James Mendoza to Represent Philippines at WSOP 2013

James Mendoza to Represent Philippines at WSOP 2013 April 30, 2013 April 30, 2013 Tim Glocks https://www.poker-online.com/author/tim
Posted on  Apr 30, 2013 | Updated on  Apr 30, 2013 by Tim Glocks

James Peng MendozaJames Peng Mendoza won the Philippine Poker Tour’s (PPT) Battle of Champions, for which he got a prize package to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2013.

The WSOP 2013 prize package includes spending money, accommodations, airfare, and the $10,000 buy-in to the WSOP 2013 Main Event, which is scheduled to be held in June at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

Expressing his feelings, Mendoza said,

It’s a dream come true for me. Representing the Philippines is such an honor for a 22-year-old man who always dreamed of having a very good poker career and be able to play those chips at the WSOP main event.

The first season of the PPT attracted a large number of talented poker players from all over Philippines, and ultimately, one of them was chosen to represent their country at the WSOP 2013. The PPT began on April 14 at the Metro Card Club.

Mendoza gained control over the final table even before the heads-up match began. He quickly beat back opponents such as Rebel Magdagsang, Dexter Bryan Lun, Dennis Soriano, Rene Pacayra, Augie Nasser, Jonathan Sy, Martin Corpuz, and Lester Edoc. All these players had emerged as the champions of PPT’s monthly legs. Although Mendoza lost a number of chips at one point, he quickly recovered, knocked Sy off the table, and finally played heads-up against Edoc.

Only one hand was played in the heads-up between Edoc and Mendoza. Edoc’s five and seven of spades turned out to be no match against Mendoza’s nine and six of spades. As a result, Mendoz emerged as the champion of the event and won the WSOP 2013 prize package.

Jojo Allado, founder of PPT, was quite impressed with Mendoza’s poker prowess. Having taken part in the WSOP, Allado had returned to his country dreaming of starting the PPT and identifying a poker player to represent Philippines at the WSOP.

Stating that the PPT is proud of having James Peng Mendoza represent the country at the WSOP 2013, he said that Mendoza had showed a lot of determination while playing the Battle of Champions. Promising that the next PPT season will present a larger and better tournament series, he said:

When we started this tour, we knew it was going to be a challenge. Now that the first season is over, we are thankful to the Philippine poker community for supporting us and helping us to make this a success.

Tim GlocksAuthor

Tim Glocks is a retired professor, he currently contributes to Poker-Online.com. Tim enjoys playing poker and has taken it up as a hobby since his retirement. He has taken part in many online tournaments and has become a veteran in a short space of time. Visit Tim’s google + page here