There are no friends at the poker tables, a fact that Duc Nguyen has recently discovered, to his cost. It was Nguyen’s fellow countryman Hoa Thinh Nguyen (no relation) who kicked off proceedings by moving all-in from middle position. Big blind Duc Nguyen squeezed his cards and then made the call.
Duc Nguyen:
Hoa Thinh Nguyen:
With no spade in hand and his tournament life on the line the all black flop was not a good one for Duc Nguyen, while the turn doubled his outs with the seven of spades not being good for a full house.
There was no miracle, however, as the hit the river and brought Duc Nguyen’s Main Event to a close and he departed in 11th place taking home the equivalent of $6,399 while Hoa Thinh Nguyen stacked up to1,525,000.
From under the gun, Hoa Thinh Nguyen raised to 65,000 and Yo Seb Rhee called in the small blind. Uday Bansal three-bet to 215,000 out of the big blind and that forced out Nguyen. Rhee however had other plans and clicked it back up to 600,000 with around 1,200,000 behind.
Bansal moved all in and that sent Rhee into the think tank. Ultimately, the Japanese called and the cards in the showdown triggered gasps from the other players and the rail.
Yo Seb Rhee:
Uday Bansal:
The flop improved Bansal to a pair of kings, while Rhee picked up some outs with the turn. All hearts except for the and any ace would do, but the river bricked off to send Rhee to the rail in 12th place for PHP322,000.
Raphael Gall Eliminated in 13th Place (PHP322,000)
Action folded around to Germany’s Raphael Gall on the button and he moved all-in for roughly 450,000 and was quickly called by big blind Uday Bansal.
Raphael Gall:
Uday Bansal:
It was left to a good old-fashioned race to decide Gall’s fate and the flop fell to keep the Indian player in front. Gall received no help on the or the river and departed in 13th, taking home the equivalent of $6,399 while Bansal stacked up to 3.25 million.
Sam Razavi raised and showed when all opponents folded, while over on the other table Kenneth Buck's shove went through and he showed pocket queens.
Then, Corbin White raised to 65,000 and chip leader Michael Falcon three-bet to 150,000 in the small blind. White moved all in and the 150,000 were pulled into the middle. Falcon had to call another 455,000 and did so after brief consideration.
Corbin White:
Michael Falcon:
The board ran out and White had to settle for 14th place and a payday of PHP285,000, which equals approximately $5,661.
Just 14 players remain out of the 594-strong field in the PokerStars Festival Manila Main Event, with play re-starting at 2pm local time (GMT+7) on Monday 7 August.
All 14 remaining players are guaranteed a payday of at least ₱285,000 (~$5,663) but it is the trophy, title and ₱5,515,000 (~$109,563) first prize that all will have their eye on.
The man flying high is Day 1b frontrunner Michael Falcon who ran hotter than the sun for the majority of Day 2, busting players left, right and centre to bag up an absolutely monstrous 3,820,000 in chips – nearly 1 million more than next closest rival Uday Bansal who finished the day with a stack of 2,950,000.
Finland’s Antti Halme rounds out the top three after gunning down Chi Thinh Nguyen with pocket aces shortly after the last five hands were announced in the early hours of Sunday night/Monday morning. Halme bagged 2,130,000 in chips – the only other player to have more than 2 million – with the rest of the field stacking up as follows:
Day 3 Redraw:
Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
1
Raphael Gall
Germany
430,000
14
1
2
Yo Seb Rhee
Japan
1,765,000
59
1
3
empty
-
-
-
1
4
Uday Bansal
India
2,950,000
98
1
5
Hoa Thinh Nguyen
Vietnam
1,055,000
35
1
6
Andre Peters
Germany
1,260,000
42
1
7
Kenneth Buck
Australia
455,000
15
1
8
Duc Nguyen
Vietnam
150,000
5
2
1
Tien Than Nguyen
Vietnam
675,000
23
2
2
Jaehyun Lim
South Korea
1,140,000
38
2
3
Michael Falcon
Denmark
3,820,000
127
2
4
empty
-
-
-
2
5
Sam Razavi
United Kingdom
775,000
26
2
6
Mike Takayama
Philippines
745,000
25
2
7
Corbin White
United States
620,000
21
2
8
Antti Halme
Finland
2,130,000
71
Blinds will be starting at 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 running ante and the levels have been extended from 60-minutes to 75-minutes when the cards are back in motion. You can read a full recap of the Day 2 action here.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor in the Grand Ballroom at the City of Dreams casino until a champion is crowned and will be bringing you all the action as it happens. Stick around and we’ll see who has what it takes to become the first everPokerStars Festival Manila Main Event champion.
flop was not a good one for Duc Nguyen, while the 
turn doubled his outs with the seven of spades not being good for a full house.
hit the river and brought Duc Nguyen’s Main Event to a close and he departed in 11th place taking home the equivalent of $6,399 while Hoa Thinh Nguyen stacked up to1,525,000.
turn. All hearts except for the 
and any ace would do, but the 
river bricked off to send Rhee to the rail in 12th place for PHP322,000.
to keep the Indian player in front. Gall received no help on the 
or the 
river and departed in 13th, taking home the equivalent of $6,399 while Bansal stacked up to 3.25 million.
and White had to settle for 14th place and a payday of PHP285,000, which equals approximately $5,661.
