Wouter Beltz has spent October collecting results around Asia, but Monday’s APPT Championship final table in Manila could be the one that changes his tournament record. The Dutch player starts with 7,645,000 chips and a substantial lead in a 479-entry event paying ₱13.2 million to its champion.
One player has nearly a third of the chips
After three days at Okada Manila, Beltz has put real distance between himself and the other eight finalists. His 7,645,000 stack is nearly double the 4,053,000 held by Australian Graham Cowan, with local player Jason Kyle Magbanua next on 3,075,000. In total, Beltz controls roughly 32% of the chips remaining in play.
That is a commanding position for any chip leader, although it does not make him a guaranteed winner. One big confrontation with Cowan could change the balance, and Magbanua has enough chips to cause trouble for either of them. Beltz’s task is to convert the lead into sustained pressure without donating an easy double-up.
He began Sunday’s play third in chips while fellow Dutch player Joris Michl led the surviving 35. By the time the final nine were confirmed, Michl had gone out in 18th for ₱580,000 and Beltz was the man to catch. The run has put him one good day away from a career-defining cash.
APPT Championship final table chip counts
| Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| Wouter Beltz | Netherlands | 7,645,000 |
| Graham Cowan | Australia | 4,053,000 |
| Jason Kyle Magbanua | Philippines | 3,075,000 |
| Sung Jin Yun | South Korea | 2,275,000 |
| William Ysmael | Philippines | 1,880,000 |
| Viacheslav Zotov | Russia | 1,670,000 |
| Julian Hasse | Germany | 1,620,000 |
| John Tech | Philippines | 845,000 |
| Lee Han Sic | South Korea | 810,000 |
Why the prize jumps matter
Each of the nine remaining players has already secured ₱1,246,240, a worthwhile return on the ₱165,000 entry. First place is an entirely different proposition at ₱13.2 million. The 479 entries produced a final prize pool of ₱68,286,240, comfortably above the event’s advertised ₱60 million guarantee.
These are the spots where ICM pressure becomes more than a training-room concept. Beltz can use his chips to challenge middle stacks who would rather not be eliminated before the shorter players. But those players can also respond, and a mistimed shove into the wrong opponent can undo hours of careful accumulation.
At the other end of the table, John Tech and Lee Han Sic are both below one million chips. As the short stacks, they face a different calculation from Beltz, particularly when an elimination could deliver a useful pay jump. Their precise options will depend on the blind level and positions when cards go in the air.
Beltz already has one Manila trophy
There is an easy detail to overlook in all this: Beltz has already won an event during this APPT Championship festival. On October 9, he topped the ten-entry ₱100,000 Megastack High Roller for ₱443,200, roughly $7,054. The field was small, but it gave him a trophy before the main attraction had even begun.
His recent schedule also included the APT Jeju High Roller, where he finished seventh on October 3 for approximately $32,207. Poker Type has previously examined Jeju’s rise as a poker destination, and Beltz is a good example of how frequently the Asia-Pacific circuit now draws travelling European professionals. He has gone from a respectable Jeju finish to leading one of Manila’s biggest tournaments in little more than two weeks.
There is a personal milestone within reach. According to The Hendon Mob’s recorded results before this final, Beltz’s biggest live tournament cash was $138,975 for winning a WSOP Circuit Main Event in Venlo in May 2023. The Manila winner’s prize would beat that mark by a considerable margin, though the exact dollar comparison depends on the exchange rate.
A lead worth protecting, not sitting on
As the final table resumes at 1 p.m. Manila time on Monday, October 19, the interesting question is how aggressively Beltz chooses to defend his advantage. There is enough depth among the top three stacks that he cannot simply push everyone around. The shorter players will be watching those confrontations as closely as anyone.
The final table is also a strong finish for the host nation, with Magbanua, Ysmael and Tech carrying Filipino hopes into the last nine. Beltz begins as the clear favourite on chips, but plenty of difficult decisions remain between the opening hand and the ₱13.2 million first prize. The reported chip counts are those at the end of Day 3, not live updates from Monday’s play.
