Audrix Angelo Vidal Bags PPT Main Event Day 1B Chip Lead; Raquel Mendoza, Jhunne Valencia Win PPT titles

Action filled day at the Metro Card Club once again as the 2026 Philippine Poker Tournament charged along with Day 1B of the Main Event adding another 158 entries to the growing field. The combined turnout has now climbed to 479 entries, putting the ₱5,000,000 (~US$ 84,500) guarantee firmly in position of being surpassed with four more flights ahead.

By the time the bubble burst, many well known players and past champions were missing among the 23 remaining players and will have to try again if they hope to lift the first Metro title of the year. Not the case though for Metro Team Pro Marc Rivera, Christopher Chua, John Niko Costiniano, and Justin Geronimo, each one navigated their way into a spot at Day 2’s ITM round.

Photo: Audrix Angelo Vidal

The heat’s best result was Audrix Angelo Vidal who bagged a stack of 327,000 (54 bb) that vaulted him into fourth place in the cumulative Day 2 standings. Breathing down his neck was Peter Baterina with 319,000 (53 bb), just one big blind shy. Both players have cashed at last year’s PPT Main Event and are in strong position to surpass their previous finishes.

Here are the results of the first two flights:

Day 1A: 321 entries, 45 advanced
Day 1B: 158 entries, 23 advanced

Day 1A bagged up Level 17 blind 3,000-6,000 big blind ante 6,000 with average stack of 29 big blinds.
Day 1B bagged up Level 17 blind 3,000-6,000 big blind ante 6,000 with average stack of 28 big blinds.

Day 1B Survivors – 23 Players

Day 1A Survivors – 45 Players

Two Flights Today and Tomorrow

There are still four flights remaining for players to have a shot at the ₱5,000,000 (~US$ 84,500) guaranteed prize pool. At this time, Day 1C is ongoing with registration closing at 6:30pm.

For evening warriors, Day 1D kicks off at 7pm with registration closing at 10:50pm. This is a turbo flight with blinds increasing every 20 minutes.

Buy-in is just ₱6,000 (~US$ 100). Players receive a 25,000 starting stack which is 250 times the opening blinds. Each flight plays down to ITM of 14% of the field. Registration closes at the end of Level 10.

• Day 1E (1pm) and Day 1F Turbo (7pm) take place on Saturday, February 14
• Multiple stacks are allowed but only the largest stack advances to Day 2.
• Day 2 and Final Day blinds increase every 40 minutes.
• PPT structure is Big Blind Ante then changes to Regular Ante at the final table.

Raquel Mendoza Wins the Ladies Showdown

Photo: Raquel Mendoza

Emerging into the live tournament scene just last year, Raquel Mendoza continued to make her presence felt. The rising contender captured her career second Metro title by taking down the Ladies Showdown. This was redemption for her narrow miss at the RVS Cup where she placed 5th at this same event.

Aimed at drawing more women to the felt, the Ladies Showdown was free to enter and carried a ₱50,000 guarantee. The event drew 45 players. Across the ten levels of registration, the prize pool climbed through 3 re-entries, 49 re-buys, and 10 add-ons, closing at ₱59,800. Mendoza walked away with the largest share of ₱12,900.

Jhunne Valencia Wins The Power Button

Photo: Jhun Valencia