$2,500 APPT Manila Main Event | 2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) - Manila

08-26-2007 14:30 UTC+8

Player Profile - Bas van Liere

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Seat 7: Bas van Liere
Hometown: The Hague, Netherlands
Chip Count: 207,000

This Dutchman was planning a trip to the Philippines before he won a satellite seat to the APPT Manila event on PokerStars. Suddenly, the 30-year-old from The Hague had his trip paid for and, after making the final table, will have plenty of pocket money to spend on his travels throughout Southeast Asia. After studying systems engineering and working in the IT industry, van Liere started his own online business, which sells designer furniture. Like other final table participants, he’s a relative newcomer to poker, having taken up the game less than a year ago.

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08-26-2007 14:29 UTC+8

Player Profile - Maor Feldinger

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Seat 6: Maor Feldinger
Hometown: Ashadod, Israel
Chip Count: 199,000

Plans for a relaxing trip to the Philippines after qualifying online for the APPT Manila event have taken a dramatic turn for this 25-year-old from Ashadod, a small town to the north of the Israeli capital Tel Aviv. Maor Feldinger has played online at PokerStars for about three years (as live poker is not available in Israel) and like Roger Spets, is playing in his first live tournament. “Wow” is how Feldinger described reaching a final table at his first attempt. A computer science student, Feldinger is hoping to emulate the feats of famed Israeli player Eli Elezra, who won the $3000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo (eight-or-better) title at the 2007 World Series of Poker.

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08-26-2007 14:28 UTC+8

Player Profile - Ira Blumenthal

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Seat 5: Ira Blumenthal
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Chip Count: 184,000

They’ll be breaking out the champagne in the offices of law firm Blumenthal, Richter & Sumet in Bangkok on Monday should senior partner Ira Blumenthal triumph at the final table of the APPT Manila tournament. The father of two manages a staff of 60, but still finds time to enjoy a regular game of poker after getting his first taste of the game 10 years ago. Like the majority of the final-table qualifiers, Blumenthal has no big-time tournament poker experience but remains confident of prevailing over the equally inexperienced field.

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08-26-2007 14:24 UTC+8

Player Profile - Brett Parise

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Seat 4: Brett Parise
Chip Count: 173,000)

After staging a remarkable recovery at the end of Day Two (he doubled up twice in the last 15 minutes), 22-year-old Brett Parise has little to lose in his first final table experience. However, the college student (he’s studying political science and business economics in California) had a taste of the limelight when he started in the Mixed Hold’em event at this year’s World Series of Poker. With four years of poker experience under his belt, the Indiana native battled through a massive field in a PokerStars freeroll to win his seat to the APPT in Manila, which marks just the second time he’s trekked outside the United States. Brett was extremely lucky to make it to this event given that he didn't even receive his passport until two hours before his flight!

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08-26-2007 14:21 UTC+8

Player Profile - Roger Spets

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Seat 3: Roger Spets
Hometown: Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
Chip Count: 413,000

Imagine turning up to Wimbledon or Augusta and winning your first professional tennis or golf tournament. Virtually impossible, but Roger Spets is within reach of achieving such a feat. Spets, a 40-year-old originally from Sweden but a resident of Malaysia for the past 10 years, is playing in his first live poker tournament. The owner of a wealth management company, Spets has been playing poker for only two and a half years, starting out in home games before turning his focus to cash games and sit ‘n’ goes on PokerStars. Despite being home to one of the highest ratios of online players in the world, Sweden has turned out surprisingly few champions on the world tournament poker stage (Martin de Knijff is a rare exception), but Spets could soon write a new chapter in Swedish poker history.

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08-26-2007 14:20 UTC+8

Player Profile - Nicholas Bamman

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Seat 2: Nicholas Bamman
Hometown: Princeton, New Jersey USA
Chip Count: 240,000

Home to one of the most famous educational institutions in the United States, Princeton is also home to American player Nicholas Bamman. Bamman didn’t really get serious about his poker until he finished his political science course at Northwestern University in Chicago. He’s since applied to attend law school at Fordham University in New York City. Earlier this year, the 23-year-old chalked up an impressive second placing in the weekly $1000 tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, earning him $16,250. He bought in to the APPT Manila tournament for the full $2500, but is on the cusp of a handy return on that investment.

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08-26-2007 14:17 UTC+8

Player Profile - Derick Hernandez

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Seat 1: Derick Hernandez
Hometown: Manila, Philippines
Chip Count: 287,000

Born and raised in the host city for the first event in Asia Pacific Poker Tour history, Derick Hernandez is the only Filipino still in the running to win the title. The 35-year-old studied business administration at the Far Eastern University in Manila and now runs a cabinet-making business. Primarily an online player over the past seven years, Hernandez won a PokerStars weekly tournament (the precursor to the Sunday Million) in 2004. Earlier in this event, Hernandez survived a three-way all-in in which world pool champ Alex Pagulayan was eliminated and Day One chip leader David Saab was crippled. One thing’s for sure -- Hernandez can be assured plenty of support at the final table from the hometown fans.

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08-26-2007 13:59 UTC+8

Play is About to Commence

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The hard working Asia Pacific Poker Tour team

The final table is set, the players are finishing their interviews and we are about 20 minutes away from the start of play for the final table of the inaugural PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour event in Manila.

255 players from 34 individual countries started this tournament, and we are down to our final nine. There can only be one Champion, stay tuned for all your live updates, and check out our Final Table Live simulator once the cards are in the air.