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Jeffrey Macazo It was a wild night of monster hands and big plays at the final table of the 2012 PHP 5 million guaranteed Dirty Ice Cream Cup (DICC) at the Metro Card Club. And at the end of the night, it was Jeffrey Macazo who stole the show taking home the PHP 1.5 million first prize purse.
Macazo entered the day in the middle of the pack with 556,000 chips but quickly surpassed chip leader Mike Takayama's 1.4 million when two big hands rewarded Macazo with two big payouts. In the first grab, Macazo earned 260K with his 
winning against Chris Cu-unjieng’s 
gamble on a board of 
.
Shortly after, Macazo gained more chips when he raised 55K preflop and found a customer in Michael Adlawan. At the flop of 
both players checked but on the turn of 
Adlawan checked his option to Macazo who bet out 76K. Adlawan made the call and both players saw a river card of 
. Once again, Adlawan checked and Macazo slid out an over bet of 400K. Adlawan squirmed a bit but, not willing to be bullied, he eventually made the call only to feel the hurt when Macazo showed 
for quads. With this win, Macazo became the new chip leader with over 1.5 million while in the process crippling Adlawan.
Not long after, the desperate Adlawan moved all in with 
and was called by Wilfredo Bachinela who held 
. With the board running 
, Bachinela took the rest of Adlawan’s chips and sent him to the rail in 9th place. Adlawan collected PHP 100,000 for his finish.
Furthering his cause, Macazo found another target in Cu-unjieng who raised 120K from the button. Macazo called from the small blind and both saw a flop of 
. Macazo checked, which cued Cu-unjieng to proudly shove all his chips in. But Macazo snap-called and flipped open 
to be way ahead of Cu-unjieng’s 
. Disgruntled from the trap, Cu-unjieng hoped for an ace but with the turn of 
and river of 
he was sent away while aiding Macazo over the 2 million chip mark. Cu-unjieng collected PHP 100,000 for his 8th place finish.
Another bust out followed when Joshua De Leon’s raise of 200K was challenged by Bachinela’s reraise all in for another 414K chips. Joshua hesitated but called and was happy to see he was ahead with his 
against Bachinela’s 
. The board kept Joshua on top as it spread 
, and Bachinela bowed out in 7th collecting PHP 150,000 in winnings. Additionally, this win shifted the power as Joshua surpassed Macazo’s lead with his 2.6 million artillery of chips.
But Macazo wasn't content with this changing of the guard and soon came back level with Joshua after raising from the hijack position to 100K and being called by big blind seat Luis Bernardo. At the flop of 
Bernardo led out 140K and was instantly called by Macazo. He then bet 260K on the turn and moved all in for 347K on the river. Macazo called on both occasions and to everyone’s surprise Bernardo instantly mucked and headed to the rail without even seeing Macazo’s hand. Macazo eventually showed his 
for mid pair and was now at par with Joshua for the chip lead. In turn, Bernardo collected PHP 200,000 for his 6th place finish.
With a challenge at hand for the lead, Joshua had an opportunity to soar way above when he faced Michael De Leon and Denierick Rimando who were both all in preflop. But, after much inner turmoil, Joshua surrendered his and watched Rimando open 
against De Leon’s . When the flop landed , Joshua was visibly upset at not making the affordable call to eliminate both players because with the turn of and river of 
he could have won while eliminating two players. Instead, De Leon won the hand and sent Rimando to the bleachers in 5th with PHP 250,000 in winnings.
But De Leon didn't last much longer. In a blind on blind battle, he snap-called Macazo’s reraise. Unfortunately for De Leon, he was dominated with 
versus Macazo’s 
. Although the flop and turn were hopeful for De Leon, who openly wished for a split on a board of 
, the river of sent him to the rail in 4th for PHP 300,000 as Macazo skyrocketed to 3.7 million chips.
All this time, Takayama was sitting quiet in third position. And with just three players left, he watched the big stacks, Macazo and Joshua, bump heads in several hands. In one defining hand, Macazo took 1.5 million chips from Joshua when his reigned victorious against Joshua’s on a board of 
. From that point forward, Macazo nurtured his 4.7 million stack and ballooned it to 6 million when he called Joshua’s all in shove.
In the hand, Joshua shoved with but was up against Macazo’s . The board ran low with 
giving Macazo the win and an overwhelming 6:1 chip lead against Takayama for the title. Joshua left the game to collect his PHP 400,000 in winnings.
At the heads up match, it took only 20 minutes for Macazo to dispose of Takayama. In the final hand of the match, the short-stacked Takayama moved all in with and was instantly called by Macazo who held 
. The board ran giving Macazo two pair and the championship title. Takayama earned PHP 775,000 while Macazo claimed the big kahuna prize of PHP 1.5 million.
Congratulations to Jeffrey Macazo and all the other DICC 2012 cashers!
DICC Day 3 Chip Leader Mike Takayama After 11 hours of gruelling play, the final table of the Metro Card Club 2012 PHP 5 million Guaranteed Dirty Ice Cream Cup (DICC) has been decided and leading the group with a towering 1,424,000 in chips is one of the Metro cardroom favourites, Mike Takayama. Takayama entered the day ranked 7th and was fairly quiet until a sweet rush of hands late in the day made him the first player of the tournament to cross the million-mark.
It all began when Takayama raised from under-the-gun to 50K and was reraised by big blind player Shin Sang Jun to 200K. Wasting no time to second guess, Takayama shoved all his chips in, which was just another 90K for Jun to call. At the showdown, Takayama was way ahead with over Jun’s 
. The board got even prettier when it landed giving Takayama a full house and double up to 610K in chips.
Takayama then proceeded to bully the blinds from the button and seize 200K in a preflop raising war against Mickael Bernard who was not willing to go the distance. Minutes later, he found himself squaring off against Jun once again who raised to 90K from the button on Takayama’s big blind. Takayama made the call and both saw a flop of . After both players checked, a landed on fourth street, which prompted Takayama to lead out 50K. Without much thought, Jun shoved all in for an additional 152K to call. Takayama made the call and immediately rejoiced when Jun announced, “You got me” while opening up a bluff attempt against Takayama’s mid pair with 
. The river of was inconsequential and Takayama scooped up a massive pot, skyrocketing his stack up to 1.3 million while sending Jun to the rail.
The only other player currently in the seven digit mark with Takayama is Chris Cu-unjieng with 1,059,000 chips. After fiddling around with a mid-stack for most of the day, he nailed a big win against Mark Amparo. During the hand, Cu-unjieng raised it up from under-the-gun and was immediately shoved all in on by Amparo from the big blind seat. Cu-unjieng snap-called and slapped open his which was in front of Amparo’s . The board ran a clean 
giving Cu-unjieng a massive pile of over 1 million chips while Amparo was left with just under 200K. Amparo eventually bowed out in 12th place and collected himself PHP 60,000 in winnings.
Not long after Amparo’s exit, the last remaining non-filipino player, Charles Joseph Donnadiev, bowed out in 11th place and also earned himself PHP 60,000. Donnadiev was eliminated by Michael De Leon who crossed over the 1 million-mark after the win but ended the day just shy of it with 965,000 chips and in fourth position.
With ten players left and split evenly on two tables, it was bubble time for the final table seats. Although the action slowed down quite a bit, Joshua De Leon took advantage of the moment and with his short stack of 158K, he doubled up three times to avoid elimination and end the day in fifth position with an impressive comeback to 964,000 in chips.
In his first double up, Joshua’s was victorious over Raul Banasan’s . On the next one his won over Cu-unjieng’s . And on his third double up, his reraise all in on Banasan’s initial 90K raise gave him a mountain of chips when Banasan called with that were no good against his . The board ran giving Joshua another happy double up that brought his stack above 900K. On the flip side, Banasan spiralled down to 43K chips.
Despite doubling up on the next hand with his winning against Michael Adlawan’s , Banasan became the bubble boy to the final table when his lost against Cu-unjieng’s on a board of . Banasan exited the tournament in 10th place and collected PHP 70,000 in winnings.
Here are the Metro 2012 DICC final table players:
Mike Takayama- 1,424,000
Chris Cu-unjieng- 1,059,000
Michael Adlawan- 968,000
Michael De Leon – 965,000
Joshua De Leon – 964,000
Jefferson Macazo – 556,000
Wilfredo Bachinela – 466,000
Luis Bernardo – 442,000
Denierick Rimando – 350,000
Stay tuned to Poker Portal Asia as we give you an in-depth recap on the final table of the 2012 Metro DICC, which resumes at 5pm today.
Chip Leader Valentino Perez Jr. The Metro Card Club in Pasig, Philippines has been humming the last few days with the much anticipated 2012 PHP 5 million Guaranteed Dirty Ice Cream Cup (DICC). At the end of all the Day 1 flights, a total of 484 players graced the felt for a chance to claim the PHP 1.5 million first prize and 178 players made the cut into yesterday's Day 2. More eliminations followed and the field was down to just 49 remaining players making the grade for Day 3.
Leading the pack is Valentino Perez Jr. with a dominating stack of 470,400 chips. Perez was one of the chip leader’s upon entering the day and, despite giving away a big chunk of his chips to Brian Sombero, he managed to make it back and more from one of the toughest players in the field, Lester Edoc.
In the hand against Sombero, Perez shoved into Sombero's 128K stack with , but came up against . The board ran giving Sombero the massive double up as Perez’s chips fell to around 240K. This misstep however, did not worry Perez in the slightest. He kept his pace and continued to steal several blinds and antes until he earned himself an even sweeter pot against Edoc just before the end of the day.
Catching the action at the turn, we saw Perez check-call a bet from Edoc into a pot that was easily over 120K. The board showed , and when the landed on the river, both players checked with Perez winning the hand holding and scooping up a pot of over 200K.
Another strong contender in the field was Mickael Bernard who ended the day second in command with 376,600 chips. Bernard took down a big pot against an opponent who moved all in with . Although Bernard was reluctant to make the call, he eventually did and opened up . The board, however, was kind to Bernard when it landed 
at the flop, giving him a sweet set, and with the turn of and river of , he sent a player stomping to the rail.
In similar fashion, Jade Triste also bowed out of the tournament holding . She was all in preflop against a player who held . The flop landed a painful giving her opponent a dominating set. With the turn and river , Triste was also sent to the rail steaming.
Other notables who bowed out prior to the money were Michael Cua, Mark Benasa, Jojo Tech, Czardy Rivera, Ronald Singson, Emmanuel Segismundo and 2011 DICC champion Eric Sia.
Among those returning is Mark Amparo who built a nice fortress of chips when his hit a set against a player who held on a board of . He sits comfortably in third position with 370,500. Mike Takayama is also stacked in 7th position with 277,000 chips. They will be joined by Jun Amito, Ramil Tandoc and remaining ladies, Ma. Carmen Esdaile and Anne Trangco, to mention a few.
Play will resume at 3pm tomorrow where they will play down to the final 10 players. Stay tuned to Poker Portal Asia for more updates on the 2012 DICC.
Isaac Haxton (Image from PokerStarsBlog.com) On Sunday, the much anticipated PokerStars Superstar Showdown between Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Isaac “Philivey2694” Haxton went on as planned, however, after 692 hands the game had to be postponed due to stormy weather affecting Haxton’s internet connection in Malta.
In TwoPlusTwo poker forum, Haxton apologised, "I'm really sorry about all this. I know it's ruining the flow of the match for spectators.” But the storm has since subsided, and railers will be happy to know that the game is scheduled to resume at 2pm EST today (GMT+8 1am Wednesday).
Unfortunately for Haxton, he will be facing a hefty USD $99,886 deficit against Blom. Within the first fifty hands, Blom took a nice chunk of cash from Haxton when he tabled a straight with on a board of . Later, Blom won another big pot when his Pocket Jacks boated and just before the game was postponed his Pocket Eights filled up on the river with Haxton holding on a board of .
Jhana Hale With 139 players taking to the felt at Paradise Walkerhill Casino for Day 1b of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Seoul, the total number of combined players for the Main Event rose to 258, making this tournament the largest poker event ever held on Korean soil. This brings the pot to a massive KRW 717,489,000 (USD $642,000) with first prize guaranteed KRW 194,000,000 (USD $174,000).
PokerStars Asia Affiliate Manager, Dom Choi, had this to say, "It's sensational!… The team at Walkerhill has been an absolute class act. I can't think of a global tournament that doesn't have a majority of its field being made up of local players. Korean nationals can't enter casino venues so this record really represents a synergy of PokerStars' presence in Asia with the venue's dedication and commitment to outstanding results."
Leading the pack for Day 1b and clearly the man to catch is Australian player Jhana Hale with 173,800 chips. Hale eliminated several players to accumulate a dominating lead, but extended that lead further when he railed both Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen and Dong Kyu Kim in one crazy hand, scooping up a pot that catapulted him way above the leaderboard.
During the hand, action folded to Hale who raised it up to 1,300 from the cutoff position. From the button, Guillen made the call, but the small blind Kim got aggressive and re-popped all in for a total of 14,850. With his big stack, Hale made the call but was in a huge dilemma when Guillen announced that he too was all in for 47,500. Facing a decision that would cost him half of his chips, Hale found the guts to make the call. At the showdown:
Hale:
Guillen:
Kim:
The board ran giving Hale a big lead with a set. The turn landed giving Kim two pair and some desperate outs. And with the river of , Hale’s gamble was granted with a mountain of chips to be the undisputed big stack.
At the end of the night, 53 players made the cut to Day 2 bringing the total number of returning players from both Day 1s to 108. Among those are recognisable names such as Michael Mariakis, Andrew Scott, and 2012 Aussie Millions runner-up Ken Wong. Wong ended the day with 22,900 chips and would have had over 60,000 but with 15 minutes left to end the day, his against an opponent's cost him 29,000 on a board of .
Those not so fortunate were Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang, 2009 Macau Poker Cup Champion Devan Tang, and 2011 Asia Player of the Year, Shaq Lin.
Stay tuned to Poker Portal Asia for more updates on APPT Seoul.
Viktor Blom (Image from PokerStarsBlog.com) PokerStars has just announced that a new edition of the Superstar Showdown will be taking place this Sunday between Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Isaac “Philivey2694” Haxton. This showdown is a much anticipated rematch between the two who met on December 2010 with Blom losing USD $41,701 in 2500 hands to Haxton. Since then, Blom has been seeking redemption despite having a phenomenal winning record of 9 wins out of 10 matches against other players.
The game will be a 2500 hand-match across four No Limit Hold’em tables with the same structure as previous, however, the stakes have now been bumped up to USD $100/$200.
Daniel Negreanu talks up a storm again Daniel Negreanu is back with another amusing vblog rant on his chosen topics and victims for the week. As expected, it was mostly about the recent shutdown of the Epic Poker League. He takes jabs at organisers Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack, explains why he felt EPL was doomed from the start, and why the whole EPL idea was bad for poker. Check out the vblog below:
.JPG "APT Trophy (4)")
.JPG "Adam Monaghan (4)")
.JPG "Adam Monaghan (7)")
.JPG "Adam Monaghan (8)")
.JPG "Antonio Martins (1)")
.JPG "Antonio Martins (4)")
.JPG "Antonio Martins (7)")
