Thanh Ha Duong Pulls Off Comeback to Win 2014 PokerStars.net APPT Manila Main Event
Vietnam's Thanh Ha Duong took down the PokerStars.net APPT Season 8 Manila Main Event title at the Metro Card Club Monday in dramatic fashion, besting a field of 260 and overcoming a huge deficit heads-up to capture the crown and the PHP3,472,000 top prize (approximately USD$79,760).
FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Player | Prize (PHP) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thanh Ha Duong | 3,472,000 |
| 2 | Michael Guzzardi | 1,833,000 |
| 3 | Bernardo Angeles | 1,024,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Giang | 782,000 |
| 5 | Sameer Rattonsey | 647,000 |
| 6 | Mike Takayama | 512,000 |
| 7 | Andreas Rauh | 405,000 |
| 8 | Maria Bernadette Lina | 324,000 |
| 9 | Rajeev Kanjani | 242,000 |
The event's final day started with 11 players and Aussie Michael Guzzardi holding a massive chip lead over the rest of the field.
As the shorter stacks busted and the final table was set, Guzzardi did nothing to indicate he would do anything but win, increasing that lead as player after player hit the rail.
In fact, by the time he and Duong reached heads-up, Guzzardi had 4.5 million in chips to Duong's 700,000 and it all seemed a foregone conclusion.
It wasn't long before Guzzardi got it all in preflop with K?K? versus Duong's 7?7? and after a safe flop his coronation was almost complete. However, the 7? turn changed all plans and Duong doubled.
After trading jabs for a while, Duong rivered a wheel and got paid off with a huge raise on the end to get close to even before the biggest hand of the tournament played out.
On a K?4?2? flop Duong check-raised and Guzzardi pushed all in. Duong made the call for his tournament life with two pair and Guzzardi was on a flush draw. The draw never materialized and suddenly Duong held the chip lead, knocking Guzzardi off the top for the first time since midway through Day 2.
Doung put his foot on the gas after that, and despite the fact Guzzardi doubled once, he soon shoved with top pair and a gutshot on the turn into another two pair held by Duong.
When the river bricked, the title, PHP 3,472,000, including a seat in the Asia Championship of Poker and Filipino poker glory belonged to Duong.
For a complete look at how the final table played out, check out the PokerNews Live Reporting blog.
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