MWAM: GOP Arena Event Starts Today; De Leon, Dumduma Open Champions List

The Metro Walk To A Million is off to a flying start at the Metro Card Club! Through the first few days of action its first two events blew past their guarantees. Michael ‘Lakay’ De Leon and Anthony Dumduma emerged as the first champions, each one walking away minted from their respective events.

Next on the schedule is the Gods of Poker Arena Event where players will have six starting flights to navigate in pursuit of a share of the ₱1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool along with a seat to Gods of Poker Manila this August.

Read on for all the details and current highlights from the festival.

Michael ‘Lakay’ De Leon Delivers at MWAM Pre-Event

Photo: Michael ‘Lakay’ De Leon 

The MWAM Pre-Event set the tone for the festival with a field of 292 entries for a prize pool of ₱584,000. Out of that turnout, 40 players reached the money. Michael ‘Lakay’ De Leon and Longfei Wang both entered the final day at the very top of the counts and finished exactly where they started.

You can relive the final table action via MWAM Pre-Event Final Table on YouTube.

De Leon closed out the victory to claim the title, the MWAM trophy, a GOP Shield trophy, a ₱109,960 payout, and a seat to the Gods of Poker Manila Opening Event worth ₱22,000.

Runner-up Wang settled for ₱72,000 and a seat to the MWAM Main Event worth ₱6,000, a perk that keeps him very much in the hunt for the MWAM’s biggest prize.

Anthony Dumduma Wins 100K GTD Special

Photo: Anthony Dumduma

Recreational tournament player Anthony Dumduma outlasted the rest at the MWAM 100K GTD Special to claim the lion’s share of the ₱131,896 prize pool. This was Dumduma’s first-ever recorded Metro festival title. Along with the MWAM trophy, he was awarded a GOP Shield trophy.

Gods of Poker Arena Event Lights Up MWAM

The newest international poker brand to enter the Asian circuit, Gods of Poker, is set to make its Philippine debut this August at Soul Poker inside City of Dreams Manila. But before the festival arrives, players can get an early taste of the brand right here at Metro through the Gods of Poker Arena Event.

Running from June 22 to 24, the special event offers six starting flights, a ₱1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, and for the eventual champion, a seat to the upcoming GOP Manila Main Event worth ₱82,500 where a coveted GOP Gauntlet is up for grabs.

There is also something special on the line for the women in the field. The Last Woman Standing in the Arena Event will receive a complimentary seat to the Aphrodite Event at GOP Manila worth ₱16,500.

Gods of Poker Arena Event
Champion: GOP Manila Main Event Seat, Arena Trophy
Last Woman Standing: GOP Manila Event#12: Aphrodite’s Event Seat

What makes GOP stand out from all other brands in the world is its signature Cronus Structure. No unnecessary blind increases. No slow, grinding early levels that go nowhere. Instead, players begin with a deep 120 big blind starting stack and registration stays open through just two levels. That means blinds increase only once before registration closes!

Once it closes and level 3 is underway, the pace picks up. It is a format built for players who want meaningful decisions from the very first hand and appeals to both tournament and cash game players.

GOP Arena Event Structure

MWAM Main Event 5M GTD

This year’s MWAM guarantees ₱7.15 Million across multiple events. The largest chunk is offered at the MWAM Main Event which carries a ₱5 Million guarantee. With the first two opening events already cruising past its guarantees, the Main Event is expected to do the same as it has done every year.

MWAM Main Event Structure

The largest MWAM Main Event prize pool was seen back in 2024 when it ballooned to ₱6,695,000 (~USD 114,150). USA’s Jamie Zaragoza became the envy of all when he turned his ₱5,000 buy-in into a ₱1,230,000 (~USD 20,970) payday, that was 246 times over! Zaragoza became the first millionaire in MWAM history. 

Photo: Jamie Zaragoza

For this year’s Main Event, the top four players will receive special prizes on top of their winnings:

Champion: MWAM Main Event Trophy, GOP Manila Pandora Mystery Bounty, Silver Spartan Trophy
2nd place: GOP Manila Opening Event
3rd place: GOP Manila Opening Event
4th place: GOP Manila Opening Event

Other MWAM Events

As the festival rolls on, there are plenty of other ways to walk away as a champion. Listed below are events which features guarantees.

• Ladies Showdown 50K GTD – Free to Enter, Re-Entry ₱1,100, Re-Buy/Add-On ₱1,000
• Deepstack 200K GTD – ₱3,000
• The Closer 300K GTD – ₱4,000

MWAM Event Schedule

Jhun Aballa Leads MTLB

The 2026 Metro Tournament Leaderboard has been running since March 25 and one name has already separated himself from the rest of the pack. Jhun Aballa — the 2026 Metro Summer Event champion and one of the most dedicated grinders the card room has ever produced.

He sits comfortably at the top with a lead that is anything but easy to close. Aballa is making it clear that he intends to own this leaderboard from start to finish. Can anyone chase him down before the year is out?

Click image for the interview.