Noel Araniel captures first-ever Asian Poker Championship Main Event title

The first-ever Asian Poker Championship Main Event winner emerged in just six fast hours at the Metro Card Club. Rising to victory was Noel “the Kid”Araniel defeating Martin Gonzales at heads up. Araniel pocketed Php 1,525,877 (~US$ 30,000) and took home the coveted APC Champion’s trophy. Congratulations to the champion! You can read up on the final day action via our Live Updates. The final table also streamed live on the Metro fb page with commentary by Pilipinas Poker.

The Main Event drew 541 entries at Php 22,000 each for guarantee-smashing prize pool of Php 10,495,400. Only 54 got paid. Here are the final day payouts.

Final Day payouts
1st Noel Araniel – Php 1,525,877 (deal)
2nd Martin Gonzales – Php 2,238,066 (deal)
3rd Emmanuel Segismundo – Php 1,006,885 (deal)
4th Mike Takayam – Php 1,454,572 (deal)
5th Florencio Campomanes – Php 500,000
6th Derrick Hernandez – Php 380,000
7th Seokyoung “Tiger” Lee – Php 300,000
8th Kim Sun Kyum – Php 240,000
9th Jay Tolon – Php 200,000
10th Seung Min Kang – Php 160,000
11th Hooyup Kim – Php 120,000
12th Joven Huerto – Php 120,000
13th Hyungkook Shin – Php 100,000
14th Seungjun “Judic” Kim – Php 100,000
15th Doctor Strange – Php 100,0000
16th Christopher Mateo – Php 80,000
17th Dongjin Park – Php 80,000
18th Victor Bartulaba – Php 80,000

Thank you for all that participated and to our partners KMGM (Korean Mind Game Members)! The second installment of the Asian Poker Championship has already been announced. It will take place on April 15 to 19 so mark it down! Details to follow.

Final day / winner recap

Entering the final day, Araniel was in the middle of the pack running 10th with around 16 bbs. He was awarded a double up through one of the day’s chip leaders Kim Sun Kyum then later railed Joven Huerto to enter the final table (10-handed) in 4th rank.

However, before the final table was formed, it was all about Martin Gonzales. Gonzales railed Dongjin Park and Hyungkook Shin and claimed big pots against Florencio Campomanes and Seung Min Kang to amass an enormous lead that further grew at the final table.  One heavy pot earned without a showdown was against Derrick Hernandez who folded pocket queens on the turn on a jack-high board. This was followed with the elimination of KMGM’s Seokyoung “Tiger” Lee when Gonzales rivered a higher set.

For Hernandez, he entered the final day as chip leader but only managed to win several small pots to keep him from growing. He bowed out in 6th place to Mike Takayama. Out next was Campomanes who swung wildly all day. His stack took a big hit when Araniel rivered a higher two pair. Campomanes managed to triple up his short stack but still met the rail in 5th place with Gonzales delivering the bad news.

At four-handed, the remaining players struck an ICM deal guaranteeing each one the amount below:

Martin Gonzales – Php 2,238,066
Mike Takayama – Php 1,454,572
Noel Araniel – Php 1,445,877
Emmanuel Segismundo – Php 1,006,885

With Gonzales backed by half the chips in play, he was granted the biggest cut no matter where he placed. For the eventual winner, another Php 80,000 and the trophy.

Action proceeded in turbo pace. Araniel got lucky again banking a huge double up when his {7c}{7s} improved to a full house to crack Takayama’s {kc}{kh} on a board {as}{ac}{7d}{4s}{2d}. Takayama was crippled and departed in 4th place to Gonzales. Araniel proceeded to rail Emmanuel Segismundo in 3rd place to steal the chip lead for the first time.

From there, Araniel never relinquished, instead he pounded at Gonzales’s stack to bring about the final hand. Gonzales triple barreled on a board {5c}{7c}{ad}{3d}{2h} pushing on the river with {8h}{5s}. Araniel had {as}{8s} for the win.