The Asia-Pacific Poker Tour is heading back to Manila, and it is bringing ₱132 million in guarantees with it. APPT Manila 2026 takes over Cove Manila at Okada Manila from July 28 to August 10 — a 14-day marathon that already ranks among the largest stops on this year’s Asian poker calendar.
The anchor is the APPT Main Event, running August 6 to 10 for an ₱80,000 buy-in and a ₱60 million guaranteed prize pool, one of the heftiest guaranteed Main Events anywhere in the region. Around it sits a full ladder of buy-ins, from the ₱10,000 Okada Kickoff (₱2 million guaranteed) on the opening day to a ₱300,000 Super High Roller for the deepest pockets in the building.
A Schedule Built for Every Bankroll
Between those two extremes, there is something for almost everyone. The PokerStars Red Dragon returns from July 31 to August 3 with a ₱50,000 buy-in and a ₱15 million guarantee. The APPT National opens a ₱30,000 path to an ₱8 million pool, while the APPT Open stacks another ₱15 million onto the board at ₱60,000. Bounty hunters get both a Mystery Bounty and a Survivor Knockout, and the high-roller set can close the festival with a ₱150,000 event worth ₱5 million. With well over 100 numbered tournaments on the sheet, the back half of the schedule barely pauses for breath.
Justin Ong’s Double to Live Up To
Last year set a daunting benchmark. APPT Manila 2025 drew 10,168 entries and pushed total prize money past ₱142 million, with the Main Event alone attracting 1,246 runners. Filipino pro Justin Ong took it down for $256,370 — and he had captured the Red Dragon just days earlier, completing one of the most impressive doubles in recent APPT history. Whoever lifts the 2026 trophy will be measured against that run.
Poker Under the Dome
The venue is half the appeal. Cove Manila is a 9,000-square-metre arena beneath a 30-metre glass dome with Manila Bay in the background, set inside a Forbes five-star resort roughly eight kilometres from NAIA airport. Somuchpoker will be on the floor throughout, so chip counts, eliminations and winner recaps will be easy to track as the fields swell through August. We’ll be watching to see which APAC names rise to the top.