MANILA, Philippines -- Action in Day 1A of the Main Event of the World Poker Tour (WPT) National Philippines opened with a bang as 143 competitors took to the felt at the posh Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.
Players from all over the world plunged into battle with the prize pool now at a whopping US$288K (approximately PhP12.6M) with Day 1B still to follow.
Among the international campaigners were WPT Korea champion Iori Yogo of Japan, tournament grinder John Hoang, high stakes veteran David Steicke, J.J. Liu lady pros J.J. Liu—2014 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) High Roller champion, Zuan Lu of Canada, the “Poker Barbie” Lacey Jones, “Jungleman” Daniel Cates and legendary poker commentator Mike Sexton.
The locals also came in full force with reigning Asian Poker Tour (APT) champion Mike Takayama leading the Pinoy field.
Also in action were World Series of Poker (WSOP) veteran Jay Lubas, 2012 Philippine Poker Tour Player of the Year Martin Corpus, and fellow national teammates Edison Marzan and Alan Escaño.
Former national champions Johnny Tan, Rene Pacayra and Lester Edoc also plunged into the hostilities as did pros Eman Segismundo, Martin Gonzales along with brothers Marc and Czardy Rivera. Poker golden boy Franco Mabanta also resurfaced after a long hiatus to attempt to be part of Philippine poker history.
But the highlight of the day’s festivities was the second championship trophy hoisted by a Filipino when local pro John Zendrick “Jojo” Tech topped the second $150 NLHE Deep Stack Turbo event by outplaying Vietnam’s Vi Khoa Duong in heads-up.
With $200 NLHE Warm-Up titlist and good friend Euryd Rivera nearby, Tech proceeded to dominate the showdown with his trademark pressure play until his opponent was forced into a misstep that inevitably led to another Filipino victory.
“He (Vi) was very crafty, but I waited for my spots,” Tech, the 30-year-old Pasig native said in the vernacular.
“I wanted to drag him into post-flop action because I didn’t want to gamble by engaging him preflop. It worked and thankfully ‘we’ won,” referring to the Philippine flag attached on his shoulder.
“Jojo and I play go way back in the tourney circuit,” Rivera said after the rousing victory wherein many hometown fans stayed on to witness. “He’s a great player and I was there to support him all the way. Hopefully the Pinoy wins don’t end here.”
In the much awaited $25K High Roller Event, American Jason Mo got the biggest payout of the tournament thus far as the victory there netted him US$150K (PhP6.6M).
Meanwhile, joining Tech and Mo in the latest names to enter the winners’ circle are Sok Meng Hun of Cambodia who took down the $500 Deep Stack event, along with the PhP 774K top prize while Saravanakkumar prevailed in an all Malaysian showdown in the $300 Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) championship after besting Heng Mun Lua in heads-up to bag the PhP238K purse in the triumph.