Congratulations to Young-shin Im; Winner of the PokerStars.net APPT Cebu Main Event (PHP 5,810,000)!
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After five intense days of poker in the Mecca of paradise that is Cebu, Philippines, a champion has been crowned in the penultimate stop of season four of the 2010 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour!
236 players anted up PHP 100,000 each to partake in yet another PokerStars.net sponsored tournament in the Philippines, and although the numbers were down on the five previous events, an outstanding and highly calibre field all ventured to the beautiful Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa.
WSOP Bracelet holders, APPT and ANZPT Champions, tournament veterans, amateurs and online qualifiers were all in attendance, but many saw their tournament end over the two day ones as only 127 players managed to bag their chips.
Day 2 saw fast and furious action as we played down till just thirty-five remained; seven spots from the money with Kim Gap Young capturing a huge chip lead. Day 3 would follow a similar speed of play as we reached the money before two separate flurries of eliminations put us at a final table of nine with Young well in control again.
With only eight eliminations standing between one player and the title, we would see a slight stall in the action before Raymond Lapitan, Richard En, Jukka Juvonen and Basilios Diakokomninos all falling before the first break. With Young still holding a massive lead, it would be the uncovering that Young-chin Im was his off-felt partner, and it was no surprise that the fellow Korean was sitting nicely placed second in chips. Australian ex-pat and overnight second chip leader Daren Yoon was unable to gather any real momentum on the day and soon found himself out the door in fifth place before Mikael Rosen's elimination saw the final three lock into a tough struggle.
Chips interchanged between the three freely, but it was Im who soared ahead of the pack before her partner - and expected heads-up opponent - was bounced to the rail by Australian Fabiano Michael.
Entering the heads-up duel at slightly better than a two-to-one disadvantage, Michael turned to friend and professional poker player Van Marcus for advice - something of which carries some weight since Marcus held the trophy aloft in the 2008 APPT Manila Main Event.
That advice served Michael a great help as the amateur player applied an aggressive Marcus-like approach to the heads-up battle and managed to snatch the lead only to see it taken back the next hand before being sent to the rail in 2nd place in an unusual hand where Im's 
outdrew his 
.
For Young-shin Im, this not only represents her second APPT cash but also maiden tournament victory for the Korean who has attracted attention from all the media outlets since taking her seat in the tournament. Displaying bouts of aggression, composure, patience and willingness to win, Im is not only a worthy winner of the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Cebu Main Event and recipient of the PHP 5,810,000 first prize, but also one to watch out for on the circuit.
PokerNews would like to congratulate Young-shin Im on a fantastically well played tournament, but also the PokerStars and Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa staff for their wonderful display of hospitality and kindness throughout our stay here in the magnificent Cebu, Philippines.
For the PokerNews Live Reporting Team, we may be waving goodbye to paradise, but over in the USA, the PokerStars.net NAPT Los Angeles Main Event is down to it's final day, before the APPT concludes in Sydney from December 7th-12th. See you on the tournament trail! And until then may your Aces greet Kings, flushes best straights and all your triple-barrel bluffs go uncalled!