Nine Return But Only One Will Become the Newest Dragon Slayer in the PokerStars Red Dragon Manila Main Event
The most important day of the PokerStars Red Dragon Manila Main Event has come for the nine players currently competing in the signature tournament at the Okada Manila as Day 4 starts at 1 p.m. local time. After the three starting flights and two more days that followed, nine players are left out of 669 entries to battle it out for the Red Dragon trophy and the first-place prize of ₱13,815,070 ($270,183) that comes with it. All nine have already secured ₱1,221,000 ($23,879) but will all be eyeing up a bigger share of the ₱64,244,070 ($1,256,428) prize pool.
Xijie Sun from China is the one to bring a huge chip lead to the table with 6,550,000. Self-proclaimed “luckbox”, Florencio Campomanes comes back today with 3,305,000 in chips followed by Zejin Shen with 2,300,000 as the only players with an above-average stack. Yufei Hui, Andres Korn, Tetsuro Tomita, Gerardo Lubas, Martin Stausholm, and Tao Chen round out the final table.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xijie Sun | China | 6,550,000 | 131 |
| 2 | Zejin Shen | China | 2,300,000 | 46 |
| 3 | Martin Stausholm | Denmark | 1,225,000 | 25 |
| 4 | Gerardo Lubas | Philippines | 1,255,000 | 25 |
| 5 | Tetsuro Tomita | Japan | 1,435,000 | 29 |
| 6 | Tao Chen | China | 810,000 | 16 |
| 7 | Yufei Hui | China | 1,630,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Andres Korn | Argentina | 1,565,000 | 31 |
| 9 | Florencio Campomanes | Philippines | 3,305,000 | 66 |
When the players return, they will finish the last 27 minutes of Level 26 which features a small blind of 25,000, big blind of 50,000, and a big blind ante of 50,000. They will then continue to play two more 60-minute levels before the first 15-minute break has been scheduled. After that, the breaks will take place after every two levels again.
This is what they are all still competing for:
| Place | Prize (PHP) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₱13,815,070 | $270,183 |
| 2 | ₱8,557,000 | $167,350 |
| 3 | ₱5,300,000 | $103,653 |
| 4 | ₱4,015,000 | $78,522 |
| 5 | ₱2,730,000 | $53,391 |
| 6 | ₱2,088,000 | $40,835 |
| 7 | ₱1,735,000 | $33,932 |
| 8 | ₱1,445,000 | $28,260 |
| 9 | ₱1,221,000 | $23,879 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be there from the moment the dealer starts to shuffle until the final card has been sorted and a new Dragon Slayer has been crowned, so stick around!
for Chen to stay ahead throughout and even improve to a pair of aces on the river to double up with.
to not help Korn as Sun stayed ahead with the pocket fours.
to pair the board up. Any eight, ten, or king would save Korn but the river completed the board with the 
to seal the deal as Korn was the first player to leave the final table stage in ninth place for ₱1,221,000 ($23,879).
which didn't change things and neither did the 
on the river as Stausholm was eliminated in eighth place for ₱1,445,000 ($28,260).
to keep Campomanes ahead.
for Sun to pick up the gutshot to a wheel.
to keep Tomita ahead.
for Tomita to secure the double-up. Both Tomita and Sun wondered what Campomanes held who confirmed he folded tens.
, Campomanes checked again and now Sun bet 1,300,000 after about another 4 minutes. Chen contemplated for a bit too and then folded. Campomanes cut out calling chips, took his time too, and then made the call.
for the flopped trips to catch Sun's bluff. Campomanes had 3,815,000 behind and after paying him up, Sun was left with a mere 215,000.
for Shen to flop a set to eliminate Lubas in fifth place for ₱2,730,000 ($53,391).
for Chen to hit a pair of fives but keep Tomita ahead with the higher pair.
which didn't change things and neither did the