Will Davies wins WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event!
Will Davies has staged an epic final table comeback to win the inaugural WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast and claim a first prize of $252,729.
Better known as the tournament director of popular Sydney poker venue The Poker Palace, Davies showed tremendous patience early on to see out the short stacks and cruise into 3-handed play against tough duo Alex Lynskey and Mike Maddocks.
But the table turned massively in his favour following a huge all-in pre-flop hand against Alex Lynskey in which Davies flopped top two holding A♥J♥ against the A♣Q♥ of his opponent.
From there, Lynskey was quickly eliminated and after a softening up period heads-up against Maddocks, Davies again prevailed in the first major clash between the two when his 7♥7♠ held on against A♦7♦.
Aside from the hefty cash prize, Davies now holds the honour of winning the largest WPT main event field in Asia-Pacific history, with the 1,113 entries bettering the 898 players that took their seats at WPT National China in 2014.
It was also largest prize pool for a WPT tournament at The Star Gold Coast ($1,502,550), beating the $1,480,500 from WPT Australia in 2019.
From the chilly winter nights of Sydney to the shining sun of the Gold Coast, Will Davies will forever be the 2021 WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event champion!
| Final table payouts | ||
| 1st | Will Davies | $252,729 |
| 2nd | Mike Maddocks | $177,166 |
| 3rd | Alex Lynskey | $114,960 |
| 4th | Sheldon Mayer | $85,210 |
| 5th | Joseph Sandaev | $64,429 |
| 6th | Omer Silajdzija | 52,063 |
| 7th | Nuno Da Silva | 43,018 |
| 8th | Ratul Sayak | 34,108 |
| 9th | Josh Yeomans | 25,288 |
Mike Maddocks eliminated in 2nd ($177,166)
And just like that it’s all over!
A short-stacked Mike Maddocks got it all in pre-flop with A♦7♦ and found himself up against the 7♥7♠ of Will Davies.
The flop gave Maddocks some additional outs as it fell Q♦10♠3♦ but no more help arrived with the 4♣ on the turn and 9♣ on the river.
As the last card was dealt a huge cheer erupted from Davies’ raucous rail – a fitting end to an amazing tournament here at The Star Gold Coast!
Davies dashes out of the blocks
Mike Maddocks opened to 700 and Will Davies called from the blind.
The flop came 4♠A♠3♣ and Davies checked to Maddocks who bet 535,000. Davies called.
Both players checked the 9♠ before Davies led out for 1,650,000 when the J♥ hit the river. Maddocks folded.
Will Davies – 25 million
Mike Maddocks – 8.5 million
Face-off!
Certainly no animosity between Mike Maddocks and Will Davies, with both players laughing and joking with the media gallery during the heads-up photo shoot before getting back right down to business.
Maddocks vs Davies. Who’s it gonna be, folks? Stay with us!
Heads-up
We enter heads-up play with Will Davies holding a roughly 2:1 chip advantage over Mike Maddocks.
The first dozen hands have been very cagey with only one 3-bet to be found and most hands folded by the turn.
Alex Lynskey eliminated in 3rd ($114,960)
Will Davies put Alex Lynskey all-in for his last 2 million and Lynskey made the call.
Lynskey found himself with the better starting hand with Q♠8♦ to the 9♥10♣ of Davies, but the board gave Davies a straight as it ran out 4♠7♦8♥A♥6♦ to end Lynskey’s night in unlucky fashion.
He heads to the cashier while Davies climbs over 20 million.
We are now heads-up!
Huge double for Davies
Alex Lynskey opened to 600,000 on the button and Mike Maddocks made the call. Will Davies then 3-bet to 2,075,000.
Lynskey thought briefly before announcing he was all-in and Davies called.
It was Davies at risk holding A♥J♥ against the A♣Q♥ of Lynskey but the flop was kind, falling A♦J♦10♠.
The turn and river bricked as Davies gets lucky to double to 18.9 million.
Lynskey plummets to just over 2 million.
Level 33: Blinds 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Updated chip counts
| Player | Chips |
| Mike Maddocks | 12,425,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 11,325,000 |
| Will Davies | 9,700,000 |
Break time
Players are on a 10-minute break.
Maddocks takes control
Mike Maddocks has seized back control of the 3-way battle following a series of aggressive moves and a nice pot won at the expense of Alex Lynskey.
After betting both the flop and turn and getting calls, Maddocks fired a bet of 2.6 million on a four-club board and Lynskey thought for a good 4 minutes before eventually making the call.
He quickly mucked when Maddocks showed the K♣4♥.
| Mike Maddocks | 20,000,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 9,200,000 |
| Will Davies | 4,100,000 |
Lynskey with the power
Alex Lynskey opened the button 550,000 and Mike Maddocks 3-bet to 2.1 million.
Will Davies got out of the way before Lynskey announce he was all-in for around 9 million more on top. Maddocks thought long and hard but eventually mucked.
| Alex Lynskey | 14,500,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 12,000,000 |
| Will Davies | 6,600,000 |
Lynskey loses the lead
Mike Maddocks is now our new chip leader – albeit slightly – after clashing in another hand with Alex Lynskey.
After Maddocks min-raised pre-flop, Alex Lynskey called to go heads-up to a flop of 6♥5♥6♦; Lynskey check-called Maddocks’ bet of 1.1 million, then repeated his action on the turn and river of K♣, A♣ for 2.1 million and 4.5 million respectively.
Maddocks revealed 8♣6♣ for trips and Lynskey let his hand go.
Mike Maddocks – 14,200,000
Alex Lynskey – 13,300,000
Level 32: Blinds 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Final 3 chip counts
| Player | Chips |
| Alex Lynskey | 15,500,000 |
| Will Davies | 8,920,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 7,320,000 |
Sheldon Mayer eliminated in 4th ($85,210)
Sheldon Mayer shoved his remaining 1.5 million into the middle with A♠5♠ and Will Davies made the call with A♣10♦.
The 10♣K♦9♣4♣4♥ board finished the job for Davies to send Sheldon to the payout desk after a tremendous 4th place finish.
Lynskey getting paid
Alex Lynskey continues to extend his chip lead and has managed to eke out some tasty river calls from his opponents.
In the first of two recent hands, Lynskey fired out a bet of 1.2 million on a board of 7♣8♦9♠A♥10♣ and Sheldon Mayer thought long and hard before making the call. Lynksey showed J♦9♦ for the rivered straight.
A few hands later Lynskey fired all three streets, including an 850,000 river bet, on an A♦Q♣8♠Q♥6♠ board with Maddocks calling him down before mucking when Lynksey showed A♥4♦.
Lynskey is up to 14 million.
Joseph Sandaev eliminated in 5th ($64,429)
Two of the big stacks have just gone head to head in a monster pre-flop clash that has seen Joseph Sandaev hit the rail barely an hour after holding a comfortable chip lead.
Alex Lynskey opened to 400,000 in the hijack and Joseph Sandaev 3-bet to 1.1 million. Lynskey thought briefly before announcing he was all-in for just over 6 million. Sandaev quickly called and rolled over A♣K♥ but was a dog against Lynskey’s K♣K♠.
The board bricked for Sandaev, running out 10♠J♠3♣2♠7♦ as Lynskey soars back into the chip lead with more than 12 million.
Photo time!
Just a small sample of the latest images through the PMA lens.
Omer Silajdzija eliminated in 6th ($52,063)
After Will Davies opened to 400,000 in middle position and was called by Omer Silajdzija on the button, Davies checked it over to Omer Silajdzija on a flop of 3♦4♣8♠.
Silajdzija then announced he was all-in, sending Davies into the tank. He eventually made the call and found himself ahead with A♣Q♠ to Silajdzija’s 9♣10♣.
The turn was the J♦ and the river the 5♣ to send the pot Davies’ way and send another to the rail.
We are now down to five players remaining.
Will Davies – 7.1 million
Omer Silajdzija – BUSTED
Stack stats
| Joseph Sandaev | 8,575,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 6,750,000 |
| Will Davies | 6,075,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 5,850,000 |
| Sheldon Mayer | 4,325,000 |
| Omer Silajdzija | 2,350,000 |
Level 31: Blinds 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Break it up!
The remaining six players are on a 10-minute break.
Nuno da Silva eliminated in 7th ($43,018)
Nuno da Silva shoved for his remaining 1.3 million and Joseph Sandaev made the call in the big blind.
Da Silva turned over A♥K♦ to be racing against the 7♥7♣ of Sandaev, but the flop was a disaster as it fell 7♠2♠2♥.
The turn A♦ have da Silva some outs but the river 4♣ sealed his fate.
With that we are down to six players remaining.
Silajdzija doubles
Joseph Sandaev opened to 300,000 and Omer Silajdzija shoved for his last 1.18 million. Sandaev shook his head and laughed before making the call.
It was Silajdzija with the A♦K♠ against the 10♦J♣ of Sandaev and the better hand held on the [invalid notations] board.
Silajdzija moves to 2.6 million.
Ratul Sayak eliminated in 8th ($34,108)
Ratul Sayak shoved from early position and received a call from Will Davies.
Sayak found himself behind holding A♣8♣ against the A♠10♦ and the board was of no assistance, falling 10♠5♥2♥4♣4♥ to send one to the rail.
Davies moves to 2.7 million and we’re down to seven remaining.
Graced by poker royalty
As anyone who’s here at the WPTDeepStacks will tell you, the energy through the Star Poker Room throughout this series is palpable, with tables constantly at full capacity for both tournaments and cash games.
Given that this is the biggest poker event to have taken place since midway through last year, it comes as no surprise that we have a cavalcade of the biggest and best names in the business from across the country and our Main Event final table rail is no exception.
Nuno Da Silva’s twin brother Bruno has been keeping close watch since the beginning of Day 2, but the Will Davies contingent is being led by his partner and Poker Palace Tournament Executive Lauren Mooney, who flew in from Sydney this morning.
Mooney, who moved to Australia from Ireland after cutting her teeth on the European circuit, has joined Rehman Kassam, Hassam Habib, Daniel Gabriel and many others on the rail in the hope that Davies can bring it home after their Managing Director Rod Meneses shipped the WPT League Sydney Annual Poker Championship Main Event at the Pavilion Poker Room last month!
Level 30: Blinds 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Lynskey induces river call from Sayak
Ratul Sayak opened to 250,000 from early position and Alex Lynskey called out of the blinds.
On the Q♠A♦8♣ flop, Sayak fired another 250,000 and Lynskey called. The turn was the 10♥ and this time Lynskey check-called another bet of 350,000 from Sayak.
On the rived 8♦, Lynskey led out for 1.25 million. Sayak quickly called and tabled A♥K♣ but it wasn’t enough to topple Lynskey’s turned straight holding K♥J♦.
Sayak is down to 1.6 million.
Sayak sinking
Ratul Sayak opened to 250,000 in the hijack and Sheldon Mayer called in the big blind.
The flop came 8♦9♣4♠ and Mayer check-called a 175,000 c-bet. The turn was the K♠ and this time Mayer called a bet of 450,000.
Both players checked the 3♠ river with Sayak mucking when Mayer flashed the A♠9♥
Sheldon Mayer – 4.7 million
Ratul Sayak – 2.2 million
Sandaev getting busy
Although play has slowed down considerably over the past hour, with no particularly damaging clashes since Ratul Sayak doubled through Mike Maddocks, Joseph Sandaev has been active and building his stack nicely.
After recently making a great call with third pair on a river bet from Sayak, he just stole another pot after 3-betting from the blinds to 825,000 following a late position open from Alex Lynskey and a call from Sayak.
Sandaev is our chip leader with more than 9 million of the nearly 33.5 million chips in play.
Check mates
Our remaining eight players have eased off the gas pedal a bit, but Mike Maddocks is back in the lead after a multi-way pot in one of the first hands after the break.
Nuno Da Silva limped in from UTG+1 and the action folded around to Maddocks who called from the button.
Ratul Sayak completed his small blind and Joseph Sandaev checked his option from the big blind before all four players checked down the board of J♥3♠10♥5♣7♥.
The players all glanced at Maddocks who rolled up 7♠6♥ for a rivered pair, prompting the other three to throw their hands away.
It might be small ball action, but it’s enough to embiggen Maddocks’ stack, now worth more than 8 million.
Updated chip counts
| Joseph Sandaev | 7,575,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 7,300,000 |
| Ratul Sayak | 4,250,000 |
| Sheldon Mayer | 3,925,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 3,650,000 |
| Omer Silajdzija | 3,150,000 |
| Will Davies | 2,550,000 |
| Nuno Da Silva | 2,550,000 |
Level 29: Blinds 75,000/125,000 (125,000)
Break time
Players are on a 10-minute break
Sandaev gets the river call
Joseph Sandaev opened in early position and Alex Lynskey called out of the blinds.
The flop fell 7♣K♥Q♠ and Lynskey checked to Sandaev who fired 420,000. Lynskey called to see a J♥ turn. This time Lynskey check-called a bet of 750,000.
On the river A♣ Lynskey checked again and Sandaev fired 900,000. This sent Lynskey deep in to the tank as he pondered which hands Sandaev could hold that contained a Ten. Eventually he called and mucked as Sandaev showed 9♠10♠.
Joseph Sandaev – 6 million
Alex Lynskey – 3.7 million
Sayak spikes the set to double and stay alive
Will Davies opened to 210,000 UTG+1 and both Alex Lynskey and Mike Maddocks called. Ratul Sayak then shoved for his remaining 1.5 million and it was folded back to Maddocks who snapped him off.
Sayak’s tournament life was in serious peril holding Q♥Q♦ against the K♥K♣ of Maddocks, but the Q♣2♠9♣ flop rocketed him into the lead where he stayed to double through.
Mike Maddocks – 6.4 million
Ratul Sayak – 2.8 million
Tough fold
Ratul Sayak shoved for 1.25 million from UTG and it was folded around to Nuno Da Silva who thought long and hard before folding.
Sheldon Mayer, Alex Lynskey and Miker Maddocks all folded too as Sayak takes it down.
“I had 9s,” Da Silva said, lamenting his fold over concerns about having three players to act behind him.
“We should have all folded out of position to make it easier for you,” Maddocks laughed.
Sayak has 1.5 million.
WPTDeepStacks Main Event Day 1C Presentation video
ICYMI: The World Poker Tour and Star Gold Coast will be partnering up once again for the first-ever Main Tour series, to be held in October (dates and schedule TBC). Naturally, PMA were on deck to capture the scoop on film.
Game of chess
The mind games have well and truly begun. After Alex Lynskey forced a river fold from Maddocks with a big river bet as the two went toe to toe, Lynskey was at it again in a pot against Sheldon Mayer.
On a 3♠Q♦9♣10♦ board, Mayer bet 180,000 only for Lynskey to re-raise to 681 ,000.
Sheldon then popped it up again to 1.7 million with Lynskey quickly laying it down.
Level 28: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
The final nine
Omer Silajdzija Alex Lynskey Michael Maddocks Ratul Sayak Joseph Sandaev Will Davies Nuno Da Silva Josh Yeomans Sheldon Mayer
Maddocks takes a chunk off Sayak
Mike Maddocks has been by far the most active player today, getting involved in most pots and putting plenty of pressure on his final table opponents. But he’s also making some hands.
Opening to 160,000 on the button and receiving calls from both Ratul Sayak and Joseph Sandaev, Maddocks fired another 100,000 on the K♦3♥2♣ flop.
Sayak made the call and they took a 6♥ turn. Maddocks bet another 390,000 and Sayak called again.
When the 6♥ landed on the river, Sayak checked to Maddocks who fired a hefty bet of 1.16 million. Sayak tanked for at leats three minutes before eventually making the call, but mucked when Maddocks showed K♥6♠ for top two.
Sayak falls to 1.6 million.
Sheldon doubles through Maddocks
On a J♥10♦6♥ flop, Sheldon Mayer min-check-raised Mike Maddocks’ continuation bet and snap-called when Maddocks moved all-in.
Mayer was in good shape holding 6♠6♦ but still had some outs to dodge. The turn duly fell A♣ and 2♣ to see Sheldon double through to 3.3 million while Maddocks drops back to 7.5 million.
Josh Yeomans eliminated in 9th ($25,288)
Josh Yeomans got his 900,000 stack in holding J♣J♦ but needed to dodge an Ace against the A♠10♠ of Nuno Da Silva.
The flop had other ideas, falling A♦Q♣5♠ and when no help arrived on the turn and river we were down to 8 players remaining.
Maddocks clips Davies
After Nuno Da Silva opened to 160,000, both Mike Maddocks and Will Davies called to see a flop of A♥K♦2♣
It was checked to Maddocks who bet 140,000 with Davies making the call.
On the turn Q♠ Davies checked again and Maddocks fired a bet of 460,000. Davies called.
On the river, Davies checked to Maddocks who carefully compiled a stack of 880,000 and pushed it into the middle. Davies tanked for around two minutes before eventually mucking.
Mike Maddocks – 9 million
Will Davies – 2.1 million
Yeomans doubles
Short stack Josh Yeomans was on the wrong end of a brutal hand late yesterday holdings Aces, but he has gone some way towards clawing himself back after scoring a fortunate double to stay alive today.
Yeomans got his last 370,000 in holding A♣5♠ to be dominated by the A♥Q♣ of Omer Silajdzija.
The board ran out 7♠4♠7♦5♥K♠ as Yeomans catches the turn to double through.
Final table seat allocations & chip counts
| Position | Player | Chips |
| Seat 1 | Omer Silajdzija | 3,810,000 |
| Seat 2 | Alex Lynskey | 6,750,000 |
| Seat 3 | Mike Maddocks | 7,895,000 |
| Seat 4 | Ratul Sayak | 5,270,000 |
| Seat 5 | Joseph Sandaev | 2,565,000 |
| Seat 6 | Will Davies | 3,040,000 |
| Seat 7 | Nuno Da Silva | 1,660,000 |
| Seat 8 | Josh Yeomans | 370,000 |
| Seat 9 | Sheldon Mayer | 2,045,000 |
Attila Bognar eliminated in 10th place ($19,503)
That didn’t take long!
On the very first hand of the day, it was folded to Alex Lynskey who put Attila Bognar all-in. Bognar made the call with A♥J♠ and it was off to the races.
The 9♣A♠5♣ flop put Bognar in front but the 3♦ turn meant he was drawing dead, and the 5♥ river filled Lynskey up.
We are now taking a 10-minute break as players are moved to the same table.
Our final table is set!
Level 27: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Ready to start
The players are seated and we are now counting down to the start of today’s action.
Play will start with two tables of five and will revert to a final table of nine once the first player is eliminated.
Welcome back!
Welcome to PokerMedia Australia’s live coverage of the third and final day of the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast main event.
After four long days of poker action and a record-breaking 1,113 entries, just 10 players return this morning to battle it out to crown our champion.
Canadian turned naturalized Australian Mike Maddocks takes the chip lead into the final day, having emerged after a gruelling 13 hours of play on Day 2 that saw the field whittled down from 165 to the unofficial final table.
Despite engaging in a running battle with 2018 WSOP November Niner Alex Lynskey, both players established themselves among the big stacks by the end of the day, with Maddocks sitting pretty on top.
Maddocks and Lynskey in particular will be hot favourites to battle it out for the title on Monday when the final table plays down to a winner.
The final 10 chip counts are as follows:
| Player | Chips |
| Mike Maddocks | 7,695,000 |
| Ratul Sayak | 5,850,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 5,770,000 |
| Omer Silajdzija | 3,810,000 |
| Will Davies | 3,040,000 |
| Joseph Sandaev | 2,765,000 |
| Sheldon Mayer | 2,050,000 |
| Attila Bognar | 1,010,000 |
| Nuno Da Silva | 1,660,000 |
| Josh Yeomans | 370,000 |
The remaining players all guaranteed a minimum payday of $19,503 with the winner to receive $252,751.
Play resumes at 11.30am, so be sure to visit at pokermedia.com.au as we bring you all the Day 2 action from The Star Gold Coast.
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