RVS Cup: Lourd Ejem Resets The Bar At Main Event Day 1B; Bea Garcia, Hernan Villa Win Trophies

The 11th annual RVS Cup Philippine Poker Championship wrapped up another Main Event flight with Day 1B attracting a more intimate field of 79 entries. Despite the tighter turnout, there was certainly no lack of firepower as past RVS Cup champions made their presence felt, along with Metro Card Club decorated players, Team Pros, and series winners. By bagging time, only 11 players remained led by local player Lourd Ejem who amassed a towering 458,000 (114 big blinds) stack. That meant, Ejem has now taken the lead in the cumulative Day 2 qualifiers list.

Over at the side events, the Ladies Showdown 50K GTD and Power Button were the evening’s hot tickets with Bea Garcia and Hernan Villa emerging as champions.

Here are all the highlights.

2025 RVS CUP MAIN EVENT

Another exciting day unfolded at the Metro as Flight B of the RVS Cup Main Event concluded with several notables advancing to the next round. Leading the pack was Lourd Ejem, who unseated Flight A leader Eoghan MacGabhann in the Day 2 leaderboard. While Ejem is no stranger to the Metro, he is a fresh face in the live tournament scene, having recorded his first cashes only this year.

While Ejem made a strong statement with his big stack, a couple of RVS Cup past champions also caused some havoc. Bagging the second-rank was Lito Quijano (2016 champion pictured below) with 327,000 (82 big blinds).

Further down several spots was the only two-time champion Lester Edoc (2014 and 2024) who is looking to defend his reign and hopefully take it down for the third time. He will definitely be the most-feared player entering Day 2. Edoc closed the night with 115,000 (29 big blinds). He is pictured below.

FLIGHT B – SURVIVORS

Blinds at bagging time: 2000-4000 ante 4000

Flight A – Survivors

Blinds at bagging time: 2000-5000 ante 5000

The survivors list / Day 2 list has now grown to 30 players. They are all guaranteed a piece of the ₱10 Million prize pool and will return to action on November 16.

Next up is Day 1C and Day 1D, both flights running today, November 14.

• Date: November 12-17, 2025
• Guarantee: ₱10,000,000 (~$168,700)
• Buy-in: ₱15,000 (~$ 250)
• Day 1A: 131 entries / 19 advanced
• Day 1B: 79 entries / 11 advanced
• Cumulative results: 210 entries / 30 advanced
• Day 1C-Day 1D (Turbo): November 14, 2025 – 1pm and 7pm
• Day 1E-Day 1F (Turbo): November 15, 2025 – 1pm and 7pm
• Day 2: November 16, 2025
• Final Day: November 17, 2025

For those looking to enter at a fraction of the cost, there is only one Main Event Satellite left, running today, November 14. Players need only accumulate 50K in chips to secure a seat. Buy-in is ₱3,300 (~$55).

STRUCTURE AND IMPORTANT INFO

For players interested in entering today’s flights, the day opens with Day 1C starting at 1pm. Blinds increase every 30 minutes. Weekend warriors and evening goers, Day 1D kicks off at 7pm. This is a turbo flight with blinds increasing every 20 minutes.

Everyone receives a 25,000 starting stack (250 times the opening blinds). As always, registration closes at the start of each flight’s Level 11 and will bag up once the field reaches ITM (14% of entries).

Time-banks will be in play from the get-go. Each player will receive two time-extension chips and one additional at every break.

Be sure to review the structure and notes below for all important details

Maiden Title For Bea Garcia At Ladies Showdown

The Ladies Showdown 50K GTD was one hot item on the RVS Cup menu. Open only to the ladies, buy-in was free however if one wanted to re-enter / rebuy / add-on, it cost ₱1,100 / ₱1,000 / ₱1,000. The response was the largest turnout for a Metro ladies-only tournament with 110 signing up across ten rounds of late registration. Out of the 15 players that reached the ITM stage, it was Bea Garcia (pictured below) who took it to the limit for her first Metro festival win and a substantial payout of ₱13,040.

Hernan Villa Wins Power Button

Open to all, the evening’s Power Button was one of the most fun events in the lineup as players tugged for control and position. Like the Ladies Showdown, this event also witnessed a strong turnout of 113 entries at ₱4,000 each for a prize pool of ₱412,450. A total of 16 players divvied it up, ending with Hernan Villa (pictured below) adding another title to his impressive resume. Villa walked away with an ICM payout of ₱82,134 and a new merch for his awards altar. For runner-up, Vivencio Nachor, not a bad day’s work as well with an ICM payout of ₱68,639.

RVS CUP – PLAYER OF THE SERIES

Beyond the trophy chase, players that reach ITM at any of the events instantly qualify for this year’s RVS Cup Player of the Series title and earn points towards the leaderboard. The player who racks up the most points by the end of the festival will not only be crowned but will also win a 4-day, 3-night stay at The District Boracay, complete with airfare allowance. Full details are listed below.

RVS Cup – Schedule