Rolando Estor Out Front as Final 18 Battle for PPT Main Event Glory

From a field of 934 entries, the 6th Philippine Poker Tour – PPT Main Event is now down to the final 18 players! Taking place at the Metro Card Club since April 23, the event delivered five action packed days leading up to this moment. The time to crown the newest PPT champion is at hand. Who will rise to glory, claim the title, and win the ₱805,508 (~US$ 14,300) top prize?

Let’s have a look at the contenders….

At the top of the list is Rolando Estor (pictured below) who started Day 2 in the middle of the pack, ranked 60th out of 130 returnees. By the end of the day, he was riding high with the heftiest 2,660,000 in chips (53 bb).

Running second in chips is Brian Romero who had an even harder climb at Day 2 starting his day ranked 77th and bagged up just behind the leader for 2,105,000 (42 bb).

Undoubtedly, the most impressive run was by PPT Pre-Event champion Eugenio Bestil who started the day ranked near-bottom at 124th with just 7.5 bb. Bestil is in the final day lineup ranked 16th with 635,000 (12 bb) in chips. Expect him to come out firing.

These players will have their challenges especially with the 2024 Metro Player Of The Year, Lemmor Patulot, in the lineup. Patulot is the newest Metro Team Pro and is sitting on a decent stack of 1,170,000 (23 bb). He is tabled with the leader Estor who has position over him.

Another player to watch for is Rene Mar David (pictured above), the hottest running young gun in the Philippine circuit today. David recently won an event at the Okada Manila Millions and ran deep into the final table at two other side events. David is in prime form for another takedown. He has a good stack of 1,380,000 (27 bb) which should be enough to play with to take him to the final table.

You can follow the Final Day race via the Metro YouTube Livestream.

PPT Main Event – Final 18 Players

PPT Main Event – Numbers

The 6th PPT Main Event attracted 934 runners across six flights which was more than enough to boost the initial guarantee to a sweeter prize pool of ₱5,557,300 (~US$ 98,900). The final 18 are now ensured a cash payout of ₱36,000 but of course the target is the top cash prize of ₱805,508.

Buy in: ₱6,500 (~US$ 115)
Guarantee: ₱4,000,000 (~US$ 71,000)
Entries: 934
Prize pool: ₱5,557,300 (~US$ 98,900)
ITM: 133 players

Remaining Payouts

In addition to the cash prize, the top 9 places receive a ticket to the Philippine Poker Millions at the Metro worth ₱55,000, and finishers from 10th-18th receive a Philippine Poker Millions Mega Satellite ticket worth ₱12,000.

PPT Main Event Structure

The final day kicks off with blinds at 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000. Once the final table is reached, it will revert to regular ante with every player posting a specified amount. If needed, blinds will roll back to an average of 30 big blinds.

Day 2 Review

Day 2 saw 130 players return to the Metro led by the top three, Lemmor Patulot, Raymundo Gomez, and defending champion Alexander Lai (pictured above). While Patulot found his way through, Gomez and Lai were not so fortunate. Lai exited in 32nd place for a payout of ₱33,000 and Gomez was eliminated in 41st place for ₱30,000.

Other high ranked players fell further down the rung: Moses Saquing (42nd-₱30,000), Jester Intia (45th-₱27,000), Hernan Jaybee Villa (63rd-₱24,000), and Federick Cruz (68th-₱21,000). Falling the hardest were Alvir Inocentes (21st-₱36,000), Joseph Magnotti (20th-₱36,000), and final day bubble Alan Reyes (19th-₱36,000).

You can catch some of the Day 2 action via the Metro YouTube – PPT Day 2.

All of these players can find a bit of redemption at the final side event of the festival. At 3pm is The Closer with buy-in at ₱4,000 (~US$ 71). This is the last chance to walk away with a PPT trophy.