Kim finishes as Day 1D chipleader; that’s a wrap!
The race to the top of the Day 1D leader board was a close one, but after a fast and furious final hour, Visal Kim has pipped Marco Perri at the post to finish as the chip leader with 527,000!
Perri also hit the half-million chip mark, bagging up 510,000, while Peter Kassiotes (426,000), Madi Kishore (402,000) and Frank Mezzasalma (342,000), round out the top five.
Other feature players out of the 33 runners to have qualified from the night session include Shane Pearce, Sammy Baghdadi, Nemo Knezvic, Mathew Stafa, Nurlan Boobekov and Slav Rypinski.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC MAIN EVENT – END OF DAY 1D CHIP COUNTS
| Visal Kim | 527,000 |
| Marco Perri | 510,000 |
| Peter Kassiotes | 426,000 |
| Madi Kishore | 402,000 |
| Frank Mezzasalma | 342,000 |
| Stefan Todorovic | 326,000 |
| Shane Pearce | 323,000 |
| Zoran Janjetovic | 320,000 |
| Sammy Baghdadi | 289,000 |
| Nemo Knezevic | 288,000 |
| Samrani Samrani | 274,000 |
| Mai Nguyen | 258,000 |
| Mathew Stafa | 240,000 |
| Kenta Ito | 225,000 |
| Charles Tran | 203,000 |
| Kurt Simpson | 195,000 |
| Liet Ung | 191,000 |
| Nurlan Boobekov | 190,000 |
| Ali Khouiss | 166,000 |
| David O’Brien | 147,000 |
| John Yacoub | 141,000 |
| Velibor Ilic | 140,000 |
| Jamal Ishac | 136,000 |
| Alan Janke | 129,000 |
| Chris Chen | 124,000 |
| James Lai | 110,000 |
| Amjed Slewa | 108,000 |
| Richie Samia | 105,000 |
| George Boustani | 92,000 |
| Slav Rypinski | 72,000 |
| Kyleen Slewa | 62,000 |
| Tim De Pater | 50,000 |
| Albert Chan | 26,000 |
And with that, our Day 1 double-header is done and dusted! Join us again here on the PokerMedia Australia Live Reporting channel for Day 2, which kicks off at 12pm AEST and find out who will be taking home eight stacks of high society plus the QPC Sydney Main Event ring!
Until then, from all of us here at St John’s Park Bowling Club, thanks for you company and we’ll see you again real soon. ‘Bye for now!
P-K-K-O
Shiwan “PK” Mahmud and Antonio Tavella have both hit the rail as action begins to wrap up here at the Pavilion.
Earlier, another three-way-all-in-pre-flop siutation played out over on Table 3; Mahmud was gambling the last of his chips with A♣3♣, but although he was dominated by Kyleen Slewaa’s K♠K♣, Zoran Janjetovic’s 8♦8♣ hit a runner-runner flush on the board of J♦10♦6♣7♦6♦, resulting in Mahmud’s elimination and crippling Slewaa down to around 70K.
We then headed back over to Table 8, where Mathew Stafa had called off Tavella’s 3♥3♦ with A♦J♥, winning the flip after turning two pair on the board of Q♦4♦A♥J♠5♣, leaving Tavella with just 7,000 which he relinquished to another player a few hands later.
But although Marlo Perri took a small hit to his stack after his A♥Q♦ failed to improve on the 6♥9♥7♠J♦6♣ board against Nemo Knezevic’s K♠K♦, Perri has been able to calmly negotiate his way through the carnage to finish this flight with more than 500K!
Our full wrap-up of today’s proceedings will be coming your way very soon.
| Marlo Perri | 510,000 |
| Nemo Knezevic | 288,000 |
| Mathew Stafa | 230,000 |
| Kyleen Slewaa | 70,000 |
| Shiwan “PK” Mahmud | BUSTED! |
| Antonio Tavella | BUSTED! |
Level 14: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Mitri mauled
Peter Kassiotes has now moved past the half-million chip mark, eliminating George Mitri as we head into the final level of play.
Again, all the money was in the middle pre-flop; Mitri held 10♥10♦ and found himself flipping against the A♦K♦ of Kassiotes, however the dealer fanned out a board of J♦5♦7♠K♣7♣ to give Kassiotes the bigger two pair.
| Peter Kassiotes | 528,000 |
| George Mitri | BUSTED! |
Tolomeo let go
The penultimate level of this Day 1 flight has once again seen a surge in action across the felt, with David Tolomeo and Connie Diakovasilis eliminated in quick session.
Earlier on Table 7, Tolomeo open-shoved with A♠K♠, only to be snapped off by Frank Mezzasalma who rolled up A♦A♣, which held all the way down the board of 9♣7♥K♦5♥3♦.
Then over on Table 3, Visal Kim then found himself on the right end of a three-way all-in pre-flop situation against Connie Diakovasilis and Tim De Pater.
Diakovasilis: J♥J♣
Kim: A♣K♣
De Pater: A♥K♦
Board: 10♣K♥3♣9♣3♦
After the chips were cut down, Diakovasilis was confirmed as the shortest stack and also took her leave as Kim moved beyond 350,000.
| Visal Kim | 354,000 |
| Frank Mezzasalma | 345,000 |
| Tim De Pater | 119,000 |
| Daniel Tolomeo | BUSTED! |
| Connie Diakovasilis | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 2,000/5,000 (5,000)
Time keeps on slippin’ …
As the clock ticked down to the final break of the night, action at the tables has slowed to a crawl, with the added pressure to make it through to Day 2 mounting.
This was perhaps best demonstrated in a recent hand between Slav Rypinski and Shane Pearce, where we picked up the action on a board that read 4♥A♣9♥2♣ into a pot worth about 50,000.
Rypinski had opened for 18,000 before Pearce shoved over the top, sending Rypinski into the tank before the clock was called by Peter Brikla.
Pavilion boss Bruno Rao stepped in and asked how much time had passed.
“It’s been about two minutes, I reckon,” Brikla replied.
Rypinski was unimpressed.
“If two minutes is too long for you,” fumed Rypinski, “then you better learn patience, sir!”
“I’m sorry!” Brikla pleaded. “I’m happy to retract the call if you need.”
“I’m happy to give him more time,” Pearce said.
Rypinksi dismissed the request with a wave.
“Don’t worry, it’s done now.”
Rypinski then deliberated for almost the full 30 seconds before slamming his hand down into the muck.
| Shane Pearce | 364,000 |
| Slav Rypinski | 74,000 |
Time to take a breather before we return to play out the last two levels of the night. Back in 10!
Wyn’s loss ratio
Wyn Pham’s run in the QPC Sydney Main Event has just come to an end at the hands of George Mitri.
After Mitri raised pre-flop to 9,500, Wynn shoved with 9♥9♦ for her last 14,500 before the action folded back around to Mtri, who snapped her off with A♣J♥.
A nine on the flop of 9-8-3 was enough to seal Wyn’s fate.
| George Mitri | 97,000 |
| Wyn Pham | BUSTED! |
Level 12: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Rampaaaaaage!
QPC Sydney Reload Rampage champion “Rocket” Rod Hooker has just picked off another player in empathic fashion as we head towards the end of this level.
All the money was in the middle before the flop, with an unknown opponent looking in great shape to double up with A♠A♣ against Hooker’s A♦Q♣, but Hooker kept the trend of epic hands going here at the Pavilion, freerolling to a straight flush on the board of 9♣K♣10♣3♦J♣ to send his adversary to the moon.
That’ll do it!
| Rod Hooker | 153,500 |
Welcome to the table
After both Shane Pearce and Peter Brikla were broken from the far side of the room onto Table 7, Pearce came out with a raise to 7,500 from under the gun and action folded around to Sammy Baghdadi, who appeared to be in a daze listening to the music playing in his headphones before noticing Pearce was there.
“Raising already? You only just sat down!” Baghdadi exclaimed.
“I’ve been here for a while now,” Pearce replied, patting the table to where the button was positioned a few hands before. “I moved over with Peter.”
“It’s true,” quipped another player. “I saw them holding hands as they walked together from the other side!”
This elicited a ripple of laughs around the table as Baghdadi flicked out the chips to call, before the dealer spread a flop of 10♠3♣4♠.
Baghdadi then check-called Pearce’s bet of 8,000 and repeated the action after Pearce opened for 14,000 on the turn of the 7♦; Baghdadi then checked again after the river A♣, prompting Pearce to fire out a third shell worth 23,000.
Baghdadi mulled it over for about three minutes before reluctantly letting his hand go.
| Shane Pierce | 337,000 |
| Sammy Bagdhadi | 178,000 |
Level 11: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Brikla kicks Orth
The field in tonight’s Day 1D flight has been reduced down to 60 after WPT League Illawarra’s Tyson Orth was eliminated by Peter Brikla.
As Nemo Knezevic recalled, Orth had moved the last of his money in pre-flop with pocket queens and was called down by Brikla who tabled pocket eights. An eight on the flop gave Brikla top set and was enough to send Orth … ummmm, orf.
As Brikla continued to tidy his stacks, Sammy Lucisano jammed the last of his chips in holding 9♠9♥, but was called off by Shane Pearce who turned up A♠5♦.
“Come on, dealer! Give him an Ace, I wanna go home!” Lucisano cried.
Of course, Murphy’s law dictates that if someone wants to go home after moving all-in, they ain’t goin’ nowhere … and Lucisano sat back down after the dealer spread the board of K♣7♥3♦2♠9♣.
| Shane Pearce | 290,000 |
| Peter Brikla | 237,000 |
| Sammy Lucisano | 43,500 |
| Tyson Orth | BUSTED! |
Unlucky, Lucky
WPT League Sydney stalwart Lucky Legato has just been sent to the rail at the hands of Nurlan Boobekov.
Legato moved the last of his money into the middle pre-flop holding J♥J♣ and found himself in a do-or-die flip against the A♠K♣ of Boobekov, but he quickly took his leave after the dealer fanned out the board of 4♥2♥A♦9♦5♣.
| Nurlan Boobekov | 390,000 |
| Lucky Legato | BUSTED! |
Level 10: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Payday!
With the fourth and final Day 1 flight now locked out, the prize pool numbers have now been confirmed! 618 entries have generated a total prize pool of $370,800, with our winner taking home a massive $80,000 in cold, hard cash and the coveted championship ring!
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC MAIN EVENT – PAYOUTS
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $80,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 |
| 3rd | $35,000 |
| 4th | $25,000 |
| 5th | $19,000 |
| 6th | $15,000 |
| 7th | $11,400 |
| 8th | $9,000 |
| 9th | $7,000 |
| 10th-12th | $5,800 |
| 13th-15th | $4,700 |
| 16th-18th | $3,800 |
| 19th-21st | $3,200 |
| 22nd-24th | $2,700 |
| 25th-27th | $2,300 |
| 28th-30th | $2,000 |
| 31st-33rd | $1,800 |
| 34th-37th | $1,600 |
| 38th-45th | $1,450 |
| 46th-54th | $1,300 |
| 55th-63rd | $1,200 |
Level 9: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Letters and numbers
Connie Diakovasilis – or “Connie D”, for short – has just padded her stack in one of the last hands before the next break.
The action folded around to Diakovasilis who limped in from the cut-off; Mathew Stafa then raised to 4,100 from the small blind and Velibor Ilic called from the big blind. Diakovasilis also called to make it three-handed to the flop of 5♠2♦7♣, where Stafa opened for 8,000 before Ilic min-raised to 16,000.
Diakovasilis called and Stafa folded, so it was heads-up to the turn of the 4♥, which then saw Ilic check his option to Dee, who open-shoved.
Ilic asked for a count, then after a minute or so he open-folded pocket sixes.
“What do I do there? I can’t call!” Ilic lamented.
“It’s okay,” Diakovasilis replied as she flashed pocket nines. “I had the best hand.”
| Connie Diakovasilis | 88,500 |
| Mathew Stafa | 126,000 |
| Velibor Ilic | 141,500 |
Our remaining 78 players are now on a 15-minute break. Back soon!
Chen evens things out
Over on Table 11, Chris Chen moved all-in on the turn with the board reading A♠10♦8♦5♥. Adi Dahari called, tabling Q♦Q♣, but Chen had flopped top pair with his A♣4♣.
A repeat 5♣ came down on the river and Chen scored the double-up, resulting in almost identical stack counts.
| Chris Chen | 83,000 |
| Adi Dahari | 82,000 |
Level 8: 800/1,600 (1,600)
#Wynning
Wyn Pham has moved up to more than 100,000 in style as we move into the final level of this stanza.
All the money was in the middle after a flop of 10♠8♠9♠; the all-in opponent had jagged top pair with his 10♣9♣ against Pham’s J♠10♥, but although he kept his lead with the 4♣ on the turn, the dealer peeled off the river Q♠. Straight flush!
And just before the blinds went up, Cody Osborne also picked up a big hand on the same table, flopping quads on a 5♦5♠4♣2♦Q♠ board holding 5♥5♣ and getting paid off by Luke Svenetti, who had turned the wheel with his A♦3♦. Must be nice!
| Cody Osborne | 149,000 |
| Wyn Pham | 114,000 |
| Luke Svenetti | 67,000 |
Finding Nemo
Over on Table 13, action folded around to Nemo Knezevic who raised to 2,500 from the cut-off; Ali Aria then three-bet it from the button to make 8,500 to go. Knezevic shoved over the top and Aria called.
Aria: 4♦4♣
Knezevic: A♣K♦
Aria kept the lead after the dealer spread a flop of 8♠2♦5♠, but the A♣ came down on the turn before the river Q♥.
“Make sure you let everyone know that Tyson Orth taught me how to do that!” Knezevic declared as he high-fived his fellow Gongster.
Down to 37,500 after that hand, Aria was eliminated a short time later.
| Nemo Knezevic | 79,000 |
| Ali Aria | BUSTED! |
Level 7: 600/1,200 (1,200)
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #17: Classic
And now it’s time for the final QPC Sydney Round-up, and it was Geetinder Singh that was laughing all the way to the bank after winning the Classic to earn himself a $4K payday and his first QPC ring!
Shiwan “PK” Mahmud earned himself another ITM finish for the series, while Tim De Pater, Marcial Dias, Richie Samia and Sammy Baghadi were amongst those to have also cashed out from this event.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC CLASSIC ($175 buy-in, 165 entries, 19 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Geetinder Singh | $4,390* |
| 2 | Yoad Agmon | $3,700* |
| 3 | Tim De Pater | $3,530* |
| 4 | Marcial Dias | $3,470* |
| 5 | Manoj Kapoor | $1,600 |
| 6 | Lavinia Van Bokhoven | $1,200 |
| 7 | Odion Airehenbuwa | $900 |
| 8 | Randee Shammo | $750 |
| 9 | Connie Diakovasilis | $600 |
The Mitri mystery
George Mitri has just padded his stack with some of Wyn Pham’s chips over on Table 8 as action continues in Day 1D of the QPC Sydney Main Event.
Action folded around to Mitri who limped in from the hijack before Pham raised to 6,500 from the cut-off, forcing the button and the blinds out of the way.
Mitri called, making it heads-up to a flop of K♠5♦4♦. Mitri check-called Pham’s bet of 6,500, then repeated his action after Pham opened for 10,000 after the turn of the 5♠ before leading out for 20,000 when the dealer produced the 2♦ on the river.
“I don’t like that diamond,” Pham muttered as she threw her hand into the muck.
“Kings in front?” Mitri asked.
“I had ace-king,” Pham replied.
“Huh … I had the K♦, I can tell you that much.”
Only the poker gods will know for certain.
| George Mitri | 160,000 |
| Wyn Pham | 75,000 |
Level 6: 500/1,000 (1,000)
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #16: PLO
Shane Khouiss has added to his family’s legacy, taking down the $350 PLO Event here at the Pavilion after winning last week’s special memorial tournament held at the Poker Palace in honour of his late father.
The son of Australian poker icon Sammy Khouiss secured his first QPC ring, along with $3,500 in prize money and a Main Event seat after cutting a three-handed ICM deal with Brian Campbell and David Moc.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC PLO ($350 buy-in, 61 entries, eight players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Shane Khouiss | $3,500* |
| 2 | Brian Campbell | $4,825* |
| 3 | David Moc | $3,500* |
| 4 | David Pham | $1,800 |
| 5 | Anthony Chan | $1,400 |
| 6 | Geetinder Singh | $1,100 |
| 7 | Jason Quarmby | $900 |
| 8 | Steven Huynh | $600 |
Jenke back in contention
Alan Jenke has secured a double-up through Van Mai on the feature table midway through the fifth level of play.
Our reporter picked up the action just after the dealer had run out a board of 2♥2♦J♥7♥3♠; Mai had tabled A♥10♠ for a busted flush draw, but Jenke had hooked up two pair with Q♥J♠ to scoop the pot.
| Alan Jenke | 48,500 |
| Van Mai | 29,500 |
Level 5: 400/800 (800)
Break it down
Our Day 1D players are now on their first 10-minute break of the night. We’ll be back to bring you more action from the felt right after this!
DAY 1C UPDATE: Eric’s a Xu-in
Now for the end of Day 1C results, and it was Eric Xu who coasted through to end the session as chip leader with 769,000. After having busted out earlier in the day, Glenn Marsom extracted great value with his second shell, finishing second overall with 512,000.
Steve Tupua (482,000), Shaun Zammit (459,000) and Robert Kwan (459,000) round out the top five for this flight, while Saliendra Sha, Shing Yiu, Theo Dharma, Joel Cohen, and Chad Inabinet were amongst the 33 runners to have bagged through to Day 2 tomorrow.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC MAIN EVENT – END OF DAY 1C CHIP COUNTS
| Eric Xu | 769,000 |
| Glenn Marsom | 512,000 |
| Steve Tupua | 482,000 |
| Shaun Zammit | 459,000 |
| Robert Kwan | 439,000 |
| Brad Livermore | 369,000 |
| Sailendra Sha | 314,000 |
| Rebecca Kildea | 290,000 |
| Sarie Habbi | 266,000 |
| Shing Yiu | 252,000 |
| Louis Luo | 248,000 |
| Calvin Solomon | 219,000 |
| Chad Inabinet | 210,000 |
| Adam Kelly | 201,000 |
| Jamie Temaro | 197,000 |
| Paul Sammour | 197,000 |
| Edson Wu | 193,000 |
| Joel Cohen | 185,000 |
| Theo Dharma | 181,000 |
| Justin Lie | 175,000 |
| Jay Little | 174,000 |
| Jaclyn Zammit | 164,000 |
| David Hirst | 150,000 |
| Joshua Stone | 148,000 |
| Collin Tran | 147,000 |
| David Nguyen | 147,000 |
| Stanley Liu | 138,000 |
| Anthony Nguyen | 115,000 |
| Dinh Pham | 109,000 |
| Daniel Galea | 99,000 |
| Rachel Dossantos | 94,000 |
| Joseph Lo Russo | 75,000 |
| Phillip Dong | 64,000 |
Level 4: 300/600 (600)
Chambers gets one through
The field for Day 1D has now crept up to 112 entries, and although action is at a premium right now, we did manage to catch a hand that featured Nurlan Boobekov and Tara Chambers III on Table 5.
The player in the UTG position limped in and action folded to Boobekov who raised to 1,500. The player in the small blind, however, called the UTG for 400 out of turn.
Chambers then three-bet it from the button, making it 4,000 to go before floor staff stepped in to advise the small blind player that the 400 would stay in the pot, but he would have all his options returned to him.
The small blind elected to fold and the UTG called, only to then fold to Chambers’ bet of 6,500 after the dealer spread a flop of 4♦2♠2♣.
| Nurlan Boobekov | 76,500 |
| Tara Chambers III | 58,500 |
Level 3: 200/400 (400)
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #15: Genesis
As Day 1D now creeps up to 100 entries, it’s time to bring you another edition of the QPC Sydney Round-up. Given that this is only the beginning of the final flight, it’s only fitting that we bring you the results of the Genesis Event, which was taken down by Joel Cohen.
Cohen took home more than $8,300 in total prize money after agreeing to a five-way ICM chop; Daniel Tolomeo recorded another deep run, along with Arsn Younadem and Rathe Kulen, who finished eight int the WPTDeepStacks Sydney Opening Event earlier this month.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC GENESIS ($350 buy-in, 135 entries, 16 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Joel Cohen | $8,375* |
| 2 | Van Mai | $5,000* |
| 3 | Daniel Tolomeo | $6,000* |
| 4 | Andry Saab | $5,000* |
| 5 | Ali Khouiss | $5,000* |
| 6 | Arsn Younadem | $2,150 |
| 7 | Marino Begue | $1,650 |
| 8 | Charles Tran | $1,250 |
| 9 | Rathe Kulen | $1,000 |
Level 2: 200/300
Back in action
Day 1D of the WPT League Sydney QPC Main Event is now officially underway!
90 entries have already been taken in the beginning of the first stanza, with George Psarras, Harry Basle and Ian Logan all coming in fresh from Day 1C, along with Marcial Dias, Wyn Pham, Harry Basle and WPT League Illawarra head honcho Tyson Orth, who came up the coast only hours ago to have a crack in the Big Dance.
Tim De Pater is also back in action and is off to a flying start, moving up to more than 200,000 in chips during the first level. Still a long way to go however, with 14 30-minute levels to get through before we bag and tag at around 3am local time.
Level 1: 100/200
On to the next one!
Pavilion boss Bruno Rao has now paused the clock and called for the last three hands in this flight, so as our Day 1C survivors now begin to bag and tag, the PMA Live Reporting Crew now turns their attention to the other side of the room.
Colour change!
One LoRusso to go
Joseph is now the last LoRusso in Day 1C of the Main Event, as his nephew Nick has been eliminated at the hands of Shing Yiu.
All the money in the middle before the flop; LoRusso was at risk with A♠Q♦, however Yiu had him covered with his A♥K♦, which rivered two pair on the board of J♥6♣2♣K♥A♣.
| Shing Yiu | 290,000 |
| Nick LoRusso | BUSTED! |
Level 14: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Dai K.O.
David Dai has been drummed out of Day 1C over the space of three consecutive hands at Table 2, as action kicks off in the fourth and final flight over on the far side of the Pavilion.
Earlier, Dai got his money in good with Q♥Q♣ against Joseph LoRusso’s A♦J♦, but was crippled down to 15,000 after the board was spread 4♦2♣7♦A♣Q♦ to give him the nut flush.
Steve Tupua then doubled through LoRusso in the very next hand, hooking up a set on the board of A♣J♣10♣8♦5♦ with his J♠J♦ against LoRusso’s K♦K♣.
Dai then jammed the last of his stack in with J♣10♦, but Tupua’s A♣J♠ paired up on the flop of 6♣5♠J♥ and held after the turn and river ran out Q♥, 9♣.
| Steve Tupua | 280,000 |
| Joseph LoRusso | 100,000 |
| David Dai | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 2,000/5,000 (5,000)
Dharma doubles
Theo Dharma has managed to secure a double-up through Glenn Marsom late in this level as we now prepare ourselves for the fourth and final Day 1 flight.
From under the gun, Marsom raised to 11,000 and action folded around to Dharma who completed his small blind. The big blind folded, so it was heads-up to a flop of 8♣9♣6♦.
Marsom c-bet for another 11,000 and Dharma called, then he check-called Marsom’s bet of 20,000 after the turn of the J♦ before open-shoving on the river 2♥. Marsom called and showed 10♦9♦ for middle pair, but Dharma had him beat with Q♠10♠ for the straight.
But amidst all of the action throughout this stanza, Eric Xu has been quietly going about his business, heading into the break with a monster stack worth almost 600,000 in chips!
Our players are now on their final 10-minute break and will be back to play out two more levels before we bag and tag.
| Eric Xu | 590,000 |
| Glenn Marsom | 230,000 |
| Theo Dharma | 188,000 |
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #14: One Shot
And now for something completely different … a QPC Sydney Round-up with Arsn Younadem!
“The Assyrian Warrior” completed his series trifecta after winning the $70 buy-in One Shot Event, defeating Laivn Oraha heads-up for almost $2,000 in prize money and another Main Event ticket.
From all of us here at the Pavilion and PMA, congratulations Arsn on your incredible achievements and best of luck in The Big Dance tomorrow!
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC ONE SHOT ($70 buy-in, 148 entries, 16 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Arsn Younadem | $1,925 |
| 2 | Laivn Oraha | $1,700 |
| 3 | Andriy Chernysh | $1,000 |
| 4 | Tevita Ahio | $700 |
| 5 | Shane Gray | $550 |
| 6 | Yousif Shaoni | $430 |
| 7 | Raymond El Hessen | $350 |
| 8 | Dwayne Tinoai | $300 |
| 9 | Andreas Apostolou | $250 |
Level 12: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Gulati gets lucky
No shortage of hands for the PMA Live Reporting Crew now, with Veronica Gulati doubling through Steve Marrone before their table was broken.
Gulati had put herself at risk after moving all-in with A♦7♦, only to see Marrone wake up with K♥K♣, but incredibly, the board was spread 7♥J♥5♣7♣A♥ to give her the double-up!
“Unbelieveable!” Marrone cried. “You can’t be happy with that call all-in!”
“I’m not,” Gulati replied, “but anyway … it happens.”
“All good,” Marrone said through a forced smile. “You gotta get lucky sometimes.”
Ian Logan’s run then came to an end over on Table 3; despite getting a series of small double-ups, Logan eventually fell at the hands of Saliendra Shah, moving the last of his money in with A♠5♠ but was smashed by Shah’s 6♥6♣ which improved to a set on the board of Q♠7♦6♠10♦K♦.
| Saliendra Shah | 305,000 |
| Veronica Gulati | 116,000 |
| Steve Marrone | 95,000 |
| Ian Logan | BUSTED! |
Carnage!
There’s been a barrage of action across the felt during this level, as we head into the business end of Day 1C of the QPC Sydney Main Event.
Over on Table 5, George Psarras raised to 10,000 from under the gun and action folded around to Shaun Zammit who shoved from the big blind. Psarras short-called and showed 5♥5♣, but lost the flip for his tournament life after Zammit’s A♥Q♣ freerolled to the flush on the 9♣K♠8♣6♣10♣ board.
A short time later, Harry Basle called off Justin Woo’s all-in bet and found himself in a fair fight holding Q♠J♠ against Woo’s A♣9♠, but he turned two pair on the board of 7♦7♦2♣Q♥3♥ to send Woo to the rail.
| Shaun Zammit | 252,000 |
| Harry Basle | 72,500 |
| George Psarras | BUSTED! |
| Justin Woo | BUSTED! |
Level 11: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
LoRusso on the rise
Nick LoRusso – nephew of Joseph LoRusso – has just picked up a big pile of chips after a massive three-way all-in over on Table 3 which also included Ian Logan.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop and we got there just as the board had been run out.
Small blind: K♠K♦
LoRusso: 6♠6♥
Logan: K♥J♦
Board: 6♦7♠J♣Q♦Q♥
The small blind player was eliminated and Logan was left with just 6,000 in chips, which he was able to effectively triple up in the very next hand.
| Nick LoRusso | 120,000 |
| Ian Logan | 18,000 |
Sal Ali, fabulous he
Sal Ali stopped by the PokerMedia Australia hotdesk to inform us of a huge hand that played out late in the previous level.
As Ali recalled, he followed into a multi-way raised pot to see a queen-high flop with two diamonds; the player in the small blind, who had initiated the pre-flop raise, open-shoved for his last 50,000 and the big blind called before Ali moved-in over the top.
The big called him off, but Ali had hit top-top with his A-Q which held after the turn and river bricked, eliminating the small blind player and moving Ali’s stack beyond 200,000.
| Sal Ali | 240,000 |
Level 10: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Arsn all class
Flight 1C of the QPC Sydney Main Event has now been locked out; another 155 entries have been taken in to give us a running total of 475 entries for a prize pool worth $285,000 and with one flight still to come.
Amongst those who will be back in action tomorrow include Arsn Younadem, who took some time out to speak with the PMA Live Reporting Crew.
A former cabinetmaker by trade, “The Assyrian Warrior” took up the game almost six years ago and is now grinding full-time. His hard work is clearly paying off, having recorded a deep run in the WPTDeepStacks Sydney Main Event a fortnight ago before tearing up the felt here at the Pavilion.
Younadem was modest in his assessment of his form of late, which has seen him take home three rings this series and adding to his first that he won in the APC here last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Younadem said, “I was running bad before the start of the WPTDeepStacks, but since then I’ve had a good run in home games, and yeah … I’ve been very lucky, I guess!”
Younadem now has his sights set on playing in the upcoming WPT Prime series, taking place at The Star Gold Coast from 9-20 June; for more information, check out the full schedule below or visit worldpokertour.com.
Level 9: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Kishore clipped
David Sebesfi has just been sighted over on Table 14 and was briefly involved in some action along with Phillip Dong and Madi Kishore as we head into the next break of the day.
After Dong raised to 3,500 from under the gun, action folded over to Sebesfi who called from the button; Kishore called out of the small blind, as did the player in the big blind to make it four-handed to a flop of 6♦9♦5♣.
Kishore and the big blind checked to Dong who opened for 7,000 and Sebesfi folded before Kishore called, which also prompted the big blind to fold, thus making it heads-up to the turn of the 7♥, where Kishore check-called Dong’s bet of 8,000 before both players checked on the river 10♠.
Dong revealed K♥K♦ for the overpair, which had Kishore’s 6♣4♣ well beat.
| Phillip Dong | 88,000 |
| David Sebesfi | 83,500 |
| Madi Kishore | 46,500 |
Time for another 10-minute break – grab yourselves a cuppa and we’ll be right back!
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #13: Arctic Blast
Time now for the next of our QPC Sydney Round-ups, starring Sydney’s own Amjed Slewa, who ran red-hot in the $175 buy-in Arctic Blast to take home a bonus Main Event seat on top of his four dimes after cutting an ICM deal with Yu Han and David O’Brien. Well played, sir!
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC ARCTIC BLAST ($175 buy-in, 106 entries, 16 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Amjed Slewa | $4,075* |
| 2 | Yu Han | $3,550* |
| 3 | David O’Brien | $3,400* |
| 4 | Sal Ali | $1,900 |
| 5 | Mylinh Svanetti | $1,500 |
| 6 | Amir Ismaiel | $1,100 |
| 7 | Ryan Matar | $850 |
| 8 | Mick Shelton | $650 |
| 9 | Gordon Xu | $500 |
Level 8: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Marsom bombs
Glenn Marsom has just been taken out at the hands of Chad Inabinet as we head into the eighth level of play in Day 1C of the QPC Sydney Main Event.
After Marsom raised to 2,500 pre-flop, action folded to Inabinet who three-bet it to 6,000 straight; Marsom then shoved for his last 27,800 and Inabinet called, tabling A♦Q♠ and found himself behind Marsom’s A♥K♠.
Inabinet then paired his queen on the flop of J♦4♣Q♥, but despite Marsom picking up outs to the Broadway draw, Inabinet filled up as the turn and river ran out A♣, Q♣.
And with Inabinet taking out another opponent a short time ago, he’s now well past the 130K chip mark, but it’s not-so-good news for fans of George Psarras and Ehsan Amiri, who have also been sent to the rail in the moments leading up to the start of Level 8.
| Chad Inabinet | 136,000 |
| Glenn Marsom | BUSTED! |
| George Psarras | BUSTED! |
| Ehsan Amiri | BUSTED! |
Swings and roundabouts
Michal Solecki is now back up to more than 90,000 in chips after getting active in two consecutive hands on Table 3.
Earlier, Solecki got his money in good with A♠K♥ against the A♥J♦ of Jthai Lie, but the board was spread 3♠6♦J♣6♠4♠ to give Lie the double-up.
In the very next hand, Solecki came out of the big blind with a three-bet after a pre-flop raise from Calvin Solomon before both players checked the 7♥A♠5♥Q♠6♦ board. Solecki tabled 8♥8♦, which was enough to take it down.
| Michal Solecki | 91,000 |
| Calvin Solomon | 89,500 |
| Jthai Lie | 19,000 |
Level 7: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Burbar blessed
Having just been moved onto Table 9, Odai Burbar has already taken out another player from Day 1C to move up to almost 150,000 in chips.
Our reporter picked up the action into a heads-up pot on a flop of 4♣8♣6♣; Odai check-called his opponent’s post-flop bet, then check-snapped after they shoved on the turn of the 10♥.
Opponent: A♥A♦
Odai: 5♣2♣
The river J♣ completed the board and the unknown adversary slapped his cards down onto the felt in anger before storming out of the room.
“That was a very nice first hand for me dealer, thank you!” Burbar said.
| Odai Burbar | 148,000 |
Marrone takes one
More of Sydney’s finest continue to file in for Day 1C of the Main Event, including 2019 WPT Australia Main Event final tablist George Psarras, who recently went toe-to-toe with Steve Marrone on Table 8.
Psarras limped in from under the gun and action folded around to Marrone who raised from the cutoff; Psarras called, then he check-called Marrone’s bet of 3,500 after the flop of Q♣9♥6♠.
The dealer then procuded the 6♦ on the turn; Psarras opened for 4,000, only to then see Marrone raise it up to 15,000. After about two minutes of deliberation, Psarras let his hand go.
| Steve Marrone | 83,500 |
| George Psarras | 54,000 |
Level 6: 500/1,000 (1,000)
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #12: Warrior
And now for another QPC Sydney Round-up, and yep, you guessed it – it’s Arsn Younadem once again, taking home his second ring for the series in the aptly-named Warrior Event!
“The Assyrian Warrior” claimed another Main Event ticket and $7,200 in prize money after cutting a three-way ICM deal with runner-up Ali Aria and third-place finisher, Raymond Quach.
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC WARRIOR ($350 buy-in, 108 entries, 13 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Arsn Younadem | $7,200* |
| 2 | Ali Aria | $6,350* |
| 3 | Raymond Quach | $6,450* |
| 4 | Daniel Tolomeo | $3,150 |
| 5 | Jamal Ishac | $2,200 |
| 6 | Joshua Wirken | $1,650 |
| 7 | Tony Shlemon | $1,250 |
| 8 | Ashor Shlemon | $950 |
| 9 | Steve Chebib | $700 |
Chippies for Xenos
Con Xenos has just picked up a pot on the feature table up on the main stage against Jay Little as action continues in Day 1C of the QPC Sydney Main Event.
Action folded around to Little who raised to 2,100 from middle position pre-flop before Xenos made it 5,100 to go from the button; Little called, then both players checked down the flop and turn of 5♥6♥A♣4♣.
After the dealer peeled off the river 2♣, Little check-called Xenos’ bet of 6,400, only to flick his hand into the muck after Xenos revealed A♥10♠ for top pair.
| Con Xenos | 59,500 |
| Jay Little | 45,000 |
Level 5: 400/800 (800)
Mr Consistency
The field is now up to 124 total entries, including two recent additions in Theo Dharma and two-time QPC Queensland Main Event Champion Shaun Zammit, seated side-by-side on Table 14.
As Dharma and Zammit chewed the fat, Michael Towells limped in from under the gun before action folded around to Phillip Dong who raised to 1,800 from the cut-off. Towells called, then opened for 1,600 after the flop of 5♣10♠Q♠.
Dong smooth-called, then the action repeated after Towells’ second 1,600-chip shell on the turn of the J♠, only to then see Dong fold after yet another bet of 1,600 when the Q♥ appeared on the river.
| Michael Towells | 62,500 |
| Phillip Dong | 46,500 |
Our players are now on their first 10-minute break for this flight. Back shortly!
Lowballin’
Victor Dorrel has moved up to almost 100K in chips after taking a considerable chunk of change out of Mathew Stafa.
The Pavilion Poker Room team were kind enough to relay the information they captured to the PMA Live Reporting Team, who witnessed Dorrel and Stafa get all their chips into the middle after a flop of 5♠K♦3♦; Dorrel tabled 5♦2♦ for middle pair and the second nut flush draw, while Stafa showed down 6♣4♣ for an open-ender.
Dorrel then improved to two pair with the repeat 3♣, but although Stafa also had the club flush draw, the river J♠ was a blank and Dorrel doubled through.
| Victor Dorrell | 97,000 |
| Mathew Stafa | 11,500 |
Level 4: 300/600 (600)
More, more, more!
Brad Livermore has just scored a massive double KO as we head into the fourth level of play.
All the money went in on the turn with the board reading 5♠9♣10♥7♠; Livermore had the best of it with K♣9♣ for the second nut flush, ahead of both the 10♣8♣ and the A♣9♦ of his opponents, and held after the dealer produced the 6♦ on the river.
With two more out the door, Livermore now takes an early lead in this flight, sitting behind almost three starting stacks’ worth of chips.
| Brad Livermore | 130,000 |
QPC ROUND-UP – Event #11: High Roller
Up to 106 entries in Day 1C of the Main Event, which means that we’ve cracked the $250,000 guarantee for the Main Event – and while we’re on the subject of big money, congratulations are in order for Grael Won, who won one QPC ring and $23,000 cash in the High Roller five days ago!
WPT LEAGUE SYDNEY QPC HIGH ROLLER ($1,150 buy-in, 66 entries, nine players paid)
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1 | Grael Won | $23,000 |
| 2 | Collin Tran | $14,000 |
| 3 | Nurlan Boobekov | $10,000 |
| 4 | Ivica Djakovic | $7,000 |
| 5 | Louis Luo | $4,500 |
| 6 | Nathan Sweeney | $3,000 |
| 7 | Adi Dahari | $2,000 |
| 8 | Andreas Vasiliou | $1,500 |
| 9 | Wyn Pham | $1,000 |
*Full results available at facebook.com/wptleaguesydney
Level 3: 200/400 (400)
Showtime!
Saliendra ‘Sunny’ Shah has arrived and is now seated on Table 11, along with David Poulivaati and Ehsan Amiri, who were all involved in a pot over on Table 11.
The trio all came along into another five-handed limped pot to see a flop of 5♠9♣10♥; Shah checked out of the small blind, as did the big blind before Poulivaati opened for 500. Amiri folded, as did the player from the button, before Shah check-raised to 1,800.
Poulivaati called, making it heads-up to the turn of the 7♠, where Shah opened for 3,500. Poulivaati smooth-called. Shah then check-tank-called Poulivaati’s bet of 12,500 after the river 10♦, showing 8♥7♦ for two pair, which was best against Poulivaati’s K♦J♠.
“Wow, Sunny … that was a TV call!” exclaimed another player. “You were just calling for the show!”
Definitely the right call, that’s for sure!
| Saliendra Shah | 70,000 |
| David Poulivaati | 32,000 |
Marsom gets some
A lot of multi-way small ball across the felt at the moment, but we did pick up some action on Table 5, headlined by Sydney poker veteran Harry Basle and Glenn Marsom, who finished runner-up in the WPTDeepStacks Sydney $660 Big Bounty two weeks ago.
Marsom and Basle were in amongst a five-handed limped pot to a flop of A♦2♣5♠ which was checked through before Jay Little opened for 1,600 on the turn of the 10♦. Marsom was the only caller, making it heads-up to the river 7♥.
Little fired out 3,300 and Marsom flatted, showing down K♥10♣ which was best against Little’s Q♦J♦.
| Glenn Marsom | 53,000 |
| Jay Little | 51,500 |
Level 2: 200/300
Khorein gets cracking
Jan Khorein, who won the WPT League Sydney APC Big Bounty here last April, has already picked up some chips early in today’s flight, now up to 83 runners and counting.
Khorein and four others limped in to see a flop of 8♠Q♥A♥. Action checked to Khorein who opened for 500; he found three callers, but only two of them check-called to his bet of 700 on the turn of the Q♦ before they all checked the river A♣.
Khorein showed down A♠3♥ for trips, which was more than enough to take it down.
| Jan Khorein | 55,000 |
Strike a pose
Just a small selection of images of those who’ve started in today’s Day 1C flight … and while there may be one or two players who might be camera-shy, there are plenty of others who are always ready for their close-up. Loving the ‘fro, bro!
Level 1: 100/200
Double down!
Good morning, and welcome back to the Pavilion and PokerMedia Australia’s continued Live Reporting coverage of the WPT League Sydney QPC Main Event!
The Pavilion crew are pumped for today’s epic double-header, with Day 1C and Day 1D running virtually back-to-back. Unlike other major mid-tier events, however, Day 1D is a full-length flight, as opposed to the final flight turbo format that has all but become the norm in recent years.
In the interests of time, today’s PMA Live Reporting blog will be a special two-for-one deal, kicking off from 12pm AEST, so be sure to keep up with all our updates direct from the St Johns Park Bowling Club. See you soon!
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