Mike Takayama Becomes First Filipino to Win Asia Player of the Year
The Phlippines’ Mike Takayama, a 29-year-old former billiards pro from Mandaluyong City, was recently named the 2018 Asia Player of the Year (APOY), becoming the first Filipino to win the title. The race, which ran from November 27, 2017 through August 12 of this year, awarded a $20,000 prize, which Takayama plans to invest in a billiards-themed café.
"I feel very happy because winning the APOY is a dream!" Takayama told the PokerStars Blog. "A lot of players also aspire to win this award. I hope they use me as an inspiration. There are a lot of excellent Filipino poker players who are still waiting for their big break. Just continue playing and you can also win like me."
He added: “Perseverance is key. I would also like to thank my wife for supporting me through everything, and I would also like to thank God and my friends.”
Road to the Title
Takayama’s poker career began when he won a local invitational event for a brand-new BMW car, so it’s no surprise he became infatuated with the game. Since 2010, Takayama has amassed $936,583 in tournament earnings, which puts him third on the Philippines all-time money list behind the late Noli Francisco ($1,350,550) and John Tech ($1,106,221).
Takayama’s most notable score during the APOY race was topping a field of 2,065 entries to win the 2018 World Series of Poker Event #59: $1,000 NLH Super Turbo Bounty for $198,568 and a gold bracelet. It was the first-ever WSOP bracelet collected by a player from the Philippines.
Takayama: "I'm the first Filipino to win a bracelet, so I'm really, really, really happy about that."
"I'm very happy," Takayama told WSOP officials at the time, "because winning the bracelet is everyone's dream. I'm the first Filipino to win a bracelet, so I'm really, really, really happy about that."
Other scores include winning a $240 Aria Poker Classic Event for $5,470, finishing 421st in the WSOP Main Event for $29,625, second in May’s Manila Megastack 9 Single Day High Roller for $20,314, winning the APL Road Series Angeles City Hyper Turbo for $1,080, and second in the APPT Macau Poker Cup 28 Baby Dragon for $95,000.
Additionally, Takayama, who is a Metro Team Pro, has already secured a seat into January’s PSPC after capturing a $30K Platinum Pass at the PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series Season 5 where he won both the Warm-Up event for $5,106 and the Main Event for $17,875.
