APPT Manila Main Event Gets Underway

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila Main Event has gotten off to an exciting start in the Filipino capital.

A total of 585 total entrants were registered at the event’s first two starting flights, and competition was fierce from the get-go.

Evidence of that can be seen by the fact just 175 players of the original field made the cut to the second the day of play.

The 585 entrants set a record for the largest ever international poker event in Manila. The record was previously set by the 2010 APPT Manila Main Event, which attracted a total of 430 entrants.

Korean poker shark Dong Il Kim finished the first day of play as the tournament’s chip leader, with a stack of 242,700 to his name.

Kim managed to put himself into the lead in the late stage of Day 1B after he hit a flush on the river that put him well over 200,000 chips.

He is followed by Australian player Aaron Lim, who will be the only other player to enter Day 2 with a stack of over 200,000. Lim finished Day 1 with 201,800 chips.

Japan’s Shinobu Tanaka finished Day 1 with the third highest chip stack, with 178,700 chips to his name going into Day 2.

The prize payouts for the APPT Manila Main Event were also announced during the second starting flight.

The top 72 player in this year’s Main Event will receive cash payments, with the minimum payout set to be 89,800 Philippine Pesos (around US$1,965).

That may seem like a measly amount to some, but that’s all the motivation to try and make the final table, where the cash payouts are higher.

Ninth place in the event is set to walk away with 498,900 pesos (around US$10,900), while that is set to double to 1,097,600 pesos (around US$23,970) for the fifth place finisher.

The event’s runner up is set to receive a 3,367,500 (around US$73,530) boost to their bank account, while the winner will get 6,016,250 (around US$131,360) pesos for their stellar play.

As always, we at PokerTube will keep readers updated with all of the play and news at the APPT Manila Main Event.