The second-biggest Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Main Event in the history of the PokerStars sponsored live poker series has crowned a winner in the early morning hours at Okada Manila. While the majority of the rail was rooting for eventual runner-up Christopher "BIGTIME" Mateo to keep the golden shard trophy on home soil, it was China's Yuanning Wu who came out on top of the heads-up encounter.
With a price tag of PHP65,000 (∼$1,168), the marquee 2023 APPT Manila Main Event in the stunning Coral Room drew a staggering 1,354 entries. The PHP 76,832,730 (∼$1,381,101) prize pool is the largest for an APPT Main Event thus far and the biggest share went to Wu and Mateo. They cut a deal in heads-up and left PHP1,414,730 to play for. Besides the cash prize and coveted APPT Main Event trophy, Wu also receives a package worth PHP105,000 for a future APPT stop as well.
The two eventual heads-up opponents entered the unofficial final table sixth and seventh in chips but were separated by fewer than two big blinds when the most crucial stage of the tournament was reached. Wu was one of two former finalists of the popular mid-stakes live poker event and scored his second victory with the far biggest tournament cash prize worth PHP11,414,730 ($204,769).
New Zealand's Thomas Ward, a runner-up from back in 2015 in Macau, had to settle for eighth place after he lost the majority of pots entered during the final stages. He was visiting Manila for the birthday of a friend and continued where he left a few years ago, coming close to victory once more.
With a price tag of PHP65,000 (∼$1,168), the marquee 2023 APPT Manila Main Event in the stunning Coral Room drew a staggering 1,354 entries. The PHP 76,832,730 (∼$1,381,101) prize pool is the largest for an APPT Main Event thus far and the biggest share went to Wu and Mateo. They cut a deal in heads-up and left PHP1,414,730 to play for. Besides the cash prize and coveted APPT Main Event trophy, Wu also receives a package worth PHP105,000 for a future APPT stop as well.
The two eventual heads-up opponents entered the unofficial final table sixth and seventh in chips but were separated by fewer than two big blinds when the most crucial stage of the tournament was reached. Wu was one of two former finalists of the popular mid-stakes live poker event and scored his second victory with the far biggest tournament cash prize worth PHP11,414,730 ($204,769).
New Zealand's Thomas Ward, a runner-up from back in 2015 in Macau, had to settle for eighth place after he lost the majority of pots entered during the final stages. He was visiting Manila for the birthday of a friend and continued where he left a few years ago, coming close to victory once more.
