Four days in the Manila Megastack 17 festival at Okada Manila, Philippines sees more winners emerge victorious and claim top prizes across the action-packed lineup. Local runner Alvir Inocentes for one, came out to be yesterday’s biggest earner after taking down the Kick Off event for PHP 877,000 (~USD 15,860). International runners Gaby Sawma, Takashi Kawauchi, and Hyeongi Hong similarly shared the spotlight having bagged spade trophies from their side event wins. The qualifying rounds for the PHP 2,000,000 (~USD 36,160) guaranteed Mystery Bounty also played through with Bernard Chua topping the ranks into today’s Day 2 Final.
Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Schedule
Event #7: Kick Off: Alvir Inocentes – PHP 877,000 (~USD 15,860)
A regular favorite across the Manila Megastack lineup, this season’s Kick Off event once again smashed its PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150) guarantee by miles. A total of 488 entries were recorded across three starting flights and saw its prize pool swell to over double in value at PHP 6,248,352 (~USD 112,990). By the final day, only 73 returned to the felt led by Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz with each guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 23,500 (~USD 420).
It didn’t take long before the first casualty was seen with Marciel Cerbito heading for exit less than ten minutes into the game. The journey to the final table however, took over six hours of play before the field drew down to its final nine. The last three tables saw some of the field’s toughest contenders slip away including APPT Manila champion Ashley Patterson, Day chip leader Lagatuz, Filipino pro Christopher Mateo, and bracelet winner Mike Takayama.
The final table gameplay kicked off with Marcial Lou in the lead after delivering several eliminations and running good all day. Lou sat atop the ranks since the first break and cruised through the field, bagging crucial pots, winning flips, and playing great defense to land the advantage. Aggressive runner Ryan Platon who similarly had his eye on the prize, managed to overtake the lead less than an hour in after eliminating Raymundo Gomez in 8th place in a set over set scenario. Platon used this boost to wield his big stack and hammer back at Lou. It was only until Lou’s 
was cracked by Alvir Inocentes’ 
did a new contender rise up to the ranks.
The two short stacks left on the table then busted, leaving the final four to break an ICM deal for the remaining payouts. Inocentes took the biggest loot, setting aside the trophy and PHP 35,000 (~USD 630 ) to play for. With everyone guaranteed prizes, Inocentes carried on to secure the title after defeating Jayvon Carreon in heads up play for the win.
Date: December 4 – 6, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 15,000 (~USD 270)
Guarantee: PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 54,150)
Prize pool: PHP 6,248,352 (~USD 112,990)
Entries: 488
ITM: 74 players
Flight A: 140 entries, 21 qualified
Flight B: 232 entries, 35 qualified
Flight C:116 entries, 18 qualified
Event #7: Kick Off Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Alvir Inocentes | Philippines | ₱877,000* |
| 2 | Jayvon Carreon | Philippines | ₱788,000* |
| 3 | Marcial Lou | Philippines | ₱619,000* |
| 4 | Ryan Platon | Philippines | ₱596,000* |
| 5 | Wallac Chan Wai | Hong Kong | ₱330,000 |
| 6 | Jan Jason Leoncio | Philippines | ₱260,000 |
| 7 | John Clyde Tan | Philippines | ₱195,000 |
| 8 | Raymundo Gomez | Philippines | ₱135,000 |
| 9 | Canale Kier | Philippines | ₱108,852 |
*Denotes deal was made
Event #12: PLO Knockout: Gaby Sawma – PHP 111,616 (~USD 2,010)
The first Pot Limit Omaha event on schedule drew in 56 players with only the final eight claiming a share of the PHP 422,016 (~USD 7,630) prize pool. Ecuador’s Alexis Palacios claimed the first payout of PHP 16,900 (~USD 305), having bowed out in 8th place. Elimination after elimination, the final table eventually drew down to its last two players with Singapore’s Ivan Tan and Lebanon’s Gaby Sawma agreeing to a heads up deal. The final hand saw Sawma clinch the title with 
against Tan’s 
on board 
. Both players landed two pair, Sawma with the better one to bag the top prize PHP 111,616 (~USD 2,010).
Date: December 6, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 10,000 (~USD 180)
Prize pool: PHP 422,016 (~USD 7,630)
Entries: 56
ITM: 8 players
Event #12: PLO Knockout Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Sawma Gaby | Lebanon | ₱111,616* |
| 2 | Tan Ivan | Singapore | ₱106,600* |
| 3 | Rivera Euryd | Philippines | ₱59,100 |
| 4 | Chen Ying Chan | Taiwan | ₱44,700 |
| 5 | Chua Christian | Philippines | ₱34,600 |
| 6 | Goodwin Jarod Peter | United States | ₱27,000 |
| 7 | Chun Kit Lai | Hong Kong | ₱21,500 |
| 8 | Palacios Alexis | Ecuador | ₱16,900 |
*Denotes deal was made
Note: PHP 56,000 in bounties not included
Event #14: Mini High Roller: Takashi Kawauchi – PHP 439,600 (~USD 7,950)
The heftiest buy-in across the Manila Megastack 17 schedule to date, saw 16 runners battle it out for the Mini High Roller title and lion’s share of the PHP 1,047,600 (~USD 18,940) prize pool. With only four players geared a payout, the two-table field coursed through over six hours of play to get to the money. By this time, Philippines’ Chierro De Leon held the lead and reached heads up play against Japan’s Takashi Kawauchi. Kawauchi however, managed to overtake his opponent and claimed the victory soon after for PHP 439,600 (~USD 7,950).
Date: December 6, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 75,000 (~USD 1,350)
Prize pool: PHP 1,047,600 (~USD 18,940)
Entries: 16
ITM: 4 players
Event #14: Mini High Roller Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Kawauchi Takashi | Japan | ₱439,600 |
| 2 | De Leon Chierro | Philippines | ₱293,000 |
| 3 | Takayama Mike | Philippines | ₱189,000 |
| 4 | Reyes Jaime Ramon | United States | ₱126,000 |
Event #15: Bubble Rush: Hyeongi Hong – PHP 82,428 (~USD 1,490)
Date: December 6, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 10,000 (~USD 180)
Prize pool: PHP 145,112 (~USD 3,540)
Entries: 17
ITM: 4 players
Event #15: Bubble Rush Full Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Hong Hyeongi | Korea, South | ₱82,428 |
| 2 | Cheong Mun Leong | Singapore | ₱55,000 |
| 3 | Hong Soojing | Japan | ₱35,300 |
| 4 | Miyamoto Masakazu | Japan | ₱23,600 |
Bernard Chua leads Mystery Bounty qualifiers into Day 2 Final
The qualifying rounds of the Mystery Bounty event also wrapped up yesterday and saw Philippines’ Bernard Chua bag the biggest stack from Flight B with 485,000 in chips. Following in second is China’s Wu Shenghao who likewise emerged as Flight A’s chip leader, bringing in a 326,000 stack for today’s final games. Only 29 runners are set to return to the felt with both flights seeing two players bust right on bubble time. Flight A saw Liu Zhiqiang and Takagi Sakae hit the rails while Flight B’s Griffith Darrell and Karlsson Peter Magnus will equally miss today’s exciting bounty action. Aside from the cash prizes to be won, the total bounty pot stands at PHP 1,206,000 (~USD 21,800) with the biggest being PHP 256,000 (~USD 4,630), leaving all survivors in for a thrilling knockout experience.
Date: December 6-7, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 20,000 (~USD 360)
Guarantee: PHP 2,000,000 (~USD 36,160)
Prize pool: PHP 2,225,472 (~USD 40,240)
Total Bounties: PHP 1,206,000 (~USD 21,800)
Entries: 201
ITM: 31 players
Flight A: 80 entries, 12 qualified
Flight B: 121 entries, 19 qualified
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Pos. | Player | Flag | Chip Count |
| 1 | Chua Bernard | Philippines | 485,000 |
| 2 | Wu Shenghao | China | 326,000 |
| 3 | Huang Cheng Wen | Taiwan | 322,000 |
| 4 | Mateo Christopher | Philippines | 303,000 |
| 5 | Nagami Kyosuke | Japan | 302,000 |
| 6 | Derecho Emmanuel | Australia | 293,000 |
| 7 | Nachor Jr. Vivencio | Philippines | 258,000 |
| 8 | Kim Pyeongkang | Korea, South | 248,000 |
| 9 | Tai Weiliang | Singapore | 247,000 |
| 10 | Sayo John Carlo | Philippines | 242,000 |
Event #13: Final Table Payouts
| Pos. | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | ₱462,972 |
| 2 | ₱312,000 |
| 3 | ₱220,000 |
| 4 | ₱178,500 |
| 5 | ₱141,000 |
| 6 | ₱107,000 |
| 7 | ₱78,000 |
| 8 | ₱57,000 |
| 9 | ₱47,500 |
