Benigno Jr Ledina Wins the 2019 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila National for ₱4,174,500 ($81,805)
The 2019 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila National is over, and it was Benigno Jr Ledina who put on a dominant performance in the final day to win the trophy and the first-place prize of ₱4,174,500 ($81,805).
The final day of the event started with 16 hopefuls out of a total field of 674 entries, all eyeing the win in the first big event of this year's APPT in Manila. Benigno Jr Ledina was the one who had this honor after almost eight levels of play, and managed to hit this cash, which is just his second lifetime cash, according to the Hendon Mob website. His first cash came from this very festival, after finishing 87th in the Kickoff event for a min-cash.
"I play mostly cash games, but sometimes in festivals i fire up some tournaments," a happy Ledina said after his win.
Ledina's win is even more important, if the ability of the second-place finisher is to be considered. During heads-up, he encountered Linh Tran, a highly successful player with more than $1.1 million in total lifetime cashes, according to the Hendon Mob. Tran is a former champion in Manila, after winning the 2016 APPT Manila Main Event, and this time fell short from a second title. He had to settle with second place and a ₱2,586,500 ($50,686) consolation prize.
Ledina has a day job, as he was a corporate public accountant up until 18 months ago, which is when he decided to quit, and start his own business as an accountant. He plays poker for more than ten years but he considers himself a recreational who just likes to enjoy playing the game in Manila's various poker rooms.
"Really love the game because of the thinking process, love the tournament’s more than the cash games as it’s less like gambling, it’s more of a challenge," said shortly after his win. He might play mostly cash games, but there is something that excites him regarding tournaments, and this is the competition. He likes to face other players to win a trophy and a bigger prize, and he did accomplish this mission in the best possible way here in Okada Manila.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in PHP) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benigno Jr Ledina | Philippines | ₱4,174,500 | $81,805 |
| 2 | Linh Tran | Vietnam | ₱2,586,500 | $50,686 |
| 3 | Lee Wang Yong | South Korea | ₱1,602,000 | $31,393 |
| 4 | Eran Shaham | Israel | ₱1,213,500 | $23,780 |
| 5 | Hogyun Kang | South Korea | ₱825,000 | $16,167 |
| 6 | Si Yang Phua | Indonesia | ₱631,000 | $12,365 |
| 7 | Tetsuro Tomita | Japan | ₱524,500 | $10,278 |
| 8 | Thijs Hilberts | Netherlands | ₱437,500 | $8,573 |
| 9 | Jason Kyle Magbanua | Philippines | ₱370,766 | $7,266 |
Action of the day
The day started with 16 players, and it took some time for the first elimination to take place, even though there was plenty of action in the beginning of the day, but somehow short stacks managed to double up every time. The player who broke the rule was Kok Wei Sim, who was left very short after a lost all in, and got tangled in a three-way all in with jack-nine against ace-king, and ace-queen that resulted in his elimination.
After this elimination, there was a burst of bustouts with Arravind Udayakumar (15th - ₱204,000; $3,998), Tae Hoon Han (14th - ₱204,000; $3,998), Ting Shum Kwok (13th - ₱204,000; $3,998), Jiang Yongbo (12th - ₱253,000; $4,958), Yang Li (11th - ₱253,000; $4,958), and William Kang (10th - ₱253,000; $4,958), all eliminated in less than an hour to send the rest of the field to the official final table.
When the final table started it was Tran and Eran Shaham who had the chip lead, as the only players with more than four million chips. The first elimination came just half an hour in the final table, and it was Jason Kyle Magbanua who got crippled with nines against aces, only to lose the rest of his chips with king-nine against Si Yang Phua's ace-jack.
Thijs Hilberts, the Dutch player, was the next to leave the field, as he shoved his short stack with five-four to get called by Lee Wang Yong's queen-jack, who found two more queens on the flop to leave Hilberts drawing dead, and busted in 8th place.
Just five minutes later, and it was the time of Tetsuro Tomita to hit the rail, being short-stacked, and shoving with tens to get called by Ledina's king-jack. A king on the flop was enough to give Ledina the pot, and send Tomita out in seventh place.
At this point, it was when Ledina's surge to the top started, as he was winning one pot after the other, and he managed to get the chip lead with almost seven million chips, when the first break of the final table started.
Tran took the tally from this point on, as he picked up aces to win a big pot out of Lee Wang Yong when he hit top set in the river, and got paid, while in the next hand he cracked Si Yang Phua's aces with threes when a three hit the river, to send Phua packing in sixth place.
The next elimination came again from Tran's hand, and it was again with pocket threes. Hogyun Kang shoved the rest of his stack preflop with king-jack, Tran called with threes, and held in the five community cards.
Shaham was short for a big part of the final table, especially in six-handed play, and onward. He laddered up to the fourth place, but this is when his ran stopped, when he fell with queens in Yong's aces.
In three-handed play, Ledina was still the chip leader, and actually was the first player to go over ten million chips. It took an enormous 60-big blind pot to bust Lee Wang Yong in third place, in a crucial flip. Ledina was in the small blind, and called with pocket fours Tran's open, while Yong shoved from the big blind with ace-ten. Ledina tanked for some time, and called to hold with his fours and sent the event to heads up.
The heads up started with Ledina having almost a 3-to-1 chip-advantage against Tran, and he managed to hold the chip lead as long as their battle lasted. Tran tried to attack but never got there to surpass Ledina, and he was in the ropes for the biggest part of their confrontation. Ledina was overly aggressive, and was firing bets almost in every opportunity, playing mostly big-bet poker, with pot-bets and raises, in many hands.
His aggression finally paid off when Tran limped the button with eights, and Ledina picked up aces to raise, and call Tran's shove. The board brought an ace on the flop, and Tran had zero equity by the turn, to bust in second place.
The PokerNews coverage for the 2019 APPT Manila National concludes here, but there are still more to come. The Super High Roller continues tomorrow with Day 2, along with Day 1a of the Main Event. Stay tuned for all the action here in Okada Manila.
gave top set to Ledina, and Tran needed a miracle to stay alive.
brought even more celebrations from Ledina, and his rail, while the 
on the river was just a formality.
, and Ledina was now a favorite. The Philippine's native player couldn't even watch the unfolding of the hand, so he turned his back to the table, and had his rail informing him about the cards that were coming.
on the turn didn't change anything, and now "King Dragon", as was the name that his friends were calling Yong, needed an ace or a ten to stay alive.
, and Yong kept his lead, sending Shaham to the cashier.
from the button. Linh Tran was in the small blind with 
, and Phua was close to the double up. He had to fade only two outs, and the 
