LIVE REPORTING: WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty Day 2

Congratulations Steven Hoek ($48,916 + $26,550), WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty Champion!

Wow. Just WOW.

In arguably one of the purest runs ever seen in the country, Steven Hoek has become the first player to win a Mystery Bounty tournament here at The Star Gold Coast!

Having started Day 2 with the overall chip lead, Hoek wasted no time at the tables, eliminating three players in the first 15 minutes before pulling the first of two $9,525 coins from the Treasure Chest.

Buoyed by his good fortune, Hoek never looked back, barnstorming his way through the field to start the final table second in chips behind Alex Lee.

Steven Hoek (image courtesy of The Star Gold Coast)

After the eliminations of Grand Bounty winner Yor Ecobiza and Martin Ward, a big double-up through the Singaporean, marked the beginning of the end, with Hoek picking off everyone else to finish the night with a total of $75,466, comprised of $48,916 in first-place prize money and 15 bounties totalling $26,550.

The only downside to the day was that Hoek missed the official final table photo, but as PokerMedia Australia discovered during his post-match interview, there was good reason.

“I had to go and see my daughter!” Hoek said. “My partner and family all came down, so I went out [of the gaming area] to visit them. They knew that I was up $14K at the time, but when they hear about this, they’re gonna be ecstatic!”

Hoek will be back in action again in the coming days, having also scored himself a seat into the WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event after flipping his way through. If the run in this tourney is anything to go by, then we’re going to be in for one helluva ride!

Image courtesy of The Star Gold Coast

WPT PRIME GOLD COAST MYSTERY BOUNTY ($1,000 buy-in, 395 entries, 50 players paid)*

PlaceNameCountryAmountBounties
1stSteven HoekAustralia$48,916$26,550
2ndMatt RadcliffeAustralia$34,625$900
3rdMatt BevinAustralia$22,027$2,550
4thRomain MorvanFrance$14,611$1,150
5thAlex LeeSingapore$11,246$5,325
6thWayde RickhussAustralia$9,314$600
7thCharles TsaiAustralia$7,809$1,200
8thMartin WardAustralia$6,349$1,275
9thYor EcobizaNew Zealand$4,892$31,875
*Final table results shown; full results available at starpoker.com.au

This concludes our broadcast day, but before we wrap up, we’d like to once again congratulate Steven on his historic victory and thank everyone for tuning into our Live Reporting coverage over the last week.

Our hearty crew will be back on deck next Monday to bring you all the action from Day 2 of the $5K Challenge, as well as providing social media updates and daily feature articles for the duration of the $1,500 Main Event, thanks to our friends at the World Poker Tour.

For now though, our tonguing is done, so we’ll take our leave and go. From all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, thanks again for your company and we’ll see you again soon.

Until then … whatever the voyage ye hanker to start, may courage fill up your heart, fair winds blow wherever ye go and may yer ship remain sturdy, me hearties. Yo-ho!


Matt Radcliffe eliminated in 2nd place ($34,625 + $900)

It only took one hand to decide our champion, with Matt Radcliffe open-shoving with A6, only to see Steven Hoek wake up with another monster in the big blind: AA.

The dealer then spread a flop of 68K before producing the turn of the J, leaving Radcliffe dead in the water before the 4 was peeled from the shoe for our final river of the night.

Just over $35K for our runner-up, but to the victor … oh, what spoils!

Matt RadcliffeBUSTED!
Matt Radcliffe

Level 30: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)

Matt Bevin eliminated in 3rd place ($22,027 + $2,550)

We’re now heads-up for the WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty title after Matt Bevin was ousted in third place!

Bevin shoved pre-flop for the last of his money with 77 and found himself flipping for his tournament life against Steven Hoek, who snap-called with AQ.

Hoek then caught top pair on the flop of 6A2 and kept the lead when the K fell on the turn.

Down to just two outs, the river was 6 was one pip short, but enough to give Hoek the full house and yet another Bounty Chip.

Steven Hoek10,575,000
Matt Radcliffe1,275,000
Matt BevinEXILED!
Matt Bevin

Chippin’ and shippin’

The chips are flying across the felt between our final three players in the Mystery Bounty, but Steven Hoek still holds court as we head into the 29th level of the tournament.

Matt Radcliffe scored two double-ups through Hoek, first spiking an Ace on the board of 3J9A9 with his A7 against Hoek’s 66 before jamming again a few hands later with A4.

Hoek called him off again, this time with Q10, but despite making two pair on the 9Q55K board, Radcliffe flopped the nut flush to double through again.

Some time passed before Radcliffe ripped it in once more, his AA dominating Hoek, who called him off with Q9.

No change to either hand after the 463, but Radcliffe doubled up in emphatic fashion as the turn and river came running A, A for quads!

Steven Hoek6,900,000
Matt Bevin2,675,000
Matt Radcliffe2,275,000

Level 29: 75,000/125,000 (125,000)

Romain Morvan eliminated in 4th place ($14,611 + $1,150)

No second WPT Prime Gold Coast title for Romain Morvan, who was felted big time by Steven Hoek in the midway point of this level.

Morvan moved all-in before the flop with A6, but Hoek shot up out of his chair and clapped after turning over AA!

A spark of hope appeared on the turn after the dealer fanned the board of 92710, but the repeat 7 gave Morvan his marching orders.

Steven Hoek7,900,000
Matt Bevin2,900,000
Matt Radcliffe1,050,000
Romain MorvanBANISHED!
Romain Morvan

Wayde Rickhuss eliminated in 6th place ($9,314 + $600); Alex Lee eliminated in 5th place ($11,246 + $5,325)

In one of the first hands after the break, there was three-way all-in-pre action between Steven Hoek, Alex Lee and Wayde Rickhuss.

Hoek: KJ
Lee: A5
Rickhuss: A2

Hoek spiked two on the flop of KJ3 before the 9 came down on the turn to leave the others drawing dead. The river A was merely a formality.

Wayde Rickhuss

With two more Bounty Chips in his possession, Hoek dashed back over to the Treasure Chest to redeem them immediately.

BOUNTY: $300!

BIG BOUNTY: $7,575!

Lee then calmly walked over to cash in his eight Bounty Chips. Seven of them were worth $300, but the eighth … ?

BIG BOUNTY: $3,225!

A nice way to finish it, all things considered!

Alex Lee
Steven Hoek6,500,000
Alex LeeVANQUISHED!
Wayde RickhussSHACKLED!

Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)

Bevin’s back again!

In the last hand before the break, Matt Bevin moved all-in pre-flop with KQ and found himself in a fair fight against Alex Lee’s A8.

Bevin then surged ahead after the flop of Q62, and stayed there after the turn and river 9, 7 completed the board.

And with that, we’re now on another 10-minute breather … but Steven Hoek’s pure run hasn’t stopped by any stretch, as he’s just flipped his way into the WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event!

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Steven Hoek4,475,000
Matt Bevin2,850,000
Alex Lee1,450,000
Matt Radcliffe1,350,000
Romain Morvan1,325,000
Wayde Rickhuss575,000

The Lee and Rickhuss ruckus

Alex Lee has managed to stem the bleeding after scoring a much-needed double-up through Wayde Rickhuss.

The money was once again all in the middle pre-flop; Lee was at risk with 55, but managed to hold against Rickhuss’ A8 after the dealer produced a board of 4K6107.

Alex Lee2,580,000
Wayde Rickhuss775,000

Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)

Charles Tsai eliminated in 7th place ($7,809 + $1,200)

Charles Tsai has now cashed out for $9,009 in prize money and bounties after being felted at the hands of Steven Hoek.

Having doubled up in an earlier hand, Tsai committed his newly acquired chips with A5, but Hoek woke up with 66.

A gut-shot straight draw appeared on the board of 3K104, but the repeat 3 on the river meant that we said goodbye to Tsai.

Steven Hoek4,200,000
Charles TsaiSHIPWRECKED!
Charles Tsai

Lee freefalling

Successive double-ups for Matt Radcliffe and Charles Tsai have resulted in a huge downswing for Alex Lee as action continues at this Mystery Bounty Final Table.

Earlier, Radcliffe got his last 505,000 over the line pre-flop with 77, but although Lee’s 1010 flopped a set on the board of 4610K9, Radcliffe was the only one with a spade, good for the runner-runner flush!

Tsai then ripped it in for 335,000 with Q8, but won the do-or-die flip against Lee’s pocket threes, spiking another eight on the board of 859AK.

Alex Lee1,850,000
Matt Radcliffe1,134,000
Charles Tsai820,000

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)

Lee drops again

Steven Hoek’s pure run continues, scoring a massive double through Alex Lee.

Our reporter picked up the action when all their chips were shipped in after the turn on a board of 5422; both players were searching for another spade, but Hoek’s KJ was in strife against Lee’s A9.

But as luck would have it – and there’s been plenty of it in Hoek’s case – the river K came sailing down the river to give him two pair and the scoop!

Steven Hoek2,935,000
Alex Lee4,300,000

Bevin bounces back

Action has slowed down a fair bit, but Matt Bevin has picked up a crucial double through Charles Tsai.

Bevin found himself at-risk pre-flop with A5, but although he found himself behind the A10 of Tsai, he turned the steel wheel on the board of 4Q232.

About time that some of that run-good was shared!

Matt Bevin1,325,000
Charles Tsai1,100,000

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)

Martin Ward eliminated in 8th place ($6,349 + $1,275)

Shortly after Yor Ecobiza hit the rail, Martin Ward collected his eighth place prize money after jamming the last of his stack in with A4 pre-flop, only to run into the JJ of chip leader, Alex Lee.

Two pair for Ward on the board of KQ4JJ, but quads for Lee and another Bounty Chip in the bank as Ward heads off with a total of $7,624 for his efforts.

Alex Lee4,300,000
Martin WardMAROONED!
Martin Ward

Yor Ecobiza eliminated in 9th place ($4,892 + $31,875)

Action folded to Yor Ecobiza, who open-shoved from middle position with AJ for 600,000 effective.

Wayde Rickhuss was the only caller, tabling JJ, which held up all the way across the board of 7K895.

A valiant effort from our Grand Bounty winner, who takes home a grand total of $36,767 in cash. Well done, sir!

Wayde Rickhuss2,000,000
Yor EcobizaSCUTTLED!
Yor Ecobiza

Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (30,000)

WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty final table

Please forgive the absence of Steven Hoek, as he’s still collecting all of his Bounties from the cage!

Play will resume at 4:20pm AEST after the players take their 30-minute dinner break.

SeatNameCountryChips
1Charles TsaiAustralia1,070,000
2Romain MorvanFrance1,310,000
3Wayde RickhussAustralia1,420,000
4Martin WardAustralia595,000
5Alex LeeSingapore3,490,000
6Matt BevinAustralia865,0000
7Yor EcobizaNew Zealand565,000
8Matt RadcliffeAustralia625,000
9Steven HoekAustralia1,910,000
Image courtesy of The Star Gold Coast

Zhu and Thwaites thrown overboard; final table set!

Martin Ward and Alex Lee have each collected another Bounty Chip and in the process have confirmed our final nine of the WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty!

Gang Zhu was the first to go in 11th place, getting his money in good with AA against Ward, who had called him off with K6, which rivered trips on the 9K32K board.

“I’m a professional!” Ward laughed as he raked in the pot before taking his next dip into the Treasure Chest.

BOUNTY: $675!

Alex Lee then padded his monstrosity of a stack with the remainder of Simon Thwaites’ chips, flopping a flush on the board of 452K2 holding Q3 against Thwaites, who missed the up-and-down straight draw with his 75.

Interestingly, Lee is the only player who has not cashed in any of his Bounty Chips, electing to hoard them until he has been eliminated. The highest bounty remaining right now is $7,575.

Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)

Cash to splash!

A couple more bounties for Romain Morvan and Steven Hoek as we move closer and closer to the final table of this historic Mystery Bounty Event!

Earlier, Romain Morvan removed Robert Damelian in 13th place, winning the crucial flip with AJ against Damelian’s 33 after flopping two pair on the board of AJK57. Morvan then scored another $300 in bonus booty.

Dylan Wayne then departed in 12th place, moving the last of his chips in holding KQ, only to then see Hoek’s AQ hold across the flop and turn of 4785 before pairing up with the A on the river.

Hoek went immediately over to the Treasure Chest and dipped his hand in as the Pirate Crew watched on eagerly.

BIG BOUNTY: $1,050!


Two bounties for Bevin

Matt Bevin has now picked up a couple more coins from the Mystery Bounty Chest after taking out Shane Foglietta.

Foglietta risked the last of his doubloons pre-flop with 33, but Bevin’s AJ flopped top-top and held after the dealer fanned out the board of KA652.

Having eliminated Carlos Youssef in the previous level, Bevin took the chance to raid the riches within.

BOUNTY: $300!

BIG BOUNTY: $1,950!

Another $2K and change for Bevin. Cha-ching!

Level 22: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)

Tsai on the rise

In the wake of Yor Ecobiza’s big score, Matt Bevin and Charles Tsai have both picked up another Bounty Chip each.

Earlier, Bevin took out Carlos Youssef after his KJ held across all streets on a board of 64A5K against Youssef’s K10.

Tsai then moved up to 1.36 million in chips after eliminating Tom Maguire; Maguire got the remainder of his chips in with 99, but was scuttled by Tsai’s JJ after the board was spread A2333.


Yor the man!

The pace of pay across the tables here has been lightning fast, but all that came to a halt for Earlson ‘Yor’ Ecobiza as he nervously walked up to the Treasure Chest.

Up until this point, it had been a rough grind for Ecobiza, down to as little as six big blinds before being moved onto another table – and straight into the big blind in the first hand.

From there, he managed to run it up before scoring his first elimination.

Ecobiza picked up his coin, and handed it to one of the piratesses, who gave it a kiss for good luck before he slowly peeled off the top.

“Could this be the one we’ve been waiting for?” asked ‘Pirate T’.

Aye, that it was.

GRAND BOUNTY: $31,875!

First bounty, first pick, TOP SCORE! Now that is a fine how-do-you-do!

Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)

Boek broadsides Wayne

The Galleon stacks of Steven Boek and Dylan Wayne have collided, with Wayne coming off second best.

Although Wayne was leading pre-flop with his KK, Hoek’s AJ turned the wheel to reduce Wayne’s stack to 375,000 after the board ran out 523410, moving Hoek’s count up to more than 2.1 million.

Wayde Rickhuss then sent Linda Currie to the rail; Currie had hit two pair with her 83 on the board of 5A8A7, however Rickhuss had turned a boat 88.

Rickhuss then headed back with his newly acquired Bounty chip for another go.

BOUNTY: $600!


Sormi and Ito busto

Dylan Wayne has just scored another double KO, taking out Kento Ito and John Sormi.

Again, all the money was in the middle before the flop; Sormi’s 99 were ahead of Ito’s [invalid notations], but Wayne turned the Queen on the board of 6710Q4.

“Very sexy!” Wayne said as he raked in the chips, bumping fists with Troy McLean before running up behind Wayde Rickhuss to watch him peel the top off his first Bounty coin.

BOUNTY: $300!

Wayne then picked up his phone and recorded his next two peels, which were also good for $300 apiece.

Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)

Break time

Our remaining 27 player are now on a 10-minute break.


He’s a Mil-Lee-onaire!

Alex Lee is now the first past the one-million chip mark after taking out Daniel Gabriel and Sal Fazzino.

It was a three-way all-in pre-flop showdown on Table 26 and our reporter got there just as the cards were tabled.

Lee: QQ
Fazzino: AK
Gabriel: AK

Board: 345J5

As Lee chipped up to more than 1.7 million, Matt Bevin went up to the chest for another crack and collected $900, before Martin Ward min-picked for $300. Money for jam!


More chips for Morvan

Romain Morvan and Alex Lee continue to pick off opponents left, right and centre as action continues in this Mystery Bounty Event.

Earlier, Morvan eliminated Scott Hamilton-Hill after his 66 held in the crucial flip against Hamilton-Hill’s AK, which flopped two pair on the board of 83824.

Alex Lee then sent Julian Warhurst to the rail after his K10 held all the way across the board of 7A696 against Warhurst’s K4.

After Hoek picked up another $300 coin, Tom Maguire came up to cash in his three Bounty Chips.

$300, $300, $300 – with a BONUS PICK – and $300!

Now you’re probably wondering, why the Bonus Pick?

Due to the simultaneous KO’s across two tables on Day 1A, there were 25 players that bagged up instead of the anticipated 26, hence the ‘spare’ Bounty – and that’s per the Star Gold Coast T&Cs.

Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)

Hutchins given the ol’ heave-ho

Alex Lee is now past 850,000 in chips after eliminating Josh Hutchins.

Again, all the money was in the middle pre-flop; Hutchins showed down J10, but Lee had him dominated with KK.

The flop of 5AQ brought with it a glimmer of hope for Hutchins.

“Give him a set!” Hutchins said.

No dice – the dealer completed the board with the turn and river of Q, J – and Lee added Hutchins’ Bounty Chip alongside his burgeoning stack.

Wayde Rickhuss has also scored a Bounty, taking out Jamie Brown after waking up with QQ against Brown’s JJ, with neither hand improving on the Ace-high board.

Meanwhile, Romain Morvan went in for his first try from the treasure chest, before Shane Foglietta and Steven Hoek returned for the seventh time; all them scored the min-pick of $300.

Dylan Wayne’s selection, however, was much bigger.

BIG BOUNTY: $3,825!


More for Hoek

Steven Hoek’s tear in this tourney continues, having eliminated Giuseppe Gumina.

Gumina risked the last of his stack with AK but Hoek’s 98 scored two pair despite the looming Broadway draw on the 109Q8Q board.

Back to the Treasure Chest he went …

BIG BOUNTY: $1,125!

Not to be outdone, Shane Foglietta went in for a double-dip.

BOUNTY: $300!

BIG BOUNTY: $4,275!

Way to go, ‘Foggy’!

Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)

Fazzino on easy street

Sal Fazzino is now the most bountiful player in the tournament after picking a behemoth out of the barrel as action continues here in the Mystery Bounty!

Over on Table 24, Neb Blanusa moved all-in for the last of his stack with Q9, only to run head-first into the 1010.

The board was an uneventful 365K2, but what Fazzino pulled out of the chest sent all and sundry into a frenzy.

BOUNTY: $300!

BIG BOUNTY: $3,600!

MONSTER BOUNTY: $17,400!

$21,300 in three hits. Get around him!


Noman left behind

Noman Mirza has had the dubious honour bestowed upon him as the stone bubble in the WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty!

Alex Lee was the kingpin, calling down Mirza with K7 against his A10, which picked up two pair on the board of 7Q363.

Lee has already declared his intent to hoard his booty, but there have been another few players who have already claimed their share, including Charles Tsai, Matt Bevin and Steven Hoek (again!) who each picked out $300 bounties.

Then Omer Silajdzija stepped up and scored himself a whopper!

BIG BOUNTY: $9,525!

Both $9K coins gone from the Bounty Chest already … who’d have thunk it?


Pye goes bye-bye

Alan Gates has cashed in his first Bounty chip after eliminating Jonathan Pye.

All the money went in pre-flop, Pye was ahead with his KJ, but Gates’ Q5 shut him down after rivering top pair on the board of 86103Q.

Time for someone else to have a turn at the lucky dip, aaaaaand … ?

BOUNTY: $825!

“It ain’t $300!” quipped ‘Pirate T’.

Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)

He’s Hoek-ed a big ‘un!

Steven Hoek has already reeled in a monster bounty – and even more chips – after taking out three players in the space of 10 minutes!

After taking out Qi Xu in an earlier hand, Heok shuffled up to the treasure chest and drew the very first gold coin. As he peeled back the sticker, he almost stumbled backwards – and understandably so.

BIG BOUNTY: $9,525!

A warm round of applause went up from the rest of the players as Hoek shook hands with MC ‘Pirate T’ before making his way back to his table.

Play then folded to Hoek who raised to 16,000 from the button; Yang Lei shoved from the small blind and Marcelo Bocero also jammed from the big blind, but that didn’t faze Hoek who called them both off.

Bocero: QQ
Lei: 1010
Hoek: A5

Board: A5786

Hoek returned to the chest with his two Bounty chips for a double dip.

BOUNTY: $300!

A massive Bronx cheer went up for that one, but the tone soon changed to awe as Hoek peeled the third coin …

BIG BOUNTY: $4,275!

$14,100 in three hits for Hoek, and we’re not even in the money yet!


Shuffle up and deal!

Cards are now back in the air for Day 2 of the Mystery Bounty!

The clock has been wound back to Level 16 and we’ll be playing down until we have a trophy winner tonight.

Level 16: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)

Going on the account

Day 2 of the WPT Prime Gold Coast Mystery Bounty is now almost upon us and we couldn’t be more excited, as today we finally get to open the chest and plunder the riches within!

For one lucky winner, a Grand Bounty worth $31,875 awaits, along with a further $237,000 in tournament dividends for our top 50 players today. A min-cash is worth $1,095, while our winner will take home a very tasty $48,917, meaning that if you were to bink The Unthinkable, that’s a whopping $80,792 for two days’ work. Yo-ho-hoooooo!

WPT PRIME GOLD COAST MYSTERY BOUNTY – BY THE NUMBERS

Players Remaining59
Total Entries395
Recommencing Blinds3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Average Stack201,136 (33 BBs)

TOP 10 CHIP COUNTS

Steven Hoek600,000
Dylan Foster542,000
Simon Thwaites530,500
Jamie Brown517,000
Salvatore Fazzino505,000
Martin Ward412,000
Charles Tsai399,000
Noman Mirza392,000
Wayde Rickhuss326,000
Lewis Murray305,000

Stay with us here at PokerMedia Australia as we bring you every bet and bluff from 11:30am AEST and right up until the final river falls!


Day 2 seat draw

Play will resume at 11:30am AEST. Please ensure that you have your photo ID and Star Club Card with you for verification purposes.

Table 1 (Feature Table)

SeatNameChips
1Rehman Kassam160,500
2Carmen Ling71,000
3Robert Damelian247,000
4Timothy Morck52,500
5Josh Yeomans93,000
6Benjamin Keith112,000
7Ricardo Di Bella244,000
8Mark Lasarow135,500
9Kento Ito49,500

Table 24

SeatNameChips
1Noman Mirza392,000
2Sal Fazzino505,000
3Jason Anand275,000
4Tommy Handelaar186,000
5Mishel Anunu100,000
6Jerry Wang149,000
7Scott Reid70,000
8Neb Blanusa157,000
9Alex Lee175,000

Table 25

SeatNameChips
1Paul Neville128,000
2Jamie Brown517,000
3Wayde Rickhuss326,000
4Matthew Radcliffe235,000
5Scott Hamilton-Hill82,000
6Gang Zhu234,000
7Carlos Youssef155,000
8Earlson Ecobiza126,500
9Simon Thwaites530,500

Table 26

SeatNameChips
1Bobby Oparaocha205,000
2Daniel Gabriel286,000
3Julian Warhurst129,000
4Martin Ward412,000
6Lewis Murray305,000
7Linda Currie90,000
8Brett Marshall64,000
9Josh Hutchins150,000

Table 27

SeatNameChips
1John Parker109,500
2Cheng-Tse Chen188,000
3Charles Tsai399,000
4Mario Doria143,500
5Matthew Tyrrell219,500
7Dylan Wayne542,000
8Chin Wang107,000
9Matthew Bevin205,000

Table 28

SeatNameChips
1Tom Maguire112,000
3Giuseppe Gumina136,000
4Qi Xu122,500
5Steven Hoek600,000
6Yang Lei40,000
7Marcelo Bocero81,000
8Lucho Vargas133,000
9Lloyd Locsin245,000

Table 29

SeatNameChips
1Jonathan Portelli152,000
2Omer Silajdzija207,000
3Romain Morvan69,000
4Jonathan Pye110,000
5Shane Foglietta215,500
6Alan Gates303,000
7Ben Turner147,000
8John Sormi131,500

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