Double Delight for Justin Ong: Cash Game Player Bags Two APPT Manila Titles
Justin Ong is not likely a poker player that you're too familiar with. According to the PokerStars LIVE Manila X account, Ong is a cash game grinder who happened to buy into two events during the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila festival.
Ong took a break from the cash game tables and entered the PokerStars Red Dragon tournament for ₱65,000 (approx. $1,164). A couple of days later, Ong emerged victorious, having captured the coveted shard trophy and ₱4,711,000 ($81,605).
Filled with confidence and a padded bankroll, Ong set his sights on the APPT Manila Main Event. A field of 1,246 ensured the ₱58,000,000 guarantee ($1 million) was obliterated, with the Main Event awarding more than ₱87,000,000 ($1.5 million) to those lucky enough to navigate into the money places.
By the final day, Ong found himself out in front, holding a chip lead over the final 20 hopefuls.
Oliver Lirio knocked Ong from his lofty perch on the first hand of the nine-handed final table 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 house.
Lirio scored another knockout when his pocket fives held against Katushito Kawai's ace-ten. The latter paired his ace on the flop, but a two-outer on the river rescued Lirio and reduced the player count by one.
Chase Cokaliong outdrew Edgar Ashehan in seventh to set the official six-handed final table.
Ong pressed his foot firmly on the gas at the start of short-handed play, eliminating Sungmin Oh and Ryan Tan to retake the chip lead. Ong took a break from busting foes to allow Cokaliong to send Kim Enriquez to the showers, winning a coinflip with pocket tens against ace-queen.
Cokaliong was the next player heading for the exits despite winning Enriquez's chips. He called all-in on the river with a king-high flush only to discover Lirio held an ace-high flush.
That hand gave Lirio a more than two-to-one chip advantage over Ong going into the heads-up battle. However, Ong increased his aggression and bulldozed his way back level before forging a lead for himself. The final hand saw Ong move all-in with pocket eights, Lirio call with jack-nine of diamonds, but Lirio couldn't connect with the board, and Ong's snowmen remained unmelted.
Ong had won back-to-back tournaments, earning more than the equivalent of $335,000 and banking a ₱210,000 package to the APPT Championship later in the year.
PokerStars APPT Manila Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (PHP ) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Ong | Philippines | ₱14,800,000 | $256,370 |
| 2 | Oliver Lirio | Philippines | ₱9,250,000 | $160,230 |
| 3 | Chase Cokaliong | Philippines | ₱6,600,000 | $114,330 |
| 4 | Kim Enriquez | Philippines | ₱5,100,000 | $88,345 |
| 5 | Ryan Tan | Philippines | ₱3,910,000 | $67,730 |
| 6 | Sugmin Oh | South Korea | ₱3,010,000 | $52,140 |
| 7 | Edgar Asehan | Philippines | ₱2,310,000 | $40,015 |
| 8 | Katushito Kawai | Japan | ₱1,780,000 | $30,835 |
| 9 | Somashekar Nahadeva | India | ₱1,387,640 | $23,880 |
