Magdagasang rules 2nd leg of Poker Tour

MANILA, Philippines - Rebel Magdagasang bounced back from a loss in the first hand and went on to beat Edwin Nava and rule the second leg of the P10 million Philippine Poker Tour’s inaugural season at the Resorts World Manila yesterday.

Magdagasang, a 41-year-old musician from Davao, regained his rhythm after momentarily losing the chip lead in the first hand of his heads up against Nava and went on to pocket the P321,700 top prize in the P1.3 million tournament which attracted another banner field of 269 entries.

The winning package also included a seat worth P50,000 to this year’s APT Asian Series Manila and a slot to Resorts World’s upcoming P300,000 tournament.

Magdagasang also earned a berth to the PPT Battle of Champions in March next year which would select a Philippine representative to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.

The first slot went to Dexter Bryan Luna, who topped the first leg at the Metro Card Club.

The grueling 12-hour battle at the final table ended when Magdagasang’s Ac 10h held over Nava’s Jh 10s following a clear out as the board ran 8d 3s 6s 4d 8s.

“I’m simply overwhelmed. I thought I was headed for another loss,” said Magdagasang, who saw his imposing chip lead wipe out in the first hand of the heads up when Nava, holding 2h 5h completed a gut shot straight against his Ah 8c from a flop of Ac Jd 4c 3s 8c.

“I simply kept my composure when the chips were down. I knew somehow things will even out,” he added.

The 49-year-old Nava, who entered the final table with one of the shortest stacks, settled for the P156,600 second prize.

“I was simply too tired and hungry,” he said.

Businessman Trifie Montebon finished third and took home P61,500 while Fil-Japanese Mike Takayama wound up fourth followed by Edison Marzan, Canadian Craig Heron, Nina Castro, Ralph Darjuan, Alex Corpuz and Jojo Tech in that order.

PPT founder Jojo Allado expressed elation over the turnout, describing it as a resounding success and a fitting follow-up to the first leg held at the Metro Card Club in Pasig last month.

The tour swings back to the Metro Card Club for the third leg on July 19-24 before returning to RWM for the fourth leg Aug. 9-14.