17 Aug Zhiqiang Liu Bags The Lead At Batang Metro Day 1C; Only Two Flights Remain
Day 1C of the Batang Metro Poker Challenge added another 110 entries and after eight or so hours of play, 16 players advanced to the ITM round led by China’s Zhiqiang Liu with 329,000 in chips. Liu may hail from a foreign land but he is a well known player at the Metro Card Club. This year alone, Liu has cashed at multiple weekly events at the poker room and is ranked 12th in the Metro Most Valuable Player Leaderboard. For the standings, head to the bottom of the page.
At Liu’s tail is George Salud, with a very close 324,000 stack. Other notables also finding success were homegrown Metro superstar Mike Takayama, Mike Calunsod, and Edgar Asehan who finished 9th at last year’s Batang Metro Main Event.
Dates: August 14 to 19, 2024
Buy in: ₱15,000 (~$260)
Guarantee: ₱8,000,000 (~$140,000)
Day 1A: 109 entries / 16 advanced to ITM round
Day 1B: 67 entries / 10 advanced to ITM round
Day 1C: 110 entries / 16 advanced to ITM round
End of Day 1C – Results
| Rank | Player | Stack |
| 1 | Zhiqiang Liu | 329,000 |
| 2 | George Salud | 324,000 |
| 3 | Mike Takayama | 270,000 |
| 4 | Edgar Asehan | 250,000 |
| 5 | Michael Calunsod | 237,000 |
| 6 | Alvir Inocentes | 196,000 |
| 7 | Rodrigo Sequite | 163,000 |
| 8 | Ronn Ryan Mesina | 162,000 |
| 9 | Pol C. | 152,000 |
| 10 | Darren Yu | 123,000 |
| 11 | Frederico Peralta | 120,000 |
| 12 | Kenneth Ong | 111,000 |
| 13 | Cesar Bernardo | 93,000 |
| 14 | Johnson Tan | 83,000 |
| 15 | Marco Espela | 78,000 |
| 16 | Enrico Patena | 63,000 |
A total of 42 players have now reached the ITM round. Leading the pack is Day 1A chip leader Anthony Castro with 472,000 in chips. Day 1C leader Liu is ranked 4th.
Up next are the final two entry flights, Day 1D and Day 1E (Turbo), both running on Saturday, August 16, 2024. The first flight kicks off at 1pm and the turbo follows at 7pm. Registration closes at the start of Level 11 so make sure to sign up before that closing buzzer. Once that happens, the flights play down to ITM of 14% of the field.
If you are just hearing of this annual event, the Batang Metro Poker Challenge is one of the Metro Card Club’s most popular homegrown events. Now staging its fourth edition, the prize pool guarantee has been bumped up a few million pesos. Players that have already reached the money round are looking at a piece of the ₱8 Million prize pool with a high possibility of growing even larger. Additionally, the Main Event record to beat is ₱8,032,570 (~USD 142,840) which was set last year.
2024 Batang Metro – Schedule
Metro Tourney Most Valuable Player Leaderboard
At the start of the year the Metro Card Club introduced the Metro Most Valuable Player Leaderboard. Players can accumulate points via Metro Daily Tournaments and Metro Festivals such as the Batang Metro Poker Challenge. At the end of the year, the player with the most points accrued will be crowned the top Metro tournament player of 2024 and will win huge prizes – ₱100,000, 4D/3N at The District Boracay, and a 1 year contract as a Metro Team Pro. Read up on the mechanics below.
Metro Tourney MVP – Standings
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