The 2023 Poker Dream Manila stop has crowned another champion in a high-stakes contest in the Grand Wing Casino of the Newport World Resorts Integrated Resort in Metro Manila. Out of a field of 39 entries in the PHP500,000 Super High Roller, Japan’s Takashi Ogura defeated Gary Thompson in heads-up to claim the biggest portion of the PHP18,154,500 ($327,468) prize pool. He did so the hard way after the stack of Ogura was reduced to just half a big blind once the tournament reached the money stages with six players remaining.
Runner-up Thompson recorded his joint-best MTT score on the live poker circuit after a recent victory in the UK Poker Open 2023 £2,000 High Roller back on European soil for £59,530 a few weeks ago in March. His frequent visits to the Philippines have paid off once more as he claimed a consolation prize of PHP4,270,000 ($77,022).
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Malaysia’s Eng Soon Ewe aimed for a repeat victory in this event after he took down the 2022 Poker Dream Vietnam Super High Roller but finished in third place this time. His brother Eng Siang Ewe was the first player in the money, WSOP bracelet winner Danny Tang and cash game player Ajitpal Singh also received cash prizes as well.
Final Result 2023 Poker Dream Manila PHP500,000 Super High Roller
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in PHP) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takashi Ogura | Japan | 6,170,000 | $111,294 |
| 2 | Gary Thompson | Ireland | 4,270,000 | $77,022 |
| 3 | Eng Soon Ewe | Malaysia | 2,720,000 | $49,063 |
| 4 | Ajitpal Singh | Singapore | 2,090,000 | $37,699 |
| 5 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | 1,634,000 | $29,474 |
| 6 | Eng Siang Ewe | Malaysia | 1,270,000 | $22,908 |
| Prize Pool | 18,154,500 | $327,468 |
The final day saw 15 players out of 27 entries return to their seats in the grand ballroom, but the late registration remained open for another three levels, after which the field size grew by nearly 50%. It didn’t take long to reduce the field to the final two tables soon after the registration had closed and among those to come up empty during that frantic stage were Paul Fontan Castrillon, Kah Yew Teng, and Wei Hsiang Yeu.
Australia’s William Jia went from chip leader on the live-streamed feature table to the rail and the player to claim all of his chips, William Teoh, suffered the same fate later on as well. Poker Dream founder Winfred Yu, Wai Kiat Lee, and Lester Edoc all came up short of the unofficial final table which then commenced with two bangs. Day 1 chip leader Sriharsha Doddapaneni bowed out in the very first hand before a three-way all-in delivered a one-outer for Ewe to burst the bubble just one hand later.
Ogura’s hopes of a victory were reduced to all but zero when he jammed into the aces of Eng Siang Ewe, but he pulled several rabbits out of the hat thereafter to survive the ensuing all-in showdowns. Instead, it was his former nemesis to become the first player in the money followed by Natural8 ambassador Danny Tang. Three-handed play followed after the departure of Ajitpal Singh, after which the action became tenser.
Stack sizes nearly evened out at one point before Ogura pulled way ahead of his two opponents. He then knocked out Ewe in third place and entered heads-up play with a commanding lead. Thompson came from behind to double once, but ultimately got grinded down again before losing with pocket nines to the suited ace of Ogura.
This concludes the PokerNews updates for this high-stakes contest, and the live reporting team will be back on May 4, 2023, for the 2023 Poker Dream Manila Main Event.