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Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2026 SiGMA Poker Tour Manila
Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
2026 SiGMA Poker Tour Manila
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
40,000 PHP
Prize Pool
15,000,000 PHP
Total Entries
362
Level
38
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 362
Filter
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
What started as a very deep-stacked affair on the final day of the 2026 SiGMA Poker Tour Manila Main Event came to a conclusion in just under five and a half hours in the Grand Ballroom of the luxurious City of Dreams Manila hotel and entertainment complex. Out of a field of 362 entries in the PHP 40,000 (≈$650) SPT Main Event, nine players returned to battle for the largest slice of the PHP 15 million (≈$242,755) guarantee and Gursimran Brar defeated Hyunsik Nam in heads-up play after a dominant display throughout the last few days.
It may perhaps not be much of a surprise that this specific duo was left to compete for the trophy, as Brar was the chip leader of the very first starting day during which he accumulated nearly 25 starting stacks. Nam topped the final turbo heat and was second in chips for Day 2 before both returned in the middle of the pack. However, once the very vocal Brar claimed the top spot he never surrendered it anymore and turned a free entry thanks to taking part in the SiGMA conference here in Manila into the top prize worth PHP 3,041,700 ($49,306).
Prior to the restart, Brar walked in with his packed suitcase as he has a flight to catch later this evening and promised to try and make quick work of the proceedings - a prediction that would certainly come true. However, there is hopefully enough time to grab a nice dinner at Nobu before heading to the airport.
The final table also featured the 2014 Irish Open Main Event winner Patrick Clarke who was knocked out by Brar in sixth place, a showdown that vaulted him further ahead of the pack and commenced a period of sheer domination.
Final Table Result 2026 SPT Manila Main Event
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in PHP) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gursimran Brar | India | 3,041,700 | $49,306 |
| 2 | Hyunsik Nam | South Korea | 2,130,000 | $34,527 |
| 3 | Seung Hyun Han | South Korea | 1,369,300 | $22,196 |
| 4 | Ronn Mesina | Philippines | 899,800 | $14,586 |
| 5 | Ivan Dela Cruz | Philippines | 692,600 | $11,227 |
| 6 | Patrick Clarke | Ireland | 573,000 | $9,288 |
| 7 | Tsun Yin Wong | Hong Kong | 480,200 | $7,784 |
| 8 | Qi Xia | China | 392,600 | $6,364 |
| 9 | Alexis Lim | Philippines | 304,200 | $4,931 |
The festival was held in cooperation with the Soul Poker Club inside of the City of Dreams, which hosted five days of tournament action and a combined PHP 20 million (≈$323,675) in guarantees. Besides the poker action which had Side Events sponsored by Cubeia and ATFX, the SiGMA Asia 2026 Summit was running at the nearby SMX Convention Center. Brar was there for meetings and received a free entry to the Main Event from one of the exhibitors.
Among the nine finalists were also three local players to try and keep the trophy on home soil. However, Alexis Lim was the first player to bust when he got it in with pocket nines on a queen-high flop. Brar was involved in the three-bet pot with queen-jack suited and notched up his first knockout for the day. That hand secured a ladder-up for China's Qi Xia who was down to a mere two big blinds and bowed out shortly thereafter.
Start-of-the-day chip leader Tsun Yin Wong played very few hands and lost most of his stack to Seung Hyun Han before Brar finished the job with jack-ten suited versus ace-queen. Clarke then came up short with an overpair and straight draw because Brar's suited ace rivered a flush.
Ivan Dela Cruz was the second-last hope of the Filipino rail but his king-queen couldn't hold against Nam's king-jack suited. And the very same South Korean then also knocked out Ronn Mesina to bring the field down to the final three. The two South Koreans clashed in a larger pot when Nam bluffed with broadway on a four-card flush board but was called by worse and they were down to the final two hopefuls with 72 big blinds average.
What may have turned into a gruelling hour-long affair lasted all but half an hour. Brar and Nam had been chatting back and forth the entire final table and embraced the friendly atmosphere. And the hot run of Brar never really stopped perhaps best showcased by flopping top set with pocket kings in a four-bet pot. When they each had a suited ace soon thereafter, the chips went in preflop and Brar had some extra weight to fit into his luggage.
The final day of the series in Manila contained four different tournaments and included the conclusion of the very first The Hendon Mob Championship on Asian soil. With a buy-in of PHP 12,000 (≈$194), the event turned out to be quite popular and attracted a field of 237 entries for the PHP 3 million (≈$48,551) guarantee with the top 30 finishers earning a cash prize.
Seven of the nine players on the final table were representing the Philippines and Nico Kuivila from Finland was the first casualty. The only other contender to try and avoid a home victory was Stefan Van Huyssteen from South Africa, who reached his second final table of the series. He ultimately had to settle for fifth place but will be joined on home turf later this year as the winner of the tournament also receives a package for the South Africa Million later in 2026.
That happened to be Anthony Castro who defeated Errol Nicodemus in a short-lived heads-up duel amid a very lively local rail. Castro earned the top prize of PHP 679,600 ($11,016) and will be heading on an international trip in November.
Final Table Result The Hendon Mob Championship Manila
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in PHP) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Castro | Philippines | 679,600 | $11,016 |
| 2 | Errol Nicodemus | Philippines | 477,700 | $7,744 |
| 3 | David Sumaoi | Philippines | 298,300 | $4,835 |
| 4 | Ethan Monteverde | Philippines | 181,500 | $2,942 |
| 5 | Stefan Van Huyssteen | South Africa | 140,200 | $2,273 |
| 6 | Justin Geronimo | Philippines | 116,100 | $1,882 |
| 7 | Edgar Asehan | Philippines | 98,900 | $1,603 |
| 8 | Egoy Lagatuz | Philippines | 84,400 | $1,368 |
| 9 | Nico Kuivila | Finland | 68,000 | $1,102 |
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This concludes the PokerNews live reporting from the inaugural SiGMA Poker Tour Manila Main Event but further stops all over the world are already in the planning stages.
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Hyunsik Nam opened the button to 250,000 and Gursimran Brar said "alright, let's try this" to push all-in with the far superior stack. His opponent from South Korea called and both players flipped over suited aces.
Hyunsik Nam: A♦4♦ 
Gursimran Brar: A♥7♥
The 10♣8♣7♦ flop left Nam in rough shape and he needed running cards to survive.
"I need to dodge diamonds, please don't do this to me" Brar grimaced and then sunk back into the chair when the J♦ turn provided the seemingly mandatory sweat.
Nam needed another diamond to double and could also chop with a nine as well.
The river brought the 5♣ and that secured the victory for Brar. Both players shook hands and the new champion immediately said "I really enjoyed playing with you".
Perhaps, both may even go have dinner together or drink some Soju (a popular Korean beer here in the Philippines) as suggested previously by Brar. However, that can't be for long as Brar indeed has a flight to catch in the evening with his suitcase waiting just behind the banners in the feature table area.
Nam's run finished just shy of the victory and he takes home PHP 2,130,000 ($34,527) for the efforts. Brar takes the trophy, a lot of goodies from the SiGMA team and the event sponsors, as well as the top prize worth PHP 3,041,700 ($49,306).
Stay tuned for a recap of today's action.
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Hyunsik Nam raised to 200,000 and Gursimran Brar defended the big blind to a flop of K♥J♥8♥, on which he check-called for 250,000. They then checked down the A♦ turn and Q♣ river for Brar to show his A♣J♦ for two pair. Nam mucked the A♠ and lost a small chunk of his still playable stack.
Brar then raised to 250,000 on the button and Nam clicked it back to 450,000. After verifying with the dealer and floor that this was the total amount and not on top, Brar clicked it back to 810,000 and Nam called.
The K♠Q♠7♦ flop saw Nam check-call for 450,000 and the 8♣ followed on the turn. Nam checked once more and Brar fired out a bet of 1,800,000 which nearly covered the remaining stack of his opponent. No call followed and Brar flashed the K♣K♥ for the top set.
Nam won the blinds once, then defended against a min-raise on which he check-called two streets for 150,000 on the K♦9♥7♦ flop and 325,000 on the 4♥ turn. No more action followed on the 5♥ river and Nam revealed 9♠3♠ for a pair of nines.
"King," Brar said and tabled the K♣2♥.
"Wow, you always have good hands, top pair ..." Nam conceded and saw his stack drop to around 14 big blinds only.
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Gursimran Brar won another decent pot to pull further ahead and then faced a button open to 350,000 by Hyunsik Nam. He declared a three-bet to 1.1 million and Nam folded. Brar flashed the J♥J♣ before collecting the pot and then said "I thought you were going all-in" to which Nam shook his head.
Brar's next min-raise was called by Nam, leading to the 9♣7♦2♦ flop that was checked by both. On the 9♥ turn, Nam bet 300,000 for Brar to call and the 5♠ river saw Nam bet another 800,000 to then win the pot uncontested.
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Hyunsik Nam limp-called a raise to 400,000 by Gursimran Brar who then checked the 6♣5♣5♠ on the flop. Nam bet 450,000 and won the pot.
Soon after that, they had gone all the way to the Q♣4♠4♣6♣2♣ river with some 1.2 million in the middle. Nam check-jammed into a bet of 500,000 and Brar reluctantly folded.
With the hands being played at a very rapid pace, the chip changes may only last for a few minutes though.
Level 38
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Gursimran Brar raised to 250,000 and Hyunsik Nam called to a flop of A♣Q♣2♣ on which Nam check-called for 100,000. Nam check-raised the A♠ turn from 150,000 to 400,000 and Brar reraised to 650,000 for his opponent to call.
After the J♥ river they checked and Nam tabled Q♦6♥, Brar chopped with the Q♠8♦ and instantly said he knew Nam had a queen.
"I put you on clubs," Nam replied as they chopped the pot.
Nam then made it 250,000 to go and Brar called. The 8♣7♠6♠ flop was checked to the 4♣ turn, Brar bet 350,000 and Nam folded with exposing the A♥.
Brar's next raise to 250,000 was three-bet to 750,000 by Nam and the chip leader came along to the A♠8♣5♣ flop. Nam checked, Brar bet 500,000 and stole the pot.
Level: 38
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 100,000
Level 37
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
The final two hands of the level provided fireworks as there were two all-in declarations, one of which ended up being called.
Gursimran Brar had lost some chips against Hyunsik Nam when the latter continued for 325,000 on a Q♠J♣7♦ flop and showed the Q♥ for the top pair.
Brar then raised to 250,000 in the small blind and called Nam's raise to 550,000. On the J♣8♦7♥ flop, Brar checked and Nam made it 550,000 to go. The shove by Brar followed and Nam elected to fold.
Brar flashed the J♠ and then said "no bluff man, we are too deep".
One hand later, Nam opened to 250,000 himself from the small blind and was called by Seung Hyun Han in the big blind. Nam bet 350,000 on the K♣10♣9♦ flop and 450,000 on the A♣ turn, both of which Han quickly called.
That led them to the Q♣ river which brought a four-card straight and four clubs on the board.
Nam pushed all-in and Han thought about it for only two seconds before he splashes in a few chips indicating the call, turning over Q♠10♠ for two pair. Nam had that beat with the J♥10♦ for the straight and the stacks were counted.
Brar was confused and asked Han if he thought he had clubs, to which the South Korean shook his head. Brar also mentioned that he had folded jack-trey of clubs on the button preflop which would have made a royal flush. Nam's 1,430,000 covered the 1,080,000 of his fellow countryman and that brought the field down to the heads-up stage at the end of the level with a scheduled ten-minute break to follow.
Level 37
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Gursimran Brar raised the button to 200,000 and was called only by Seung Hyun Han in the big blind. On the Q♦J♥3♥ flop, both checked before Han led the 4♦ turn for 300,000 with Brar coming along. Both then checked the 6♥ on the river and Han exposed his J♠9♣.
Brar mucked the A♥K♦ and Han then told him "if you go all-in, I snap call".
