The inaugural Road to PSPC Manila that concluded this Sunday at the PokerStars LIVE Manila poker room turned out to be a memorable series for Team India with two Indians scoring victories in the series.
The star performer from India was a well-known pro in Jay Raju. He entered Day 2 of Event #14: ₱55K High Roller with the seventh-biggest stack among 19 contenders from a starting field of 42.
Raju went all the way and outlasted the stiff competition, claiming the ₱860,000 top prize and his first-ever PokerStars LIVE trophy. Singapore’s Xin Hua Lai placed runner-up and banked ₱621,000.
This victory was Raju’s third cash in the series, following his 10th place finish for ₱16,300 in Event #6: ₱10,000 NLH Re-entry and a 124th place finish for ₱33,000 in the Event #5: ₱22K Main Event, which was taken down by Germany’s Max Menzel who walked away with ₱2,579,000 for his grand win.
Final Table Payouts (PHP)
- J Raju – ₱860,000
- Xin Hua Lai – ₱621,000
- Lester Edoc – ₱400,000
- Oliver Biles – ₱304,000
- Chia Wei Chang – ₱235,000
- Kento Chogo – ₱183,000
- Joel Singam – ₱146,000
- Stephen Nathan – ₱114,828
Both victories by Indians came over the weekend. The second Indian to score a victory over the weekend was Singapore-based Dhanesh Chainani, who emerged victorious in Event #15: ₱30K NLH (Turbo) where he came out on top of a 34-entry field, clinching his sixth PokerStars LIVE title for ₱302,460. Chainani eventually outlasted the local pro Christopher Mateo (2nd for ₱209,300).
Final Table Results (PHP)
- Dhanesh Chainani – ₱302,460
- Christopher Mateo – ₱209,300
- Emmanuel Segismundo – ₱133,600
- Masaya Hatano – ₱102,500
- Chew Xing Jie – ₱80,200
- Teck Heng Chua – ₱62,400