Daniel Neilson APT High Roller Champion

Australia's Daniel Neilson made history by clinching victory in a record-breaking APT High Roller event, earning an impressive PHP 4,317,000 (~$73,390). Neilson defeated fellow Australian Alexander Lynskey in a heads-up showdown in the largest Philippines-based APT High Roller in tour history, with Lynskey taking home PHP 3,866,000 (~$65,720) as runner-up after an ICM deal had been cut between the final three players.

The event attracted 134 entries (92 unique) and generated a prize pool of PHP 23,396,400 (~USD 397,740), setting a new record for the richest APT High Roller tournament ever held in APT tour history in the Philippines.

At the start of the day, 26 players remained, all vying for a spot in the money, though only the top 20 would earn a minimum cash prize of PHP 314,000 (~$5,340).

Among the contenders was two-time APT Main Event Champion Lester Edoc from the Philippines, who, unfortunately, exited just before the money bubble, leaving without a payout.

Chi Wai Law burst the bubble when he went all-in with king-nine, only to be called by Lynskey—one of the tournament's chip leaders at the time—who held queen-seven suited and hit a seven on the flop.

Lynskey continued his strong performance, eliminating Xin Ann Lim on the final table bubble by rivering a straight with queen-five suited against Lim’s pocket sevens, which had caught a set on the flop.

Thanks to his impressive performance, Lynskey entered the final table as the chip leader, with Jason Lau in the short-stack position. Neilson, though second-shortest in chips, began steadily growing his stack as soon as final table play began.

The battle to be the last man standing was intense, with chips constantly changing hands. For two hours, the player at the bottom of the chip count rotated frequently before the first elimination finally occurred.

Yuhang Chen

China’s Yuhang Chen was the first to exit, crippled after Vamerdino Magsakay’s pocket queens held strong against his king-jack. On his final hand, Chen moved all-in with king-queen but lost to **Jordan Westmorland**’s ace-nine, with Westmorland taking the pot with ace-high.

Local contender Jason Magbanua, who began the final table third in chips, was gradually worn down by both the eventual champion and runner-up. Choosing his spot to double up, Magbanua went all-in with king-queen suited after Lynskey’s raise. Lynskey called with ace-queen off-suit and hit a pair on the river, eliminating Magbanua in 8th place with a payout of PHP 725,000 (~$12,325).

Eliminations then slowed as players carefully selected their moves, especially under Lynskey’s relentless aggression as he dominated the table dynamics with his chip lead. In a pivotal hand, Lynskey surrendered the chip lead to Singapore’s Teng Yang Hoo after calling Hoo’s all-in with pocket queens and losing the pot.

Jordan Westmorland

Westmorland got knocked out by the new chip leader, Teng Hoo, in a showdown where both players hit an ace on the turn. However, Hoo’s ace-king outkicked Westmorland’s ace-nine, sending the American out in seventh place with a payout of PHP 980,000 (~$16,660).

On the final table, Filipino player Magsakay stayed afloat by carefully timing his steals on the blinds. However, in his final hand, he went all-in with king-eight offsuit, only to be called by Neilson in the big blind holding king-queen suited. Neilson’s hand held through the board, sending Magsakay out in sixth place with a prize of PHP 1,308,000 (~$22,235).

Lau, though not the last man standing, proved to be the luckiest at the final table. Entering with the shortest stack, he managed to survive numerous pay jumps before his luck ran out. He went all-in with queen-jack but fell short against Hoo’s pocket tens, which held firm, ending his run in fifth place with a payout of PHP 1,668,000 (~$28,355).

Gary Thompson with Daniel Neilson

Shortly after, Ireland's Gary Thompson exited when Lynskey, attempting a steal with jack-eight suited, was called by Thompson holding king-queen offsuit. Despite having the better starting hand, Thompson watched as Lynskey paired on the flop, ultimately knocking him out in fourth with a reward of PHP 2,078,000 (~$35,325).

The battle among the final three players was intense, with the chip lead shifting frequently. After several hands brought their stacks nearly level, they agreed to an ICM deal. Soon after, Hoo was eliminated in a blind-versus-blind showdown. Hoo went all-in with king-jack offsuit, and Lynskey called with queen-four suited, rivering a flush to end Hoo's nearly twelve-hour run with a third-place payout of PHP 3,760,400 (~$63,930)

Then, only two remained. The heads-up match between the two friends was brief yet memorable. All day, players had teased Neilson about his slow-rolling tactics, and on the final hand, he showcased his signature move in style.

Lynskey moved all-in with jack-three offsuit, unaware he was stepping into Neilson’s trap; Neilson had flopped a flush with king-queen suited. With a touch of theatrics, Neilson finally revealed his hand, securing the win. Lynskey left with a great story and a 2nd-place prize of PHP 3,900,000.

After all was said and done, only one man was left standing at the end of it all. Congratulations to Neilson on a fantastic victory.

Daniel Neilson

Daniel Neilson has won the PHP 200,000 APT High Roller for PHP 4,317,000.

Stay tuned as a full recap will follow shortly.

Alexander Lynskey

Hand 126 Daniel Neilson, on the button, limped with K Q and was checked by Alexander Lynskey, who held J 3 , to see a flop of 5 J 9 .

Neilson bet 300,000 with his flopped flush. Lynskey, who had hit a pair of jacks, unknowingly raised Neilson to 650,000. Neilson, setting a trap, flat-called.

The turn 4 prompted Lynskey to shove all-in for 2,000,000, risking his tournament life. Knowing he had the nuts, Neilson went into the tank, determined to slow-roll his fellow Australian. He threw in two time bank cards, maintaining a stoic face to disguise the joke, even taking a sip of his drink.

After enjoying the moment, Neilson finally smiled and called. As the cards were revealed, Lynskey shot him a look of friendly disbelief, then smiled at the theatrical display.

The inconsequential river 6 was dealt, and Lynskey was eliminated in 2nd place.

Hand 119 Alexander Lynskey folded and surrendered to Daniel Neilson.

Hand 120 Neilson raised to 500,000. Lynskey three-bet to 1,500,000 and Neilson folded.

Hand 121 Lynskey limped with Q 6 Neilson raised to 750,000 with J 8 . Lynskey completed to see a flop of 4 9d: 6 Neilson led with 450,000 and Lynskey called. The turn came 4 . Neilson fired 1,200,000 and Lynskey called. The river came K Neilson shoved all-in and made Lynskey fold the winning hand.

Hand 122 Neilson pressured all-in with A 2c: and Lynskey stayed away to give Neison a three-to-one chip advantage.

Hand 123 This time, Lynskey raised and Neilson folded.

Hand 124 Neilson shoved all-in with 3 3 , but Lynskey wasn't interested.

Hand 125 Lynskey folded and gave Neilson a walk.

Players are on a 10-minute break to allow APT to set up the heads-up stage.

Teng Hoo

Hand 118 Teng Hoo, in the small blind, shoved 2,500,000 chips of his chips all-in for his tournament life and got called by Alexander Lynskey in big blind.

Teng Hoo: K J

Alexander Lynskey: Q 4

The flop came down 7 A 8 . Hoo was ahead but needed to evade Lynskey's out as he had a flush draw. The 2 turn retained Hoo's lead but the T on the river sealed Hoo's fate, eliminating him at 3rd place.

Hand 114 Alexander Lynskey shoved all-in with 1,500,000 Q 7 and Teng Yang Hoo called with A 7 The flop came Q Q 5 . The turn K and the river 4 came to give Lynskey a double-up.

Hand 115 Hoo moved all-in with A 8 in the small blind and won the blinds off Lynskey.

Hand 116 Lysnkey raised to 700,000 from the small blind with 8 2 and Neilson shoved jammed all-in. holding K Q and Lynskey gave up.

Hand 117 Lynskey shoved all-in for 2,700,000 on the button and scooped the blinds.

Daniel Neilson

Hand 110 Alexander Lynskey with nine-seven off completed and Daniel Neilson nine-four suited checked. The flop came down to J A 6 . Lynskey bet 200,000 and won the pot.

Hand 111 Neison limped with 7 4 and Teng Hoo checked with 9 5 . The flop dropped Q 4 J . Neilson bet 200,000 and won the pot.

Hand 112 Neilson on the button raised to 400, 000 with 9 9 . Lynskey called with J 7 . The flop dropped 5 5 7 . Lynskey raised to 750,000 and Neilson called. Lynskey continued with 675,000 on the 4 turn. Neilson called. The river 8 got another 375,000 bet from Lynskey which Neilson calmly called. Neilson won the pot.

Hand 106 Teng Yang Hoo limped with 8 8 and Alexander Lynskey checked with K 7 Flop came Q A J Both checked and saw a T turn. Lynskey bet the minimum and Hoo folded.

Hand 107 Hoo raised to 400,000 with A Q and Daniel Neilson called in the big blind with 4 2 . Flop came 4 9 3 . Neilson check-called the 200,000 bet to see a 5 turn. Neilson led with 300,000 and Hoo called to see a K river. Both checked and Neilson showed to scoop 980,000

Hand 108 Lynskey raised to 400,000 with K 7 and Hoo jammed with K 9 Lynskey moved out of the way.

Hand 109 Neilson raised to 400,000 with K 4 and Ho shoved all in with A K . Neilson folded to give Hoo the pot.

The final three players have agreed to an ICM chop, which guarantees them all a lump sum. A total of PHP 440,000 has been left on the table to play for, as well as the Bronze Lion Trophy.

The blinds have been cut to 15 minutes as a result of the deal.