Asian Poker Tour, Philippines climaxed yesterday at the Resort World Manila with the final day action of main event crowning Julius Malzanini as the champion. Julius collected the top prize of $102,600 with the APT championship title. It was one of the most successful outings for Indian poker players with 2 APT titles, 6 final table finishes and 6 other cash finishes in the 9-day poker fiesta.
Kavish Kukreja kicked off the Indian campaign by taking down the $50K GTD Opening Event for $11,980. Indian grinders failed to cash in any event on the 2nd day of the tournament but bounced back on Day 3 in the Head Hunter event. Kunal Patni and Shravan Chhabria bagged $930 (18th) and $1,060 (13th) excluding their bounty cashed in the Head Hunter.
While players rushed into the opening flight of $2,200 Main Event the next day, Amit Jain and Sahil Agarwal were having a deep run in Event 7: Open Face Chinese Pineapple 60 Max. Both the Indian pros finished on the final table of this game – Amit for $1,360 in 5th place while Sahil for $1,490 in the 4th place.
18th April brought another momentous victory for Team India when Team Spades pro Amit Jain won the APT Philippines title event 8 with the top prize of $13,980. Sahil Agarwal added another $1,150 in his live earning making 15th place finish in the same event. Meanwhile, 9 Indian players qualified for the Day 2 of Main Event.
The main event action continued while Indians kept on bagging cashes in the side events. Once again, Amit and Kavish made it to the final table of Event 11: $550 No Limit Hold’em 2. Kavish finished 3rd in this event while Amit took home $2,330 finishing 7th on the final table.
Apoorva Goel and Sahil Agarwal were the only two Indians in contention on the main event title on the penultimate day of the APT Philippines while 3 others Indian players were having a good run in the Event 13: $770 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em. Team Spades Pro Kunal Patni and Aditya Sushant took home their last cash of the tournament by finishing 14th and 18th respectively. Team Thrill member Shravan Chhabria made a brilliant 3rd place finish in the same event. On the same day, Apoorva Goel finished his main event run in the 26th place for $4,500.
On the final day of the tournament, Sahil Agarwal made a valiant 5th place finish in the main event taking home $23,300.
Indian poker fans are elated on this fantastic performance by Indian players out in Manila who brought home two APT titles with over $70,000 in prize money. Kudos to this performance!
Detailed list of Indian wins and cash in APT Philippines:
| Player | Event | Prize/Place |
| Kavish Kukreja | $50K GTD Opening Event (Event 1) | $11,980/1st |
| Shravan Chhabria | $440 Head Hunter $100/Bounty (Event 5) | $1,060/13th |
| Kunal Patni | $440 Head Hunter $100/Bounty (Event 5) | $930/18th |
| Sahil Agarwal | $275 Open Face Chinese Pineapple 60 Max | $1,490/4th |
| Amit Jain | $275 Open Face Chinese Pineapple 60 Max | $1,360/5th |
| Sahil Agarwal | $440 No Limit Hold’em 1 (Event 8) | $1,150/15th |
| Amit Jain | $440 No Limit Hold’em 1 (Event 8) | $13,980/1st |
| Amit Jain | $550 No Limit Hold’em 2 (Event 11) | $2,330/7th |
| Kavish Kukreja | $550 No Limit Hold’em 2 (Event 11) | 3rd |
| Shravan Chhabria | $770 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em (Event 13) | 3rd |
| Kunal Patni | $770 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em (Event 13) | $1,700/14th |
| Aditya Sushant | $770 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em (Event 13) | $1,490/18th |
| Apoorva Goel | $2,200 Main Event | $4,500/26th |
| Sahil Agarwal | $2,200 Main Event | $23,300/5th |