Justin Ong will not be probably a poker participant that you just’re too aware of. In keeping with the PokerStars LIVE Manila X account, Ong is a money sport grinder who occurred to purchase into two occasions throughout the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila pageant.
Ong took a break from the money sport tables and entered the PokerStars Purple Dragon match for ₱65,000 (approx. $1,164). A few days later, Ong emerged victorious, having captured the coveted shard trophy and ₱4,711,000 ($81,605).
Full of confidence and a padded bankroll, Ong set his sights on the APPT Manila Primary Occasion. A area of 1,246 ensured the ₱58,000,000 assure ($1 million) was obliterated, with the Primary Occasion awarding greater than ₱87,000,000 ($1.5 million) to these fortunate sufficient to navigate into the cash locations.
By the ultimate day, Ong discovered himself out in entrance, holding a chip lead over the ultimate 20 hopefuls.
Oliver Lirio knocked Ong from his lofty perch on the primary hand of the nine-handed closing desk after eliminating Someshekar Nahdeva. Lirio’s ace-king improved to quads on the river to beat his opponent’s pocket jacks that had turned a full home.
Lirio scored one other knockout when his pocket fives held in opposition to Katushito Kawai’s ace-ten. The latter paired his ace on the flop, however a two-outer on the river rescued Lirio and diminished the participant rely by one.
Chase Cokaliong outdrew Edgar Ashehan in seventh to set the official six-handed closing desk.
Ong pressed his foot firmly on the gasoline in the beginning of short-handed play, eliminating Sungmin Oh and Ryan Tan to retake the chip lead. Ong took a break from busting foes to permit Cokaliong to ship Kim Enriquez to the showers, successful a coinflip with pocket tens in opposition to ace-queen.
Cokaliong was the following participant heading for the exits regardless of successful Enriquez’s chips. He known as all-in on the river with a king-high flush solely to find Lirio held an ace-high flush.
That hand gave Lirio a greater than two-to-one chip benefit over Ong going into the heads-up battle. Nevertheless, Ong elevated his aggression and bulldozed his method again degree earlier than forging a lead for himself. The ultimate hand noticed Ong transfer all-in with pocket eights, Lirio name with jack-nine of diamonds, however Lirio could not join with the board, and Ong’s snowmen remained unmelted.
Ong had gained back-to-back tournaments, incomes greater than the equal of $335,000 and banking a ₱210,000 package deal to the APPT Championship later within the yr.
PokerStars APPT Manila Primary Occasion Closing Desk Outcomes
Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
