10:05PM: Chinese Taipei's Tzu Chieh Lo wins the primary Event!

Tzu Chieh Lo eliminated fellow countryman Shih Chieh Su to capture the primary place cash prize of P2,393,350 and the championship trophy of the most important Manila Megastack Main Event. Congratulations to Lo for his victory!

10:05PM: Shih Chieh Su leads to 2nd place

After Shih Chieh Su was crippled all the way down to around six big blinds, he called Lo's all in while holding 9♥6♥ and was up against Lo with K♦8♦. The board ran 2♦T♠2♥A♦J♣ and with less chips, it was all over, he was eliminated in second place and Lo took down the principle Event. Su earned P1,526,000 for his deep run on the Main Event.

10:00PM: Lo doubles up, sends Su's stack way down

It was the primary big hand of the heads up round. Shih Chieh Lo raised to 650k, Tzu Chieh Lo responded with a re-raise to 1.7M and Su called. At the flop of 5♥7♣8♣, Lo moved all in and Su snap-called. Lo had A♠9♦ and Su with A♥6♣. The turn of J♠ kept Lo ahead, and with the river of 5♠, he shipped in a double as much as 12.2M chips. Su fell to 1.8M chips.

9:50PM: Players exchange winning pots

After ten hands, both players have won their justifiable share of the blinds and antes but Shih Chieh Su has won a couple of larger pots that saw a flops. Su has taken the lead.9:35PM: Heads up between Su and Lo

We are actually heads up between Shih Chieh Su and Tzu Chieh Lo. Lo leads with 8,835,000 chips and Su with 5,330,000 chips.

9:35PM: Keiji Ye falls short in 3rd place

Action began with Shih Chieh Su raising to 1M and Keiji Ye moving all in. Su called and it was a showdown. Su had K♥Q♠ and Ye with A♥3♥. The board ran a dramatic J♦5♥A♦3♣T♥ giving Su a straight at the river and Ye settled for 3rd place. Ye earned P966,000 for his finish.

9:30PM: Julian Hasse eliminated in 4th place

Julian Hasse moved all in at the button and chip leader Tzu Chieh Lo at the big blind called. Hasse had A♦3♣ and Lo with A♠9♥. The board didn't help Hasse and he was eliminated in 4th place. Hasse earned P773,000 for his finish.

9:30PM: Level 33

Blinds up 150,000-300,000 ante 50,000. There are four players remaining.

9:15PM: Henrik Tollefsen bows out in 5th place

Henrik Tollefsen was all in and Julian Hasse called. Tollefsen had Q♠5♣ and Hasse with K♦Q♥. The board ran J♣5♦T♦J♦T♠ and Hasse won together with his higher kicker. Tollefsen earned P585,000 for his finish.

9:10PM: Ye doubles up through Tollefsen

In a battle of the blinds, Keiji Ye shoved his 1.2M stack and Henrik Tollefsen called. Ye had A♥6♣ and Tollefsen with K♠9♣. The board rand 8♠2♦6♦2♣6♥ and Ye doubled as much as 2.5M with an entire house.

9:00PM: Angelo Peter Scicchitano exits in 6th place

Angelo Peter Scicchitano went all in with 410k and Tzu Chieh Lo raised to 600k. Shih Chieh Su called from the massive blind and the dealer spread the flop of T♥T♦8♦. Su checked, Lo bet 800k, and Su folded. On the showdown, Scicchitano had Q♦9♦ for a gut shot straight flush draw while Lo had 6♥6♦. The turn of 3♠ and river of K♣ weren't the outs he needed and Scicchitano exited in 6th place. He earned P433,000 for his finish.

8:50PM: Level 32

Blinds up 120,000-240,000 ante 40,000. There are six players remaining.

8:40PM: Tollefsen doubles up twice, back as much as 1.3M chips

Henrik Tollefsen was all the way down to just over one big blind but managed to chip up with two double ups. Within the first one, he doubled up with A♦Q♦ with an ace at the board, then at the next one, he was doubled up by Su. Tollefsen had A♠T♣ and Su had 3♦3♣. The board ran 9♠J♠2♦2♠A♥ and Tollefsen doubled as much as over 1.3M chips.

8:35PM: Lo picking up the blinds and antes

Tzu Chieh Lo has won three hands in a row, two with raises preflop and no callers. At the third pick up, Angelo Scicchitano raised to 400k at the small blind and Lo shoved at the big blind. Lo won with Scicchitano folding up.Lo as much as 6.2M chips.8:30PM: Su hits Tollefsen right down to 325k

Shih Chieh Su went all in with 3♦3♣ and Henrik Tollefsen called with A♠K♥. The board ran 8♣9♦A♣3♥2♥ and with Su improving to a set, he hung on to win a double as much as nearly 3M chips. Tollefsen fell to 325k chips.

8:25PM: Battle of the blinds, Hasse doubles up through Su

With action folding across the table, Julian Hasse shoved at the small blind and Shih Chieh Su at the big blind called. Hasse had Q♥2♥ and Su with 5♥5♦. The board ran T♠8♥2♣3♥K♥ and Hasse won a double up with a flush. Hasse now has 3.4M chips.

8:20PM: Level 31

Blinds up 100,000-200,000 ante 30,000. There are six players remaining.

8:20PM: Scicchitano doubles as much as over 1.7M chips

Angelo Peter Scicchitano picked his spot to move all in and Henrik Tollefsen made the decision. Scicchitano had A♣K♣ and Tollefsen with K♠J♥. The board bricked and Scicchitano doubled as much as 1.7M chips.

8:15PM: Eichi Mizuno out in 7th place

After Henrik Tollefsen raised at the button, Eichi Mizuno went all in together with his short stack at the big blind. Tollefsen called. Tollefsen had J♠9♠ and Mizuno with seven-nine off suit. The board gave Tollefsen a flush and Mizuno was eliminated in 7th place. He earned P331,000 for his finish.

8:10PM: Ye doubled up by Hasse

Keiji Ye moved all in with 860k and Julian Hasse called from the large blind. Ye had Q♥Q♣ and Hasse with A♥2♠. The board ran Q♦5♣9♣A♦6♦ and Ye celebrated his double as much as 2M chips.

8:05PM: Karl Thorson railed by Lo in 8th place

Karl Thorson went all in together with his short stack and was called by Tze Chieh Lo at the big blind. Thorson had A♥Q♥ and Lo had 3♣4♣. The board ran T♠3♥K♥7♥2♥ and Thorson landed a nut flush for a double as much as 880k. However, his double up was short-lived because at the next hand, he was all in again and Lo called. Lo had T♥T♣ and Thorson with Q♥J♥. The board ran 8♥T♣8♣A♣5♠ and with Lo landing a whole house, Thorson was eliminated in 8th place. He earned P280,000 for his finish.

8:00PM: Lo and Su battle

Both aggressors on the final table go at it on this hand. Tzu Chieh Lo raised to 350k from the utg+1 seat and massive blind Shih Chieh Su called. At the flop of K♥6♥T♣, Su checked to Lo who bet 400k. Action went back to Su who check-raised to 1,050,000. Lo folded. Su now has 3.4M chips.

7:50PM: Level 30

Blinds up 80000-160000 ante 20000. There are 8 players remaining.

7:40PM: Lo picks up a double up and a follow up pot

Just like Shih Chieh Su, Tzu Chieh Lo scored two sizable pots. His first one was a double up against Henrik Tollefsen. Action began with Tollefsen raising to 240k, Lo moving all in for one more 820k, and Tollefsen called. Lo had 4♠4♦ and Tollefsen with A♣9♠. The board bricked and Lo's small pair prevailed.

On the following hand, he raised to 250k at the button and was called by small blind player Keiji Ye. On the flop of 6♠9♣[6h, Ye checked, Lo went all in, and won with Ye folding up. Lo now on the subject of 3M chips.

7:35PM: Su takes down another pot

Shih Chieh Su three-bet Henrik Tollefsen's 240k raise to make it 670k to continue. Tollefsen folded. Su picked up another pot and is as much as 2.7M chips.7:30PM: Fu Lung Frolicked in 9th place

On the primary hand of the general table, Fu Lung Hung went all in together with his 490k chips and was called by both Eichi Mizuno and Shih Chieh Su. On the flop of 6♠6♣2♦ both players checked. At the turn of 2♠, it was checked again by both players. Then at the river of J♠, Mizuno checked, Su went all in, and Mizuno folded leaving himself 510k behind. Su unfolded A♣6♥ for an entire house and Hung was eliminated together with his Q♥9♥. Hung earned P234,000 for his finish. Su as much as 2.4M chips

7:15PM: Final table

We are right down to the overall table of nine players. Listed below are their chip counts:

Seat 1: Keiji Ye - 1,350,000

Seat 2: Henrik Tollefsen - 4,335,000

Seat 3: Karl Thorson - 750,000

Seat 4: Fu Lung Hung - 510,000

Seat 5: Julian Hasse - 3,075,000

Seat 6: Eichi Mizuno - 1,020,000

Seat 7: Shih Chieh Su - 1,100,000

Seat 8: Angelo Peter Scicchitano - 895,000

Seat 9: Tzu Chieh Lo - 1,120,000

7:10PM: Jeon railed by Thorson

Seung Soo Jeon will have avoided the bubble to the cash but to not the general table. His run led to 10th place when his all in with Q♦J♣ did not overcome Karl Thorson's A♣5♥ with the board running A♠4♣7♥9♠6♣A♦. Thorson now with 750k chips.

7:10PM: Su doubles up through Hasse

Julian Hasse doubled up Shih Chieh Su when his K♥3♥ was bested by Su's J♦J♣ with the board running A♥9♠Q♥3♣9♣. Su as much as 1M chips.

7:00PM: Level 29

Blinds up 60000-120000 ante 20000. There are 10 players left within the field. Bubble to the general table of nine.

6:50PM: Hasse chunks down Su, zooms to 3.5M

Julian Hasse assumed the second one in command after shipping in a double up against Shih Chieh Su. The board was already complete to the river once we got to the scene, 9♣T♦J♣A♥5♥. Hasse went all in and Su called. Hasse spread out Q♣8♣ for a winning straight against Su's T♥9♠ two pair. Hasse climbed to 3.5M and Su fell to 575k chips.

6:30PM: Tollefsen sends Wee packing, goes as much as 5.4M

Henrik Tollefsen appears to be the hatchet man. Having recently eliminated two players together with his big slick, he called Michael Tse Hua Wee's all in and it was a showdown. Tollefsen had A♦T♦ and Wee with pocket tens. The board ran 4♠K♦K♥2♦3♦ giving Tollefsen a flush. Wee said he couldn't believe it as he exited the field.

6:25PM: Tollefsen rails Lau and Pangan, amasses 4.3M

Henrik Tollefsen has taken the chip lead with a big takedown. After Alan Lau went all in for 895k chips, Luke Pangan quickly joined him with 880k chips, after which Tollefsen moved all in along with his massive stack. There have been no other players willing to sign up for the all in fest and their hole cards were revealed. Lau with 6♥6♣, Pangan with Q♥Q♣, and Tollefsen with A♣K♠. The board ran 3♣K♦2♦4♦J♣ and with a better pair, Tollefsen was shipped a major pot while sending Lau and Pangan to the rail. Tollefsen rose to 4.3M chips.

6:20PM: Level 28

Blinds 40000-80000 ante 10000. There are 13 players remaining.6:15PM: Massive pot to Su, Bolung eliminated

Both big stacks, Shih Chieh Su and Sammy Bolung, entered a preflop raise war that ended with either one of all of them in. Bolung had 6♦6♣ and Su with J♥J♣. The board ran 9♦K♠A♦8♦7♠, and Bolung was eliminated. Su climbed to 2.6M chips.

6:05PM: Mizuno cripples Quijano

Eichi Mizuno and Anacleto Quijano were all in with Quijano with 9♣9♦ and Mizuno with A♥Q♦. The board ran 7♥5♠3♥T♥Q♣ and with the river card giving Mizuno a better pair, he doubled as much as around 800k and Quijano fell to 240k.

6:00PM: Su eliminates Luther, goes over 1.5M

Shih Chieh Su called Eric Luther's all in and it was a showdown. Su had pocket fives and Su with pocket kings. The board bricked and Su railed Luther. He now has 1.5M chips.

5:55PM: Jeon gets hit by Hung

Fu Lung Hung bagged a large double up when his 7♦8♦ found a a couple at the board against Seung Soo Jeon's ace-queen offsuit. Hung now at 850k chips.

5:50PM: Level 27

Blinds up 30000-60000 ante 5000. There are 18 players left.

5:35PM: Ladies send Tollefsen to 1.7M

Henrik Tollefsen shoved his stack of 880k and Michael Tse Hua Wee called together with his big stack. Tollefsen had Q♦Q♥ and Wee with K♦K♠. The board ran Q♠2♦T♣7♣9♣ and with Tollefsen seeing another lady at the felt, he doubled up with a dominating set. He's as much as 1.7M chips.

5:25PM: Hung eliminates Jaeman

Jeong Jaeman was not happy to look the turnout of this hand because it sent him to the rail. He was all in with A♥K♦ and was called by Fu Lung Hung with A♠Q♠. The board ran T♠2♠6♥4♠4♦ and with a flush, Hung won the pot while railing Jaeman within the process.

5:20PM: Level 26

Blinds up 20000-40000 ante 5000. There are 21 players remaining.

5:10PM: Double ups visit Hung, Kato, Ye, and Lo

Lots of double ups happening across the felt. In a single hand, Fu Lung Hung doubled up through Chuang Yi Wu. Hung was all in preflop with A♦A♥ and Wu with K♥Q♠. His aces hung on to double up and come again as much as 500k chips.

Takuya Kato doubled up through Ying Lin Chua who shoved first and Kato joined him. Kato had Q♦Q♥ and Chua had A♠6♣. No help came for Chua at the board and he doubled up Kato to 450k. Chua fell to 60k. Another double up went to Keiji Ye who was all in at the flop with 4♦4♠ and Anacleto Quijano called with A♦J♥. The board eventually completed to Q♠7♦T♠8♥6♥. Ye was then moved to a different table after which doubled up again with A♣9♣ landing a nine at the board to double up through Seung Soo Jeon. Ye now has over 800k chips.

At another table, Tzu Chieh Lo got paid with A♦A♣ through Sammy Bolung. During that hand, Bolung raised to 80k in mid position, Lo three-be to 25k from the large blind seat, and Bolung called. At the flop of A♠8♥8♠, Lo checked to Bolung who bet 100k and Lo smooth-called. At the turn of 7♦, both players checked. Then at the river, Lo announced all in and Bolung called. Lo is now as much as 1.2M

4:55PM: Su doubles up Scicchitano and eliminates Chang

Shih Chieh Su called back-to-back all in shoves by two short stacks. The primary one was against Angelo Scicchitano who had 3♣3♦ and Su with J♥J♣. The board ran 4♠A♥7♣9♥3♠ and together with his set, Scicchitano doubled up but will need a lot more to catch as much as the leaders. He has over 200k chips.

On the following hand, Su called Chia Iin Chang's all in with K♦K♥ against her Q♥J♣. The board offered her no assistance and he or she was eliminated.

4:40PM: Level 25

Blinds up 15000-30000 ante 5000. There are 27 players left within the field.

4:25PM: Jeon wins three-way pot

It was a three-way all in preflop with Chuang Yi Wu with 9♥9♠, Seung Soo Jeon with A♦K♠, and Amy Butterfield with A♥5♣. The board ran 5♦8♠2♣K♥4♥, and Jeon claimed the pot while Butterfield bowed out.Jeon soars past 1.6M.4:15PM: Bolung shaves the leaders, doubles as much as over 1M

Sammy Bolung was all against chip leader Juian Hasse. Bolung had pocket kings and Hasse with ace-jack offsuit. The board ran dry for Hasse while giving Bolung a king at the river for a collection. Bolung climbed to over 1M chips.

4:00PM: Level 24

Blinds up 12000-24000 ante 40003:45PM: Hasse's kings get paid, reaches 1.6M

Julian Hasse is the large chip leader at this time after eliminating a player and getting his kings well paid. Catching the action on a turn board of 3♠7♠Q♦2♥, Hasse was all in sending Jiang Haibo tanking. After several intense minutes, Haibo called for his tournament life(around 500k behind) and their cards were revealed. Haibo had K♣Q♣ and Hasse with K♥K♦. The river landed 8♥ which was no help to Haibo and he was eliminated. Hasse with 1.6M chips.

3:30PM: Level 23

Blinds up 10000-20000 ante 30003:25PM: Bustillo busts within the bubble

Benjie Bustillo went all in under the gun and was called by both blinds, Sammy Bolung and Karl Thorson. The board ran 6♣J♠Q♦7♣Q♥, and with Bolung holding A♠6♠ pair, he eliminated Bustillo at the bubble. Bustillo had nine-eight offsuit.

3:20PM: Ducks for a ship to Hasse

Julian Hasse picked up another pot bringing his stack to over 900k. Catching the action on a turn board of 9♥3♠2♣3♣, Johnson Tan checked to Hasse who bet 36k. Tan called. At the river of 9♠, they both opted to test and Hasse won along with his 2♠2♦ full house over Tan's T♣T♠.

3:15PM: Mizuno wins the coin flip

Eiichi Mizuno went all in and Manuelito Uy called. Mizuno had 8♥8♠ and Uy had A♠K♥. The board bricked and Mizuno survived being the bubble. He doubled as much as 230k.

3:10PM: Wee tanks Ye for a large pot

Michael Tse Hua Wee and Kejie Ye battled for a pot that we caught only at the turn betting. The board was 9♦3♠K♥8♥, Ye bet 53k and Wee answered with a shove. Ye opted to fold and Wee claimed an enormous pot. He's now as much as 800k chips.

3:10PM: Jeon saved by the river, avoids the bubble

Seung Soo Jeon's emotions were put to a roller coaster ride on this hand throughout the bubble stage. He raised to 33k at the hijack seat and button player Soojing Hong went all in together with his massive stack. This sent Jeon tanking but then put his tournament life at the line. Jeon had K♠K♦ and Hong had A♠T♦. As Jeon prayed for 'no ace, no ace', the flop ran A♦2♠4♥ and Hong took the lead. The turn of Q♥ was no help to Jeon, but with the river landing K♣, Jeon exclaimed in joy at his set and avoided being the bubble. He now has 570k chips.

3:00PM: Level 22

Blinds up 8000-16000 ante 2000. We're on the bubble stage with 46 players within the field.

2:50PM: Luo eliminated, Hong as much as 865k

Hao Che Luo came within the final day as second-in-chips but his run for the trophy ended by the hands of Soojing Hong. It was an all in preflop action with Luo holding A♦Q♠ and Hong with A♥K♦. The board ran A♥3♣6♦8♣3♥ and Hong was awarded the large pile within the middle. Hong now as much as 865k chips.

2:45PM: Luther's kings bests Luo's jacks

Eric Luther doubled up through Hao Che Luo along with his pocket kings holding strong against Luo's pocket jacks. Luther now as much as 280k chips.

2:40PM: Ona triples up

Antonio Ona lost a large pot along with his pocket kings getting beaten by a flush but he was in a position to gain back a few of those lost chips. Ona shoved along with his remaining 31k and was called by two players, Handong Jo and Sammy Bolung. The board ran 6♥3♠J♦5♣2♠ which was checked the entire way down by Jo and Bolung. Ona won along with his A♦4♦ straight and is back as much as 120k chips.

2:30PM: Level 21

Blinds up 6000-12000 ante 2000. There are 54 players remaining. Nearing the money at 45 players.

2:15PM: Ohta's big slick no good against Hasse

Tomoe Ohta was all in with A♥K♠ and Julian Hasse called with K♣Q♦. The board ran Q♣T♦3♦2♠2♦ and Ohta was eliminated. Hasse with 660k chips.

2:10PM: Akanuma doubles up Chua

Yoichi Akanuma just won his chips and already he was paying out a player. Throughout the hand, Ying Lin Chua raised to 22k, Akanuma three-bet to 75k, and Chua flat-called. At the flop of Q♣T♣4♦, Chua checked to Akanuma who bet 100k. Chua check-raised all in and Akanuma snap-called. Chua had K♥K♣ and Akanuma with A♣4♣. The turn of 7♥ and river of Q♦ kept Chua ahead and he doubled as much as around 550k chips. Akanuma all the way down to 410k chips.

2:05PM: Akanuma rails Lee and Okuma

Yuichi Akanuma had the most productive hand coming in and still the most efficient hand finally. After two players shoved, Alex Lee and Koji Okuma, small blind player Akanuma joined the thrill and called. Lee had 2♦2♠, Okuma with 9♥9♣, and Akanuma with Q♣Q♠. The board ran J♠6♦J♦7♣Q♦ giving Akanuma an entire house for an overkill win. Akanuma climbs to 650k chips.

1:55PM: Demaklian doubles up Yang

Big blind player Ken Demaklian called Pohsiang Yang's all in of 65k chips. Yang had kh]Q♥ and Demaklian had K♠J♥. The board ran A♥2♠K♥5♦4♥, and Yang doubled as much as over 140k chips.

1:50PM: Level 20

Blinds up 5000-10000 ante 1000

1:45PM: Double up for Uy

Manuelito Uy shipped in a large double up pile when his gamble on 8♠7♠ landed a straight at the river against a player with pocket threes that hit a suite at the flop. Uy climbed to 480k chips.

1:40PM: McDonald moving up

Harold McDonald scooped a player's chips who apparently kept on shoving. McDonald had A♥Q♥ and was prior to Q♦T♣. The board ran low and McDonald shipped it and eliminated one within the process.

1:30PM: Lucky river, Pangan cracks aces

And yet again, another pocket aces at the felt but this time, it didn't go its way. Through the hand, a player raised from the utg seat, and Luke Pangan to his immediate left three-bet to make it 28k. When action folded across the table back to the utg, he shoved his 60k stack and Pangan called. Pangan had ace-queen and was up against pocket aces. The board ran K-J-4-5-10 giving Pangan a straight at the river and sending the aces to the rail. Pangan as much as 325k chips.

1:20PM: Level 19

Blinds up 4000-8000 ante 1000

1:20PM: Chua doubles up with rockets

There appears to be numerous pocket aces to this point today. Ying Lin Chua was all in with A♥A♣ and was doubled up by a Yuichi Akanuma who had ace-king offsuit when the board bricked. Chua now as regards to 300k chips.

1:15PM: Gaw eliminates Yao

Andrew Gaw picked up a pleasant pile of chips after eliminating Hui Yao. Gaw raised to 15k preflop and Yao moved all in along with his short stack. Gaw had pocket aces and Yao with queen-ten offsuit. The board offered no help to Yao and the chips were shipped to Gaw.

1:10PM: Fernandes's rockets scalp two

It was a three-way all in party with Jayde Fernandes all in with A♣A♠, Stephen Nathan with A♥J♥ and Thomas Larsen with T♥T♣. Larsen announced that he is busted out many players together with his tens but this time it was to not be because the board ran J♣9♣5♣7♠9♥. Fernandes scooped up the entire chips and eliminated two players. He's now sitting with around 175k chips.

1:10PM: Chuang Yi Wu increases

Although we missed the hand, Chuang Yi Wu seems to have won a large pot and is now as much as 495k chips.

1:00PM: Alex Lee sends one packing

Alex Lee has just picked up another pot after eliminating a brief stack who was all in with pocket sixes and Lee with ace-three offsuit. The board ran two threes that at last became an entire house for Lee. Lee as much as around 380K chips.

12:50PM: A COLLECTION for Hasse rails two

The words "all in" were music to Julian Hasse's ears with two players shoving while he held pocket eights on a board of J♥J♣8♠. Having them both covered in chips, Hasse called. One player had pocket nines and the opposite with pocket tens. The turn of 3♠ and river of Q♥ kept Hasse ahead and he rail two players immediately. Hasse now with around 440k chips.

12:50PM: Level 18

Blinds up 3000-6000 ante 1000

12:40PM: Lau defends his big blind

Alan Lau three-bet Thanh Duong's button raise of 11k to make it 31k to continue. Duong called and the flop ran 2♣J♥K♠. Lau continued and sent out 30k. Duong folded.

12:30PM: Bust outs

Several players have already been sent to the rail. William Te was eliminated by Luke Pangan and William Ysmael fell to chip leader Shih Chieh Su. Su now had around 600k chips.12:15PM: Fast and furious action

As soon because the cards were dealt, it was high time to begin raking within the chips. A LARGE pot was just claimed by Alex Lee in a hand against Ying Lin Chua. It started with Lee raising to 11k at the button, re-raised to 28.5k by Chua at the small blind, after which called by Lee. On the flop of 2♦7♠4♣, Chua led out for 31.5k, Lee raised to 89k, and Chua was already tanking this early within the day. He eventually folded, giving Lee the primary big pot on the table. Lee is now as much as around 340k chips.

12:15PM: Level 17

Blinds at 2500-5000 ante 500

12:15PM: Final Day begins!Welcome to the overall Day of the primary Event with 108 players returning to the felt. They're going to all be gunning for the large first place purse of P2,392,350. Good luck to the entire players!

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Asia Pacific Poker Tour]

Another long day within the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final has come to a close, and after eight full one-hour levels the 57 players who had survived from the 993-player starting field have now played all the way right down to a last table after which some.

Pablo Gordillo began the official final table with the chip lead -- some degree hit with about an hour left to play -- and he had it again at night's lead to. fact, the Spaniard's stack of 7,005,000 will put him a bit over 3 million away from anyone else when cards return within the air for Sunday's final day.

Pablo Gordillo

Those 57 returned with the Frenchman Dean-Henri Taibi leading, and within a few hours they were already less 20 players. EPT4 Prague champion Arnaud Mattern (47th) and La Maison Du Bluff star Abou Sy (42nd) among those hitting the rail.

Gordillo had already pushed into the chip lead by then, and would remain at or near the highest of the counts for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

Meanwhile the pace slowed somewhat, the sector shrinking from 37 to 22 over the following two one-hour levels. That extend saw both the tournament's last woman, Daniela Parotti, and start-of-day-2 chip leader Frederik Treusch being eliminated in 27th and 26th, respectively.

Gilles Silbernagel of France had risen to challenge Gordillo by that point, taking on the chip lead briefly because the field was whittled down further. Freeroll winner Romain Bier went out in 20th, and slightly later Amerigo Santoro had his aces cracked by EPT4 London champion Joseph Mouawad to move out in 19th.

Mouawad earned another knockout soon thereafter, eliminating Alexandre Rivero in 16th, and enjoyed the chip lead for a part of the pre-dinner period. Evangelos Kokkalis (15th) and Guillaume Branellec (14th) next fell, with Alessandro Bardaro (13th) and Charles Vidal (12th) following before those remaining took day out for dinner.

After their return, Julien Valentin unfortunately ran kings into Silbernagel's aces to complete 11th. Florian Decamps finally lost the last of his short stack to Taibi to complete 10th. Then start-of-day-3 leader Taibi fell in ninth in a hand against Gordillo.

The final table within the final hour

That one put Gordillo back in front, and rather than a temporary period when Silbernagel jumped sooner than him again Gordillo would continue to stick active and accumulate until play concluded. Michael Ferrari will be the just one to fall during that final hour, finishing eighth after his pocket queens did not hold against Mouawad's ace-queen.

Here's how the stacks look and where they'll be seated to begin play tomorrow:

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,220,000Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,890,000Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 840,000Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 7,005,000Seat 5: emptySeat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 3,950,000Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,520,000

The next player out will earn €23,500 while a large prize of €177,000 awaits the winner.

Play resumes at 12:30 p.m. local time tomorrow, with cards-up coverage starting on a one-hour delay at 1:30 p.m. over at EPT Live. Get back then to determine with us who will succeed Yury Nesterenko to become the following France Poker Series Monaco Main Event champion.

Level 21-24 updates (from 57 to 22)Level 25-28 updates (from 22 to 7)Prize pool and payouts

Bon soir!

To get all of the latest news, chip counts and payouts, ensure you download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: France Poker Series]

The alpha papa - Alexandru Papazian

What is it Joe Stapleton says every season on EPT Live? "The year of Romania", right?

Well, could 2016 actually be it? I mean, first there has been the announcement of the Eureka Poker Tour in Bucharest kicking off on May 18th, at which Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu can be playing within the birth country of his parents. Then there's the wave of talented Romanian pros who've been taking the EPT and other PokerStars tours by storm, prompting Stapes to mention it within the first place.

One thing's for sure, Alexandru Papazian should have been listening. The young Romanian beat Alexandros Kolonias heads-up to take down €25K high roller here in Monaco tonight for an enormous score of €1,197,000 - the most important ever live cash by a Romanian. His victory sends him as much as third on Romania's all-time money list, breaking the records of 1,701 of his countrymen. 

The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT12 Grand Final was all about breaking records. First we had the most important ever main event within the history of the Grand Final; you can now add the most important ever €25K to that list. Here's the way it played out.

It was a star-studded field bolstered by a number of live satellite qualifiers, and that created a monster prize pool of €5,659,500. A COMPLETE of 175 players entered, with 56 re-entries. There could be 31 players finishing within the money, however the title of bubble boy would visit Ami Barer, yesterday. Once the bubble burst the bust-outs came thick and fast, as expected, with Steve O'Dwyer, Ivan Luca, Dan Smith, Day 1 chip leader Niall Farrell, and Kid Poker himself all making the money.

Negreanu came 15th for €83,760

Only 12 made it to the general day, that you could read through intimately here. and it was Zvi Stern who held the chip lead initially of the business end. Here's how the counts checked out the start of the day:

Name Country Chips

Zvi Stern	Israel	1,638,000
Max Silver	UK	1,342,000
Alexandros Kolonias	Greece	1,338,000
Alexandru Papazian	Romania	1,231,000
Ivan Deyra	France	1,160,000
Rafael Da Silva Moraes	Brazil	1,026,000
Eddy Maksoud	Lebanon	907,000
Imad Derwiche	France	840,000
Anthony Zinno	USA	816,000
Saar Wilf	Israel	509,000
Thomas Miller	USA	383,000
Ramin Hajiyev	Azerbaijan	366,000

 

Ramin Hajiyev was the primary to be eliminated, followed by Thomas Miller and Ivan Deyra. That got us all the way down to one table, however it wasn't the official final table until Saar Wilf was eliminated in 9th place for €122,250. The Israeli got his stack in with Ace-Jack, but was trailing the Ace-Queen of Anthony Zinno who ended up making Queens full.

It didn't take long for us to search out an eighth place finisher. Imad Derwiche knows all about this event as he finished runner-up in last year's Grand Final €25K to Charlie Carrel. He was super relaxed all day, dancing in between hands and joking with on the subject of everybody, but he came into the overall eight very short with not up to ten big blinds. He went all-in over Anthony Zinno's 100,000 open for 325,000 with the J♥J♠, which Zinno called. He was racing against Zinno's A♠Q♠, and suffered a Barry Greenstein - aka an Ace at the river - to hit the rail. Still, he picked up €147,710, so it was another great showing for the Frenchman.

Derwiche out in 8th

The next to fall was Max Silver. He went from chip leader to out very quickly, losing a tremendous pot to Eddy Maksoud. The Lebanese player opened only to be three-bet by Alexandru Papazian, followed by a four-bet all-in from Silver. Only Maksoud called and it was Silver's pocket tens against the Ace-King of Maksoud for a 3 million chip pot. A King at the flop was all it took to cripple Silver, who was then right down to just two big blinds. He committed them with Queen-Jack against Papazian's six-four, however the Romanian made two pair at the river and Silver was gone. He collected €202,050.

No gold for Silver

At this point Alexandros Kolonias was building a large chip lead, and he'd add much more to it by busting Anthony Zinno in sixth. The yankee was short - having just doubled Rafael Da Silva Moraes - when he shoved with the Queen-Jack, just for Kolonias to isolate with a shove of his own. The golf green had pocket Queens and the women held up. For his run, Zinno won €276,750.

Zinno fell in 6th

Eddy Maksoud would make his exit in fifth for €364,500. He was very short and got the last of chips in with ace-deuce, which Papazian would beat together with his ace-ten, making two pair at the turn and leaving Maksoud drawing dead. 

Nice run for Maksoud

That got us right down to four, and a number of the chips were in front of Papazian at this point. He would eliminate Zvi Stern in fourth too to take a bigger lead. Stern shoved at the button, Papazian isolated from the small blind and Rafael Da Silva Moraes gave up his big blind. Stern had Ace-seven and would have to hit something to overcome the pocket Queens of Papazian, but alas it wasn't to be. Stern collected €460,700.

Good showing for Stern

Papazian had an enormous chip lead when play got three-handed, holding 7.9 million to Kolonias' 2.3 million and Da Silva Moraes' 1.35 million. 

The shortest of these three can be next to head. He called all-in against Papazian after hitting top pair on a Queen-high flop - the one problem was that the Romanian also had a Queen, plus a greater kicker. The Brazilian couldn't hit two-pair at the turn or river and he went to gather his €568,200.

Da Silva Moraes thanks his rail

Heads up counts:

Alexandru Papazian - 7,390,000 Alexandros Kolonias - 4,160,000

While these two is probably not big names at the live circuit, online it is a different story. Papazian, playing under the screen name 'tilt21sted' on PokerStars, has $1.68 million in online winnings - his biggest score coming in a TCOOP event in January when he finished runner-up for $209,300. Kolonias is not any stranger to the virtual felt either; he's amassed $956,000 on PokerStars, $365,500 of which came from a 3rd place finish within the 2015 WCOOP $10K high roller.

After a few hands of heads-up play, Papazian and Kolonias decided to move on a dinner break. After they returned Kolonias managed a double as much as take the chip lead when an all-in pre-flop hand saw him win with Ace-King against King-Queen. But Papazian didn't get flustered; he went straight back to work and took the chip lead again not long after.

Kolonias v Papazian

The heads-up battle was fast-paced and almost entirely tank-less. From here at the lead switched on a pot-by-pot basis; the most important hand saw Kolonias make a 1.3 million call at the river of a K♣8♦6♥J♣K♦ board but muck when Papazian showed the J♠9♦. That gave Papazian 10 million to Kolonias' 1.45 million, but after all it wasn't over yet.

Kolonias doubled when his K♣8♥ held against Q♣J♥ all-in pre-flop, then was chipped down over again. Another double came soon after when his J♥8♥ paired at the T♦6♠K♦J♣2♠ board to overcome Papazian's A♥7♠.

But then it was Papazian's turn to multiply his stack by two. Papazian limped with the A♦6♣ and Kolonias jammed with the K♠Q♦. After the call, the board ran out A♣4♦5♠8♦3♥, and that sent Papazian' stack up slightly below 10 million again. A FEW hands later and it was far and wide; Kolonias got it in good with pocket nines against Ace-four, but a four at the flop and crucial Ace at the river secured Papazian the win.

Fellow Romanian and EPT11 Deuville runner-up Dany Parlafes was railing Papazian for all the heads-up battle. He's a person who knows how close you will get to a prestigious EPT trophy after which see all of it slip away.

That didn't happen for Alexandru Papazian. After all, it is the year of Romania.

EPT Grand Final €25K high rollerDates: May 4-6, 2016 Buy in: €25,000Entries: 231 (175 players plus 56 re-entries) Prize pool: €5,659,500

1 - Alexandru Papazian, Romania, €1,197,0002 - Alexandros Kolonias, Greece, €805,9003 - Rafael Da Silva Moraes, Brazil, €568,2004 - Zvi Stern, Israel, €460,7005 - Eddy Maksoud, Lebanon, €364,5006 - Anthony Zinno, United States, €276,7507 - Max Silver, United Kingdom, €202,0508 - Imad Derwiche, France, €147,710

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: European Poker Tour]

This is an archive of a prior day's coverage. Click through for the most recent action from the tournament floor.

Juicy Li squeezes competition to guide Day 1B

The main event at APPT10 Macau has now played 16 levels, but in poker terms it's still just a day old. Following yesterday's eight-hour Day 1A, another 311 hopefuls arrived to PokerStars LIVE poker site on the City of Dreams for Day 1B.

That brought our total to 533 players, essentially the most since 2011, when Randy "nanonoko" Lew beat a record turnout. This time, our winner will earn $2,694,000, which represents a record for the reason that buy-in was set at HK$25,000.

At this stage of proceedings, it is a familiar face from round these parts with probably the most chips. Sixiao Li could be very widely known in Macau, and additional afield actually, although she usually goes by the name "Juicy". Call her what you like, she is within the box seat, bagging 219,000 chips tonight. 

Juicy Liu: Leading the way

In keeping with a tournament that attracted a more sizeable crowd at the second flight, the stacks across the room are bigger than yesterday's. Cao Juncong has 194,400, that's just a whisker behind, while Erdun Xu has 149,000. Jurg Niederburger leads the ecu contingent. He has 114,000.

Cao Juncong: Second by a whisker

Team PokerStars Pro started today with four representatives, but by the point day was done, only two of them survived, either one of them named Lin. The former, Chen An Lin, bagged 64,400 chips, while Celina Lin has 29,000. 

Although neither of these stacks are what you could call mighty, Celina Lin is solely happy to have anything. The last APPT Macau she played lasted three hands, and he or she was all the way down to six big blinds today. But she bounced back.

The complete field consolidates for the primary time tomorrow, when the 86 who survived yesterday join forces with the 130 (approximately) who made it through today.

It's the players' party now, over at D2 Club & Lounge in Fisherman's Wharf. We'll have full chip counts up as and when they're with us, and tomorrow's seat draw too. Go rejoice kids--or, if not, read through today's coverage below.

Day 1B full coverage:

10:20pm: Biiiig prizesLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

With only QUARTER-HOUR to move on Day 1B, the tournament organisers have released details of the prize pool. 

From the $11,891,230 total, the winner of this one gets $2,694,000. Sixty-three places are paid, with a min-cash worth $47,150. (All prizes in HKD.) 

See the payouts page for the entire prize structure. -- HS

10:20pm: Five more handsLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

It's official - we only have five more hands remaining on Day 1b. 

Stay with us to determine who will survive to Day 2 and who will become the end-of-day chip boss. -- BK

10:10pm: Lin lets it goLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Celina Lin is one in all only two Team PokerStars Pros left within the hunt (alongside Chen an Lin) and he or she recently got concerned with a hand within the dying stages of Day 1b. 

After a preflop raise to 2,200, Lin bumped it as much as 5,400 from the button. The move piqued the interest of the player within the big blind, who asked to peer the Team Pro's stack before cold-calling. The initial raiser threw it away and the 2 remaining went to a flop of 8♠T♣3♦. 

It was then that the cold-caller opted to steer out for an excellent 5,000. Lin paused momentarily but decided to let it go before her opponent flashed J♠J♣ for the overpair. 

Lin nodded and was left with only 22,500 to play with. -- BK

9:50pm: Brutal runout sends Ward packingLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Thomas Ward is not any stranger to special scores in Macau. Just last year he finished runner-up within the ACOP Macau Main Event for nearly half 1,000,000 dollars. 

Unfortunately for the brand new Zealander, however, he won't be creating a deep run on this APPT after somewhat of a nasty beat. 

After a tablemate opened to 2,000, Ward moved all in for what gave the impression to be 20,600 in chips. Ward was called and in peril as players turned their hands over. 

Ward: A♠Q♣Opponent: K♠T♠

Ward had the most efficient of it and located top pair at the 3♥J♦Q♥. The opposite player had picked up a straight draw however the Q♠ killed half those outs - with any ace improving Ward an entire house. 

Needing to vanish a nine and a nine alone he couldn't do it because the 9♠ rolled off to signal the top of his tournament. -- BK

9:40pm: Juicy squeezes on as much as ChaoLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Much like yesterday, shall we have a tie on the top of the counts when day is completed in 45 minutes. Juicy Liu just won a pot of about 80,000 to construct her stack just about 200,000--right alongside Jun Chong Chao. SO MUCH can still happen, but those two are the favourites in this day and age. -- HS

9:25pm: Already a championLevel 8: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Off we go into the last level of the day, where the wealthy gets richer. Before we get there, a snappy take a look at what happened yesterday, when China's Yue Feng Pan wat the HK$50,000 freezeout. 

Pan is a former winner of the Red Dragon here in Macau, back in August 2015, so now adds a second major title to his resume, and the small matter of HK$1.2 million. Wayne Weiyi Zhang finished third, a result that stretched his lead on the Asia Player of the Year rankings.

Take a glance in any respect the side event results. -- HS

Yue Feng Pan

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

8	500	1,000	100

9:25pm: Kitty clawing awayLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

Kitty Kuo have been active of late and appears to be accumulating herself a pleasing stack. 

She won a contemporary pot against Devan Tang after Kuo raised to 2,000 from early position preflop and Tang defended his big blind. 

The flop was spread 8♥4♠J♥ and when checked to, Kuo continued to 2,500 in chips. Tang quickly reached for raising chips and bumped it as much as 7,500. Kuo flicked in a 5,000-denomination chip to name and so they saw the 2♦ turn roll off. 

Despite Tang's preflop raise the turn action went check-check before the 9♠ river. 

Once again both players checked and Tang tabled K♦6♥ for an entire air-ball and Kuo showed K♥J♦ for a flopped top pair and the winner. 

Kuo is now hovering across the 72,000 chip mark. -- BK

9:10pm: Chao at the chargeLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

When you cover a large number of poker tournaments, you find yourself with the ability to see the longer term. No, really. OK, so that you get a large number of predictions wrong, but you'll often also see a storm coming, and at 8:05pm I wondered whether there is usually a big-stack clash on Table 8.

That was on the time when Jun Chong Chao had emerged because the tournament chip leader, with about 120,000, but additionally when Satra Teja, with a stack of about 70,000, was two seats to his right.

I didn't actually see this primary hand, but Teja is now out of this tournament, while Chao has about 180,000 in front of him. I FEEL the 2 things are probably related. -- HS

9:10pm: 500 after which someLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

The final numbers are in for APPT10 Macau and this one is huge. Along with the 222 who showed up yesterday, Day 1B attracted 311. That provides us a complete of 533. It allows us to fill in a couple of more boxes in this table that shows the history of APPT Macau:

            Season Players Buy in Winner Prize

1	352	$2,500*	Dinh Le	$222,640*
2	538	$3,200*	Eddie Sabat	$453,851*
3	429	$5,160*	Dermot Blain	$541,072*
4	342	$40,000	Victorino Torres	$3,246,200
5	575	$30,000	Randy Lew	$3,772,000
6	358	$25,000	Jeff Rossiter	$1,777,000
6	184	$100,000	Xing Zhou	$3,547,500
7	388	$25,000	Alexandre Chieng	$2,165,000
8	494	$25,000	Jiajun Liu	$2,776,000
9	493	$25,000	Tony Cheng	$2,525,000
10	533	$25,000	?	?

*Buy-in in USD.

Full prize-pool information might be with us shortly. -- HS

8.55pm: Team Pro updateLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

As reported below, Bryan Huang's elimination leaves us with only two Team PokerStars Pros left within the field. That's two greater than managed to outlive yesterday, but neither Chen-An Lin nor Celina Lin (no relation) have enormous stacks.

Chen-An has about 30,000, that's a 50 percent increase on his starting stack. Celina has about 15,500, so she is entering the risk zone. Although no real want to panic just yet. -- HS

8:45pm: Huang out to dryLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang has reportedly just been eliminated. He told us that he was short stacked and defended his big blind with ace-deuce suited. On a flop of A-7-3 he check-jammed but was called off by an opponent holding ace-ten. 

That leaves only Chen An Lin and Celina Lin for our Team Pro contingent. 

Also spotted up and out of his seat was Dong Guo, who headed to the registration desk. With the HK$3,000 starting only not way back it is a good bet he'll be trying his luck in that. -- BK

Eliminated - Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang

8:30pm: Registration closedLevel 7: 400/800 (100 ante)

That's the tip of registration for this event, so we'll have an entire number confirmed pretty soon. We all know that 222 played yesterday and we had no less than 308 today. We'll double sign in the following few minutes whether anyone sneaked in on the end. -- HS

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

7	400	800	100

8:20pm: Final break of the night

It's that point again. 

The players are on a 10-minute break. -- BK

8:15pm: Three way actionLevel 6: 300/600 (75 ante)

We just saw numerous action in a up to date hand that began with Victor Chong opening to 1,500 from under the gun. Saehoon Lee made the decision from the button and the player within the big blind also committed the chips. 

On a flop of 8♦7♦6♥ Chong checked it to Lee who made a chance of 2,500. The player within the big blind immediately moved all in for 9,050 and the verdict was on Chong. He called and so did Lee before the 8♥ was revealed at the turn. 

Chong checked and Lee bet 8,500 into the empty side pot. After studying Lee's stack and giving it some thought Chong called the bet and players saw the 3♣ river. 

Chong checked for a last time and Lee bet 8,600 at the end. This time Chong's decision was so much quicker as he flicked in a decision and saw he was beat. 

Lee held 8♣4♣ which was ok to assert the side pot, but couldn't beat the third party's T♣9♦ for a flopped straight. 

Chong mucked and the dealer push the pots to the best players. -- BK

8.05pm: Big stacksLevel 6: 300/600 (75 ante)

There are no less than two stacks within the room worth greater than 100,000. One belongs to Christopher Soyza, who has continued the fine run he started back in Level 3, when he spiked a queen against David Man's jacks (see 4:45pm post). Soyza, the Aussie Millions Accumulator winner, has right across the 100,000 mark.

If he looked over his right shoulder, however, he'd see Jun Chong Chao, whose 120,000 is without doubt one of the biggest in these parts.

Chao has every chance to grow it too because Satra Teja's stack of about 70,000 is on to his left. -- HS

7:45pm: Lin moves inLevel 6: 300/600 (75 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin was previously nursing somewhat of a brief stack but she appears back in contention after winning the hand just gone. 

Things started when Takashi Ogura raised to 1,300 from under the gun, and after picking up a caller, Lin also came along from the massive blind. 

The flop brought J♥8♥3♣ and it was checked around before the 9♣ fell at the turn. It was then that Lin led for 2,800. Ogura called and with the overall player out of how the dealer revealed the K♥ river. 

With the action on Lin she paused for a moment before sliding in her remaining 7,200 in chips. Ogura considered his options but in spite of everything he gave it up and the pot was pushed to the Team Pro. 

Lin is now back to a moderate 17,000 in chips while Ogura drops to right across the start bank of 20,000. -- BK

Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin

7:30pm: Yue beats XuLevel 6: 300/600 (75 ante)

It's difficult to unpick what just happened over on Table 10, but here is what gave the impression to go on.

It appeared like Erdun Xu limped from under the gun, which persuaded two other players to limp before the action reached Chen Yue within the small blind. He raised to 3,600.

Xu were as much as no good because he now three-bet to 10,600 and the 2 other limpers (limpets?) limped off.

Yue wasn't going anywhere. He shoved for 15,500. Xu, who we soon came upon was sitting with Q♦Q♥, can have wondered whether he had actually trapped himself. He gave the look to be fascinated with a fold, but was obviously priced in.

He called and showed those queens, that have been prior to Yue's J♣J♦. The board ran 7♠K♣4♥2♣9♠ and Yue hits the rail. -- HS

7:20pm: Ward wastes little timeLevel 6: 300/600 (75 ante)

Thomas Ward has sat down on Raiden Kan's table and has wasted no time in getting his stack as much as around 55,000. It sort of feels highly likely that a lot of that has come from Rathi Shashank, to his immediate right.

Shashank was one of the vital biggest stacks within the room an hour or so ago. He had no less than 70,000 once we last took a peek. He has a more modest 30,000-ish now and the talented Kiwi to his left, vacuuming up his chips. --HS

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

6	300	600	75

7:15pm: Guo grinding awayLevel 5: 200/400 (50 ante)

China's Dong Guo is widely known around these parts. With over half 1,000,000 in total live earning to his name he's a force to be reckoned with on the tables. 

He hasn't had one of these solid start here today, but is now fighting back because the night continues on. 

In a contemporary hand Jan Petzholdt opened to 900 from under the gun and Guo played back at him with a raise of 2,325. Petzholdt made the decision they usually went to a flop of 9♦3♦4♥. 

It was checked to Guo and he continued for 2,700 which was enough to take down the pot. He rakes in that one and climbs back over the starting stack. -- BK

7:05pm: Team Pro downLevel 5: 200/400 (50 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal is out of the APPT Macau Main Event race. He took to Twitter to tell his followers how he was eliminated. -- BK

6:55pm: Best hand wins, best hand losesLevel 5: 200/400 (50 ante)

Two doubles ups to report, not always with the most efficient hand.

In the first, Jiang Tao Liu found A♣J♠ and that was enough to three-bet shove his stack of 6,500 into the middle, especially after Jerry Goh had opened. Tao is the table big-stack, possibly the tournament leader, with greater than 90,000 and has likely been playing numerous hands.

Tao called with only A♠2♠ and the board ran T♥Q♥T♣K♠9♦. The jack filled a straight.

Over the opposite side of the tournament room, Shuai Zhang opened to 1m100 from the hijack but was forced to come to a decision after Kyle Sivak shoved for 8,825 from the small blind.

Zhang took some time over the decision, which made it surprising that he turned over A♦K♣ after he eventually did call. Sivak was in a place of bother with K♠J♠, but spiked the cardboard he needed at the flop of 6♥9♥J♣. The Q♣ turn and the 9♣ river were blanks. -- HS

6:45pm: Battle of the blinds goes Soyza's wayLevel 5: 200/400 (50 ante)

We just lost another player as we cross the halfway mark after two players went to war within the blinds. 

Christopher Soyza and the most recent evictee got the cash all in preflop and saw that they were flipping. 

Soyza: A♣K♠Opponent: T♥T♣

It was a good fight until the Q♣A♥4♦ saw Soyza jump ahead. He held that lead in the course of the 9♦ turn and 8♠ river to knock his tablemate out and boost his stack to around 68,000. -- BK

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

5	200	400	50

6:10pm: Break time

That's the top of Level 4 and the half-way point of today's action. There are actually 303 players registered for today, which brings our total to 525, with two hours still left to get involved.

When they return at 6:20pm, they'll be playing 200-400 (ante: 50). -- HS

6:05pm: Cracking acesLevel 4: 150/300 (ante: 25)

We've got a brand new chip leader to report, although the whelps that came from Satra Wijiya Teja's table didn't come from him. They were from Yao Zhao, who lost with aces and was knocked out.

Yao Zhao: Out with aces

There was pretty obviously a large hand brewing by the point I glided by: Teja had 8,500 out in front of him, which was a minimum of a four-bet, and Zhao wasn't going anywhere. He moved all in for 36,900 more, which was no less than a five-bet.

Teja actually seemed like he may well be considering folding, inquiring for an actual count after which asking the dealer to pull within the chips to look the scale of the re-raise. In spite of everything he called and saw the best hand he probably feared. Zhao had A♠A♥ and Teja needed to show his K♥K♠.

With even the suits covered, Teja had to hit his two outer. But lo and behold, there it was at the flop: 7♦6♦K♦. The remainder of the table erupted and commenced telling tales between them a couple of previous skirmish between these two, wherein Teja had hit another two outer. (I DO NOT know the entire details.)

The 5♥ at the turn and 4♥ at the river meant there has been no re-out-draw and Zhao is toast.

Teja has about 90,000 that is probably the most within the room. -- HS

6:00pm: Boucher buildingLevel 4: 150/300 (25 ante)

Matthew Boucher is constant to stack chips after he found himself at the winning end of a dicey board with four-way action. 

Boucher raised to 600 preflop and after three callers all of them went to a flop of J♠9♥5♥. The action checked around and the T♠ arrived at the turn. 

It was then three checks before Erik Spets took the betting lead, making it 1,400 to move. The 3 other contenders all stuck around and the four players saw the K♠ roll off at the river. 

The action checked around again and Boucher tabled A♦Q♠ for a rivered Broadway straight. 

Two players mucked but Spets flipped up Q♣J♥ presumably not seeing Boucher's hand. "Straight" Spets announced about his own hand in confusion. His tablemates pointed to Boucher's cards and finally Spets realised he was beat. 

With that hand Boucher climbs to 44,000 in chips. -- BK

5:40pm: Aggression from AgarwalLevel 4: 150/300 (25 ante)

Indian Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal just added a significant portion to his stack with no need to visit showdown. 

It appeared that the action folded to Agarwal at the button and he installed a raise before Lulu Yang three-bet to 4,500 from the small blind. 

Back on Agarwal he chose to transport his entire stack of 15,600 into the center. Yang deliberated for a couple of moments but ultimately gave it up because the pot was awarded to Agarwal. 

The Team Pro is now back up over the 20,000 chip start bank. -- BK

5:35pm: Cao cruisingLevel 4: 150/300 (ante: 25)

Here's a hand that corroborates our post from 5pm but undermines the only from 4:15pm. There has been a large number of pre-flop action, however it took an age to get done.

It started when Juncong Cao opened to 775 from mid-position and Fang-Kai Yang called at the button. But Wei Ni desired to play for more and three-bet squeezed to 1,775 from the massive blind.

That was just fine by Cao. In fact, why not play for more? He made it 5,200. An anguished Yang gave up, but Ni was clearly very tempted indeed. After an excellent couple of minutes within the tank, he called.

So, the 2 of them saw the next flop: 4♥8♥5♥. Ni checked. Cao, however, moved all in, with a stack that covered the 13,000-ish that Yang still had Ni still had behind.

Ni didn't adore it to any extent further. He folded. Cao had the decency to turn him the A♥ as he slid his cards forward in exchange for the decent pot. -- HS

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

4	150	300	25

5:05pm: Sparrow taking flightLevel 3: 150/300

Park Yu 'Sparrow' Cheung is likely one of the most familiar faces at the Macau poker circuit, and unsurprisingly, here's here and in quest of the APPT Macau trophy. 

With 2014 APPT ACOP Macau and ACOP Platinum Series VIII titles to his name, his tablemates may not be thrilled about being seated with this kind of renowned player. 

He recently took down a small pot within the dying stages of Level 3. 

Cheung raised to 900 from under the gun and Jan Petzholdt came along from the button. On a flop of 6♠Q♠7♥ Cheung continued for 1,000 and took down the pot, bringing his stack as much as around 22,000 in chips. -- BK

Sparrow Cheung is enjoying himself on Day 1b

5pm: Three- and four-bettingLevel 3: 150/300

Flops seem to be dearer today than yesterday, while you could typically limp in and hope to enhance. With the larger field, and a few more recognisable talents, there were considerably more three- and four-bets. To wit:

On Table 4, Maxwell Curtis opened to what appeared like 1,100 (maybe not; that's somewhat high) only to seek out Bjorn Wiesler three-betting to 2,775 from the small blind. It forced a fold from Curtis. (Wiesler three-bet his next hand too, from the button, and upon getting a fold again, this time showed pocket kings. Good advertising.)

On Table 11, this went down: Yidong Yang opened to 700 from early position, but Jixue Yin made it 2,100 from one seat along. They weren't done. Ye Liu four-bet to 4,500 and that show of strength persuaded out the opposite two.

Moments in a while a neighbouring table, Wei Zhong opened to 750 from the cutoff and Bo Wu three-bet to 2,000 from the button. Action folded in the course of the blinds back to Zhong and he four-bet--all-in, for around about 4,000.

Wu was priced in now and called, showing A♥4♥. Zhong had him dominated with A♠6♠. The flop came 8♠2♠A♦, which was only good for Zhong. And although the 5♥ at the turn gave Wu a gutshot, his missed at the 7♥ river.

That was a double for Zhong. -- HS

4:45pm: A Soyza-ble value betLevel 3: 150/300

Christopher Soyza began 2016 with a bang a couple of months ago. He scored himself a healthy six-figure sum for shipping the Aussie Millions Accumulator event in Melbourne. 

Soyza is here this week for an additional shot at a large prize on this APPT Macau Main Event - and he's well on his way. 

In a contemporary hand, the board read 8♥8♦8♠Q♦7♥ and it was on Soyza to behave. He selected a big gamble of 4,500 and the opposite active player, David Man, took a couple of moments and called behind. 

Soyza: A♥Q♠Man: J♠J♦

Soyza's eights filled with queens only just trumping Man's eights filled with jacks because the latter tabled his hand despite not having to turn. Man tapped the table and the pot was shipped Soyza's way. -- BK

4:35pm: Through 500Level 3: 150/300

There are still a handful of individuals wandering over to the tournament room to register on this event. We have already got 286 at the list for today, which takes us during the 500 total for the development. There have been 222 yesterday, so we're at 508 and counting. Registration is open until 8:30pm local time. -- HS

4:25pm: Hard to make a setLevel 3: 150/300

Kan He didn't appear to be all that fascinated about this pot, taking a passive line pre-flop, but then suddenly snapped into gear when he saw three cards within the middle and action in front of him.

It started when Nien Chi Chen opened to 625 from mid-position and He called from the cutoff. It got to Lei Su within the big blind and he desired to play for more. He squeezed to 1,625.

Chen called and He called too, which meant they were three-way to the flop of T♠2♥5♣.

Su, essentially the most aggressive player pre-flop, continued along the similar lines with a chance of 2,275, and Chen called. But then He snap-shoved, for what turned out to be 8,350. 

Su didn't appear to like doing so, but folded. And Chen gave the impression to find it irresistible even less. "I hate poker," he said, as he exposed a ten, on its approach to the muck. "It's hard to make a set," Chen added. -- HS

4:15pm: No messing with Hao TianLevel 3: 150/300

If you're aware of the ponderous action of the eu Poker Tour, where there are some hands that get checked the entire way down and still take about 25 minutes, the action is Macau is a wonderful frenzy. Of course, there are still hand through which not much happens, but not much happens such a lot faster. 

Case in point: Hao Tian just whizzed through this pot against Xian Li and Rui Chen, and although he only got a handful of chips, he didn't waste any time getting them.

Tian opened to 700 from UTG+2 and Li called from the cutoff, with Chen calling from the massive blind too. They saw a flop of 6♥7♣3♠, which Chen checked. Tian tossed out 900 within the blink of an eye.

Only Li called they usually saw, and quickly checked, the J♦ turn. Additionally they saw and immediately checked the 9♥ river. Really, the cardboard was barely at the table before both players had acted and Tian had showed his 6♠5♠, which turned out to be the winner.  

Next hand please! -- HS

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

3	150	300

4:05pm: Take a break

It's time for the primary break of the day. 

We'll be back to the action in 10 minutes. -- BK

4:00pm: Lost one as Li hero callsLevel 2: 100/200

Yuguang Li did almost the impossible last year - winning the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event before amazingly winning the High Roller the very next day. It's still early here for the APPT Macau Main Event Day 1b and already he's reminding everyone that's he's among the finest with an outstanding hero call. 

We caught the action at the turn with the board reading 2♦8♦7♣6♥ and Jack Wu leading for 2,500 from the massive blind. Li at the button decided to name and the 4♣ arrived at the river. 

Wu then moved all in for 6,825 and after some serious consideration, Li decided to name it off with only one pair at the connected board. 

Li: J♥8♠Wu: A♣9♥

Wu had only ace high after missing a straight draw and Li's pair was good to send his opponent packing. That decision raises Li's stack to just about double that off starting on 39,000. -- BK

3:55pm: Energy in a canLevel 2: 100/200

We're getting with regards to the tip of Level 2, in order to mean the primary break of the day. Do not forget there are eight levels scheduled for today, on the way to mean action will end at around 10:30pm. In the event you think that's an extended day, why not avail yourself of a pleasing wholesome can of Red Bull, official energy drink provider to PokerStars LIVE Macau. It is all there within the fridges, go help yourself.

Complimentary Red Bull? Don't mind if I do

3:50pm: Yap nips GuoLevel 2: 100/200

Wayne Yap is pretty much known in these parts, especially after he won the HK$80,000 high roller tournament on the Macau Poker Cup here in March. That was  worth nearly US$300,000 and accounts for the majority of his recorded cashes.

Wayne Yap

He's on a table today with Dong Guo, who won the ACOP warm-up last November, but who's arguably best known for a deep run within the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event, where his 29th place finish was the most productive by any Asia-based player since Kenny Shih's showing in 2011.

Guo and Yap just played a small-ish pot that can have gotten bigger had Guo not sensed something was amiss and got out before it got too costly. 

Jan Petzholdt actually got things started, raising to 600 from  UTG+1. Guo called within the cutoff and Yap also known as from the large blind, taking three of them to a flop of J♠8♣T♦.

Yap, first to speak, led at it, betting 1,200. Petzholdt was out, but Guo called. That bought him a turn of J♦. If he have been proud of the flop, Yap would has been proud of the turn too and he duly bet another 3,000. Guo seemed tempted to stay around, but thought best of it. He folded. -- HS

3:40pm: Wu wins; Jin still jollyLevel 2: 100/200

Jiayi Jin has made a rapid start here and had nearly 37,000 in his stack originally of the next hand. It is easy to think he could have got a few of that from his immediate neighbour Jack Wu, who had lower than 10,000. But Wu just got a small amount back.

Jin opened to 600 from the hijack, and Wu called from the cutoff, which was enough to influence the blinds the allow those two to move it alone. They saw a flop of 7♥7♣2♣ and Jin bet 900. Wu called, which meant they saw the 4♣ at the turn.

Jin checked his cards, then checked the action, and that allowed Wu to bet 2,000. Jin didn't delay too long before folding. -- HS

3:35pm: Chua caught outLevel 2: 100/200

Ying Lin Chua had an excellent begin to the year winning the Red Dragon here in February, but his APPT Main Event hasn't started out too well here. 

Rajkumar Ramakrishnan began the action with a raise to 550 before Chua made it 1,450 to head. Ramakrishnan matched the bet and the flop landed 7♣6♥8♣. 

Checked to Chua he fired for 2,000 in chips and Ramakrishnan called to peer the T♥ turn. The action then slowed with checks from the both players and the 8♠ completed the board. 

Ramakrishnan checked a last time and Chua made one last attempt with a 3,000 chip bet. After a snappy call from Ramakrishnan, Chua flipped up K♦Q♠ for nothing but king-high, and Ramakrishnan showed the 6♦3♥ for 2 pair to assert the pot. 

That hand knocks Chua all the way down to 18,500 and brings Ramakrishnan to 32,000. -- BK

3:25pm: Yang yanks one clear of AgarwalLevel 2: 100/200

Yidong Yang just swiped a pot from Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal after you have a crafty river check-raise through. 

Yang opened the action preflop with a raise to 600 before Agarwal defended his big blind. The flop fell a monochrome 5♦3♦Q♦ and both players checked it through. 

The K♣ turn saw Agarwal lead for 1,050 and Yang call behind because the 5♣ river rolled off. Agarwal fired again, this time for 2,200, but Yang opted to lift it up. With the bet now at 5,500, Agarwal glanced back at his cards before throwing them within the muck. 

Yang tabled T♠3♠ and Agarwal smiled despite having the pot stolen from him. The Team Pro falls to 16,000 in chips while Yang builds to 28,000. -- BK

3:15pm: Record huntingLevel 2: 100/200

Further to the update below, listed here are a few other numbers to watch: 

493 - selection of players from last season's 2015 APPT Macau main event575 - record field for APPT Macau set in Season 5 (2011) and won by Team PokerStars Online's Randy "nanonoko" Lew

My prediction is that we will coast past the primary and fall agonisingly in need of the second one. But you never know...--HS

3:05pm: Big field, big namesLevel 2: 100/200

We're now up beyond 260 for the day, which puts us exceptionally just about the magic 500 for this tournament. Remember, 222 players were in action yesterday, so 278 today will hit the half century.

Names at the list at APPT Macau

In addition to the familiar faces listed below, we have now the next also within the field:

Bryan Huang and Aditya Agarwal jowithin their Team PokerStars Pro colleagues Celina Lin and Chen An Lin.

Meanwhile, defending APPT Macau champion Tony Cheng is in the field, as is 2013 winner Alexandre Chieng. Chieng became the primary Chinese champion at the APPT in June 2013. Since then, there were five more (Hao Chen, Yongjun Ma, Zhenru Xie, Jiajun Liu, Yuguang Li), so Chieng really did get something started.

Also seated today: reigning Asia Player of the Year Alan Lau and 2011 winner Hung-sheng "Shaq" Lin. Plus Red Dragon winners Raymond Wu, Yuguang Li, and current champ Ying Chua. -- HS

  LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE

2	100	200

2:50pm: Liu moves in on ChenLevel 1: 50/100

Macau Poker Cup 23 High Roller Champion James Chen was just put to the test with a river decision for his tournament life in a hand against Minqin Liu. 

The hand began with Liu raising to 250 from the hijack seat, and after the player within the cutoff called, Chen popped it as much as 1,050 from the large blind. Liu called and with the third party out of ways the 2 players saw a flop of 5♠8♠T♥. 

Chen continued the aggression with a chance of 875 but was played back at to the tune of 2,100. The High Roller champ called and the dealer turned the 8♥. A check from Chen prompted Liu to barrel for 3,500 and Chen called again. 

The 7♣ river saw a last check from Chen and a snappy shove from Liu for around 14,000 - a nearly identical stack to Chen. 

With a tormented look on his face Chen tossed the hand away and now has some rebuilding to do. -- BK

2:40pm: Lin lays it downLevel 1: 50/100

Team PokerStars Pro Chen An Lin is in attendance today and he just lost a small pot here within the first level. 

Chen An-Lin: Team Pro within the field

It folded around to Lin within the cutoff and he raised it as much as 300. Matthew Boucher flicked in a choice and with the blinds out of how the dealer spread a flop of 2♣6♠A♥. 

Lin continued for 400 which was met with a choice before the turn brought the 9♦. The action was then checked through and the 5♦ river peeled off. 

Lin had a last stab on the pot for 550 before Boucher installed a large raise to 2,400. The Team Pro quickly laid it down and the pot went Boucher's way. -- BK

2:35pm: Backing down from early confrontationsLevel 1: 50/100

The day isn't yet a degree old and yet there have already been a handful of pots that experience cost (or nearly cost) players nearly all of their stacks. 

Within the primary orbit, Corbin White and Zhenru Xie were two of 3 players to a flop of J♦2♠2♥. White, who would was within the small blind pre-flop, bet 525 at it, but Xie then raised to 1,350. (The third player, Shashank Rathi at the button, folded.)

White called, taking them to a turn of 6♠. White now checked, but perceived to have his wishes fulfilled when Xie bet 1,800. White didn't take too long before check-raising to 9,000 and putting Xie within the tank.

Xie thought of this one hard and long. That was nearly half his starting stack required to name this bet, but he ended up folding.

Not long after, Hiroyuki Noda and Lap Kay Chan got interested in a battle of the blinds. There has been about 3,500 within the middle pre-flop and the 7♥9♠9♣ fanned at the table. Noda, who would has been the small blind, bet 1,200 but Chan raised to 3,600. Noda responded with a three-bet to 6,975 after which looked into the center distance without an apparent care within the world.

Chan, at the other hand, studiously contemplated his options, before deciding to fold. -- HS

2:25pm: In at the cheapLevel 1: 50/100

A boisterous last-chance satellite just came about within the PokerStars LIVE Macau card room, with eight players booking their seat into the principle event for the princely sum of HK$3,500. That's US$450, while the primary event buy-in is HK$25,000 (about US$3,200).

The detritus on the end of the satellite

It's a tight path to take. Yesterday's overnight chip leader, Deok-Yeong Lee won a live satellite to book his passage to the large one, as did Xinxin Feng, who was 18th within the counts, Ting Ting Du (29th) and another 11 of the 86 players who bagged up chips on the end of yesterday.

2:15pm: Faces within the fieldLevel 1: 50/100

Players are still streaming in the course of the door here at PokerStars LIVE Macau, but among those already of their seats are the following:

Celina Lin (Team PokerStars Pro), Chen-An Lin (Team PokerStars Pro), Raiden Kan (MPC champion), James Chen (MPC high roller champion), Yuguang Li (Red Dragon winner) and the well known Asian players Takashi Ogura and Luicy Liu, who've a string of high-profile results to their names. -- HS

2:00pm: Shuffle up and deal!Level 1: 50/100

And we're off! 

Once again PokerStars LIVE Macau's Fred Leung welcomed our players here before Day 1b kicks off. 

Just like yesterday there'll be eight hours of play, with the surviving players bagging up around 10:30pm tonight. 

Leung also reminded players in regards to the APPT Macau Welcome Party which commences immediately after play today, where the primary Event runners may have a possibility to unwind clear of the tables. 

For now though, cards are within the air! 

Blinds begin at 50/100 and the starting bank is about at 20,000 in chips. 

Follow along here at the PokerStars Blog for your entire live reporting needs. -- BK

1pm: Welcome to Day 1B

Welcome back to PokerStars LIVE Macau on the City of Dreams, where today there'll not be a spare seat in the home. We're expecting a bumper field for Day 1B of the APPT10 Macau main event, including a few of the region's most decorated talents. 

The tournament gets under way at 2pm, so return here for all of the action. Meanwhile have a look back at any of the former coverage via the links above.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Macau: Brad Kain and Howard Swains. Photos by Kenneth Lim.

The APPT Macau festival at PokerStars LIVE on the City of Dreams runs until Sunday, May 29. Full details can be found at the official APPT website or via the PokerStars Macau page.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Asia Pacific Poker Tour]