for a set.

Diniega mucked and asked "first set?"

"First set whole festival," Allen replied.

Three ways to the 10 ♣️ 5 ♣️ 4 ♦️ 8 ♦️ turn, Michael Diniega in the small blind bet 25,000. Alexander Allen then raised to 60,000 in the big blind and Joris Michl folded.

Diniega used three time banks before he called and led the 3 ♠️ river for 40,000. Allen was perplexed about the small sizing and asked to see the stack behind of his opponent before he called and showed his 4 ♣️ 4 ♠️ for a set.

Diniega mucked and asked "first set?"

"First set whole festival," Allen replied.

John Costiniano

The field is down to the last 19 players, one away from breaking a table, and by far more silent with the departure of Justin Ong.

John Costiniano flipped for 110,000 with A ♦️ 10 ♣️ against the 7 ♣️ 7 ♥️ of Ryan Hong and found an ace on the Q ♠️ Q ♦️ 2 ♥️ A ♠️ K ♠️ board.

One table over, Ong three-bet jammed his shorter stack of 148,000 with A ♥️ 2 ♣️ and Takamasa Kojima called with the 9 ♣️ 7 ♣️ to flop a pair and turn a straight on the J ♦️ 9 ♥️ 8 ♦️ 10 ♦️ A ♣️ board.

Back to Costiniano, he put the new chips to work and jammed the Q ♣️ Q ♥️ J ♥️ 6 ♥️ turn for 157,000.

"Will you show me if I fold?" Rudy Edenata asked and then folded, exposing his A ♥️ J ♦️ . Costiniano revealed the A ♦️ J ♣️ ...

Joris Michl

Alexander Allen raised to 16,000 and earned calls by both players in the blinds including Joris Michl and Sangjin An. On the K ♣️ 9 ♣️ 8 ♣️ flop, they check-folded when Allen bet 17,000.

Soon after that, Michl raised and Fendy Kosasih three-bet to 38,000. Michl four-bet to 85,000 and Kosasih to get shown the A ♣️ first. Michl squeezed the cards ... and showed the A ♦️ as well.

Ryan Hong

Rudy Edenata was aiming to knock out Ryan Hong in a preflop contest and the latter was more than happy to get his 197,000 chips in without any hesitation at all.

Ryan Hong: Q ♦️ Q ♠️

Rudy Edenata: 7 ♥️ 7 ♠️

The superior pocket pair held on the 10 ♦️ 3 ♣️ 2 ♠️ 5 ♣️ 8 ♥️ runout.

Petteri Miettinen

Petteri Miettinen had been one of the shorter stacks coming back from the break and was then at risk against Alexander Allen.

Petteri Miettinen: 5 ♦️ 5 ♠️

Alexander Allen: A ♠️ 10 ♠️

The suited over cards got there on the A ♦️ Q ♥️ 10 ♣️ 4 ♦️ 8 ♦️ board to send Miettinen to the rail.

The chip race has been completed and there are still 21 players remaining at new blinds of 4,000-8,000 and a big blind ante of 8,000. Below are the biggest stacks right now with a three-way lead for Indonesia.

Dedy Suryanto

Takamasa Kojima raised and Justin Ong three-bet to 45,000 in the cutoff. Dedy Suryanto then four-bet jammed for 170,000 and Kojima went all-in over the top for 208,000.

Ong asked for a count and folded, mentioning he had pocket sevens.

Dedy Suryanto: :kd: :qc:

Takamasa Kojima: A ♥️ A ♠️

The A ♣️ 9 ♦️ 7 ♣️ 3 ♦️ 6 ♦️ board left Suryanto drawing dead on the turn.

"I folded set over set," Ong said to a friend one table over.

Shortly after, the players went on the next 15-minute break with 21 out of 48 entries left.

In a single-raised pot to the J ♠️ 8 ♥️ 6 ♣️ flop, Alexander Allen check-called for 12,000 and the 7 ♥️ turn was checked. Allen bet the 3 ♥️ river for 25,000 and Sangjin An called.

Allen tabled his J ♥️ 10 ♥️ and that won the pot.

Leading the way on the table is Fendy Kosasih.

Ryan Hong bet the 7 ♦️ 6 ♦️ 4 ♦️ 5 ♠️ turn for 26,000 out of the big blind and Ville Pohjalainen called. Hong then jammed the 6 ♠️ on the river and Pohjalainen snap-folded without asking for a count.

Alfie Adam

Tom Verbruggen raised to 12,000 and Seunghee Park three-bet to 35,000 in the next seat. Verbruggen then jammed and was not snap-called.

"If you don't snap call, you don't have a good hand," Verbruggen instantly exclaimed. The shove was for 108,000 total and Park eventually folded.

Moments after the hand was finished, Alfie Adam headed out and gave Alexander Allen an "Well Done" on the way.

Allen had defended in the blinds and called his shove with Q ♥️ 8 ♠️ for second pair, which held against K ♦️ 9 ♦️ for the straight draw on a board of 8 ♦️ 7 ♠️ 5 ♣️ 10 ♥️ 10 ♣️ .

Allen explained after the hand that Adam had tried to bluff him twice very early in the day.

John Riad

John Riad flipped for his tournament life with the J ♥️ J ♦️ and the most dreadful pocket pair in NLHE was up against the A ♣️ K ♥️ of Joseph Magnotti.

The 9 ♥️ 7 ♥️ 6 ♠️ A ♠️ 6 ♥️ runout improved Magnotti to aces and sixes.

Joseph Magnotti

Benjamin Ebarle

Benjamin Ebarle jammed the A ♠️ 9 ♠️ into Christian Cloutier who happily called holding the A ♣️ K ♣️ .

There was no escape for Ebarle on the K ♦️ J ♦️ 4 ♣️ 7 ♥️ A ♥️ runout.

Louis Bilodeau

After the blinds went up, Rudy Edenata raised to 12,000 and called the button shove by Louis Bilodeau for the last 53,000.

Louis Bilodeau: K ♦️ Q ♣️

Rudy Edenata: J ♠️ 9 ♠️

The K ♥️ Q ♦️ 7 ♠️ 10 ♠️ 4 ♦️ board gave Edenata the straight on the turn.

Within quick succession, Euryd Rivera, Aleksandr Gorichev and Ronald Haverkamp were sent to the rail. Haverkamp walked over to Joris Michl to share the bad news and mentioned that he was at risk with king-ten versus ten-seven on a :Tx: :6x: :5x: flop.

Rudy Edenata hit running cards to a straight to deal the final blow.

After that, the field was down to the final three tables at the end of level four.

Ramon Mendis

Swiss player Ramon Mendis was all-in for 162,000 with the K ♥️ K ♦️ and up against Cheng-Pin Hsu with the inferior 4 ♠️ 4 ♦️ .

There was no upset on the A ♣️ 7 ♣️ 6 ♣️ 10 ♠️ 5 ♦️ despite it looking like a straight and Mendis doubled.

Joris Michl

With the flop showing K ♠️ Q ♥️ :Jd; , Alfie Adam bet 8,500 and was then raised to 28,000 by Joris Michl on the button. Once the Brit folded, Michl smacked the 7 ♣️ 3 ♣️ on the table and then mentioned "I was tilted because I didn't win the Flip Out".

A Side Event had just started where the first stage is a Pineapple Flip and none other than Martijn Gerrits was the first player to advance. Gerrits had also won another Omaha Event earlier today to bring his trophy tally for the series up to four ... on the fourth day.

Ville Pohjalainen

On the river of a A ♣️ J ♠️ 8 ♥️ J ♥️ 10 ♥️ board, Daniel Peter jammed and was instantly called by Finland's Ville Pohjalainen on the button.

Peter showed his A ♥️ K ♠️ for aces and jacks, but Pohjalainen had that crushed holding the J ♦️ J ♣️ for quads jacks.

Both stacks were counted and the 129,000 of Pohjalainen covered by a small margin.

Justin Ong

Down to a short stack of only 31,000, the always jubilant Justin Ong was all-in with the 8 ♠️ 4 ♣️ and table big stack Seunghee Park called with the A ♣️ 2 ♣️ .

The river was the 8 ♥️ and Ong climbed back above the starting stack.

Joseph Magnotti three-bet jammed for 85,000 out of the small blind and Sangjin An reluctantly called with the covering stack.

Joseph Magnotti: J ♥️ J ♦️

Sangjin An: 10 ♣️ 10 ♦️

The Q ♦️ 8 ♦️ 4 ♦️ flop was no additional threat for Magnotti as he held the higher diamond. There was no upset on the 6 ♠️ turn and 5 ♣️ river for the American to double.

Near the end of level three, the turn showed K ♠️ 9 ♠️ 4 ♠️ 3 ♦️ and Sangjin An had pushed all-in out of turn. Joseph Magnotti was still to act and then asked for the floor to inquire if the action stood, which was depending on his action.

Magnotti checked and the shove for 128,500 was now valid. No call followed and An flashed the A ♠️ . Since he had acted out of turn, 4,000 chips as penalty (one big blind) were taken from his stack.

Shortly after the hand, the blinds went up to 2,500-5,000 with a big blind ante of 5,000.

Michael Diniega

On the tail end of a 10 ♠️ 7 ♦️ 4 ♠️ 5 ♦️ 8 ♥️ board, Alexander Allen in the small blind bet 20,000. Michael Diniega in the cutoff called and exposed his A ♦️ 6 ♦️ for the eight high straight.

Allen's 10 ♣️ 8 ♣️ for the top two pair was no good and he plummeted to almost the starting stack.

In a three-bet pot to the 6 ♠️ 4 ♦️ 3 ♦️ flop, Dedy Suryanto checked in the cutoff with a pot of around 55,000. Joseph Magnotti bet 25,000 and was then check-raised to 75,000.

Magnotti used three time banks before he folded.

Dedy Suryanto

Lukasz Jankowski raised to 8,000 and Dedy Suryanto three-bet to 21,000. It folded back to Jankowski and he gave it some thought before moving all-in, Suryanto sigh-called after a few seconds.

Lukasz Jankowski: J ♣️ J ♦️

Dedy Suryanto: K ♣️ K ♥️

The superior pair had little to fear on the K ♠️ 10 ♦️ 3 ♠️ 5 ♣️ 8 ♥️ runout.

While the late registration for Flight A closed with 34 players out of 48 entries remaining and immediately closed a table, the Titan Stack has reached the heads-up stage between Gary Thompson and AJ Acdal.

Both have titanic stacks at their disposal after tormenting all other players on the final table and the Pandora's Mystery Bounty champion Alvir Inocentes put on a short stack ladder masterclass to third place for PHP 442,300.

Both finalists have locked up PHP 642,700 while the winner gets PHP 1,037,700.

"That still doesn't get me even for yesterday," Thompson had previously joked after bricking the Super High Roller.

Rudy Edenata

The new blinds are 2,000-4,000 with a big blind ante of 4,000 and the late registration for the opening flight is now closed.

Joris Michl sent Juhyun Park out before the break when he jammed a multi-way flop of A ♦️ 9 ♣️ 6 ♦️ with the J ♦️ 7 ♦️ . Park called with 8 ♣️ 7 ♠️ for the straight draw and was dead on the 9 ♦️ turn to make the K ♦️ river a formality.

Below are the largest stacks for level three.

The Flight A field has reached 46 entries of which 33 players currently remain and they are heading on their second scheduled 15-minute break of this opening flight. Once they return, the level duration will revert to 40 minutes each and the late registration will close.

Among the recent casualties and likely re-entries were Hyunsik Nam, Ville Pohjalainen, and Thanh Cao Nguyen whereaas Joris Michl and Euryd Rivera both entered.

Juhyun Park

In a battle of players from South Korea with the same last name - which is not very uncommon to be fair - Seunghee Park was way out in front against Juhyun Park on a flop of Q ♥️ J ♣️ 2 ♣️ .

Juhyun Park: Q ♦️ 10 ♦️

Seunghee Park: A ♣️ A ♦️

The 9 ♠️ turn and 5 ♣️ river left one Park at the table, only for a minute though as the loser of the hand re-entered.

Cheng Hsu

Down to only 30,500 in chips, James Bonnano pushed all-in and was eventually called by Cheng Hsu in the small blind.

James Bonnano: Jc: 10 ♣️

Cheng Hsu: 6 ♥️ 6 ♣️

The pair held on a board of 7 ♣️ 7 ♦️ 2 ♦️ 9 ♠️ Q ♣️ to send Bonnano to his steak dinner and wine, presumably.

Juhyun Park

Juhyun Park raised to 4,500 and earned one caller. Justin Ong then three-bet to 18,500 and Park reraised to 45,000 with around 72,000 behind.

The third player in the hand folded and Ong pushed all-in. Park went into the tank, used one time bank and called.

Juhyun Park: A ♦️ 5 ♥️

Justin Ong: A ♥️ J ♠️

The 10 ♦️ 9 ♣️ 4 ♣️ 4 ♠️ 9 ♥️ board ensured the split pot. Instead, the table then lost Rudy Edenata soon after.

Takamasa Kojima

Joseph Magnotti had predicted it "would be funny if you both had sixes" when Cheng Hsu and Takamasa Kojima were about to enter another battle. Not much came out of that hand but soon after they created a pot of around 80,000 and checked the A ♣️ 6 ♠️ 6 ♦️ Q ♣️ A ♦️ river.

Kojima showed the 7 ♥️ 6 ♥️ and Hsu chopped with his 10 ♣️ 6 ♣️ to make Magnotti's prediction come true.

Seunghee Park

Seunghee Park was all-in for 73,000 after the K ♦️ Q ♠️ 10 ♥️ 3 ♣️ turn and had the best of it with his A ♣️ J ♠️ for flopped broadway. Rudy Edenata needed an ace to chip with his K ♠️ J ♦️ but the 3 ♠️ river only paired the board.

Edenata doubled once while Young Min Kang busted one table over.

Rudy Edenata

Rudy Edenata admitted in table chat that he gambled when looking up the preflop all-in of John Costiniano for the last 43,000 and was behind with 9 ♥️ 8 ♣️ versus A ♦️ K ♣️ .

The board ran out K ♥️ J ♠️ 5h: and Edenata needed running cards. They came

Yisheng Zhu

Following a raise to 5,000 and a call, Yisheng Zhu three-bet to 15,000. Takamasa Kojima then reraised to 38,500 and it folded to Zhu who used a time bank before he pushed all-in for 105,500 total.

Kojima used two time banks and then called.

Yisheng Zhu: 10 ♠️ 10 ♣️

Takamasa Kojima: 6 ♦️ 6 ♥️

The 8 ♦️ .5d: 4 ♦️ 8 ♥️ 3 ♦️ board delivered a flush for Kojima.

James Bonanno

"Take me home. Give me a fuckin steak dinner and wine," James Bonnano one seat over from Kojima groaned.

"Put that in the blog," Joseph Magnotti exclaimed.

Done.

Steven

Down to only 29,000 in chips, Indonesia's Steven was all-in with the K ♥️ 2 ♥️ and Takamasa Kojima looked him up holding the A ♣️ 7 ♦️ .

Both paired up on the 10 ♦️ 7 ♣️ 6 ♣️ 2 ♦️ 10 ♠️ board and that spelled the end for Steven, who immediately re-entered.

Takamasa Kojima

Pandora's Mystery Bounty finalist Takamasa Kojima entered near the end of level one and quickly ran up a profit. He just now bet the J ♦️ 7 ♠️ 2 ♥️ flop for 13,000 and Ramon Mendis went into the tank. After using one time bank, Mendis folded and Kojima flashed his cards to him.

"Show one, show all," the dealer exclaimed and exposed the K ♠️ J ♣️ for the top pair.

Ronald Haverkamp

The dealer was about to push the pot to the winner but Ronald Haverkamp quickly pointed out that Hyunsik Nam had called his raise, after which they came to the J ♠️ 6 ♣️ 2 ♣️ flop with the button placed right between them.

Nam checked and Haverkamp bet 3,500, which ended up winning the pot without any drama.

So far, there are 30 out of 33 entries remaining.

The Super High Roller has concluded even though there was a major sweat, and the Titan Stack is down to the final nine players still.

Ramon Mendis

Four ways to the J ♦️ 8 ♣️ 4 ♠️ flop in a min-raised pot, Ramon Mendis bet 10,000. Only Joseph Magnotti called and then checked the 2 ♦️ on the turn. Mendis bet another 12,000 and that won the pot.

In the meanwhile, Alfie Adam busted and re-entered one table over.

Four ways with 26,000 in the middle and the 10 ♥️ 7 ♠️ 5 ♣️ flop being checked through, Hyunsik Nam bet the Q ♥️ turn for 6,500 in the small blind. Thanh Cao Nguyen called on the button and then folded the 2 ♥️ river when Nam bet 26,000.

Alexander Allen

The new blinds are 1,000-2,000 with a big blind ante of 2,000 and four tables are in play at the start of the second level. Below are the largest stacks in the field of 29 entries with 27 players remaining.

A fourth table is opening in Flight A of the Main Event near the end of the first level as several players jumped in throughout the last few minutes including Louis Bilodeau, Seunghee Park, Petteri Miettinen, Young Min Kang, John Riad and Takamasa Kojima.

In the meanwhile, the Super High Roller is down to the heads-up stage after Emmanuel Derecho first busted John Costiniano (as evident by our live updates from the Main Event) and then David Wang.

The Titan Stack has also reached the final table with AJ Acdal as the dominating chip leader ahead of Gary Thompson.

With 28 players out of 29 entries left, Flight A is now on the first break.

The action was picked up on the A ♠️ 7 ♦️ 4 ♠️ J ♥️ turn when Joseph Magnotti check-called a bet by Ramon Mendis. Magnotti checked again the A ♥️ on the river and then folded when the last bet was for 4,000.

Mendis is the early chip leader on their table.

Yichen Zhu

Three ways to the K ♣️ 5 ♦️ 4 ♠️ flop, Ronald Haverkamp checked in the small blind and Yichen Zhu bet 3,500. Hyunsik Nam called on the button as did Haverkamp.

They checked the 8 ♥️ on the turn to the A ♥️ river on which they checked to Nam. He made it 7,500 to go and Haverkamp folded, whereas Zhu called after brief consideration.

Nam tabled the Q ♣️ 4 ♣️ for just a pair of fours and but Zhu had that beat with the K ♠️ J ♠️ .

Thanh Cao Nguyen and Hyunsik Nam

Hyunsik Nam raised to 2,000 from under the gun and Thanh Cao Nguyen defended the big blind to a flop of Q ♦️ 8 ♦️ 3 ♣️ on which Nguyen check-raised from 2,500 to 6,000.

Nam called and also called another 15,000 on the 4 ♣️ turn. The A ♥️ on the river saw Nguyen bet 25,000 and Nam folded, revealing his J ♦️ 10 ♦️ for a missed gutshot straight flush draw while his opponent exposed the Q ♠️ only.

One table over, Alexander Allen won a big chunk off Alfie Adam at the same time.

Ramon Mendis

On a heads-up turn of 9 ♠️ 6 ♥️ 3 ♥️ 10 ♣️ , John Costiniano check-called a bet of 6,000 by Ramon Mendis and checked again the 4 ♦️ on the river. Mendis sized up to 15,000 for Costiniano to call and was shown the Q ♥️ Q ♣️ as the winning hand by the Swiss player.

In the meanwhile, a third table is in play with the field now up to 21 entries with 20 players remaining. Steven re-entered whereas Hal Rotholz, Alfie Adam, Michael Diniega, and Thanh Cao Nguyen all bought in recently.

Aleksandr Gorichev

Yichen Zhu raised to 2,500 and Aleksandr Gorichev three-bet to 9,000 for Zhu to call. On the Q ♥️ 8 ♠️ 4 ♠️ flop, Zhu check-called for 7,000 and checked the 3 ♠️ on the turn.

Gorichev now bet 18,000 and Zhu used one time bank before he folded.

Alexandr Allen

Four ways to the Q ♠️ 10 ♦️ 7 ♣️ flop, Yisheng Zhu bet 3,000 and Alexander Allen called while recent entry John Costiniano [spoiler - he busted the Super High Roller] folded, as did Joseph Magnotti.

On the 6 ♠️ turn, Zhu check-called for 8,000 and they checked the 4 ♣️ on the river.

Zhu tabled his J ♦️ 8 ♦️ for a missed straight draw and Allen won the pot with the 5 ♦️ 5 ♥️ .

Steven

The first casualty of the opening flight has been Steven from Indonesia and he propelled Yichen Zhu back well above the starting stack. Zhu then took on Aleksandr Gorichev and bet the 8 ♣️ 6 ♣️ 4 ♦️ flop for 1,000, Gorichev called.

On the 5 ♣️ turn both checked and Zhu bet the 10 ♦️ river for 3,500, Gorichev folded.

Daniel Peter had been moved to the table and asked why Zhu was allowed to use his phone during the hand.

"Don't worry, I am not cheating," Zhu replied and Gorichev added "he is playing poker [online]".

Yizhen Zhu

Yizhen Zhu raised to 2,500 and Christian Cloutier three-bet to 8,000. Zhu then pushed all-in for slightly more than half the starting stack and Cloutier folded.

With now up to 13 entries in Flight A, a second table has opened and among those to take their seats were Alexander Allen, James Bonanno, Ramon Mendis and Daniel Peter.

Ronald Haverkamp

In a duel small blind versus cutoff, Yisheng Zhu bet the Q ♣️ 9 ♣️ 6 ♦️ flop for 10,000 and Ronald Haverkamp called. Zhu slowed down and checked the 2 ♣️ turn after which Haverkamp bet 8,500 to win the pot.

Yisheng Zhu

The table started four-handed and Steven won the first blinds with a raise.

In the next hand, Yisheng Zhu raised to 2,500 and Yichen Zhu called in the small blind. On the J ♣️ 9 ♦️ 8 ♥️ flop, the preflop raiser bet 2,500 and won the pot.

As that hand played out, Joseph Magnotti, Ronald Haverkamp and Christian Cloutier appeared and took their seats.

According to the clock, there are nine players registered right at the start and all tables with at least four players can start the action already. The blinds are 500-1,000 with a big blind ante of 1,000 and the Main Event is officially underway.

In a limped battle of the blinds, Yisheng Zhu check-called the 10 ♥️ 4 ♠️ 3 ♠️ flop for 1,000 and the 9 ♥️ turn for 2,500 against Ramon Mendis.

Both then checked the 8 ♠️ on the river and Zhu's 10 ♦️ 5 ♦️ for top pair was the best hand.

The Arena of Champions is Set

On the fourth day of the 2026 Gods of Poker Manila stop at the five-star City of Dreams Luxury Resort Hotel & Casino, the wait is over as the flagship tournament of the festival dubbed as The Arena of Champions will officially kick off.

It is time for Flight A of the PHP 30 Million guaranteed Main Event which features the unique Cronus structure awarding those that show up on time. Players can even save 50% of their rake contribution on the first buy-in if they had signed up the previous day for each of their respective flight and the first of five will kick off in an hour from now.

The opening flight is a single-day affair and will play down to the money with approximately 13.5% of the field earning a share of the prize pool. In case anyone is jumping into more than one of the flights and bags up chips, the larger stack will be carried into Day 2 with a min-cash awarded for all subsequent bags.

Flight A is set to kick off at 12.30 p.m. local time and comes with a massive starting stack of 120,000 for the PHP 82,500 buy-in, which represents 120 big blinds at 500-1,000 with a big blind ante of 1,000. Whereas the blinds only increase once during the registration period, the first two levels actually last 120 minutes (two hours) each before the registration closes at approximately 5 p.m. local time.

All those jumping in thereafter start with 30 big blinds at 2,000-4,000 and a big blind ante of 4,000. From there on, the levels last 40 minutes each with a break every three levels and as many of them will be played to reach the money in this flight.

Another four flights await in the days after with Flight B split into two days following an even deeper structure. All survivors of the five flights then combine for Day 2, which restarts in the level in which the bubble burst the fastest.

Plenty of other tournaments are also part of today's schedule such as the conclusion of the PHP 4 Million guaranteed Titan Stack with 17 players out of 115 entries remaining. Likewise, the final four players of the PHP 412,500 Super High Roller also return at half past noon to battle for the slices of the PHP 8,148,000 prize pool.

For a full overview of today's schedule and the remainder of the series, which is held in cooperation with the Soul Poker Club, check out the following link.

Joseph Magnotti

Joseph Magnotti called the 9 ♣️ 6 ♠️ .3c: 7 ♠️ turn for 12,000 and then checked behind the K ♠️ on the river. Ramon Mendis tabled his 8 ♦️ 8 ♥️ for a pair and missed straight draw, which Magnotti had beat holding the Q ♠️ 9 ♦️ for a pair of nines.

In the meanwhile, Justin Ong talked his way to a healthy chip profit albeit without showdown.