Asia has always been a hotbed of poker action, with the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) long being the premier tour. The APPT is currently in the Philippines, Manila to be exact, for an action-packed festival running from July 27 through August 6.
PokerStars Live at Okada Manila is the venue for APPT Manila, an iconic integrated resort situated on a picturesque seafront. Hopefully, you will not get to see much of the stunning views because you will be too busy bulldozing your way through vast fields and helping yourself to more than your fair share of Philippines Pesos!
2023 PokerStars APPT Manila Key Events
- APPT Kickoff – July 27-29 – PHP 20,000 buy-in – PHP 3,000,000 guarantee
- APPT National – July 29-August 1 – PHP 35,000 buy-in – PHP 5,000,000 guarantee
- APPT Manila Super High Roller – August 1-2 – PHP 500,000 buy-in
- APPT Manila Main Event – August 3-6 – PHP 65,000 buy-in – PHP 20,000,000 guarantee
- APPT Superstack – August 5-6 – PHP 40,000 buy-in – PHP 2,000,000 guarantee
- APPT High Roller – August 5-6 – PHP 250,000 buy-in
The 2023 APPT Manila schedule has something for everyone, with buy-ins ranging from ₱10,000 ($180) right up to ₱500,000 ($9,090). Players heading to PokerStars Live at Okada Manila can battle in freezeout and re-entries, knockout and mystery bounty, No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and Short Deck events, and across turbos and hyper turbos.
All the APPT Manila Main Event updates you can handle!
2023 PokerStars APPT Manila Schedule
Approx. exchange rate is 55 Philippine Pesos to $1
It is the APPT Manila Main Event that every player heading to the Philippines wants to take down. Costing ₱65,000 ($1,180) to enter and guaranteeing ₱20,000,000 ($363,000), the Main Event is the juiciest tournament on the schedule. This will be the ninth APPT Manila Main Event on record, and PokerNews’ Live Reporting team is on hand, bringing you all of the action from start to finish.
Singapore’s Xin Hua Lai is the APPT Manila Main Event’s reigning champion. Lai outlasted 800 opponents in August 2022, turning their ₱65,000 into ₱5,973,000 ($107,281) plus a seat at the 2023 PokerStars Players Showdown (PSPC). Hua struck a three-handed deal with Netherlands’ Thijs Hilberts (₱6,071,000 – $109,041) and fellow Singaporean Dhanesh Chainani (₱5,409,000 – $97,151)
Last year’s APPT Manila Main Event also had a 20,000,000 guarantee on its prize pool, but the event paid out ₱45,452,745, more than double what was advertised. PokerNews expects a similar scenario this time around, especially when you see how live poker is booming right now.
Past PokerStars APPT Manila Main Event Champions
| Date | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool (PHP) | Prize Pool (USD) | Champion | Prize (PHP) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | ₱65,000 | 801 | ₱45,452,745 | $816,378 | Xin Hua Lai | ₱5,973,000 | $107,281 |
| Aug 2019 | ₱65,000 | 1,135 | ₱64,405,575 | $1,266,724 | Florencio Campomanes | ₱11,092,500 | $218,166 |
| Aug 2018 | ₱55,000 | 1,364 | ₱65,492,460 | $1,236,204 | Wilson Lim | ₱12,970,000 | $244,815 |
| Aug 2016 | ₱55,000 | 577 | ₱25,186,050 | $534,475 | Linh Tran | ₱6,135,000 | $130,191 |
| Aug 2015 | ₱55,000 | 585 | ₱25,535,250 | $559,326 | Aaron Lim | ₱60,16,250 | $131,780 |
| Mar 2010 | $2,700 | 430 | $1,042,750 | Binh Nguyen | $260,700 | ||
| Nov 2008 | ₱100,000 | 285 | ₱26,789,818 | $547,929 | Van Marcus | ₱8,037,000 | $164,379 |
| Aug 2007 | $2,500 | 255 | $599,250 | Brett Parise | $179,775 |
Keep your browser locked to PokerNews throughout the 2023 APPT Manila Main Event (August 3-6) to discover the latest champion of this prestigious tournament.