Joseph Talamayan Lights Up MCS Main Event Flight A; Dae Shik Kim, Allan Oriola Win Early Trophies

The holiday rush came early at the Metro Card Club as the Metro Christmas Special opened its doors, and the place quickly filled with the kind of energy you only get this time of year. Players turned up in great spirits, chasing that end-of-year magic and hoping to be the one who takes home the last Metro title that has delivered seven-figure wins two years running.

By night’s end, the player that shined brightest was  Joseph Talamayan, bagging the top stack of 523,000 in chips. He will be the player to measure up to for the next flights. Talamayan has been seen in the upper ranks before but is still seeking his first ever Metro title. Last year he came close with a 3rd place finish at the Metro Walk To A Million Main Event. He also finished in a respectable 16th place at the 2024 Metro Christmas Special. Will this be the one?

For Talamayan to get there, he will have to outrun numerous local pros that powered through as well: Joseph Sia, Alexis Lim, Alvir Inocentes, including his other half, Karen Talamayan who bagged a decent 174,000 in chips.

Out of 109 entries, only 16 players punched their tickets into the money stage and are guaranteed a slice of the ₱5,000,000 prize pool.

2025 MCS Main Event Day 1A – Survivors

The survivors have several days off before returning to the felt for Day 2 on December 14, 2025. For everyone else, more flights are on the way with a total of five scheduled. The Main Event runs from December 10 to 15 with buy-in of ₱11,000.

• Day 1A: 109 entries / 16 ITM
• Day 1B: December 11, 2025
• Day 1C: December 12, 2025
• Day 1D/1E: December 13, 2025
• Day 2: December 14, 2025
• Final Day: December 15, 2025

Players start with a 25,000 stack which is 250 times the opening blinds. The first four flights will see blinds increase every 30 minutes while Day 1E is a turbo with blinds increasing every 20 minutes. The turbo flight is the last chance for players to enter and is tailor-made for evening flyers and weekend warriors

2025 MCS Main Event – Structure and Info

For players looking to secure a seat at a fraction of the cost, only one Main Event Satellite remains on December 12. This is a milestone satellite where players automatically win a seat once 50K chips has been accumulated. Buy-in is ₱2,400. Players start with a 10,000 stack (200 times the opening blinds) with blinds climbing every 20 minutes.

Early MCS Winners

Before the Main Event lit up the floor, the MCS opened its doors on December 9 with a Pre-Event 200K GTD tournament. Designed to get in some early practice, a roaring 147 entered to send the prize pool over double to ₱404,250. Out of the 21 players that secured a piece, Korea’s Dae Shik Kim (pictured above)won the largest cut of ₱82,895 for his well-deserved victory.

Entering heads up on a deficit against Alexis Reyes Lim, Kim came out firing all cylinders. His nonstop aggression paid off when Lim called with a pair that was behind Kim’s two pair. The river favored Kim as he further improved to a full house to land a double up that switched the counts.

Click on the image below for the final table action on MetroYouTube.

Immediately after, Lim shoved his last 9 big blinds with {qc}{10c} and Kim snap-called showing {jd} {10h}. A jack quickly found the flop and held through the runout {6s}{8h}{jh}{5d}{2c} for Kim to secure the win.

Payouts

1st Dae Shik Kim – ₱82,895
2nd Alexis Reyes Lim – ₱47,000
3rd Kirk Lloyd Lim – ₱32,000
4th Moises Esparagoza – ₱23,500
5th Carlos Colicot – ₱19,000
6th John Ramiro Juan – ₱16,000
7th Richard Nakila – ₱14,500
8th Maycoh Pulgo – ₱13,000
9th Jenard Ivan Clado – ₱10,500
10th Jude Thaddeus Prejido – ₱9,000
11th Josie Bagunu – ₱9,000
12th Aaron James Cruz – ₱9,000
13th Marvin Cerbito – ₱9,000
14th Marlon Laxamana – ₱7,500
15th Federick Cruz – ₱7,500
16th Harold Acosta – ₱7,500
17th Samy Cabauatan – ₱7,500
18th John Ray Clores – ₱6,000
19th Vivencio Nachor – ₱6,000
20th Manuel Domondon – ₱6,000
21st Benjamin Mangaliman – ₱6,000

*1st and 2nd places also win MCS Main Event seats worth ₱11,000 each
*3rd to 6th places also win MCSC Satellite seats worth ₱2,400 each

Later in the evening, just past the witching hour, Allan Oriola was crowned champion of the NLH Turbo. The victory came after a heads up ICM deal was struck with Bernard Ortiz. The event drew 76 runners for a prize pool of ₱243,200 split among the top 11 finishers. Oriola walked away with the largest payout of ₱62,473 while Ortiz secured ₱48,435.

There are still side events remaining in the 2025 MCS schedule to win one of the MCS trophies:

• Power Button: December 11 – ₱4,000 buy-in
• NLH After Dark Turbo: ₱3,500 buy-in
• Survivor Knockout 200K GTD: ₱3,000 buy-in
• The Closer 300K GTD: ₱4,000 buy-in

MCS Main Event in History

Looking back at the first MCS in 2023, Emmanuel Segismundo (pictured above) overcame the 336 field and a star-studded final table to be crowned the event’s inaugural champion. The win awarded him an early holiday bonus in the amount of ₱1,148,061 (~$37,500).

In the following year, young gun Rene Mar “Revo” David followed in his footsteps, outlasting a field of 580 runners to capture his first ever Metro title at the Metro Christmas Special 2024 and a cool ₱1,000,000.

Who will become Santa’s next favorite and run off with the holiday title and a sleigh of cash? Head on over to have your shot at the final Metro title of the 2025 season.

2025 METRO MVP AND POY TO BE DETERMINED

The 2025 MCS also serves as the last window for players to boost their Metro Player of the Year points. Last year, Lester Edoc topped the leaderboard to be recognized as the Metro’s Most Valuable Player while the inaugural Metro POY title was awarded to Lemmor Patulot (pictured above).

Finishing 9th in the leaderboard rankings, Patulot earned a spot in the Top 10 TLB Final Table showdown, then went on to sweep to win the first ever Metro POY title. His victory not only came with a cash prize, Patulot was also honored with a one-year contract as a Metro Team Pro.

*For the Metro POY title, only the top 10 in the leaderboard will qualify for the final table showdown where the champion will earn the ultimate crown and secure a one-year contract as a Metro Team Pro.

As of December 7, Marlon Laxamana has extended his lead to 28,351.66 points while his nearest rival, Jun Amsic, has 19,728.27 points. It will be a hot race to the finish as others still have plenty of chances to close the gap and steal the top spot.

2025 MCS Schedule