22 Jan 2023 Philippine Poker Tournament title and Php 1M up for grabs! Edwin Dela Cruz leads final 27 players
It was a day of intense competition at the Metro Card Club with 140 players returning for Day 2 of the Philippine Poker Tournament. Six hours in, the final 27 players were established. The top three players bagged up over a million in chips. At the helm was Edwin Dela Cruz who entered the day ranked fourth and closed with a towering 1,735,000 (43 BB) stack.
One of the hands that helped Dela Cruz was a huge double up off Day 1B chip leader Rey Osete. With blinds 15K-30K, Osete opened for 70K, button Dela Cruz and big blind Manuel Mascunana called. On a rainbow flop {jh}{7c}{3d} Osete c-bet 100K, called only by Dela Cruz. The turn was check-bet-shove Osete, Dela Cruz called with {7d}{7s} set, Osete had a meek {10c}{3s} small pair and was drawing dead.
Dela Cruz has already surpassed his previous PPT finish of 41st place and is looking to beat his deepest Metro run of 19th place from last year’s Batang Metro Challenge.
Next two down the rung were Jharome Pena (1,431,000 – 36 BB) and Day 1E chip leader Sandy Cea (1,417,000 – 35 BB). Both players very close in stacks. Cea was the main cause for celebration at Day 2 for his elimination of Denierick Rimando during the bubble round. Cea’s {ac}{6d} improved to two pair to beat Rimando’s {kc}{kd}. It will be a heated final day battle with all three millionaire stacks – Dela Cruz, Pena, Cea – seated at the same table.
Out of all the players joining the leaders into the final day were two players displaying impressive climbs. Euryd Rivera started Day 2 with 10 BB and bagged up 12 BB, Danilo Ola started with even less at 6 BB and advanced to Day 2 with 21 BB.
Other notables powering through were multi decorated Christopher Mateo, RVS Cup champion Anacleto Quijano, Junnie Pamplona, and Joven Huerto.
The final 27 players return on Monday, January 23 to chase down the first Metro title of 2023. Each one is guaranteed Php 21,000 and a ticket to the Metro Summer Event 3.5M GTD worth Php 7,000 however what they will be shooting for is the hefty Php 1,040,520 (~$19,100) top prize. The Final 8 race to victory will be streamed live in the Metro Facebook page.
Final 27 players (by rank)
| Rank | Player | Stack | BB | Table-Seat |
| 1 | Edwin Dela Cruz | 1,735,000 | 43 | 22-1 |
| 2 | Jharome Pena | 1,431,000 | 36 | 22-8 |
| 3 | Sandy Cea | 1,417,000 | 35 | 22-7 |
| 4 | Manuel Mascunana III | 876,000 | 22 | 26-1 |
| 5 | Danilo Ola | 844,000 | 21 | 26-9 |
| 6 | Andrew Abundo | 809,000 | 20 | 26-5 |
| 7 | Giwoo Kim | 782,000 | 20 | 24-5 |
| 8 | Jayvon Carreon | 721,000 | 18 | 24-3 |
| 9 | Marvin Cerbito | 715,000 | 18 | 26-8 |
| 10 | Jose Dalisay | 646,000 | 16 | 24-6 |
| 11 | Christopher Mateo | 580,000 | 15 | 26-7 |
| 12 | Anacleto Quijano | 580,000 | 15 | 22-5 |
| 13 | Christian Florendo | 566,000 | 14 | 26-4 |
| 14 | Ricardo Singapan | 530,000 | 13 | 26-3 |
| 15 | Jeoffrey Sibal | 499,000 | 12 | 22-2 |
| 16 | Joseph Sia | 468,000 | 12 | 22-6 |
| 17 | Euryd Rivera | 466,000 | 12 | 22-3 |
| 18 | Daniel Leduc | 446,000 | 11 | 22-4 |
| 19 | Jeff Pardales | 423,000 | 11 | 24-4 |
| 20 | John Sarmiento | 400,000 | 10 | 24-1 |
| 21 | Victor Sayas | 386,000 | 10 | 24-2 |
| 22 | Ellezer Castillo | 336,000 | 8 | 24-9 |
| 23 | Janette Dee | 303,000 | 8 | 26-2 |
| 24 | Lemmor Patulot | 289,000 | 7 | 22-9 |
| 25 | Junnie Pamplona | 270,000 | 7 | 24-7 |
| 26 | Wilfredo Ablola | 261,000 | 7 | 26-6 |
| 27 | Joven Huerto | 225,000 | 6 | 24-8 |
Chips in play: 16,988,500
Average stack: 629,200
Final day starting blinds: 20K-40K-40K (BB Ante)
Level intervals: 40 minutes
Ante format: Big Blind Ante then switches to Regular Ante at Final 8
Final Day structure
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Payouts in Php |
| 1st + MSE | 1,040,520 |
| 2nd + MSE | 570,000 |
| 3rd + MSE | 327,000 |
| 4th + MSE | 201,000 |
| 5th + MSE | 135,000 |
| 6th + MSE | 99,000 |
| 7th + MSE | 75,000 |
| 8th + MSE | 63,000 |
| 9th + MSE | 51,000 |
| 10th-11th + MSE | 39,000 |
| 12th-14th + MSE | 33,000 |
| 15th-18th + MSE | 27,000 |
| 19th-27th + MSE | 21,000 |
PPT review
The PPT 3M guaranteed is the Metro Card Club’s season opener. 686 entered over five starting flights to boost the prize pool to Php 4,166,000. 140 players advanced to Day 2 led by Canada’s Jody Kitchen who busted in 67th place. The day closed with Rey Osete eliminated in 28th place.
Dates: January 17 to 23
Buy in: Php 6,600
Guarantee: Php 3,000,000 (~$55,100)
Entries: 686
Prize pool: Php 4,116,000 (~$75,580)
ITM: 82 places
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