APPT Manila: Common Chip Lead After Day 1A

149 players gathered in the Hyatt Hotel & Casino in the capital of the Philippines, Manila, to enter the first of two starting days of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT).

Amongst the starters was also the winner of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Manila, David Saab. The founder of the PokerStars Filipino Poker Tour (FPT), Franco Mabanta, could also be found at the tables - the APPT Manila is a stop of the FPT.

Suk and Shell lead

Franco Mabanta had an excellent start as he immediately eliminated two players from the tournament with a set of aces. A few hands later, he pushed his whole stack across the line on the board of and showed for the flush. His opponent, however, flipped over for a full house and sent Mabanta to the rails.

Meanwhile, Chang Yong Suk fared better. On his way to the common chip lead with the US American Michael Shell, Suk was able to triple up against two opponents in a decisive hand. On the board of he held the nut flush with , and welcomed the chips donation of his opponents who held , as well as a pair of sevens. A short time later, his kings held up against Eric Sias' . Thus Suk and Shell will enter the second day with 123,400 in chips each. Saab has survived the day as a short stack.

Below now the chip count after Day 1A:

APPT Manila Main Event Chip Counts after Day 1A
Rank	Name	Country	Chips
1	Miachel Shell	USA	124,300
2	Chang Yong Suk	Korea	124,300
3	Peng Leng Josh Ang	Singapore	88,800
4	Hans Nordstrom	Sweden	75,200
5	Donny Morris	Denmark	71,700
6	Victorino Torres	USA	64,800
7	Wenceslao Sombero	Philippines	60,100
8	Jong Sung Kim	South Korea	55,800
9	Ramil Tandoc	Philippines	53,800
10	Antony Phillips	UK	52,400
11	Kil Seok Yang	Korea	51,500
12	Hyoungjin Nam	Korea	46,400
13	Rudy Lim	unknown	44,500
14	David Saab	Australia	43,100
15	Arthur Kocher	Switzerland	39,200

Today Day 1B

A few known pros of the poker scene have entered the second starting day of the APPT Manila, amongst them Team PokerStars Pro Lee
Nelson, John "The Razor" Phan, Carter Gill, the winner of this year's APPT Macau, Eddy Sabbat, as well as the winner of the first APPT Manila, Brett Parise.

German PokerStrategist crackin had announced in the forum that he would also be present.