Patrick Yazbeck bags chip lead in Day 1B; Thats a wrap!
Score another one for the Yazbeck clan! Patrick Yazbeck has ended Day 1B of The Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty on top of the charts, bagging 611,000 in chips.
It was a solid day for the youngest of the famed Yazbeck trio, who told PokerMedia Australia that he was pleased with how he performed throughout the day.
“Played well, got lucky … yeah, very happy with the way I played,” he said. “Great to be back at the Sydney Champs after so long, it seems to be where I’ve got a lot of my best results.”
The Sydney Champs have certainly been a proving ground for Yazbeck in the early stages of his career, as he’s since recorded five-figure sums in the WPTDeepStacks Sydney $5K Challenge, and last month’s Poker Palace Winter Championships Main Event, where he finished third.
That said, there was only one thing that Patrick needed to do at the end of the night, and that was to claim the bragging rights over his older brother Alex, who bagged the chip lead after Day 1C of the Star Sydney Champs Opening Event earlier this week.
“Guess you’re not the only Yazbeck getting your picture on PMA this series!” Patrick remarked.
And it certainly won’t be the last time either, as we’ll be back tomorrow (Thursday) to bring you all the action, drama and excitement of Day 2 of this Mystery Bounty tournament from 11am AEST.
Until then, thanks again for joining us, and from all of us here at Star Poker Sydney, it’s ‘bye for now!
Frostbite
It took a cooler to end the day’s play, and how how fitting it was a man by the name of Mitchell Frost to inflict it.
“All-in! Call.”
Those were the words sounding from our feature table as our reporter hurriedly caught the moment.
Rick Shen, holding J♦J♣ knew he was halfway out the door when he saw he was up against Frost’s Q♠Q♣.
The board of 5♣8♠3♦8♦7♠ offered no miracle for Shen, as the remaining 39 players bagged their chips and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
| Mitchell Frost | 241,000 |
| Rick Shen | BUSTED! |
Yaz-beckoning an ending
Conservative play was in motion as each player fought to survive through to Day 2 of the Mystery Bounty.
Patrick Yazbeck once again found an opportunity to strike, this time though, his hand was not ahead as the all the chips were wagered pre-flop.
With his opponent showing A♥K♥, Yazbeck needed to win as the underdog with A♦J♣ to send us to Day 2.
Board: Q♠Q♣K♦J♦10♠
Chop it up…
| Patrick Yazbeck | 613,000 |
Level 16: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Bubbling excitement
With play tonight continuing down until we reach 39 remaining – 15% of the total Day 1B entries – tension in the room was at its’ peak as 41 entrants remain in The Star Poker Room.
Enter Patrick Yazbeck.
As the clock ticked over to Level 16, hand-for-hand play was in session when Yazbeck’s A♠K♣ sent an opponent and their Q♣J♠ on their way after the board resulted in 7♥4♦3♥K♦4♣.
We are now down to 40 runners!
Bubble time!
Mangano yes
Xavier Mangano has found a double-up at a crucial time.
Finding A♣K♣ and a call at Dylan Wayne’s expense, the board of 2♠5♥A♦2♦6♥ secured the win against Wayne’s A♥9♣.
| Xavier Mangano | 247,000 |
| Dylan Wayne | 47,000 |
In the Green
Steven Green has won in a hand that would often result in a chop, knocking out Yita Choong in the process.
All in pre-flop with Green holding A♠5♦ and Choong with A♦3♣, Rehman Kassam prefaced, “Chop’s coming!”
Board: 4♣7♣K♥2♣10♠
Five kicks… Choong from the tournament.
| Steven Green | 157,000 |
| Yita Choong | BUSTED! |
Todor closed
Andres Vasquez has seen to the elimination of Todor Kondevski.
The inevitable took place when Kondevski awoke to K♠K♦ and put his tournament life at risk, with Vasquez holding A♥A♣.
The runout proved no help for Todor as the spread came 4♦J♥2♥3♣4♣, sending Kondevski on his way.
Tablemate Dylan Wayne said immediately after the hand, “So annoying when all the good players get the gifts.”
Almost on cue, Vasquez picked up an addition scalp the very next hand, with his K♣Q♥ calling an opponent’s all-in with 8♥8♦.
The flip fell in Vasquez’s favour on 2♠2♦K♦4♦10♠.
Wayne continued, “You know what’s so tilting? When he’s playing this well and doesn’t lose a flip!”
| Andres Vasquez | 471,000 |
| Todor Kondevski | BUSTED! |
Level 15: 3,000/5,000 (5,000)
Right flop, Wong turn
It’s not too often you witness someone tank and consider folding the nuts on the flop.
Tony Wong opened with a UTG raise to 8,500 with Q♥Q♦, Al Josue called, later explaining he had pocket tens, and Christopher Bassil woke up with A♠K♠ in the hijack and re-raised to 21,000.
Wong and Josue both called, and the three saw a flop of 4♠6♦Q♠. Wong checked his top set, and Josue did so as well. Bassil moved all-in with his draw for a total of 91,000 sending Wong into an unexpected tank.
After a short time, Wong reluctantly called and Josue folded. They turned over their cards and Wong immediately declared he did not want to call, and his fears were justified as the turn and river followed 10♠,9♠.
Josue laughed as he said he would have turned the set, however it was Bassil reaping the rewards.
| Christopher Bassil | 254,000 |
| Tony Wong | 115,500 |
| Al Josue | 87,000 |
Craig spikes it
Vahe Hovagimian has run into the the big blind special of Craig Austin.
Austin defended an under the gun open from Hovagimian with K♣4♣, and was treated to top pair on the flop of 5♥J♦K♠. Hovagimian continued for a sizing of 15,000 and Austin check-called to see a turn.
On the 6♥, Austin checked once again and Hovagimian placed 25,000 in the middle. Austin called.
The river fell the 4♦, and Austin checked his two pair for Hovagimian to put Austin all-in. Hovagimian was met with a snap-call as he turned over his K♥Q♣ to learn the bad news.
| Craig Austin | 157,000 |
| Vahe Hovagimian | 166,000 |
Van gets his man
Van Tran has just eliminated another player just as the blinds ticked over into the 14th level of play.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop; the all-in opponent was at risk with 10♠10♦, but found himself dominated by Tran’s Q♠Q♣.
Tran left his adversary drawing dead after turning a set on the board of 6♣A♦7♠Q♦, with the river A♣ the proverbial salt in the wound.
| Van Tran | 205,000 |
Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Jarvin’s jivin’
Seve Jarvin has increased his chip lead, taking down another pot against Chao Buan.
Action folded around to Buan who raised to 6,500 before the flop; Jarvin called out of the blinds and then both players checked the flop and turn of 10♦J♠8♦J♥ before Jarvin flicked out a bet of 11,000 after the river 3♣.
Buan called, but mucked his hand after Jarvin showed down 10♠5♠ for middle pair.
| Seve Jarvin | 516,000 |
| Chao Buan | 144,000 |
Bono keeps on rockin’
Ricky Bono has eliminated another player to reduce the field down to five tables in this Mystery Bounty flight.
Bono min-clicked to 7,000 from under the gun and action folded to the lojack who moved all-in for his last 37,000. Tam Trung shoved over the top from the cut-off, which prompted the button and blinds to get out of the way before Bono snap-called short.
Bono: K♦K♣
Trung: 9♠9♦
Lojack: A♦10♠
Although Trung had both players covered, Bono hit top set and scooped on the board of 7♥K♠3♠10♥8♠, which resulted in the lojack’s elimination.
| Ricky Bono | 210,000 |
| Tam Trung | 40,500 |
Tan’s time to shine
Our reporter picked up the action four-handed into a flop of K♥6♥5♠; Adrian Pachecho checked out of the small blind over to Jerome Tan, who opened for 7,500.
This forced both Fabrizio Aste and Rehman Kassam to fold from the cut-off and button respectively before Pacheco called, making it heads-up to the turn of the 9♠.
Pacheco then led out for 13,000 and Tan called, then after Pacheco’s opening bet of 7,000 on the river 10♥, Tan raised it to 58,000 and forced the fold from Pacheco.
| Jerome Tan | 166,500 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 260,000 |
Assorted chip counts
Just a small cross-section of the bigger stacks emerging on the outer tables here in this Mystery Bounty flight, and it’s Seve Jarvin who’s already past the half-million chip mark as we move into the fourth stanza.
Along with Patrick Yazbeck, Luke Edwards and Shu Ng have also moved up the counts, while we can confirm that Alex Yazbeck, John Yacoub, Yang Lei, Jai Duffy and WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event Champion Will Davies have been amongst the recent spate of eliminations.
| Name | Chips |
| Seve Jarvin | 508,000 |
| Patrick Yazbeck | 334,500 |
| Luke Edwards | 331,500 |
| Shu Ng | 311,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 290,000 |
| Tony Wong | 249,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 215,000 |
| Fabrizio Aste | 209,000 |
| Uno Uka | 146,000 |
| Al Josue | 121,000 |
| Dylan Wayne | 95,000 |
Level 13: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Break time
Our remaining 63 players are now on another 10-minute break.
Chong gets one through
Action folded around to Jerome Tan who raised to 5,500 from the cut-off; after the button player folded, Adrian Pacheco called from the small blind, only to then see Thomas Chong three-bet it to 16,000 out of the big blind.
Tan and Pacheco called, so it was three-handed to the flop of J♣6♦K♥. Pacheco checked, but after Chong open-shoved for his last 54,000, both Tan and Pacheco mucked.
Pacheco asked to see what Chong had in his hand.
“Just for you!” Chong replied, flashing A♠K♠ before he threw his hand away and raked in the chips.
| Thomas Chong | 103,000 |
| Jerome Tan | 132,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 290,000 |
Murray crushed
Paul Murray has just been eliminated by Alex Lynskey over on Table 5.
After a middle position raise to 6,000, Todor Kondevski called from the cut-off and the button folded before Murray completed from the small blind.
Lynskey then made it 22,500 to go from the big blind, forcing the MP and Kondevski to get out of the way before Murray shoved for 75,000 total. Lynskey snap-called.
Lynskey: Q♥Q♣
Murray: 10♥10♣
Board: 6♣9♣6♠K♥Q♦
Lynskey raked in the chips and Murray hit the bricks, as Kondevski revealed to the table that he’d folded 6♥6♦.
| Alex Lynskey | 204,000 |
| Todor Kondevski | 130,000 |
| Paul Murray | BUSTED! |
Level 12: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
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Another Yazbeck battle
Action has begun to slow down a little as we approach Level 12, but a new chip leader is emerging in the form of Patrick Yazbeck, who has reached the 300K chip milestone.
Patrick raised to 5,500 from under the gun and action folded around to his father Mark, who made the call from the hijack, along with Uno Uka from the cut-off to go three-handed to a flop of J♠K♥J♥.
Patrick then opened for 8,000 and found a call from Mark, but after Uka raised to 25,000, Patrick came back with a check-raise worth 78,000, which saw Mark and Uka both fold.
Patrick flashed A♦J♣ before raking in the pot.
| Patrick Yazbeck | 311,000 |
| Uno Uka | 159,000 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 65,000 |
Negi negates Doughty
Hayden ‘Doug’ Doughty has departed at the hands of Jesh Negi as play rolls on Day 1B of the Mystery Bounty.
After Mark Yazbeck limped in from under the gun, Uno Uka raised to 4,000 before action folded around to Doughty who ripped in his last 18,900 from the cut-off with 9♥9♣.
The button folded, but then Negi then shoved over the top from the small blind with A♠Q♥, which forced Yazbeck and Uka out of the way.
Doughty lost the flip for his tournament life, however, as Negi turned the bigger two pair on the board of 6♣7♦6♥Q♠2♠ board.
| Jesh Negi | 80,400 |
| Hayden Doughty | BUSTED! |
Level 11: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
“No gamble, no future!”
Alex Lee has been eliminated at the hands of Tam Trung as we head into the 11th level of play.
Al Josue opened for 32,000 and found a call from the lojack and Trung on the button; the small blind folded before Lee ripped in his last 38,600 from the button, forcing Josue and the lojack out of the way.
“No gamble, no future,” quipped Trung before he threw in the chips to call. “Alright … let’s gamble!”
Lee: Q♠Q♦
Trung: 7♦7♣
The future was much brighter for Trung though, as he hit middle set on the flop of A♦6♦7♠. Lee did pick up the back-door nut flush draw with the K♦ on the turn, but the river A♣ gave Trung a full house and Lee his eviction notice.
| Tam Trung | 162,000 |
| Alex Lee | BUSTED! |
Peddie pads his stack
Action is beginning to move thick and fast here in the Mystery Bounty, with Peddie Mosquera now the latest to have scored himself a double KO.
Mosquera had called off an unknown player into a sidepot after the flop of Q♣9♦3♦, tabling A♥Q♦ for top-top against their Q♠10♠.
“I’ll take a diamond!” said another player (the pre-flop jammer), rolling up A♦K♦ for the nut flush draw.
No dice – the turn and river bricked 9♣, 4♠ – and Mosquera raked in the whole lot.
| Peddie Mosquera | 259,500 |
Edson gets some
From under the gun, Michael Seymour raised to 3,200 and action folded to Charles Chiha who called from middle position; action then folded to Edson Wu who shoved for his last 18,000 from the big blind.
Seymour re-jammed for 65,000 and Chiha got out of the way before the cards were tabled.
Seymour: Q♠Q♥
Wu: K♥9♦
Wu picked up the gut-shot after the flop of 6♣7♦5♥ but despite the Q♣ on the turn, Wu binked the 8♥ on the river to stay alive!
| Edson Wu | 41,600 |
| Michael Seymour | 47,000 |
Level 10: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Jarvin’s carvin’ them up!
Seve Jarvin has just scored himself a double K.O. over on Table 4.
Actio nfolded around to the player in the cut-off who raised to 2,500 pre-flop; Lloyd Locsin re-raised to 4,700, but the small blind shoved over the top for their last 62,000.
Jarvin then re-jammed from the big blind and the cut-off called short as Locsin got out of the way.
Cut-off: K♠K♣
Jarvin: Q♥Q♦
Small Blind: 10♠10♣
Jarvin then struck gold on the flop, hitting top set which held all the way across the board of 4♦10♠Q♣3♥7♠ to drop the tournament entry count by two.
| Seve Jarvin | 282,800 |
Ouchie for Cauchi
Matt Cauchi has taken a huge hit against Paul Murray as play continues here at Star Poker Sydney.
From the +1 position, Murray raised to 3,200 and action folded around to Cauchi who three-bet it to 7,500 from the cut-off. The button and blinds folded, Murray snap-shoved for 69,400 and Cauchi insta-called.
Murray: A♦A♣
Cauchi: K♠K♣
The board ran clean 3♥7♣9♣6♠5♠, doubling Murray up to more than 140,000, while dropping Cauchi below 10K.
| Paul Murray | 142,200 |
| Matt Cauchi | 9,100 |
Assorted chip counts
As our reporter whipped through the tables to get the latest round of notable numbers, Star Poker Sydney staff have confirmed that Day 1B has now been locked out at 259 total entries, which means that we’ll be stopping at 39 players this evening.
That brings us to a grand total of 490 entries, which based on provisional figures, gives us a first place payout of $42,506. We’ll have the full breakdown of payouts and Mystery Bounties for you tomorrow morning.
| Name | Chips |
| Kenta Ito | 116,000 |
| Ray Badaoui | 107,500 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 96,500 |
| Vahe Hovagimian | 93,000 |
| Uno Uka | 83,000 |
| Alba Qi | 74,000 |
| Hayden Doughty | 72,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 61,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 51,000 |
| Steven Hoek | 48,000 |
| Al Josue | 45,000 |
| David Sebesfi | 41,000 |
| Rehman Kassam | 40,500 |
| Gavin Ogilvy | 36,000 |
| Charles Chiha | 26,000 |
| Malcolm Trayner | 21,000 |
Level 9: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Dinner time!
Our remaining players are now on a 30-minute dinner break. We’ll be back soon with a fresh round of counts and the all-important financial figures. Back soon!
Zammit zilched
Shaun Zammit has just been felted by Seve Jarvin as we approach the dinner break in today’s flight.
Our reporter picked up the action three-handed on a board of K♣3♥2♣5♥6♣; Jarvin and another player had checked to Zammit who moved all-in for his last 15,100 after the river.
Jarvin was the only caller, and he rolled up 8♣4♣ for the flush, which was enough to eliminate Zammit who showed down 10♦10♣.
| Seve Jarvin | 163,500 |
| Shaun Zammit | BUSTED! |
Blanusa bounced out
2018 Star Sydney Champs Main Event winner Neb Blanusa has just been taken down at the hands of Vahe Hovagimian.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop, with Blanusa at risk with 9♥9♦, however he found himself in a world of hurt against Hovagimian’s K♥K♦.
No change to either hand, however, as the board was spread 6♠6♣2♠A♥A♦ to end Blanusa’s run.
| Vahe Hovagimian | 98,500 |
| Neb Blanusa | BUSTED! |
Faura finds a double
Ricardo Faura has just scored himself a double-up through John Moffitt as action continues in Day 1B of The Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty.
Our reporter caught the result just before the dealer swept in the cards; Faura had put himself at risk with 4♥4♦, but won the flip for his tournament life after turning a boat on the board of 4♣6♥A♣6♦2♦.
Moffitt was left with less than 7,000 in chips after that hand, while Faura moved up to almost double the starting stack.
| Ricardo Faura | 55,000 |
| John Moffitt | 6,800 |
Level 8: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Milan hangs on
Milan Stojkovic has doubled-up after moving all-in on the flop, and getting called by Luis Arrilucea.
On a board of 8♥J♦4♥, the action checked to the player in middle position, posting a bet of 3,100. Arrilucea called, whilst Stojkovic check-raised all-in for 15,700. Middle position cleared the road, leaving Arrilucea to close the action, sigh-calling with 5♣5♥.
Stojkovic showed 8♠7♠ as the board ran out A♦,10♠.
| Milan Stojkovic | 53,400 |
| Luis Arrilucea | 16,600 |
Third time lucky?
Jiapeng Yang has been knocked out for the second time today, at the hands of Vahe Hovagimian’s A♥A♣.
Getting it all in pre with K♥10♥, the flop of 6♥9♦10♣ brought some hope for Yang in the form of top pair with a backdoor flush draw, but the board bricked out 4♦,8♦, giving Hovagimian a welcome addition in chips.
Will a third bullet bring a change in fortune for Yang?
| Vahe Hovagimian | 63,300 |
| Jiapeng Yang | BUSTED! |
Double KO for Bono
Ricky Bono has just scored a double elimination just as the blinds ticked over into Level 7.
All the money was in the middle on the turn with a board that read 7♦4♠5♦9♣; the first all-in player tabled A♦9♦ for top-top and the nut flush draw, ahed of Karam Bahi who was drawing to the second nut flush with his K♦J♦.
Both players trailed Bono, however, as he had rolled up 5♥5♣, which held firm as the river 2♥ completed the board.
| Ricky Bono | 99,000 |
| Karam Bahi | BUSTED! |
Level 7: 400/800 (800)
Moffitt makin’ moves
John Moffitt has applied maximum pressure to claim a pot without showdown against Steven Vogt.
We caught the action from the flop of K♦Q♦7♥. Three-handed, it checked through to a turn of 3♠. It was checked by Johnny Rodden to Moffitt who placed 4,800 in chips, Vogt called and Rodden folded.
On the river of 4♠, Moffitt moved all-in for his remaining 11,500. Vogt sigh-folded to hand a a nice win to Moffitt.
Vogt fell victim the very next hand and has joined the list of those on the rail.
| John Moffitt | 25,300 |
| Johnny Rodden | 88,000 |
| Steven Vogt | BUSTED! |
Chao good
Chao Buan has taken a nice pot to move above the average stack mark. Alex Lee opened to 1,500 from UTG+1, Buan made the call from middle position, and Mitch Bogner defended his big blind.
Flop: 10♣6♣6♥
Bogner checked folded to Lee’s continuation bet of 2,200 whilst Buan called. It then went check, check on the turn of 9♥.
The river brought the K♦, Lee checked and Buan bet 3,500. Lee eventually made the call and mucked his hand upon seeing Buan’s K♣Q♣.
| Chao Buan | 52,900 |
| Alex Lee | 10,300 |
| Mitch Bognar | 52,600 |
Neb steals one
Blanusa limped from under the gun, UTG+1 bumped up the price to 1,600. Both the button and the big blind made the call, and Blanusa called also.
On 7♣A♠9♦, the action checked to UTG+1 who made it 2,800. The button called, the player in the big blind folded, and Blanusa called.
The turn came the J♣, and the action quickly checked through to the 7♦ river.
Blanusa pounced on the lack of turn action to try and steal the pot with a bet of 6,500. A short tank-fold from each player was enough to get the win uncontested.
| Neb Blanusa | 74,600 |
Level 6: 300/600 (600)
Hai tide
Hai Fuilie has won an intense hand over on Table 11.
Uno Uka raised UTG to 1,200, the button and both blinds called to see a flop of 6♦4♦2♠.
Peddie Mosquera lead out from the small blind for 2,500, Sheldon Mayer called from the big blind, Uka folded, and Fuilie closed the action with a flat from the button.
On the turn, the 5♠ encouraged a further 11,000 from Mosquera. Mayer called, and Fuilie moved all in for 26,300. Mosquera flat-called and Mayer moved in over the top, with Mosquera matching the additional 4,900.
The three showed down their hands as the river fell a 2♣.
Mosquera: 4♣5♣
Mayer: 8♦5♦
Fuilie: A♠3♣
No board pair for Mosquera, no diamond for mayer, and so Fuilie gets a full triple-up.
| Hai Fuilie | 91,700 |
| Peddie Mosquera | 16,000 |
| Sheldon Mayer | BUSTED! |
Ashor-t stack no more
Ashor Shlemon has found a triple up thanks to a three-way, no-look all-in between Mark Yazbeck, Van Tran, and Shlemon.
After multiple players limped blind pre-flop, Yazbeck moved all in from the big blind and found a short-call from Tran with A♠J♠ and Shlemon’s 7♥3♣.
In case there was any doubt as to whether Yazbeck had seen his cards before acting, they were squished with the reveal of his 10♦2♥.
The board rolled out with 4♥7♠8♠4♦4♣, handing a much needed triple for Shlemon, leaving Tran with a singular chip.
| Ashor Shlemon | 27,800 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 19,000 |
| Van Tran | 1,000 |
Chip counts at the break
Now up to 214 entries after the first stanza, with another new arrival in the form of Yita Choong, fresh off the plane from Las Vegas after finishing fourth in this year’s WSOP Millionaire Maker for USD $395,545. Welcome home sir, and congratulations!
| Name | Chips |
| Hayden Doughty | 83,600 |
| Kenta Ito | 82,700 |
| Carmen Bieber | 77,400 |
| Steven Hoek | 62,000 |
| Ray Bitar | 62,000 |
| Christopher Bassil | 61,000 |
| Yor Ecobiza | 42,300 |
| Elisa Onay | 42,000 |
| Charles Chiha | 39,500 |
| Alba Qi | 36,300 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 28,500 |
| Sammy Salha | 28,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 27,500 |
| Yita Choong | 26,000 |
| Uno Uka | 19,500 |
Level 5: 300/500 (500)
Break time!
Our players are now on their first 10-minute break of the day.
It’s all up-Hill from here
Nathan Hill has eliminated Mark Yazbeck in the moments leading up to the first break of the day.
Actin folded to Yazbeck on Table 6 who raised to 2,200 from the hijack with A♥10♥; Hill was the only caller from the small blind, and both players then checked the flop of 9♠J♠5♣.
On the turn of the A♣, Hill check-raised to 5,400 after Yazbeck led out for 1,900. Yazbeck then moved all-in and Hill called to find himself ahead with A♠Q♣, which held after the river 6♥ completed the board to send Yazbeck packing.
| Nathan Hill | 80,000 |
| Mark Yazbeck | BUSTED! |
Yang hung out to dry
Jiapeng Yang has just been moved onto the Star Poker Sydney feature table with a brand new stack after being busted on the outer tables this Mystery Bounty tournament.
Andres Vasquez came in with a pre-flop raise of 800 from UTG+1 and found a call from Steven Hoek in middle position before Yang shoved from the big blind for his last 18,500.
Vasquez short-called for 14,000 and Hoek flicked in the remainder before they went to showdown.
Vasquez: 8♦8♣
Hoek: 7♥7♦
Yang: A♣K♠
Board: 4♥10♥5♣Q♠Q♣
With Vasquez holding the bigger pair, he scooped both pots and thus sent Yang back to the re-entry desk.
| Andres Vasquez | 43,500 |
| Steven Hoek | 75,000 |
| Jiapeng Yang | BUSTED! |
Awad on the up
Daniel Louis Awad has just picked up a pot through Greg Ogilvy just as the blinds ticked over into the fourth level of play.
Action folded around to Louis Awad who raised to 900 from the hijack pre-flop; Ogilvy re-raised to 3,700 and got called by Louis Awad before opening for 3,500 after the flop of 2♣9♣K♣.
Louis Awad called, and then both players checked the turn of the J♠ before Ogilvy checked his option again on the river 5♥.
Louis Awad flicked out a bet of 7,000, and after about two minutes Ogilvy called, only to send his hand into the muck after Louis Awad tabled Q♣10♥.
| Daniel Louis Awad | 45,000 |
| Gavin Ogilvy | 28,200 |
Level 4: 200/400 (400)
‘Loc’ down
Jason Lau has just scored himself a double-up through Lloyd Locsin as we head into the last level of this stanza.
From under the gun, Lau min-clicked to 600 and action folded to Locsin who three-bet it to 1,400 from middle position; the player on the button called, as did Lau to go three ways into a flop of 6♦J♣9♣.
Lau checked to Locsin who then opened for 2,200, which elicited a call from the button, hwoever Lau then check-shoved for 13,2000. Lloyd tanked for a few minutes and then called, forcing the button out of the way.
Lau: 6♠6♥
Locsin: A♣J♦
Lau then filled up as the turn and river repeated 4♥, 4♦ to scoop the pot, crippling Locsin down to almost half the starting stack.
| Jason Lau | 33,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 19,000 |
Lock up
Over on Table 9, action folded around to Gregory Davison raised to 1,300 from middle position; Andrew Lock then shoved for the last of his short stack from two seats over, forcing the rest out of the way before Davison called him off.
Lock: A♥Q♥
Davison: A♦9♦
Davison did picked up the nut flush draw after the flop of J♦7♣7♦, but the turn and river bricked out 6♣, 5♣, resulting in Lock scoring a small double, but it was barely a dent in Davison’s stack, as he’s now amongst the top of the counts after taking out another player earlier in the day.
| Andrew Lock | 13,800 |
| Gregory Davison | 78,000 |
Locsin gets one through
Lloyd Locsin has been amongst the latest to arrive here at Star Poker Sydney, and has already managed to pick up a pot on Table 10.
We caught the action into a three-way pot after the dealer spread the flop of 7♠2♥9♠; Danny Ayoub checked out of the small blind and Locsin opened for 700, getting calls from both Zhengmin Zhang on the button and Ayoub before the 10♣ appeared on the turn.
Ayoub checked again, Locsin bet 2,700 and only Zhang called, making it heads-up to the river 4♥, where Locsin fired out a third shell worth 6,000. Zhang threw his hand into the muck.
| Zhengmin Zhang | 27,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 34,500 |
| Danny Ayoub | 38,300 |
Level 3: 200/300 (300)
Time to split!
Over on Table 6, our reporter caught three-handed action to a flop of J♣9♠10♠; the player in the big blind checked to Al Josue who opened for 2,000, before Tristan Barrett raised all-in for his last 15,500.
The big blind player check-folded, but Josue deliberated for a while before making a crying call, turning over Q♦10♥ for the open-ender against Barrett, who had flopped two pair with his 10♣9♦.
Josue pumped his fist after the dealer produced the 8♦ on the turn, however the Q♥ came down on the river for the chop!
“What a waste of two minutes!” Ian Logan remarked tounge-in-cheek.
“That’s not a snap call though,” Josue replied as he took his half of the pot.
| Tristan Barrett | 18,300 |
| Al Josue | 33,400 |
Shlemon shafted
Zhihao Chen has survived to double-up through Ashor Shlemon in early action of Day 1B of the Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty.
Our reporter picked up the action Chen all-in pre-flop and just as Shlemon had open-shoved into a dry sidepot after the flop of 9♦9♠7♣; Mark Yazbeck spent a good two minutes thinking about it before letting his hand go.
Shlemon: 10♦10♣
Chen: 8♠8♥
Chen then picked up the open-ended straight draw with the turn of the 6♠ and hit it after the dealer peeled out the river 5♥.
| Zhihao Chen | 28,800 |
| Ashor Shlemon | 17,900 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 33,700 |
Howard picks up a pot
Over on Table 5, action folded around to Jane Howard who limped in from the button; the small blind completed and Todor Kondevski checked his option in the big blind to go three-handed to a flop of J♣10♠Q♦.
Action then checked to Howard who continued for 700; only the small blind called, and then the action was checked through on the turn of the J♥ and the river 7♥, with Howard’s Q♥8♥ enough to take it down.
| Jane Howard | 36,000 |
| Todor Kondevski | 26,000 |
Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Bassil banishes Blanusa
Neb Blanusa has been knocked out in the space of two hands after only ten minutes of play.
After limping from middle position with K♠9♣, Blanusa called a raise to 500 from Christopher Bassil in the small blind. Paul Murray folded his big blind and the hand went heads-up to a flop of 4♣9♥K♣.
Bassil lead out for 700, Blanusa raised to 2,000, Bassil re-raised to 7,000, Blanusa moved all-in and was quickly called.
Bassil was at risk with A♠A♥, only for the board to run out 6♦ ,4♦ to counterfeit Blanusa’s flopped two pair.
Leaving Blanusa with only 1,900, he moved all in with 8♣6♠ the next hand only for Murray’s Q♥Q♦ to finish the job on a board of 4♣7♥2♣9♦A♦.
| Christopher Bassil | 58,200 |
| Paul Murray | 51,600 |
| Neb Blanusa | BUSTED! |
MacNaught distraught
Jiapeng Yang has taken out Kim MacNaught in brutal fashion in only the second hand of the day over on Table 2.
All the money was in the middle after a flop of J♣K♦2♦; MacNaught had got it in good with J♠J♥, but Yang had called and was chasing with 9♦5♦.
No change after the turn of the 3♥, but MacNaught was flushed out by the river 10♦.
It took a good couple of minutes for a stunned MacNaught to process what had transpired, sitting in his chair and staring blankly as the dealer pushed the pot before he mustered up the strength to stand up and walk away.
| Jiapeng Yang | 48,100 |
| Kim MacNaught | BUSTED! |
Familiar faces
126 players have already been seated here in the Star Poker Sydney Poker Room, including Sydney Champs $1,100 NLH Champion Slav Rypinski, who’s seated on the feature able alongside Neb Blanusa and Natalia Rozova, who are now seated on the feature table now streaming on Twitch.
Alba Qi, Nick Wright, Alex Yacoub, Uno Uka and Alex Yazbeck are also in action today, with plenty more returning for another crack, including Yor Ecobiza, Steven Hoek, ‘Toothpick’ Tony Kambouroglou and Roland Foster.
Shuffle up and deal!
Day 1B of The Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty has officially begun!
Once again, play will continue until we reach 15% of the total field, which should take us through to around Level 16.
Each player has begun with 30,000 in tournament chips and we’ll be playing 30-minute blind levels. Unlimited re-entries and late rego will be available until the start of Level 9.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
| 1 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 3 | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 5 | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 6 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 7 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 8 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 9 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 10 | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| 11 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 13 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 14 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 15 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| 16 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Once more, with feeling!
Hello there and welcome back to The Star Sydney for Day 1B of the Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty!
Last night saw a total of 221 entries taken in for Day 1A, with Australian Poker Hall of Famer Leo Boxell bagging up 529,000 after almost 16 levels of play, with 35 players moving on to Day 2 on Thursday.
It’s estimated that up to 300 entries will be taken in for today’s flight, and PokerMedia Australia can confirm that we’re starting to see more and more players trickle in from interstate, as well as a few returning home after their most recent sojourn to Las Vegas, including 2018 WSOP Main Event final tablist Alex Lynskey and Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros.
Of course, the most important aspect of today’s tournament will be the final payout figures and Mystery Bounty dividends, which based on current projections, should have us up around 500 total entries, good for a Grand Bounty worth almost $40,000.
The stacks are now set and the shoes are loaded, so stay with us here on the PMA Live Reporting blog as we bring you all the action from 2:30pm AEST. See you soon!
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