PokerStars LIVE Asia wrapped up its final event of the year with the 17th edition of the Manila Megastack racking up record breaking numbers and paying out over PH₱ 70 Million, equivalent to (~$1.265 Million). The festival ran from December 3 to 12, 2023 at its hub in Okada Manila, Philippines. Check out the numbers and the highlights down below.

Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Photo Gallery
Manila Megastack – Schedule

PokerStars LIVE Asia has already released its partial 2024 schedule. At the turn of the new year, the brand blasts off with the highly popular Manila Super Series from January 2 to 9, 2024. This is a great way to usher in the new. The event promises to be bigger than ever ₱16,500,000 in prizes featuring a ₱ 10 Million (~$180,500) guaranteed Main Event. Make sure to check the schedule for all the details. 

Manila Super Series 19 – Full Schedule

Festival Highlights

Festival Prize Pool: PH₱ 70,024,526 (~$1,265,130)
Trophy Events: 36
Record Main Event Entries: 870
Record Main Event: ₱26,582,850 (~$480,270)
Main Event Winner: Masafumi Matsushita – PH₱ 3,941,000 (~$71,200)
Biggest festival earner: Wu Shenghao – 3 cashes – PH₱ 4,111,000 (~$74,270)
Record Kickoff: PH₱ 6,248,352 (~$112,890)
Kickoff Winner:  Alvir Inocentes – PH₱ 912,000 (~$16,480)
Multi-winners: Ashley Patterson (2), Kawauchi Takashi (2) and (1) runner up
Most Final Tables: Wallac Chan Wai (4)
Trophy by Flag: Japan (10), Philippines (6), Singapore (5), South Korea (5), United Kingdom (2), Australia (1), China (1), Finland (1), Hong Kong (1), Indonesia (1), Lebanon (1), Peru (1), USA (1), Taiwan (1)

Guarantee Breached Events

MASAFUMI MATSUSHITA wins maiden title at record breaking Manila Megastack Main Event

The 17th edition of the Manila Megastack outpaced all previous turnouts with 870 entries on the registry. In turn, this generated a record PH₱ 26,582,850 (~$480,270) prize pool, which was over 1.5 times the ₱10M guarantee. Japan’s Masafumi Matsushita emerged victorious to capture his first live title and the coveted large PS spadie. 

Biggest Earner: WU SHENGHAO

China’s Wu Shenghao may have narrowly missed the big win at the Main Event, falling only to champion Masafumi Matsushita, however he still earned walked away as the festival’s biggest earner. Wu cashed three times for a combined payout of PH₱ 4,111,000 (~$74,270). 

2nd – Main Event – PH₱ 3,944,000
7th – Deepstack Challenge – PH₱ 156,000
14th – Mystery Bounty – PH₱ 43,500

Multiple Winners

Out of the 34 champions, Ashley Patterson and Takashi Kawauchi walked away with not one but two trophies each! Here are their achievements.

Most Final Table Cashes: WALLAC CHAN WAI

Several players reached the final table multiple times with Hong Kong’s Wallac Chan Wai topping cashing an impressive four times. Chan pocketed a combined PH₱ 479,900 (~$8,660). 

5th – Event 7: Kick Off – PH₱ 330,000
7th – Event 28: Super Knockout Turbo – PH₱ 28,000
3rd – Event 30: Short Deck Turbo – PH₱ 43,800
3rd – Event 36: Knockout Turbo – PH₱ 78,100

JAPAN wins the Most Trophies

Despite a heavily attended local force, it was Japan claiming the most trophies, walking away with 10 coveted spadies. This was an impressive four more than the host country. Singapore and Korea both tied at 5 trophies each.