WPT National Philippines update: Euryd Rivera is lone Filipino champion so far. #worldpokertour
October 23, 2014
As hundreds of combatants gear up for the Main Event of the inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) National Philippines at the Solaire Resort and Casino, a number of participants have already claimed titles in the multitude of side events that have ensued thus far, among them a local bet.
Euryd Rivera, a 33-year-old pro from Cavite has emerged as the only champion among the hundreds of Filipinos that have plunged into the various side events as the former University of the East Red Warrior bested a field of 114 runners to snare the $200 No Limit Hold ‘Em (NLHE) Warm Up by beating fellow Pinoy—and Asian Poker Tour (APT) tournament director—Lloyd Fontillas in a classic showdown that finished in the wee hours of the next morning.
“Lloyd (Fontillas) is tough opponent,” Rivera said. “He had a 3-1 chip lead over me in head-up, but when I managed to draw almost even I won a big hand and he never was able to recover. I hope another Filipino can also win a title. The fields are tough, but we’ve been coming close.”
Rivera, whose brothers Marc, Ashby and Sardi all play professionally, scooped PhP263,000 for the victory.
Another hometown hopeful fell just short of a championship as veteran international campaigner Jesus “Mang Jess” Campued lost in his heads-up duel against David Colclough of Great Britain in the $150 Retro 105.9 DCGFM Retro Event—featuring players fifty years old and above. Campued, 77, was even adjudged the oldest player in the competition but could not overcome Colclough’s chip lead in heads-up.
Kai Paulsen, a Filipino-Norwegian also came close by finishing second in the first ever $700 Open Face Chinese (OFC) Pineapple event as he lost out to “countryman” Mikal Blomlie of Norway.
Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon took down the $150 Deep Stack Turbo event while Korea’s David Park ($500 NLHE Head Hunter), Han Hyung Ho ($500 Badugi) and Kim Tae Hyung ($1,000 Pot Limit Omaha) continued to lead the way for what is shaping up to be one of the rising powers in poker.
Hieu Le of Vietnam booked a seat to the WPT National China staging in a couple of weeks by virtue of besting the competition in the Solaire Cares Charity Event by beating no less than the WPT’s iconic commentator Mike Sexton in a one hour heads-up battle.
Le conquered a tough field that included poker pros Tony Dunst, Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, “Poker Barbie Lacey Jones, Team Japan skipper Kinichi Nakata, former Asian and national champion Vic de Guzman and local poker anchorman Noel Zarate.
Comedian Gary Lising and his son model Bugsy Lising also took part in the event aimed to raise funds for Solaire Cares.
“The WPT is expanding globally and we’re happy to finally expand to Manila,” Sexton said. “It’s only a matter of time before this region’s huge potential is recognized.”
With the Main Event now in full swing, and the Poker Festival still having a good number of side events still to be played, many are hopeful that a local hopeful becomes part of poker history.
Photo 1: (File Photo) Euryd Rivera is so far the only Filipino champion in the ongoing WPT National Philippines (Photo: Deejay Ruperto/Pilipinas Poker)
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