Emmanuel Segismundo wins the Metro Christmas Special for career high ₱1.1M (~$37,490)

Emmanuel Segismundo entered the final table running second in chips, catapulted to the top on a double up off Czar Ian Marcos, then eliminated Marciel Cerbito and Jeorge Lagatuz to capture the Metro Christmas Special for an ICM payout of ₱1,148,061 (~$37,490). Relive the action via the livestream on the Metro facebook page.

The year has been generous to Segismundo with a total of 33 cashes since the start of the year. After numerous final tables without a trophy, he finally claimed a small title at an APT Philippines side event last month. From there, he carried the momentum to the Metro Christmas Special where he banked a career high payout and a second title for the year.

The MCS kicked off on December 7, attracting 336 entries. Starting Day 3, the top 40 places shaved cuts of the ₱4,888,800 (~$88,100) prize pool. At every stage, Christopher “bigtime” Mateo held command to enter the final table as the favorite. Running second was Segismundo who was behind the leader by 40 BB.

Early in the final 8, with no busts yet, Jeorge Lagatuz got lucky with pocket Fives to survive Czardy Rivera‘s pocket Aces. This was followed by a big double up for Segismundo who catapulted to the top with {ad}{10s} quads Tens over Marcos’ {7s}{7h} full house. In turn, Marcos plunged then busted to Alexis Lim on a flip. Short stacked Nicholas Dray didn’t gain any traction and was out next. Joining the hot trail of busts was Mateo who lost nearly every substantial pot he entered. The most costly was a missed flush draw against Rivera’s pocket Kings. Two shoves later, Mateo’s chase ended in 6th place.

Down to five players, Rivera’s stack continued to swing until he lost it all to Lim. Cerbito also put up a strong fight but was dominated out of contention by the leader Segismundo in 4th place. The final three players quickly struck an ICM deal that guaranteed Segismundo the highest pay followed by Lagatuz then Lim. It was exactly how they tumbled. Lagatuz delivered a badbeat to Lim to bring about heads up. It only took three hands for Segismundo to secure the win. On a board {3d}{2h}{10h}{4d}{10s}, both players were all in on the flop with Lagatuz three-bet shoving {jh}{jd} 0verpair and Segismundo calling with {ah}{5h} draw that improved to a straight.

Congratulations to the newest Metro Card Club champion Emmanuel Segismundo!!

Buy in: ₱16,500 (~$295)
Guarantee: ₱5,000,000 (~$90,100)
Total entries: 336
Prize pool: ₱4,888,800 (~$88,100)
ITM: 40 places

*Three way ICM deal