After a three year hiatus, the beloved PokerStars Red Dragon returned along with the one-of-a-kind Red Dragon trophy up for grabs. Scheduled as one of the featured events at the ongoing Asia Pacific Poker Tour at Cove Manila at Okada Manila, it came out with a bold PHP 25 Million (~USD 427,840) guarantee.
PokerStars Red Dragon
Unlike the previous editions, the format was changed from a Freezeout to allow for re-entries. Over the two starting days, it generated 365 entries for a slight overlay and hefty prizes for the finalists.
Buy in: PHP 70,000 (~USD 1,200)
Guarantee: PHP 25,000,000 (~USD 427,840)
Entries: 365
Prize pool: PHP 25,000,000 (~USD 427,840)
ITM: 55 places
Day 1A: 104 entries / 19 survivors
Day 1B: 261 entries / 48 survivors
Day 2: 67 players
Event Recap
Day 2 opened with 67 players hunting down a spot in the money round which came fairly quick with only twelve needed to bust for it to be reached. The bubble burst when Victor Chong‘s kicker-card paired up to eliminate fellow Malaysian William Teoh. A flurry of busts followed along with exciting double ups.
One of the earliest to peak was Ronato Alcano when Victor Chong shoved into his pocket Aces. India’s Vinayak Bajaj also climbed the ranks until a cooler holding a set of kings against Mike Takayama’s set of aces kicked off his descent.
As the final table approached, Takayama’s good fortune continued with a massive double up with Aces against Ronald Haverkamp‘s queens. Haverkamp was left with no outs as Lai Xin Hua had tank-folded his queens following the two shoves before him. Takayama catapulted to the top and carried it into the final table.
The final table was dominated by the locals with five Filipinos in the lineup. That number dropped to four when Richard Marquez shoved into Li Lok Ching‘s aces. Despite the rise in chips, Li only reached 7th place, falling to the leader Takayama.
By five-handed, the likelihood of a Filipino triumph was high with four still in the running. In their way was Lai Xin Hua who doubled up multiple times to ladder up after Czar Ian Marcos fell in 5th place. The effort was commendable however in the end, Hua finished in 4th place.
The final three players quickly struck a deal with the top two stacks – Mike Takayama and Lester Edoc – winning a APPT Championship package each worth PHP 200,000 in addition to their cash prize. They then flipped for the trophy and title that was awarded to Edoc.
According to the organizers, the PokerStars Red Dragon is back and will be given its own spot at next year’s schedule.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Flag | Payout in NTD | Payout In USD |
| 1 | Lester Edoc | Philippines | 3,735,000 | 63,923 |
| 2 | Mike Takayama | Philippines | 3,735,000 | 63,923 |
| 3 | Jose Colada | Philippines | 2,720,000 | 46,551 |
| 4 | Lai Xin Hua | Singapore | 1,685,000 | 28,838 |
| 5 | Czar Ian Marcos | Philippines | 1,295,000 | 22,163 |
| 6 | Seonghun Park | Korea | 995,000 | 17,029 |
| 7 | Li Lok Ching | Hong Kong | 765,000 | 13,093 |
| 8 | Ronald Haverkamp | Netherlands | 630,000 | 10,782 |
| 9 | Richard Marquez | Philippines | 526000 | 9,002 |
Read up on the Final Day action via the LIVE UPDATES.
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