Ivan Govorov Wins the APT Manila Classic Main Event as Tour Continues Breaking Records
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The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Manila Classic is over and once again the tour has broken several records. It seems the APT sets new records for attendances and prize pools at every stop, and Manila continued that impressive trend.
By the time the last champion lifted their trophy aloft, APT Manila Classic had seen 1,268 unique players purchase 8,406 buy-ins and create prize pools worth a combined PHP 350,124,235 (approx. $6,015,880).
The Main Event was one of the record-breaking APT Manila Classic tournaments. Some 1,202 players bought in, including re-entries, building a PHP 62,311,680 ($1,059,823) prize pool, making it the tour's largest-ever Philippines-based Main Event. Some 18% of the entire schedule's prize money stemmed from this event alone!
Asian Poker Tour Manila Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (PHP) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Govorov | Russia | 11,069,680 | $192,498 |
| 2 | Samuel Mullur | Austria | 6,507,000 | $113,154 |
| 3 | Dylan Foster | Australia | 4,577,000 | $79,592 |
| 4 | Or Nezer | Israel | 3,430,000 | $59,646 |
| 5 | Alexander Ugay | Russia | 2,628,000 | $45,700 |
| 6 | Dmitri Belikov | Russia | 1,943,000 | $33,788 |
| 7 | Jie Zhang | Hong Kong | 1,481,000 | $25,754 |
| 8 | Adalsteinn Karlsson | Iceland | 1,055,000 | $18,346 |
| 9 | Hirota Iwamoto | Japan | 819,000 | $14,242 |
monetary conversions according to The Hendon Mob Database
The Main Event paid out 172 places and some several poker superstars helped themselves to some prize money. Steve Yea, Dominik Nitsche, Mike Takayama, Martin Finger, Joshua McCully, David Erquiaga, and Marc Rivera, were among the in-the-money finishers.
Each of the nine finalists locked in the equivalent of over $14,000 for their efforts, with each eying the $192,495 top prize.
Japan's Hirota Iwamoto was the first finalist heading to the exits. Iceland's Adalsteinn Karlsson joined Iwamoto at the cashier's desk before Jie Zhang of Hong Kong bowed out in seventh.
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring winner Dmitri Belikov was cut down in sixth, with Belikov's fellow Russian Alexander Ugay busting in fifth for a career-best haul worth $45,700.
Israel's Or Nezer, who finished fourth in the $3,500 Wynn Summer Classic in June 2024 for $386,342, was eliminated in fourth place in Manila. Nezer navigated to a sixth-place finish in an APT Manila Classic High Roller for an additional $12,799.
The Main Event progressed to heads-up when Australia's Dylan Foster was cut down in third. The $79,592 Foster collected was his second-largest haul from a live event, slightly more than the $77,773 he received for a runner-up finish in the 2023 APT Summer Series in Hanoi, Vietnam, but trailing his $144,969 prize from his runner-up finish in the 2022 WPTWPTDeepStacks Sydney $5K Challenge.
Heads-up saw Govorov take on the highly decorated Austrian Samuel Mullur. The latter has a WSOP bracelet to his name after taking down the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em GGMillion$ High Rollers Championship at the 2023 WSOP Paradise for $2,736,300. Muller didn't add the 2025 APT Manila Classic Main Event title to his impressive resume, but his second-place finish, worth $113,154, pushed his live tournament earnings past $4.9 million.
Govorov received the 24K gold Main Event trophy plus $192,498 in prize money. That sum beat the $167,500 Govorov banked for winning the $2,200 NLHE Warm-Up event at the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series, and takes his lifetime earnings north of $588,000.
Other Big Results From the APT Manila Classic
Every event was well-attended but a couple of tournaments stand out because of the huge top prizes they awarded.
Germany's Tobias Schwecht triumphed in the APT Super High Roller, leaving a trail of 80 opponents in his wake. Schecht scooped a $211,178 top prize after defeating Ricky Huang heads-up. Such luminaries as Scott Margereson and Punnat Punsri were present at Schwecht's final table.
Schwecht was also part of the Superstar Challenge. A field of 21, including three re-entries, exchanged PHP 1,500,000 ($25,000) for a chance to become the champion of the festival's biggest buy-in event.
Punnat Punsri was the first to cash, busting in fourth for $61,468. Third place and $92,220 went to Schwecht before Bao Qiang Ho lost the one-on-one battle with Australia's Matthew Wakeman and received the $143,472 consolation prize. Wakeman added another prestigious trophy to his collect, while boosting his bankroll by $215,193.
Next Up on the Asian Poker Tour
The APT enjoys a brief hiatus before it is next in action. APT Taipei is scheduled to run at the Asia Poker Arena and CTP Poker Club in Taipei City from April 25 through May 4. The tour then returns to Manila, but to the City of Dreams, from May 30 until June 8.
Stops in Incheon, Jeju, and Taipei conclude the 2025 seasonal the latter is the acts as the 2025 APT Championship in mid-November.
