[Interview] Marvin Cerbito One Hand Heads Up Flip to Clinch Batang Metro Poker Challenge

Thrilling finish to the third installment of Batang Metro Poker Challenge at the Metro Card Club! Amid an exuberant rail, Marvin Cerbito entered heads up with 30 bb to Lemmor Patulot’s 27.5 bb. On the first hand, Patulot three-bet shoved holding {6h}{6d}, Cerbito tank-called with {ah}{jh}, the board ran out {4c}{jc}{8c}{7h}{jd} for a game-clincher trips.

Congratulations to Marvin Cerbito, the newest Batang Metro Poker Challenge champion! After a four way ICM deal, Cerbito maintained top notch performance to capture his first ever Metro Card Club major and a career high live tournament payout deal of PHP 1,438,589 (~USD25,580). This was more than his combined live scores on Hendon Mob.

You can watch the final table race via the links below.

Interview:

Metro: How does it feel to win this tournament?

Marvin: Winning always feels great but not all wins are the same. I’ve taken first place in many tournaments before, but this last one felt different – it was a challenging accomplishment that brought more relief than excitement. After months of being on a losing streak, it was a huge relief to finally come out on top. Winning also gave a sense of pride to be recognized as one of the champions in the Metro Card Club.

Metro: Entering the final table, how was your gameplay with chip leader Jonald having position over you? 

Marvin: Having position and being a chip leader are some of the most important things in poker because they give you such an edge. And entering the final table with Jonald as the chip leader on my left helped me quite a bit. It made me more cautious because it will be more likely that if I lead in a hand, he might try to set me up by calling or raising on my lead. That’s why I only played strong hands during the first few hours of the final table, that made me stay long in the game and able to win the trophy.

Metro: Who was your toughest opponent?

Marvin: It would be Jonald and Jon. Since Jonald is chip leader, I can’t afford to take risks, being one of the shortest stacks at the time. Although I am wary of Jonald’s poker skills, I also need to be cautious of Jon, who had a considerable amount of chips and plays any hand while possessing a set of skills.

Metro: What was the key to chipping up and finally winning it?

Marvin: I stuck to playing only good hands. Additionally, I tried to avoid having a showdown with a big stack. At the start, I played cautiously because my stack was short. However, as I began to accumulate chips, I strategically employed timely aggression to gain chips from players with short stacks.

Metro: What made you call that last hand? It was a big shove from Lemmor. What was your thought process?

During that hand, I found myself in a difficult spot. It was so evident during the live stream that I wondered why he went all in that fast. I had an Ace, which is typically a strong hand, and I was hesitant to fold. Given that it was the first hand of the heads-up round, I thought Lemmor might be bluffing and only playing picture cards. Additionally, I had a gut feeling that this was the moment to win the hand, so I decided to call.

Metro: What knowledge did you gain for your next tournament?

Marvin: I learned the virtue of patience. Waiting for the right cards, taking the time to analyze my opponent’s moves, and knowing when to fold. Also strategic aggression by carefully choosing my moments to be aggressive, making well-timed bets and raises, and putting pressure on my opponents to make mistakes.

A message from the champion:

“I am grateful. – first, to the Lord God who heard my prayer. Likewise, to my family who wholeheartedly supported me and to the people who continue to believe in my abilities. I am also thankful to my staker, Boss Ryan, who gave me the chance to play in the Main Event and other side events. To Boss Jojo Ledina, for the L.A.TH. cap and t-shirt that I wore, which I felt brought luck to the Final Table. To Boss Joven Huerto for organizing wonderful tournaments at Metro Card Club, and finally, to all the management of Metro Card Club, thank you very much. God bless us all.”

Cerbito will be back for a shot at a second Metro title having also won a ticket worth PHP 16,500 to the upcoming RVS Cup 10M guaranteed.

Final 9 payouts

*Four way ICM deal, played for trophy and PHP 407,000

Final table recap

Once again, the Metro produced record numbers with Batang Metro Poker Challenge pulling in 910 entries for a pot over PHP 8 Million. To date, this was the largest prize pool of any Metro major for this year. The top 108 earned a share with Marvin Cerbito emerging as champion and the richest earner.

Date: August 16 to 21, 2023
Buy in: PHP 10,000
Guarantee: PHP 5,000,000
Entries: 910
Prize pool: PHP 8,032,570 (~USD 142,840)
ITM: 108 places

The final day opened with 18 players returning led by Jonald Garcia who carried his big stack to the final table. His lead widened after sending Edgar Asehan out in 9th place with {kc}{9s} spiking the nine on the river  to oust {ah}{qd}.

Edgar Asehan

Garcia hoped to do the same to Cerbito however his {4s}{4h} was dominated by Cerbito’s {qd}{qh} to pay the double up. Another pocket Queens was felted, this one seeing Jon Costiniano deny Jerick Almusajin’s Ace-King on a board {kh}{kd}{qh}{jc}{4s}.

Jerick Almusajin

The rise in chips sent Costiniano to the driver’s seat, bumping down Garcia one notch. Christopher Martir was next to go with pocket Nines dominated by Cerbito’s pocket Jacks.

Christopher Martir

Down to six players, Garcia lost momentum while Costiniano raked it in to charge up the ranks just behind Cerbito. New player Kent Dionisio who was impressive doubled up through Cris Colangoy with {qh}{jh} turning the flush to beat {ac}{ks}. The board was {3h}{5d}{5h}{9h}{7d}, all in was on the flop.

Cris Colangoy

The crippled Colangoy recovered through Garcia with {ad}{qh} spiking the {ah} on the river to beat {6c}{6d} however on his next push, Colangoy was sent packing by Cerbito. Down in the count, Garcia was eliminated in 5th place with {ks}{10s} running into Dionisio’s {khkd}.

Jonald Garcia

Four handed was dominated by both Cerbito and Dionisio while Costiniano and Patulot were on a downward spin. For Costiniano, he lost a couple of big pots with a showdown. An ICM deal was eventually reached with Cerbito and Dionisio guaranteed seven figures. A pot of PHP 407,000 and the trophy were set aside for the champion.

As action resumed, reigning champion Lester Edoc joined the boys at the commentary booth, Jester Intia and Ron Regis. Edoc flew in from Taiwan having finished 10th at the record breaking WPT Main Event.

Jon Costiniano

Kent Dionisio

Cerbito went on to clean out Costiniano in 4th place then proceeded to grind down the other two players to amass over half of the chips in play. Patulot eliminated Dionisio to signal in the heads up round. Cerbito was ahead 30 bb to Patulot’s 27.5 bb.

Lemmor Patulot

As mentioned above, it took just one heads up hand for Cerbito to seize the win. Patulot three-bet jammed wit {6h}{6d}., Cerbito tank-called with {ah}{jh}. The final board was {4c}{jc}{8c}{7h}{jd}.