Get ready for another Asia Poker Championship Php 20 Million GTD! – August 9 to 15; Mega Satellite today

After the massive success of the Asia Poker Championship last June, the highly talked about event returns this week for another seven day celebration! Like previous, the Metro Card Club’s homegrown festival features a mighty Php 20 Million guarantee, and if the previous event is a gauge of what to expect, then this figure will not only be breached but it will also see several players walk away as millionaires. In collaboration with Korea Mind Game Members (KMGM), the APC kicks off on August 9 and runs through August 15. Come on over and step up! Show us you got what it takes to become the next champion!

Breaking down the APC schedule

To have a chance at the Php 20 Million guarantee, five starting days are lined up to try to qualify into Day 2. Buy in is Php 44,000 (~US$ 800) with unlimited re-entries. Attempting for multiple stacks is allowed however only the largest stack moves forward. A couple of things to keep in mind, changes have been made to registration and level duration. To give players ample chances at the hefty pot, registration will stay open throughout Day 1, closing before the first deal of Day 2. Be aware that Day 1A – Day 1D start at 1pm with blinds now increasing at a slower 45 minute pace. Day 1E (Turbo) starts at 11am, blinds increase every 20 minutes.

Day 1A: Tuesday, August 9 @1pm
Day 1B: Wednesday, August 10 @1pm
Day 1C: Thursday, August 11 @1pm
Day 1D: Friday, August 12 @1pm
Day 1E (Turbo): Saturday, August 13 @11am

Starting stack: 40,000
Opening blinds: 100 – 100
Day 1A – Day 1D level duration: 45 minutes
Day 1E level duration: 20 minutes

All players with chips at the end of Level 11 bag up and return on Saturday, August 13 at 6pm. Day 2 will play out six levels or to ITM whichever comes first. Change has also been made to the payout structure. Players will be happy to know that more players will see the money. The event now pays out 12% of the field.

For players that make it to Day 3, which takes place on Sunday, August 14 at 1pm, there will be a rollback to a 30 BB ratio and a seat draw. Same goes for the Final Table on Monday, August 15 at 1pm. The final table will also see blinds increase at a slow 60 minute pace and it will revert to a Regular Ante format.

APC Mega Satellite

The APC buy in may be quite a burn on the pocket but there is a solution. Happening at 4pm today, Monday, August 8 is the lone APC Mega Satellite with buy in at Php 4,400. That’s just ten percent of the event cost. This is the best way to try to win a seat for cheap. One player in 11 will win a seat.

Side Events

In addition to the headliner are six side events with buy ins from Php 11,000 to Php 110,000. These are trophy events. They run side by side the APC. Make sure to check the schedule for the starting times.

Mystery Bounty – Tuesday, August 9 – Php 16,500
Deep Stack Turbo – Wednesday, August 10 – Php 16,500
Power Button – Thursday, August 11 – Php 11,000
No Limit Hold’em – Friday, August 12 – Php 11,000
High Roller – Sunday, August 14 – Php 110,000
Monster Stack – Monday, August 15 – Php 22,000

Brief history of the APC

The APC is a fairly young series. Its first run was in 2020 with entry at half of today’s price. Despite the heavily populated local turnout, the event was a huge success, seeing 429 entries to more than double the Php 5M guarantee. After a four-way ICM deal, Noel Araniel became the first champion for a career high score of Php 1,525,877, however a significantly larger payout went to third placer Martin Gonzales amounting to Php 2,238,066.

Two years later, the second edition was held in June 2022. The buy in was bumped up to Php 44,000 and the guarantee was raised to an ambitious Php 20 Million. Unlike previous, the event was in collaboration with KMGM. This produced a huge turnout of 544 entries, mostly Koreans and Filipinos. The guarantee was also exceeded to a larger Php 21,107,200. Out of the seven Koreans that reached the final two tables, only two advanced to the Final 8 with Kim Hoo Yup running aground in 5th place. Metro Team Pro / WSOP bracelet champion Mike Takayama shipped it for a massive US$ 6,000,000 reward.

Who to expect

The APC gets underway tomorrow at 1pm. Among the players you can expect are the infamous Metro Team Pros: Marc Rivera, Mike Takayama, Terry Gonzaga, Lester Edoc, John Tech, Vamerdino Magsakay, William Ysmael, Nikki Filart, Alexis Lim, Joven Huerto, Jojo Ledina, Czardy Rivera, Euryd Rivera, Yatz Javier, and Joseph Sia. Other local hotshots may also make an appearance, Florencio Campomanes, David Erquiaga, Richard Marquez, Clyde Morales, Dek Cruz, and one of the hottest running players today, Jason Kyle Magbanua.

The hunt for the next champion begins!!