Late last week the International Poker Open Battle of the Nations was hosted by the Resorts World Manila, seeing poker teams from around the Asia-Pacific region converge to compete for the coveted crown. In the end, it was Team Philippines who managed to earn the first place win, being sponsored by the Poker King Club at Solaire.

Players had to compete in a series of heads-up matches, with the members of Team Philippines, Andrew Gaw, Lester Edoc and John Tech beating opponents from Korea first, then China and then Japan. Tech won the second round of the competition, where players had to take a seat at a table for an eight man sit and go round. Ian Brion and Yves Sy eliminated their competitors with Jay Tolon and Marc Rivera earning first and third place at their table.

Martin Gonzales and Czardy and Euryd Rivera were able to add points to the team’s total. Ashby Rivera served as the coach for the team while Neil Arce was the captain, who did not compete. The Team Philippines players earned 88 points, which was quite a lead from the second place team, Korea who earned the runner up finish with 73 points. China took third place with 64 points while Japan finished in fourth with 58 points.

The win was celebrated by the Team Philippines as well as their sponsor, the Poker King Club at Solaire Resort & Casino, who is getting ready to host the World Poker Tour National Philippines Festival of Poker from the 2nd to the 8th of January.