April 25-26
Combined tournament earnings of the final 9 players.
-
1ST
Mike Takayama
$309,821
-
2ND
John Costiniano
$210,417
-
3RD
Ethan 'Rampage' Yau
$138,772
-
4TH
Danny Tang
$114,639
-
5TH
Konstantin Held
$92,057
-
6TH
Chih Wei Fan
$72,220
-
7TH
Halim Harry
$54,131
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8TH
Ren Lin
$40,051
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9TH
Fendy Kosasih
$31,006
The APT Taipei $10K Super High Roller (SHR) may have only the second-biggest buy-in of the series currently taking place in the Taiwanese capital — the $25K Superstar Challenge starts on Monday — but it still delivered a knockout show on Sunday worthy of top billing for any poker fans around the world.
Part of it was the prizes at stake; with a prizepool of $1.3M, it’s the richest SHR the tour has ever put on.
Part of it was the roster of top talent that showed up to compete from across the globe, including one of the USA’s most successful poker vloggers, Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau.
But perhaps the most memorable moment was the heads-up confrontation between two longtime friends and countrymen, proud to represent The Philippines on the world stage.
After two long days of play, fellow Filipinos John Costiniano and Mike Takayama posed for the cameras next to the trophy they would duel for, fists raised in a classic boxing stance.
But forget Ali vs Frazier, this was a thriller made in Manila.
Eventually it would be Takayama who would deliver the KO, taking the $309K up top and the Pewter Lion trophy.
For Costiniano it was another near-miss at Red Space in Taipei, following his runner-up finish in the 2025 APT Championship Main Event.
And for Rampage, it all came down to a flip.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s rewind a little to Sunday’s early rounds.
Prizefighters worth watching
Whereas Saturday’s record-breaking National Cup was big on the numbers but short on globally recognizable faces, the Super High Roller was stacked with more than a few household names. Assuming your household plays a bit of poker, of course.
Joseph Cheong, Daniel Smiljkovic, Dominik Nitsche, Andy Stacks and GPI Player of the Year Punnat Punsri were among those trying to turn $10K into $300K+.
None of the above would make it through to the final table, but that’s not to say it lacked star power.
When the 30 survivors of Day 1 were distilled down to the last nine, there was plenty of cream risen to the top.
In addition to Yau, Costiniano and Takayama, the final table featured Hong Kong’s #1 Danny Tang, China’s ever-entertaining Ren Lin and Germany’s jet-setting high roller Konstantin Held.
A-K is a drawing hand
Rampage held the chip lead heading into the business end of the tourney, but there was plenty of poker left to play.
Not for everyone, though. Fendy Kosasih of Indonesia found that out the hard way when he called off the last of his chips with 
and the board showing 
. Konstantin Held had 
, leaving Kosasih drawing thin.
The on the river meant that Held held — and we promise that’s the last time we’ll use that particular pun. Kosasih left with close to $31K for his run to the final table.
An eerily similar fate soon befell the ever-entertaining Ren Lin, who also picked up big slick — — and found himself heads-up versus Held, who had pocket jacks.
All-in preflop, Lin couldn’t find the cards he needed as the board ran out 
, and Held… err… remained in front. Lin, smiling as ever, took $40K for his 8th place finish.
Next out was another affable, smiling player in Harry Halim. The man from Indonesia took a stand from the big blind with 
, 3-betting Mike Takayama’s cutoff raise by jamming his last dozen big blinds.
Takayama had pocket 8s, which proved to be good enough to see off Halim in 7th for $54K, and take the tourney down to six.
Takayama sees off two more…
Taiwan’s Chih Wei Fan was out next in 6th, leaving with $72K after Takayama rivered a cruel backdoor straight. Fan had flopped trips, and played it well, but it was not to be his day.
Despite his demolition work early on, Held’s stack was soon dwindling. The German may not have had the most chips, but he certainly had the loudest rail in the room. They left when he did, in 5th place.
Down to his last 1.2M after Constiniano set a brutally effective trap with pocket aces, with blinds at 125K/250K with a 250K big blind ante, Held defended his big blind when Takayama made it 600K to go from the button.
Held had 
, Takayama had 
and hit top pair on the 
flop.
Held shoved, Takayama called. The cards were flipped and the German’s rail groaned. Then came the on the turn and the groans became a roar as Held took the lead.
The river, however, was the , delivering Takayama a second pair and the pot.
Takayama’s own rail cheered, to respectful applause from Held’s mostly Australian contingent.
“This place will be quiet now, and you’ll miss us,” one yelled as they left with their friend, some $92K better off.
And two more…
Four-handed play seemed to agree with Danny Tang. Takayama switched gears, opening up and applying more pressure, much of it soaked up capably by Tang who took chunks from the man who had held the chip lead.
Eventually the two found themselves with equal stacks. And that’s when they both got them in the middle.
With blinds at 150K/300K, Takayama opened to 700K from the button and Tang came over the top, all-in for 4.8M from the big blind. Takayama called, leaving just a few chips behind.
Takayama had 
, dominating Tang’s 
and leaving Hong Kong’s leading tournament earner looking for clubs or a king. None came as the board ran out 
.
And two more!
From there Costiniano began to pull away, Rampage began to get short, and then seemingly all of a sudden the man from the USA was out.
It was a classic cooler. With blinds at 200K/400K, Takayama raised to 900K from the button and Rampage woke up with in the big blind. He popped it to 2.8M and Takayama jammed, again leaving himself just a few chips if Rampage called.
He did just that, showing his big slick as Takayama turned over pocket 9s.
The 
flop gave Rampage a gutshot straight draw to go with his overcards, but it was not to be.
Rampage left in 3rd with $138K, and the two men from The Philippines were the only ones left.
A deal was mentioned, but fell through, so the two sat down to play it out. The Filipino population of the room materialized on the rail in force to celebrate a guaranteed 1-2 finish for their nation.
Takayama started with the chip lead, and extended it as play went on. Costiniano survived a first all-in for a double-up of his shrinking stack, but couldn’t survive a second.
‘A great moment for The Philippines’
The knockout blow was a haymaker.
Costiniano, with 4-bet a third of his stack preflop, and quickly called Takayama’s shove. Takayama had aces, and soon also had the pot, the trophy and the $308K top prize.
Along the way, he dispatched all but two of his final table opponents, and with his recent win creeps close to the top of the all-time money list for The Philippines.
Costiniano, beaten to the punch once more, had to settle for a respectable $210K. Both finalists receive a $10K seat in the APT Championship Main Event this coming November.
“I’ve known John for a long time, maybe 15 years,” a proud Takayama told PokerOrg, on stage with his friends dancing around him. “It’s a great moment for The Philippines.”
Takayama, the first Filipino to win a WSOP bracelet, is now also the first from his nation to win an APT Mega Lion trophy. And it turns out the timing couldn’t have been better.
“It’s been a long time, like five months, I haven’t won,” he added. “I’ve got it now.”
Note that all dollar amounts mentioned in this article have been converted from Taiwanese New Dollars, are approximate and correct at time of writing.
Images courtesy of APT.
