Florencio Campomanes Becomes First Filipino To Win APPT Main Event

The Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila has come to an end and the biggest event on the 10-day tour was taken down by a Filipino!

Florencio Campomanes made sure that the APPT Manila Main Event trophy would not leave the Philippines after topping a 1,135-entry field to win  ₱11,092,500 ($214,700). Campomanes is the first player from the Philippines to become an APPT champion.

Campomanes outclassed Dutch player Thijs Hilberts to secure the title which was his first major win in his 13-year poker career. Hilberts, who entered the final day as the chip leader, took home ₱10,000,000 ($193,555) for finishing in second place.

The Dutch pro made the most out of his visit to the Philippines as he finished in eighth place at the APPT Manila National which took place a week earlier.

Final Table Results

There were just 9 players left at the final table and it was Campomanes who was the chip leader. He did not hold on to the chip lead for long as soon as the China’s Jingzhi Wang exited in 9^th place for ₱1,097,075 ($21,249), Indian poker pro Sahil Chuttani took over the chip lead. But his advantage was short-lived as Chuttani quickly lost half of his chips to Hilberts, and eventually, became the next player to hit the rail in 8^th place for ₱1,288,000 ($24,947).

With seven players remaining, Campomanes was holding a comfortable lead, accumulating up to nearly 10 million in chips. Before heading to a dinner break, another elimination occurred, and this time it was China’s Yaanning Wu who exited in 7^th place and took home ₱1,481,500 ($28,695)

When the players returned to the final table, Campomanes embarked on a knock-out spree, sending three of his opponents out of the game consecutively. The first of his victims was Kei Shinagawa whose pocket tens failed to hold against the ace-king of Campomanes. The Japanese player finished in 6^th place for ₱1,739,000 ($33,682). The next to leave the table was Vietnam’s Duc Trung Vu who ended his bid in 5^th place for ₱1,739,000 ($33,682). Thereafter it was Xinyu Wang‘s turn to exit, walking away with ₱3,523,000 ($68,236) for his 4^th place finish.

With three players remaining, Hilberts did his best to close the gap between him and Campomanes. However, the moment Mike Takayama exited in 3^rd place for ₱4,839,599 ($93,561), Campomanes became unstoppable, further widening his lead. 

Hilberts and Compomanes agreed to a deal and continued to do battle with the APPT Main Event title on the line. The entire heads-up battle was filled with thrill and excitement as the Dutchman managed to even the stacks. But Campomanes remained focused and calm, and when the dust settled, he came out victorious. His victory will inspire hundreds of poker players in the Philippines to continue their poker journey.