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Harsh Dembla 9th in Manila Megastack 10 Main Event

PokerStars LIVE hosted the 10^th edition of their popular tournament series called the Manila Megastack 10 between December 7-16 at the luxurious Okada, Manila, Philippines. The 10-day festival of extravaganza started with the PHP 6K NLH event and culminated with the Main Event Finale on the final day.

The starting two flights of the PHP 30,000 Main Event attracted a total of 417 entries from around the world, which exceeded the guaranteed amount of PHP 10 million in prize money and created a larger prize pool of PHP 11,259,000 (~INR 1.51 Crores).

A total of 90 players returned for Day 2 of the Main Event, and the player to emerge victorious from this sizeable field was Japan’s Yasutake Oka (pictured above), taking home the 1^st place cash prize of PHP 2,562,000 (~INR 34.46 Lakhs) plus the red-spade PokerStars trophy.

The Final Table of 9 proved tough for the eventual champion, Oka. He faced big challenges in heads-up with the Filipino talent Martin Gonzales. Entering the heads-up battle, Oka was down and out, facing 1:3 chip deficit against Gonzales. But 30 minutes into heads-up, Oka held a slight lead of 6.3 million to Gonzales’ 6.2 million chips. Gonzales shoved all-in from the button and Oka snap-called and showed his Th Td. Gonzales turned over Ts 9c, but he wished he had something better. The board came to 5h Qd 7c Ad 8h to confirm Oka’s win, who was cheered by his Japanese fans.

This is Oka’s first major win, having a couple of medium-sized cashes in the past. This win has made him achieve the recognition in the poker world which is always something that’s welcome for a budding player, and this should add a good amount to his bankroll and enable him to play in more upcoming tournaments.

Keeping the Indian flag high in Manila was Harsh Dembla (pictured above). He also took part in the Main Event and reached the Final Table, cashing out at 9^th place for PHP 243,000 (~INR 3.27 Lakhs). Very early in the Final Table, Dembla took a hit by Oka when his superior pocket Kings beat Dembla’s pocket Jacks, which diminished his stack to 11,000. Just the next hand, he managed to convert this into a good 117,000 chips by hitting trips queens, but the next hand spelled doom for him.

He had Ah Ks and saw Oka and Rob Glasspool call. Siyoung Lee shoved it all in for 900,000 from the small blind, which which prompted Oka and Glasspool to fold. Dembla called Lee, who turned over Qc Jh on the Th 4s 2h Js 9h board. Lee’s Jack pair was enough to eliminate Dembla at 9^th.

Dembla is a well-known player in the Indian circuit and has cashed out in a few tournaments in the past, having also finished 9^th at the World Poker Tour (WPT) India Main Event held recently at Deltin Royale, Goa.

Final 9 Pay-outs:

1. Yasutake Oka – PHP 2,562,000
2. Martin Gonzales – PHP 1,542,000
3. Robert Glasspool – PHP 952,500
4. Flo Campomanes – PHP 730,500
5. Siyoung Lee – PHP 541,000
6. Joachim Chia – PHP 433,000
7. Marius Zalpys – PHP 354,230
8. Jessie Supnet – PHP 298,000
9. Harsh Dembla – PHP 243,000

Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for timely tournament results, updates and general poker news from around the world.

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