The Arena of Champions is underway at City of Dreams Manila, bringing the fifth edition of the Gods of Poker live series to the Philippines with 82 events and PHP60 million in guaranteed prize pools.
Staged in cooperation with Soul Poker Club, the 10-day festival is being played inside the Grand Ballroom at City of Dreams Manila. The stop also marks Gods of Poker's first event in the Philippines, the home country of series founder and tournament director Lloyd Fontillas.
Fontillas has more than 15 years of tournament-directing experience. GOP says its tournament format uses shorter late-registration windows, while the Manila schedule also features a broad mix of poker variants beyond standard No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha.
PHP30 Million Guaranteed in the GOP Manila Main Event
The PHP82,500 GOP Manila Main Event carries the largest listed guarantee on the schedule at PHP30 million.
The Main Event features five starting flights, with each flight scheduled to play down to approximately 13.5% of the field and into the money. Players who survive their respective flights will return for Day 2 on August 28, 2026.
From there, play is scheduled to continue until either the final 18 players or the final table remains, depending on the overall field size.
Flight B follows a different structure from the other starting flights. It is the only two-day flight, with five levels on its opening day and just one blind increase. Late registration remains open until the restart, after which the flight plays down to the money.
Mixed Games and High Rollers Add Variety
The Manila schedule extends well beyond No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha.
Five-card and six-card games, Open Face Chinese, Double Board Bomb Pot, Dealer's Choice and Draw variants are all included across the 82-event schedule.
A PHP110,000 Single Day High Roller was among the early events. Registration closed with 13 entries, producing a PHP1,248,000 prize pool for the top three finishers.
Turbo and Hyper Turbo High Roller events are also listed later in the festival, adding faster-paced structures to the schedule.
Player of the Series Race Continues in Manila
Results throughout the festival count toward the Player of the Series leaderboard.
The overall points leader will receive the Crown Trophy along with USD1,500 in GOP tournament credits. Second place is worth USD1,000 in tournament credits, while third place receives USD500.
Dutch player Martijn Gerrits arrived in Manila having already collected multiple GOP trophies and a Player of the Series title during the series' first 12 months.
At the time of the original report, Gerrits was competing with fellow Dutchman Tony Khoang in Event #2 Big O for a top prize of PHP69,120. The source did not yet report a final result.
Opening Event Starts With 82 Entries in Flight A
Flight A of the Opening Event drew 82 entries, with the top 12 places paid.
Flight B had reached at least 39 entries during Level 2 when the original report was published. The source also listed Flight C for 6 p.m. local time and Flight D for 9 p.m., figures that reflected the schedule at the time of that report.
With 82 events across 10 days and the Main Event scheduled to bring all surviving players back for Day 2 on August 28, The Arena of Champions gives GOP its first Philippines stop and one of the broadest tournament lineups described in the series' Manila schedule.
