Online Pro Dino Sabatini Steamrolls To MWAM Main Event Victory

There was simply no stopping Irish online pro Dino Sabatini at the final table of the MWAM Main Event. Sabatini entered as the chip leader then turned the finale into a one-man show. He steamrolled the competition, scooping pot after pot, and relentlessly applied pressure with his big stack.

After Sabatini eliminated Badrudin Ampatuan in 8th place, he amassed over half of the chips in play, making it extremely difficult for the rest to catch up. On his path to victory, he took down five players at the final table, easily dispatching Marc Allan Jauod in 2nd place to be crowned the newest Metro Walk To A Million champion. In a post-win interview with Metro commentator, Jester Intia, Sabatini shared his gameplay,

There was alot of ICM and many short stacks so you have to take advantage of that. You can open rip in that spot. It’s like printing money. It’s perfectly fine to raise any two cards. But sometimes the table may not understand the ICM and I was a bit scared of that but I went with it anyway because that’s what I am supposed to do. 

When asked who posed a challenge at the final table, Sabatini said,

All of them! Anybody could pose a challenge because you have to run good as well and you need a lot of luck too. 

Down to four players, Sabatini had nearly 70% of the chips at his disposal and raised nearly every hand. Intia asked if he felt he had it in the bag.

I never thought I had it in the bag. Even if the opponents are strong, I would play the exact same way in that situation against top regs because that’s the way you’re supposed to play the ft. It doesn’t matter who is there.

Final Table Payouts

1st Dino Sabatini – ₱817,500
2nd Marc Allan Jauod – ₱425,800
3rd Raphael Bulaong – ₱232,500
4th Jose Cheung – ₱142,500
5th Jun Amsic – ₱97,500
6th William Ysmael – ₱77,50
7th Rusty Co – ₱67,500
8th Badrudin Ampatuan – ₱57,500
9th Joey Mesias – ₱47,500

*In addition to the cash payout, the final 9 players also received a seat worth ₱55K to the Philippine Poker Millions.

Relive the Final Table race via the link below.

MWAM Main Event Numbers

• Date: July 2-7, 2025
• Buy-in: ₱5,500 (~USD 100)
• Guarantee: ₱5,000,000 (~USD 88,600)
• Entries: 1,216
• Prize pool: ₱6,080,000 (~USD 106,400)
• ITM: 173 players (includes six double qualifiers)

Final Table Recap

After five days of flights and eliminations, the final day of the of the MWAM Main Event arrived with 18 players remaining out of 1,216 total entries. Coming in with a substantial lead was Raphael Bulaong who maintained course to secure a seat at the final table. However, it was Dino Sabatini who entered with a commanding stack that was never cracked.

With everyone playing tight from the start, Sabatini took control. He earned a substantial pot with {2d}{2s} that he first raised from early position. Four players called then all four folded on his c-bet at the flop.

The first to get bumped was Joey Mesias whose quest to ladder up crashed in 9th place. Mesias started the final table as the second largest but lost a series of big pots and was unable to recover.

Sabatini proceeded to collect more chips when he cleaned out Badrudin Ampatuan in 8th place with {8d}{7d} straight over {as}{10s} on a board {9d}{ks}{9s}{6d}{10h}. This was followed by one of the most exciting showdowns with four players all in.

Marc Allan Jauod {js}{jc}, William Ysmael {as}{kh}, Rusty Co {7h}{7c}, Jose Cheung {3d}{3h}, the board ran out {5s}{2c}{5d}{3s}{10c}. Shortest stacked Cheung quadrupled up, Jauod elminated Co and Ysmael’s stack plunged, eventually falling in 6th place to Sabatini with K10 outdrawing AQ.

No breaks as well for Jun Amsic against the leader to take 5th place, and after Cheung’s stack swung, he finished in 4th place with Jauod raking it in. At three-handed, Sabatini delivered a harsh defeat to Bulaong with {jh}{8d} finding the river against {10s}{10d} on a board {qs}{ad}{ah}{4h}{jd}. This brought about heads up with Sabatini ahead 62 bb to Jauod’s 12 bb. It was an easy grind for Sabatini, finishing off Jauod with {kc}{4c} over {qh}{jd} that missed the board.

That wraps up the fifth Metro Walk To A Million! Congratulations to Dino Sabatini on winning his first ever Metro major! Sabatini shipped ₱817,500 (~US$ 14.3K) plus a seat worth ₱55K to the Philippine Poker Millions. He adds this title to the long list of online wins that he has collected throughout his ten year poker career. 

Up Next at the Metro: Philippine Poker Millions