The Impossible Comeback: Flo Campomanes Falls Just Short of a Second APPT Manila Title

Florencio “Flo” Campomanes came within one victory of becoming a two-time APPT Manila Main Event champion—but his run to second place may be remembered as one of the most remarkable comebacks of the festival.

Campomanes reached heads-up against Mike Takayama after appearing to be almost certain to finish third.

During three-handed play, Campomanes opened to 3.5 million chips while leaving only 125,000 chips behind. With blinds at 400,000/800,000, that represented approximately 0.15 big blinds.

For most tournament situations, that would normally signal the end.

Campomanes refused to go quietly.

The 2019 APPT Manila champion doubled through Takayama four times. He then put 6.6 million chips at risk against South Korea’s Seunghyuk Jung, finding himself ahead on the flop before improving to quads on the turn.

In a matter of several hands, Campomanes had transformed his microscopic stack into approximately 14 million chips.

The comeback changed the complexion of the final table.

Jung was eventually eliminated by Takayama in third place for ₱6,955,000, leaving the two Filipino stars heads-up for the championship.

Campomanes began the duel with approximately 13 million chips against Takayama’s 29 million. He had already survived a situation in which his entire tournament stack was smaller than the ante.

But the comeback eventually stopped one position short.

Campomanes committed his final 12.5 million chips, and Takayama made the call. The board provided no help for the former champion, ending his attempt to win a second APPT Manila Main Event title.

Campomanes collected ₱9,700,000 for second place.

For Takayama, it was the title.

For Campomanes, it was a runner-up finish after one of the wildest short-stack recoveries of the tournament.

And for Philippine poker, it was another all-Filipino championship battle on one of Asia’s biggest stages.