Bonifacio Mondalo won the Gods of Poker Manila 2026 Opening Event for PHP843,600, while Fendy Kosasih collected PHP4,278,700 after taking down the PHP682,500 Demigods Challenge at City of Dreams Manila.
Day 2 of The Arena of Champions concluded in the early hours of August 23, with several side-event winners also decided and 17 players advancing from the Pandora’s Mystery Bounty starting flights.
Mondalo Takes Opening Event After Top-Two Chop
Thirty-two players returned for the Opening Event final day, each already guaranteed at least PHP36,000.
Young Min Kang entered the nine-handed final table with the chip lead ahead of Sandro Encinas and Mondalo. Kang eliminated Encinas in sixth place after pocket fours made a full house against pocket kings, then sent Rodolfo Dela Fuente out in fifth.
Itay Kay finished fourth before play reached three-handed between Kang, Mondalo and Ryan Tan.
Mondalo then called Kang’s shove with K♠Q♠ and held the better kicker against K♣10♠, leaving Mondalo and Tan heads-up.
The remaining prize money had already been chopped between the final two, with both players also receiving a GOP Manila Main Event entry. Only one heads-up hand was needed to decide the title.
Mondalo held A♣10♠ against Tan’s 5♣4♦ in a preflop all-in. An ace on the flop gave Mondalo the lead, and he went on to secure the trophy.
Mondalo finished with PHP843,600, while Tan received PHP843,500.
Opening Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonifacio Mondalo | Philippines | PHP843,600* |
| 2 | Ryan Tan | Philippines | PHP843,500* |
| 3 | Young Min Kang | South Korea | PHP394,900 |
| 4 | Itay Kay | Israel | PHP288,600 |
| 5 | Rodolfo Dela Fuente | Philippines | PHP221,400 |
| 6 | Sandro Encinas | Peru | PHP176,200 |
| 7 | Thanh Cao Nguyen | Vietnam | PHP144,200 |
| 8 | Joemark Vasay | Philippines | PHP120,700 |
| 9 | Martin Astorga | Philippines | PHP102,900 |
*Mondalo and Tan chopped the remaining prize money and each received a GOP Manila Main Event entry in addition to the listed payout.
Kosasih Wins Demigods Challenge and Black Gauntlet
Fendy Kosasih won the PHP682,500 Demigods Challenge and collected PHP4,278,700 for first place.
The event drew 12 players, with only the top two places paid.
Kosasih and fellow Indonesian Harry Halim reached the final four alongside Filipinos Lester Edoc and Marc Rivera. Kosasih tripled up after rivering a flush with K♦9♦ in a three-way pot, while Halim’s pocket tens made a set in the side pot as Edoc was eliminated.
Rivera then ran Q♦Q♣ into Kosasih’s K♥K♠ and failed to improve, sending Kosasih and Halim into heads-up play.
Halim doubled once with J♦8♦ against Kosasih’s A♥K♥, but Kosasih regained control before the deciding hand.
Halim shoved for just under 15 big blinds with K♥K♣ and Kosasih called with A♠9♣. The J♣10♠9♥A♣9♠ board gave Kosasih nines full of aces and the title.
“Finally I have a gauntlet,” Kosasih said after securing the black gauntlet trophy.
Kosasih collected PHP4,278,700, while Halim finished runner-up for PHP2,837,300.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fendy Kosasih | Indonesia | PHP4,278,700 |
| 2 | Harry Halim | Indonesia | PHP2,837,300 |
Suzuki, Hong and Gerrits Win Side Events
Ryan Hong became the first trophy winner of Day 2 with victory in Event #10 Open Face Chinese.
Honoka Suzuki won Aphrodite’s Event after defeating Bianca Flores heads-up. Maggy Mae Cenon finished third, with the top three places paid.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honoka Suzuki | Japan | PHP115,200 |
| 2 | Bianca Flores | Philippines | PHP69,100 |
| 3 | Maggy Mae Cenon | Philippines | PHP46,100 |
Martijn Gerrits finished runner-up to Keijiro Shimojo in the Hyper Turbo Big O before returning to Event #13 Omaha Dealer’s Choice and defeating Hanh Tran heads-up.
The win gave Gerrits his third trophy across the first two days of GOP Manila 2026.
Lester Edoc later won a Hyper Turbo event for PHP100,800.
Seventeen Players Advance from Pandora’s Mystery Bounty Flights
Four starting flights were also completed in Pandora’s Mystery Bounty.
Flight A drew 26 entries, followed by 33 in Flight B, 29 in Flight C and 26 in Flight D.
Joris Michl was among the players to advance after recovering from less than one big blind during the late flight.
At the end of Day 2, a total of 17 players had advanced to the final, which was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. local time on August 23.
At the close of Day 2, PHP2,660,000 in cash prizes and another PHP1,340,000 in Mystery Bounty prizes remained in play, with the final scheduled to restart at 8,000/16,000 blinds and a 16,000 big blind ante.
