WPT Philippines: Seitaro Aso Wins 6 Max NLH, William Kang Takes Down Superstack Freezeout

The 2020 World Poker Tour (WPT) Philippines has been the hotbed of exciting poker action at the luxe Okada Manila and yesterday was equally hectic, with three tournaments running at the same time.

Japan’s Seitaro Aso emerged victorious in the PHP 55,000 buy-in 6 Max NLH event as he topped a field of 80 entries to collect PHP 1,320,000 in prize money. William Kang was the other side event winner yesterday, and he came out on top of a field of 125 entries in the Superstack NLH Freezeout event and claimed PHP 269,000 in prize money following a heads-up deal with John Lee (2nd for PHP 232,000).

Also running alongside was the biggest buy-in tournament at the series, the PHP 500,000 buy-in Super High Roller. From a starting field of a modest seven players, only two survived the day`s play. By the end, Vietnam’s Cao Ngoc Anh (1,372,000) bagged up almost 80% of chips in play against Korea’s Minhee Gim (378,000). The late registration period for the event will be open until 1 pm local time on Day 2.

Having awarded two more titles, only nine more titles are yet to be given away. The most prestigious of them all, the flagship PHP 75,000 buy-in Main Event that guarantees PHP 12 Million, will commence today with its first starting flight.

Event 11: 6 Max NLH

Japan’s Seitaro Aso took down the two-day 6 Max NLH event and banked the PHP 1,320,000 that came with it. The PHP 55,000 buy-in event logged in 80 entries (62 unique runners and 18 re-entries), and the top 10 places took a dig at the PHP 3,880,000 prize pool.

Day 1 of the event ended after the money bubble burst on Lester Edoc and the 10 surviving players returned to the final Day 2 to play down to the title. Filipino pro Mike Takayama started the day in the lead while Seitaro was second in chips.

By the end, the heads-up match was set between the two Japanese players, Seitaro and Iori Yogo, with the former holding a 2:1 chip advantage. Seitaro was an unstoppable force, and on the final hand, Seitraro’s pocket queens prevailed over Yogo’s pocket fours as the board ran .

Also making it in the money was Terry Gonzaga, who bubbled the final table and placed 10th for PHP 116,000.

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. Seitaro Aso – PHP 1,320,000
2. Iori Yogo – PHP 757,000
3. Sven McDermott – PHP 473,000
4. Kyungkun Lee – PHP 320,000
5. Hamish Crawshaw – PHP 242,000
6. Cao Ngoc Anh – PHP 195,000
7. Christos Vlahos – PHP 173,000
8. Ryan McAllister – PHP 152,000
9. Mike Takayama – PHP 132,000

Event 12: Superstack NLH Freezeout

The Superstack NLH Freezeout came with a price tag of PHP 12,000 and drew a total of 125 entries to create the PHP 1,067,000 prize pool. William Kang topped them all and claimed the title following a heads-up deal with John Lee. Kang took home PHP 269,000 in prize money while Lee collected PHP 232,000.

Lee started the heads-up match with a 2.5:1 chip lead, but the equation changed after Kang doubled up. The duo played a few more hands and then agreed to cut a deal. Kang had a bigger stack than Lee and hence, claimed the title.

Others who made it in the money but missed out on the final table action included Lester Timonera (10th for PHP 27,000), Hiroki Yokohama (11th for PHP 27,000), Jacque Ramsden (12th for PHP 27,000), Kentaro Sako (13th for PHP 24,000), Mark Lloyd (14th for PHP 24,000), and Bryan Santos (16th for PHP 21,000).

Final Table Results (PHP)

1. William Kang – PHP 269,000*
2. John Lee – PHP 232,000*
3. Anthony Abram – PHP 115,000
4. Alvin Jeff Sembrano – PHP 72,000
5. Koji Takagi – PHP 53,000
6. Kim Hak Do – PHP 46,000
7. Alexis Lim – PHP 40,000
8. Joon Hwi Park – PHP 35,000
9. Joven Huerto – PHP 31,000

*denotes heads-up deal

Event 13: Super High Roller

The PHP 500,000 buy-in Super High Roller’s registration was open for the entire time on Day 1 and will end on Day 2 at 1 pm local time. Only seven high rollers turned up for the event, and hence the prize pool after Day 1 amounted to PHP 3,293,150.

Only two players managed to bag up, namely, Vietnam’s Cao Ngoc Anh (1,372,000) and Korea’s Minhee Gim (378,000).

Those who fell over the course of the day included Lester Edoc, Hamish Crawshaw, Vincent Huang, Jun Obara, and Florencio Campomanes.

Content and Images Courtesy: SoMuchPoker

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