button in SafariBusy Final Two Flights Shake Up the Leaderboard of the 2026 SiGMA Poker Tour Main Event
Prior to the final two starting days on June 2, 2026, the inaugural SiGMA Poker Tour Manila Main Event only had 103 total entries to show for and was on the verge to create a large overlay for the PHP 15 million (≈$242,755) guarantee - even more so when Day 1d commenced with only five players for the PHP 40,000 (≈$650) buy-in. However, the penultimate flight skyrocketed to 220 entries and another 39 entries came on top thanks to the last turbo heat to boost the overall tally to 362 entries.
Whereas the opening two flights at the start of the festival in the Grand Ballroom of the five-star City of Dreams Manila came to a rapid conclusion, the penultimate Day 1 would run for nearly 14 and a half hours before the money bubble burst. Only the top 28 finishers advanced and with most of them representing the local Filipino poker community, it was a surprise final hand to wrap up things at almost 3.30 a.m. local time. Australia's Adam Ford ran with pocket eights into the pocket queens of Romania's Paul Tirnovean and was left drawing dead on the turn.
Tirnovean bagged up a healthy stack of 358,000 but narrowly missed the top ten leaderboard for all 33 qualifiers from today. Hyunsik Nam from South Korea accumulated a gargantuan 815,000 in the turbo heat 1e to become second in chips overall, while Alexis Lim topped Day 1d with 617,000 in chips.
Not far behind are Rene David (589,500), Marlon Laxamana (534,500) as well as Jonard Arcilla (516,000). The only woman to advance was Diana Tan with a very respectable 391,000, which she gained through multiple correct hero-calls against players with larger stacks applying pressure.
Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 1d and Day 1e Combined
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyunsik Nam | South Korea | 815,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Alexis Lim | Philippines | 617,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Rene David | Philippines | 589,500 | 59 |
| 4 | Marlon Laxamana | Philippines | 534,500 | 53 |
| 5 | Jonard Arcilla | Philippines | 516,000 | 52 |
| 6 | AJ Acdal | Philippines | 480,500 | 48 |
| 7 | Renato Villanueva | Philippines | 478,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Simon Isback | Sweden | 463,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Diana Tan | Philippines | 391,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Raymond Gomez (PH) | Philippines | 373,000 | 37 |
Among the notables to secure a portion of the prize pool through the final two flights were the likes of Renato Villanueva (478,000), Joshua Figuerres (219,500), John Tech (156,000), and Terry Gonzaga (93,500), The runner-up of the 2025 Asian Poker Tour Championship John Costiniano bubbled Day 1e to be one of the last players to leave empty-handed.
Many other well-known names in South East Asia jumped into the action today and left with only the tournament entry slips to show for such as Maxwell Rosete, William Ysmael, Emmanuel Segismundo, David Erquiaga, Richard "Hot Sauce" Marquez, and Christopher "Big Time" Mateo. Local foreigner residents such as Gary Thompson and Finn Ove Penderak failed to bag up chips, as did the South African visitors Sugen Singh and Stefan Van Huyssteen who both already earned Filipino flags for their The Hendon Mob profile.
The Grand Ballroom on the second floor was filled to the brim in cooperation with the Soul Poker Club and continued to grow by the minute once the second table for the Main Event opened. While the guarantee was not reached, the overall field size was more than tripled and across the five starting flights, 47 players have qualified for Day 2 which is set to kick off on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 1 p.m. local time.
The blinds will roll all the way back to 1,000-2,000 with a big blind ante of 2,000 and the level duration for the penultimate day of the 2026 SPT Manila Main Event increases to 50 minutes each. According to the schedule, the flagship tournament of the festival is set to play down to the nine-handed final table but that may become a lengthy affair with a very deep-stacked field still in contention.
While many eyes of the local poker players will be set on the conclusion of the Main Event, there are several Side Events lined up to compete in. Most notably, that includes debut of the The Hendon Mob Championship on Asian soil with a PHP 12,000 (≈$194) buy-in and PHP 3 million (≈$48,551) guarantee.
Never Miss a Moment with MyPlayers on PokerNews
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor after a couple hours of sleep when the action resumes at 1 p.m. local time and another two days of thrilling live poker action remain here in Manila.