The Asian Poker Tour Kick Off 2017 featuring a USD 1,650 Main Event buy-in and a total of 18 Side Events began at Resorts World Manila, Philippines on 11th January and will continue till 19th January. Now that the 9-day festival has crossed the half way with just 2 more days remaining, we thought to bring up some major highlights of the festival.
John Tech Wins NLH Welcome Event
The APT Kickoff 2017 got an encouraging start on 11th January with its opening event NLH Welcome Event, which played out for 2 days and drew a total of 120 entries increasing the total prize pool upto US$17,460. On day 2, the event resumed with final 8 players and finally it was Filipino pro John Tech who took down the event for $4,460 first prize. The heads up match was played between John Tech and Allan Daypuyart whose Ad-Js lost to Tech’s Ac-9s on the board reading 5c-Kd-6c-9h-8d. This opening event attracted several world class players including APT POY 2016 champion Iori Yogo, APT RPOY Korea champion Hung-Sheng Lin, and former APT Main Event champions In Chul Sin, Joven Huerto, and Alexis Lim. Adda52 Team Pro Kunal Patni also joined the action but made an early exit.
Byun Choul Seung Claims Ante Up for Charity
The Ante Up for Charity event attracted a total of 23 players raising U$1,150 for the Cancer Warriors Foundation, a non-profit organization for the support of children with cancer. Eventually, it was Korea`s Byun Choul Seung who took down the trophy in the Ante Up for Charity event. His heads-up match was against opponent Yul Maravilla from Philippines. He held Qs-7s, which beat his opponent’s Ks-Kh on the board of 10s-3s-7c-6h-7h, helping him to win $990 in prize and the trophy.
Lester Edoc Wins the Main Event Warm-Up
In the Main Event Warm-Up, it was yet again a Filipino Lester Edoc who made headlines by clinching the Main Event Warm Up title for a $7,840 payout. The heads-up match happened between Edoc and Moses Saquing. On the final hand, Edoc went all in on the river on the board reading Kh-Qh-3d-Kd-Js. Saquing tank- called for his tournament life and found him unlucky. Saquiing’s top pair As-Ah lost to Edoc’s Ks-5h, giving Edoc the title and the first place prize $7,840. Saquing earned $4,840 for his efforts.
Hung Sheng Lin Claims the Head Hunter Event
The $440 Head Hunter US$100/Bounty was a side event that attracted 79 entries. The last day of the event began with 7 survivors and Hung Sheng Lin emerged as the ultimate winner, earning $5,900. The heads- up match saw Malaysias’s Neil Lawrence tabling Js-10s and Lin showing Qs-7d. The board ran Jh-Ks-9h-10c-As, giving Lin a winning straight. Lawrence earned $3,640 for his runner-up finish.
Kai Paulsen Claims the OFC Pineapple Progressive (new event)
Norway’s Kai Paulsen had a good run. He won the OFC Pineapple Progressive, the newest event on the APT roaster. In the heads-up match, he outplayed Darren Chan Hoe Tien to earn US$1,750 and second-ever APT OFC Pineapple trophy of his career. Darren Chan Hoe Tien from Singapore earned US$1,050 for his efforts.
Wang Ping Yuan Claims NLH 1 Day event
The poker pro Wang Ping Yuan from China outlasted a field of 85 players at the NLH 1 Day event to win the US$4,490 first prize and the trophy. Yuan entered the Final 8 as the chip lead and maintained his status until the heads-up came between Edwin Marzan from Philippines. The final hand saw Yuan with 8d-7d and his opponent Marzan with Kc-Ks overpair on the board of 4d-Qs-5d-Js-6h, which gave Yuan a winning straight to defeat Marzan’s pair of kings. Marzan earned US$2,740 for his efforts.
Jan Bolotaolo Claims the MSW event
The MegaSportsWorld Deep Stack Turbo of the APT Kickoff 2017 attracted 111 entries for a prize pool of US$10,770. Action was quick with the field quickly coming down to 18 players. By the time, there were 10 players left, everyone was short-stacked. Outlasting them all was again a Filipino player Jan Bolotaolo who defeated Michael Bueza in the heads up round to win US$2,507 and the trophy.