02 Jul Mark Amparo wins the Metro WALK TO A MILLION
After eight hours of final day competition, the Metro WALK TO A MILLION (MWAM) found its champion. Mark Amparo knocked out five players at the final table to claim the title and the Php 535,000 (~US$ 10,200) first prize. This marks Amparo’s second Metro Card Club victory with the first one back in August 2016 at the 2M Guaranteed Main Event.
Winner story and final table review
The MWAM ran from June 26 to July 1, 2019. Four starting days formed a combined field of 616 entries. With each at Php 3,500, the P1.5M guarantee was smashed for a larger Php 1,971,200 (~US$ 38,500) prize pool. It was in Day 1B where eventual winner Mark Amparo got his foot in the Day 2 door. By the end of Day 2, he climbed high in the ranks to enter the final day running fourth in chips.
Returning to the races, the final day saw 17 players gunning for the title. Leading the pack was another well known local pro, Joseph Sia. Alike Amparo, Sia was decorated with a major Metro title and was favored to win given his massive opening stack. However, the day was not Sia’s to own. Other players outshined early that by the time the final table was reached, it was Jessie Bulatao at the top while Sia and Amparo were both at the bottom.
It was during the final table where Amparo began to display his fangs. He claimed his first of five victims in Royly Oracion (10th place) with trips over two pair on a board {6d}{as}{ac}{4c}{8h}. The shoves were on the turn. Oracion with {9c}{6c}, Amparo with {ah}{js}.
Next on the Amparo chopping block was Sia (9th place) who shoved with {ah}{qh} but fell to {kc}{10c} on a board {10h}{kh}{as}{5c}{6c}. This gave Amparo the chip lead for the first time and it also left him as the only player hunting down a second major Metro title.
Before Amparo claimed his third victim, Reiner Magbutay went on a mad rush collecting pot after pot. It led to the fall of Randy Cirineo in 8th place and the rise of Magbutay to the leader’s seat. Several hands after, Amparo booted Jimmie Javier in 7th place. Javier was a tough contender throughout bagging the Day 1A chip lead which no one could overtake then entered the final day fifth in chips.
Bonifacio Mondalo also grabbed the spotlight by knocking out Tyrone Lim (6th place) and Jessie Bulatao (5th place). Mondalo’s time up top was brief though with Magbutay doubling up through Amparo and railing Bryan Pelandas in 4th place.
At three-handed, majority of the big pots were between Magbutay and Amparo. One key hand was Amparo’s {ad}{3d} spiking a pair to defeat Magbutay’s {as}{8s}. Several hands after, Amparo proceeded to take the rest to rail Magbutay in 3rd place.
Heads up lasted all of 9 hands. It began with Amparo ahead over 2:1 against Mondalo. By hand #3, the tables turned with Mondalo spiking a flush on the river to double up and edge Amparo by a small margin. Amparo retaliated in hand #7 with two pair over higher two pair to regain the lead and climb to a 10:1 advantage. Two hands after, it was all over. Amparo railed Mondalo in 2nd place to capture the title.
Congratulations to the Mark Amparo! He is the MWAM 2019 champion!
Final day payouts
1st Mark Amparo – Php 535,000
2nd Bonifacio Mondalo – Php 294,064
3rd Reiner Magbutay – Php 180,000
4th Bryan Pelandas – Php 111,600
5th Jessie Bulatao – Php 80,000
6th Tyrone Lim – Php 60,800
7th Jimmie Javier – Php 48,000
8th Randy Cirineo – Php 38,400
9th Joseph Sia – Php 28,800
10th Royly Oracion – Php 22,400
11th PJ Angeles – Php 16,000
12th Ramon Roces – Php 16,000
13th Julius Santiago – Php 12,800
14th Terence Dizon – Php 12,800
15th Joel Copiozo – Php 12,800
16th Rick Ambata – Php 9,600
17th Knoffler Carillo – Php 9,600
The Metro sends its gratitude to everyone that came out and participated in the MWAM. Up next is the Batang Metro Poker Challenge on August 21 to 26, 2019. Buy-in is Php 4,500. We hope to see you all there!
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