Congratulations Yita Choong ($114,790*); 2022 APL Million Jackstar Super High Roller Champion!
After what has been an incredible year on the grind, Yita Choong has finally got his hands on a trophy, defeating Eric Xu heads-up in a see-sawing battle to win The APL Million Jackstar Super High Roller!
The final table of the iconic $1,250 buy-in tournament was forced into a third day, which saw Angel Guillen and Luke Martinelli depart in fourth and third place respectively before Choong battled back to clinch the trophy and almost $115,000 cash after shaking hands on a heads-up deal,
Choong was overwhelmed by the huge rush of some of poker’s biggest names running in to congratulate him in the wake of his well-earned victory.
“It’s unbelievable, honestly!” Choong said. “This year was actually my first WSOP experience and to make such a deep run then was just surreal.”
“Quite similar to that tourney, I came into the final table of the Jackstar as short stack … had no expectations, but I managed to spin it up!”
Choong now plans to take a month off to rest at the end of this series, which has seen him move up to more and USD $800,000 in tournament earnings, including his fourth-place finish in this year’s WSOP Millionaire and a runner-up finish in the last month’s Star Sydney Champs Main Event.
APL MILLION JACKSTAR SUPER HIGH ROLLER ($1,250 buy-in, 484 entries, 54 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Yita Choong | $114,790* |
| 2nd | Eric Xu | $80,070* |
| 3rd | Luke Martinelli | $46,320 |
| 4th | Angel Guillen | $35,140 |
| 5th | James Camilleri | $25,560 |
| 6th | Quan Dinh | $20,230 |
| 7th | Qing Ye | $15,970 |
| 8th | Taner Ates | $13,310 |
| 9th | Mitch Bognar | $10,650 |
This concludes our coverage of the Jackstar Super High Roller, but we’ll be back on Saturday as we bring you live updates from Day 2 of the APL Million Main Event and right through until the final river falls.
Be sure to also keep up with all that’s happening on and around the felt at Southport Sharks with our social media updates on the APL Facebook page and tune into watch the feature table stream over at playapl.tv. Until then, thanks again for joining us and we’ll see you again real soon. ‘Bye for now!
FINAL TABLE: Day 3
James Camilleri eliminated in 5th place ($25,560)
James Camilleri, acting from the cut off, pushed his stack all in for 5,300,000 with A♦J♦.
Luke Martinelli in the small blind woke up with K♦K♣ to re-pop for 8,700,000.
Yita Choong struggled with a decision, holding 10♥10♦, and questioning if he should be folding, before ultimately doing so, and clearing the way for the other two.
Martinelli’s kings were too strong on a board of 9♣Q♠5♦8♠8♣, eliminating Camilleri.
Quan Dinh eliminated in 6th place ($20,230)
Eric Xu raised to 850,000, prompting Quan Dinh in the small blind to deliberate over his 7♣5♣ for a few moments, before shoving all in pre-flop for 2,800,000.
Xu called and rolled over A♠5♠. The board was spread 4♦Q♣3♦3♠Q♥, with Xu’s kicker kicking Dinh to the rail.
Qing Ye eliminated in 7th place ($15,970)
After chips traded around the final table over the course of the prior few levels, Qing Ye made a move and ripped his stack of 2,200,000 from the hijack, and was called by Angel Guillen in the small blind.
Ye had hopes to hold with 4♦4♥ against Guillen’s A♣8♠.
The flop appeared as 7♥9♠J♣, a far more favourable set of odds for Guillen with a straight draw, and with the 8♣,Q♥ on the remaining streets, the pair of eights were enough to see to the demise of Ye.
Taner Ates eliminated in 8th place ($13,310)
Luke Martinelli was on a roll after having eliminated Bognar, cruising up the chip count ladder with 6,700,000.
Taner Ates in the small blind decided to try his luck, shoving all-in pre-flop for 1,800,000 and getting called by Martinelli.
Ates’ suited connectors, 10♣9♣, were left found wanting on a board of 6♠2♦J♦3♠2♣ as Martinelli’s K♠10♦ was good enough with a king kicker to eliminate Ates.
Mitch Bognar eliminated in 9th place ($10,650)
Luke Martinelli (3.3M) raised UTG +3 to 1,200,000.
Mitch Bognar decided to move all-in over the top for 2,500,000, and was called by Martinelli.
Bognar’s A♣K♠ had top pair on a board of 9♦A♦10♠Q♦Q♥, though Martinelli’s K♦10♦ flushed him out as our first final table scalp.
| Luke Martinelli | 5,800,000 |
| Mitch Bognar | BUSTED! |
FINAL TABLE: Day 2
2022 APL Million Jackstar Super High Roller final table
The Jackstar Super High Roller final table has now been set! Once again, we find ourselves with a stellar line-up, led by Sydney’s Eric Xu who started with 9.07 million in chips, followed closely by James Camilleri and Quan Dinh.
International import Angel Guillen – husband of Australian Poker Hall of Famer Lynn Gilmartin – is also well in contention, and could become the second international Jackstar Champion since France’s Anthony Cierco won it here at Southport Sharks back in January.
But although he comes in as the short stack, there’s no question that Yita Choong is hungry for more success after his impressive fourth-place finish in this year’s WSOP Millionaire Maker.
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Angel Guillen | 4,310,000 |
| 2 | Eric Xu | 9,070,000 |
| 3 | Mitch Bognar | 1,815,000 |
| 4 | James Camilleri | 7,190,000 |
| 5 | Quan Dinh | 6,300,000 |
| 6 | Qing Ye | 4,495,000 |
| 7 | Taner Ates | 2,285,000 |
| 8 | Luke Martinelli | 1,800,000 |
| 9 | Yita Choong | 1,620,000 |
Head to playapl.tv to follow the rest of the action through to a winner!
Xu keeping his chips
We’ve hit the top nine of the Jackstar Super High Roller. With action commencing through a UTG open from Eric Xu to 320,000. Play folded around to Wahesh on the button who called the bet to go heads-up to a flop of 8♠Q♠10♥.
Xu lead for 300,000 on the flop before Wahesh moved all-in for 1,365,000.
A moment passed before Xu made the call and the two went to showdown, Wahesh with his tournament life on the line.
Wahesh: K♠Q♣
Xu: K♦J♦
Xu’s rail decided to try their luck again in calling the next card. This time they requested pre-turn and for a few options.
“Ace or a Nine!” They pleaded.
On cue, the A♥ dropped on the turn, with the 8♦ completing Wahesh’s fate and sending us from two tables to one.
| Eric Xu | 9,070,000 |
| Simon Wahesh | BUSTED! |
Level 28: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
8888
Eric Xu opened from UTG+1 to 200,000, called by Qing Ye, before Crosby short-called the rest of his 180,000.
The dealer peeled a board of 2♣8♥6♥, and Xu initiated a bet of 125,000, called by Ye. They both checked the turn 8♣.
Ye fired with guns blazing on the river 7♠, piling 750,000 of his stack, forcing a fold from Xu and stealing the side pot.
As the cards were flipped up for showdown, Crosby was absolutely shuttered out by Ye, with the stone-cold nuts. Crosby’s night ending in 11th place.
Ye: 8♠8♦
Crosby: A♣7♦
“Who’s your daddy!” Pt. III
By now we should all know the line. Let’s say it all together!
This time it was Liam Jehu becoming the latest scalp for James Camilleri.
Blind on blind, Camilleri raised from the small before Jehu jammed in the big.
Jehu: A♥J♠
Camilleri: Q♣10♣
The flop was as scary as they come for Jehu, with the spread of 7♠6♣8♣ providing plenty of outs for Camilleri. One of them came on the turn with the A♣ falling.
The A♣ was deceptive to Camilleri, believing for a moment that he had lost to a full house.
Not to be. Upon realising he’d won, he followed his script to perfection as he waved goodbye to 12th placed Jehu.
“Who’s your daddy!”
| James Camilleri | 7,190,000 |
| Liam Jehu | BUSTED! |
“Who’s your daddy!” Pt. II
It has become a new catchphrase for James Camilleri. Exclaimed again after he saw to the elimination of Martin Ward in 13th place.
With Ward moving all in with Q-J for less than 800,000, it was an easy decision to snap-call with A-Q.
The Ace high flop was enough as the whole board came out to give Camilleri another scalp and another cue for his exciting new line to be delivered.
Ward took the loss with a smile, simply responding with, “I’m definitely not your daddy!”
With a laugh, he added, “But you can have my chips though!”
Level 27: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
“Jack!”
Jack Brown and Eric Xu were involved in a major hand on the stream over at our Feature Table.
Jeff Crosby was the initial raiser, making it 220,000 from UTG+1. Brown pushed 750,000 from the hijack when Xu moved all in from the cutoff.
Crosby folded and Brown quickly called, turning over K♠K♦. Xu opened up his Q♥Q♦ and the two went to battle with Brown the at-risk player.
The flop came 8♣10♦A♦, not providing much of an impact for either player.
The turn of K♣ gave Brown a set, but gave Xu two additional outs.
A supportive rail behind Xu got vocal with one card left, “JACK!”
And so it came to pass, that on the river card, there be the J♦.
| Eric Xu | 7,825,000 |
| Jack Brown | BUSTED! |
Stark Strikes Out
Quan Dinh opened with a bet of 240,000, rousing Stark from the big blind to ship a crippled stack of 720,000. Dinh quickly replied with a call to carry them over to heads up.
Unfortunately for Stark, his luck ran cold as his A-T was edged out by Dinh’s A-Q on a clean run out.
| Jon Stark | BUSTED! |
More knockouts
Action has slowed upon reaching the final two tables. More time is being taken with each decision as the weight of each one increases with larger payouts always an elimination away.
However, Charles Tsai and Matthew Howearth have both found the rail in 17th and 18th place respectively. Both collecting $5,325 for their efforts across the two days.
Level 26: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Final two tables
Feature Table
| Seat | Name |
| 1 | Jon Stark |
| 2 | Mitch Bognar |
| 3 | Tanner Ates |
| 4 | Yita Choong |
| 5 | Charles Tsai |
| 6 | Quan Dinh |
| 7 | Martin Ward |
| 8 | James Camilleri |
| 9 | Liam Jehu |
Table 74
| Seat | Name |
| 1 | Qing Ye |
| 2 | Matthew Howarth |
| 3 | Angel Guillen |
| 4 | Simon Wahesh |
| 5 | Craig Trevanna |
| 6 | Jeff Crosby |
| 7 | Luke Martinelli |
| 8 | Jack Brown |
| 9 | Eric Xu |
McDannold’s take away
Spinning the last of his 480,000 chips forth for his tournament life was Zac McDannold who went all-in pre-flop from UTG+1 .
Yita Choong snapped him off from the big blind as they both took to a board of K-9-6-4-T.
Yita Choong’s A♠K♣ was good enough to hold, the deal effectively sealed by the King in the window against McDannold’s A♣7♣, sending him to the rail.
| Yita Choong | 3,280,000 |
| Zac McDannold | BUSTED! |
House of Stark
Over on table 74, Jon Stark moved all-in pre-flop and was quickly called behind. He turned over his cards to show 9♥9♦ as the villain revealed A♥J♥.
As the flop peeled 9♠J♠3♦, Stark’s trips were looking good and the turn J♣ only delivered a bittersweet taste in the mouth of his opponent, with the 6♦ on the river sealing the double-up for Stark.
Battle for survival
Pressure is building as players are putting each other to the test.
James Camilleri and Yita Choong were involved in a tense period pre-flop in a hand early in the level.
Camilleri opened from the cutoff to 180,000, and with action folding back to Choong in the big blind, he piled a huge raise.
1,800,000 was the new price of admission for Camilleri to see a flop. After a tank in excess of three minutes, Camilleri folded his hand face-up, J♠J♦.
It is on!
Level 25: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Break time
It is time for our 19 remaining player to stretch their legs and grab a drink. We are on the verge of final two tables.
A sorted chip count
| Jon Stark | 4,700,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 4,665,000 |
| Jack Brown | 4,640,000 |
| James Camilleri | 3,700,000 |
| Charles Tsai | 2,600,000 |
| Eric Xu | 2,120,000 |
| Quan Dinh | 2,100,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 2,060,000 |
| Martin Ward | 1,850,000 |
| Liam Jehu | 1,840,000 |
| Yita Choong | 1,775,000 |
| Craig Trevenna | 1,715,000 |
| Jeff Crosby | 1,675,000 |
| Qing Ye | 1,620,000 |
| Simon Wahesh | 1,230,000 |
| Taner Ates | 1,125,000 |
| Mitch Bognar | 1,110,000 |
| Zac McDannold | 900,000 |
Ye-ah!
Matthew Howearth has been eliminated after a short bout of pre-flop action. A three-bet shove was all it took for the chips to get in the middle after Qing Ye initially opened.
Howearth’s short-stacked all-in was promptly called by Ye and the two turned over their cards.
Howearth: 8♣8♥
Ye: K♠9♦
Board: 4♠9♥J♥6♣7♦
| Qing Ye | 1,250,000 |
| Matthew Howearth | BUSTED! |
“Who’s your daddy!”
Delivered loudly, James Camilleri expressed this with pure ecstasy as the river card fell in his favour.
He followed it with, “I never get the lucky river.”
After a three way all-in, Camilleri was at risk against a bigger stack in Corey Van Jaarsveldt, whilst Yiteng Ge was the shortest in chips of the three.
Van Jaarsveldt: 9♠9♣
Camilleri: A♦K♣
Ge: Q♠J♥
Board: 5♣8♣J♦4♦K♦
| James Camilleri | 4,250,000 |
| Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 520,000 |
| Yiteng Ge | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Wheeler of fortune: episode III
Grant Wheeler moved all in pre-flop and found a call from Jack Brown.
Although dominated by K♣Q♣ pre-flop, Wheeler’s K♥10♠ flopped well with the first three cards displaying J♣8♦10♣.
With a flush draw, there was still no feeling of comfort for Wheeler. That feeling was validated as the last two cards came down 3♦,5♣.
| Jack Brown | 4,150,000 |
| Grant Wheeler | BUSTED! |
Bao down and out
Bao Le has reached the end of his tournament run.
After raising to 100,000 pre and having Yiteng Ge move all-in over the top, Le quickly called to see he was ahead. However, the board had other ideas.
Le: Q♠Q♣
Ge: 9♥9♠
Board: 8♦7♣3♥9♣5♣
| Yiteng Ge | 1,310,000 |
| Bao Le | BUSTED! |
Fazzino fizzes
Sal Fazzino managed to land a double-up thanks to Zac McDannold moving all in from the button.
Fazzino woke up in the small blind with K♠K♣ and called McDannold, who turned over A♥J♠.
The board followed with 8♦A♣3♠K♥2♦ to decimate McDannold’s stack. Fazzino moves to over a million in chips after being on 385,000 only minutes prior.
| Sal Fazzino | 1,120,000 |
| Zac McDannold | 200,000 |
Level 23: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Berdugo-es, Smiljanic follows
More knockouts are taking place, as the field enters the twenties.
Corey Van Jaarsveldt’s A♣A♦ eliminated Jeison Berdugo’s J♣8♥ after the two players got the chips in the middle on a flop of 8♠5♠3♥. The runout of 3♠,9♣ meant the Aces held strong.
Dan Smiljanic went shortly after, with his A♦Q♣ going down in flames against Dylan Wayne’s Q♥7♠.
Both players flopped top pair on 5♣6♥Q♦, but a rough turn and river for Smiljanic of 8♦,4♣ handed Wayne a running straight to send Smiljanic home.
| Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 1,705,000 |
| Dylan Wayne | 1,575,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | BUSTED! |
| Dan Smiljanic | BUSTED! |
Mean way to go
Mina Gerges moved all in pre-flop for 465,000 with J♠J♣ in his hand, and found a caller in the form of Yita Choong and his 3♦3♣.
Looking good to multiply his stack by two, Gerges was disheartened at a board showing A♥3♠6♦K♠6♠ to end his evening.
Choong then got involved again the very next hand. Another all-in pre saw Peter Peter’s K♠5♣ called by Choong’s K♥Q♥.
The board spread 10♥4♥4♠3♥J♦, flushing Peters from the tournament.
| Yita Choong | 1,650,000 |
| Mina Gerges | BUSTED! |
“I’m in strife!” *laughs*
Those were the words from Hayden Doughty after his UTG all-in was promptly called by Jack Brown.
“A snap call! That’s not good!”
Doughty’s impressions were correct as his 9♠9♣ had some catching up to do against Brown’s Q♠Q♥. The flop gave some hope as 10♣Q♦8♣ with an inside straight draw and back-door flush draw providing some additional avenues of escape.
However the turn and river of 5♦,6♣ sealed his fate.
| Jack Brown | 2,685,000 |
| Hayden Doughty | BUSTED! |
Released Roderick
Angel Guillen continues to prove that patience is key. As previously mentioned, he spent the majority of the day with less than half the average stack. Now he appears to hold a chip lead as the field begins to slim into the thirties.
His latest victim was Scott Roderick, discharged from the tournament after Guillen spiked a set.
Roderick open-shoved from UTG and folded around to Guillen in the big blind, who called the 360,000 bet.
Roderick’s 10♠10♦ faced up against Guillen’s 5♠5♣, and fell behind on the board 5♦9♣3♦3♠7♣.
| Angel Guillen | 3,250,000 |
| Scott Roderick | BUSTED! |
Level 22: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Wayne’s world
Hayden Doughty opened the action from UTG to 60,000, then Dylan Wayne three-bet all-in for 375,000 from the cutoff. From the small blind, Liam Murray moved in over the top for his total of 590,000, Doughty got out of the way as Wayne made the call.
Wayne: K♣J♣
Murray: 10♥10♣
Board: J♥4♦6♣9♥2♠
Murray would go on to be eliminated the next hand in 50th place.
| Dylan Wayne | 810,000 |
| Liam Murray | BUSTED! |
The adventures of Mr. Kennedy
Samuel Kennedy has been involved in some wild action across the span of multiple hands.
Midway through Level 21, Kennedy moved all-in on top of a pre-flop raise and was called by A♥K♣.
Kennedy’s Queens looked in trouble on the turn after the first four cards expressed a board of 9♣2♥9♦K♠. The river resulted in the Q♦ for the two-outer to get Kennedy the double.
However, shortly after, a now big-stacked Angel Guillen opened to 60,000, another player called and Kennedy attempted a squeeze from the small blind with 10♥10♦, moving all-in for almost a million in chips.
Guillen called with A♥A♦, having Kennedy crushed including suits, and held on a board of A♣6♠4♦2♠10♣.
Guillen now has a huge chip count after spending the majority of the tournament nursing a short stack.
| Angel Guillen | 2,680,000 |
| Samuel Kennedy | BUSTED! |
Bubble burst
Hayden Doughty has earned the praise of 53 other players in the tournament by knocking out 55th place, and reaching the payout zone.
A hijack open to 60,000 saw Doughty and the big blind flat the bet to see the flop.
All players checked to a turn as the board now read K♣K♠10♣7♦.
The big blind lead for 30,000, the hijack folded and Doughty called.
The big blind bet half of his stack on the 5♦ river, Doughty responded with a bet big enough to cover the remainder of his opponent’s stack.
Putting his tournament life at risk on the bubble, the big blind called with K♥J♣ only to see that Doughty had rivered a full house with 5♠5♣.
Congratulations to our top 54, you’re all getting paid!
| Hayden Doughty | 1,410,000 |
Level 21: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Bao down up
Mina Gerges once again got involved in a hand, except this time, he was the one running into Aces.
An open-jam from Bao Le under the gun for 220,000 was called when action folded to Gerges in the big blind.
Le: A♠A♣
Gerges: A♦Q♥
Board: 9♥5♠5♥J♥3♠
Le faded the heart-draw to get a double up, bringing him closer to par with Gerges’ stack.
| Bao Le | 470,000 |
| Mina Gerges | 590,000 |
Joe blow
Joseph Cristallo has experienced vastly differing fortunes within the space of two hands.
With an all-in for 350,000 from Mina Gerges, Cristallo snap called with A♥K♥.
Gerges turned over A♣A♦ and held on a board of 8♣5♣10♣4♦5♥ to double up.
Cristallo then woke up with 9♥9♦ and jammed into A♦K♥, this time holding clean on 10♥6♠Q♣10♣4♥ to run his stack back up after the previous hand’s loss.
| Joseph Cristallo | 530,000 |
| Mina Gerges | 740,000 |
Wheeler of fortune: episode II
Ilya Lanster and Grant Wheeler clashed again in an action hand on Table 72.
Lanster opened to 40,000 from UTG, and was met with calls from two players in middle position, as well as from Liam Murray in the small blind, and Wheeler defending his big blind.
On the 7♠7♥8♥ flop, the blinds checked to Lanster to continue for 66,000. Two players called, Murray folded, and Wheeler priced it up to 165,000.
Lanster responded with an all-in, was called and both turned their cards.
Wheeler: 8♥6♣
Lanster: A♥9♥
The turn landed a 4♥ giving Lanster the flush, but the 8♦ river boated Wheeler up to decimate Lanster’s stack.
| Grant Wheeler | 925,000 |
| Ilya Lanster | 25,000 |
Level 20: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Luke, meet Jack
Luke De Ruiter raised to 32,000 to begin a hand, when his opponent moved all-in for 170,000.
De Ruiter called with his J♥J♦ to see he was up against A♥A♣.
The first four cards changed nothing, being 10♠K♠8♣4♠, however the arrival of the J♠ on the river handed him the scalp and a chip-up.
| Luke De Ruiter | 590,000 |
Bru-no luck
Bruno Portaro has lost consecutive hands to fall out of contention in the Jackstar.
An all-in pre-flop from Angel Guillen for 143,000 prompted Portaro to move in over the top for 344,000.
All others cleared the way as Guillen showed J♥J♦, with Portaro’s A♦9♦ needing to catch up.
No such case eventuated as the board followed 7♣5♠10♣8♠3♣.
Portaro moved all-in the very next hand and couldn’t survive upon being called.
| Angel Guillen | 346,000 |
| Bruno Portaro | BUSTED! |
Min-click
Action opened on Table 6 with Dan Smiljanic opening from UTG to 32,000. Taner Ates adjusted the price to 87,000 with a raise of his own from middle position.
They both saw the flop reveal 2♣3♣3♥, to which they both checked.
When the 5♣ came on the turn, Smiljanic bet 75,000 before Ates min-raised to 150,000, which put Smiljanic in the blender.
Three minutes passed before an eventual fold was made and, to ease any doubts, Ates showed Smiljanic that the fold was correct, turning his A♣K♣ face up on the table.
| Taner Ates | 1,200,000 |
| Dan Smiljanic | 334,000 |
No casualty Ward
Martin Ward and Jeison Berdugo played against each other in a hand that opened with a raise from Berdugo to 35,000. Ward came along to see the flop spread J♣9♣7♦, where the action checked through to a Q♣ on the turn.
Ward lead for 35,000 and Berdugo matched him.
Both players checked the J♦ river card and so Ward turned over his K♥10♥ for the straight, unable to get a bite after attempting to bait Berdugo.
| Martin Ward | 351,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | 785,000 |
Level 19: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)
Three streets of action
No spoilers in this one’s headline as we want to take you on a ride-along for a hand on Table 2.
Nathanial Hutton opened the action to 26,000 and found a call from William Lim, defending his big blind.
On a flop of 7♣A♦10♣, Lim checked it to Hutton who continued for 30,000. Lim made the call to see the 9♦ show up on the turn.
This time, Lim lead out into Hutton for 12,000, and was eventually met with a call.
The river card fell the 10♠ and Lim pulled the trigger, counting out some of his mountain of red chips and betting 100,000.
A moment in the tank eventually saw Hutton come to make the fold, and with glee Lim turned over his 8♣2♠ for the bluff as the table erupted with laughter!
| William ‘Mr. Miyagi’ Lim | 1,960,000 |
| Nathanial Hutton | 721,000 |
Wins of an Angel
Angel Guillen is in the process of grinding a short stack to stay in the game, and it’s safe to say a timely event of quad-aces has helped his cause.
An opponent’s K♦10♦ was stomped to the ground on each street as the all-in pre-flop saw Guillen’s A♥Q♣ take the pot after the 9♣A♣A♦9♠A♠ spread.
| Angel Guillen | 244,000 |
Wheeler of fortune
Table 72 saw Liam Murray open the action from the button to a total of 24,000, the adjacent Grant Wheeler moved all-in from the small blind for 274,000, and Ilya Lanster flatted from the big blind.
Murray cleared the way for the two blinds to battle and the cards were shown.
Lanster: A♠A♣
Wheeler: 3♠3♦
On a flop of 6♦A♦4♠, it looked to be all over over for Wheeler, except for some straw-clutching back-door draws. The turn and river followed with 5♦,9♦ as the whole table let our a collectively groan in disgust at the runout.
| Grant Wheeler | 512,000 |
| Ilya Lanster | 28,000 |
| Liam Murray | 372,000 |
Corey glory
Another all-in pre-flop situation has seen the knockout of Ben Kirkham.
Corey Van Jaarsveldt woke up with A♠A♣ at the perfect time, with Kirkham moving all in with a dominated A♦Q♠ for 166,000 before being quickly called.
No assistance from a board of 2♠J♥J♠5♦K♦ was able to Save Kirkham from hitting the rail.
| Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 701,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Gross income
Michael Gross was the beneficiary of another Kings versus Queens cooler, with all the chips getting in the middle before the first street.
An all-in from an unknown player’s Q♥Q♦ ran into Gross’ K♠K♠ and couldn’t improve on 7♣7♠5♣3♣8♣, with neither player holding a club.
| Michael Gross | 590,000 |
D’oh-ty
Hayden Doughty has lost a relatively small chunk of his relatively large stack.
Adrian Roberts moved all in for 106,000 pre-flop and found Doughty as a caller.
Roberts: A♦K♥
Doughty: A♣Q♥
Board: J♥5♠8♣A♠6♥
The hand resulting in a timely double for Roberts, whilst Doughty still maintains a comfortable chip count.
| Adrian Roberts | 383,000 |
| Hayden Doughty | 730,000 |
Mansell profits
Josh Mansell has picked up a scalp with a flip falling in his favour.
The dealer announced “All-in, call” before spreading a board of 7♣7♠2♠2♦10♦.
Mansell’s 9♦9♠ held in good stead against an opponent’s A♠K♣.
| Josh Mansell | 463,000 |
Level 17: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Hart palpitations
Shannon Hart has survived a huge scare after getting his Q♠Q♣ in against his opponent’s J♠J♥.
All-in before a flop of A♣K♠Q♥, things were looking good for Hart with a flopped-set in his favour. The whole table let out a collective groan with a 10♥ on the turn, before an even bigger “Oohh!” upon the arrival of the A♥ on the river.
| Shannon Hart | 593,000 |
Carlos-t
A short-stacked Carlos Yousef put his remaining 31,000 into the middle and Liam Murray snap called to go heads-up to a full board spread of 9♥7♣8♠8♦10♥.
Youssef’s A♠K♣ failed to interact with the community cards to beat Murray’s 3♥3♦.
| Liam Murray | 185,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | BUSTED! |
Frost coolered
William Lim has emerged as one of the monster stacks, if not the chip leader, after an all-in pre-flop against Mitchell Frost.
After much raising and re-raising eventually both players were all-in. Before either turned over their cards, Lim questioned Frost:
“You have pocket queens?”
The cards did the talking in response as Frost turned over his Q♥Q♦. Lim cheerfully showed his K♥K♣ as the two took to the board of 8♥5♥10♣8♦9♥, as Frost’s 485,000 in chips were shipped to the other side of the table.
| William Lim | 1,247,000 |
| Mitchell Frost | BUSTED! |
Time to go, Panuccio
Pat Panuccio has hit the rail as a result of a cooler from Higor Seibel
Seibel piled his chips all in from the small blind, over the top of Panuccio’s button raise of 20,000. Panuccio quickly called with A♣K♣ to see he was up against the A♥6♦ of Siebel.
The Board couldn’t hold up Panuccio’s pre-flop lead, eliminated after the spread of 5♠10♥6♥7♦J♦. Seibel collected 130,000 in extra chips after spiking the right pair at the right time.
| Higor Seibel | 340,000 |
| Pat Panuccio | BUSTED! |
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Quads good for Wood
Russell Fogarty has had his tournament life cut short by Danny Wood.
After action opened with a raise to 12,000 from UTG, Wood and Fogarty called from the cut off and small blind respectively.
On 10♣8♥6♦, Wood lead out for 15,000, and was met with a raise all-in from Fogarty.
Wood matched Fogarty’s remaining 76,000, with Fogarty holding 8♣7♣for a pair and a number of draws. Wood’s 6♠6♣ had the pot locked up on the turn with the 10♥ pairing the board. If that wasn’t convincing enough, the 6♥ was the extra nail in the coffin.
| Danny Wood | 506,000 |
| Russell Fogarty | BUSTED! |
Raise, raise, raise
Sam Kennedy is looking to apply maximum pressure to his opponents on his table. Our reporter has caught the action from the flop, with the board showing 8♠J♣A♥.
Kennedy initially checked from the small blind to Sal Fazzino, who seated on the button. Fazzino bet 15,000, Kennedy raised to 56,000 and Fazzino fired another raise up to 125,000.
Kennedy took his time before piling all 352,000 of his chips into the middle. After a period of tanking, Fazzino eventually let go of his hand, letting Kennedy take down a big pot before getting to a turn.
| Sam Kennedy | 515,000 |
| Sal Fazzino | 451,000 |
New bar for Jackstar
Four-hundred and eighty-four. 484 entries is the final count for the 2022 APL Million Jackstar Super High Roller. $532,400 is the total prize pool with a whopping $119,790 up top for first.
These are unprecedented numbers, well clear of any iteration of the Jackstar in the past.
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $119,790 |
| 2nd | $75,070 |
| 3rd | $46,320 |
| 4th | $35,140 |
| 5th | $25,560 |
| 6th | $20,230 |
| 7th | $15,970 |
| 8th | $13,310 |
| 9th | $10,650 |
| 10th | $9,320 |
| 11th-12th | $7,985 |
| 13th-15th | $6,655 |
| 16th-18th | $5,325 |
| 19th-21st | $4,525 |
| 22nd-24th | $3,995 |
| 25th-27th | $3,460 |
| 28th-32nd | $3,195 |
| 33rd-36th | $2,930 |
| 37th-45th | $2,660 |
| 46th-54th | $2,395 |
Assorted chip counts
| William Lim | 670,000 |
| Mitch Bognar | 600,000 |
| Brock Munro | 599,000 |
| Danny Wood | 506,000 |
| Eric Xu | 403,000 |
| Dylan Wayne | 360,000 |
| Liam Jehu | 337,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | 302,000 |
| Qi Xu | 276,000 |
| Mena Tawfik | 235,000 |
| Dylan Garland | 229,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 171,000 |
| Yita Choong | 167,000 |
| Simon Wahesh | 153,000 |
| Robert Damelian | 130,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 83,000 |
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
No more Toye to play with
Sal Fazzino has rocketed up the chip counts with the knockout of Rauran Toye.
On a flop of 9♣3♦2♦, Toye lead from the cutoff for 30,000 and was met with a Fazzino raise to 80,000. Toye moved all in over the top for 240,000 with Fazzino snap-calling.
Toye: A♣9♥
Fazzino: K♦9♦
Toye looked in good shape to find a double-up, until the runout followed 2♣,K♠, spelling the end of Toye’s story.
Rollercoaster Romain
On a board of J♠2♦4♣7♦, Romain Morvan was all in against Luke Martinelli.
Morvan was in bad shape with 9♦9♣ after Martinelli had flopped a set with 4♥4♦.
The river card couldn’t help Morvan, as the J♣ landed, giving Martinelli a huge pot to tip him over half-a-million in chips.
The following hand, Morvan moved all in from under the gun and found a caller in Guy O’Keefe from middle position.
Morvan: 5♠5♥
O’Keefe: A♠K♥
Board: 4♦2♠Q♥J♣8♠
With Morvan rising from his seat, and grabbing his bag ready to leave, it appears the ‘stand-up equity’ has seen him live to fight another day.
| Luke Martinelli | 564,000 |
| Romain Morvan | 90,500 |
| Guy O’Keefe | 45,000 |
Hong does no wrong
Table 14 saw Taylor Grube move all in from middle position, followed by a Ryan Hong re-jam. Everyone else got out of the way as the two turned over their cards.
Grube: 7♠7♦
Hong: A♣Q♣
Board: Q♦J♥10♠3♥7♣
| Ryan Hong | 277,000 |
| Taylor Grube | BUSTED! |
No frown for Brown
Over on Table 10, Graham Davis found himself in some post flop action against Jack Brown.
On 8♦2♦10♠, Davis lead for 30,000 and Brown called to see the 7♠ turn card. Davis pushed all-in and was met with a snap call from Brown with 7♥7♦.
The river card 6♥ couldn’t save Davis’ A♠A♥.
| Jack Brown | 231,500 |
| Graham Davis | 31,500 |
Level 14: 2,500/5,000 (5,000)
Dammit Zammit
Shane Zammit has been dealt a cruel blow, once again due to pocket Kings reigning supreme.
Not even Zammit’s A♠A♦ could thwart Kings’ success today. Ben Kirkham’s K♥K♣ spiked a set on the 4♦2♣K♦6♠5♥ spread.
Under the gun, and with 1,500 remaining in his stack, Zammit went all in blind the very next hand with Simon Wahesh and Caroline Lin checking through to the river in the side pot.
Lin’s A♥K♦ held against Wahesh’s K♣9♣, and Zammit’s J♠8♦ on 6♦Q♣5♦Q♠5♥.
| Ben Kirkham | 216,000 |
| Caroline Lin | 228,000 |
| Simon Wahesh | 112,000 |
| Shane Zammit | BUSTED! |
Todd-do list
Todd Aguila has ticked off two knockouts from his checklist, eliminating Nilanka Kularathne and Zhihao Chen in the same hand. With pocket Kings proving successful so far – at least in our previous two hands reported so far – the trend did not waver from being in Aguila’s favour.
Aguila’s K♥K♦, facing Kularathne’s A♠K♠ and Chen’s 6♠6♣, held clean on a board of 5♦2♦10♠J♦8♦ to hand him a flush as a bonus.
| Todd Aguila: | 245,000 |
| Nilanka Kularathne | BUSTED! |
| Zhihao Chen | BUSTED! |
Slammin’ Sam
Samuel Kennedy has found a handy time to win with pocket Kings, after starting Day 2 with a Day 1 start stack. Liam Jehu, making a move pre-flop, still sits comfortably even after the loss.
Kennedy: K♥K♦
Liam: J♥8♦
Board: Q♥8♣Q♣3♦3♥
| Samuel Kennedy | 290,000 |
| Liam Jehu | 199,000 |
Ates eats up early chips
Taner Ates has picked up an early three-way all in pot, resulting in the elimination of Jen Cassell.
Ates and Cassell found themselves all-in pre-flop, along with Carolyn Chen.
Ates: K♥K♣
Cassell: Q♦Q♠
Chen: 7♦7♠
Board: A♠9♣7♣8♦K♠
Chen almost scooped the entire pot after flopping the set, but the two-outer on the river has left her with less than 15 big blinds, as Ates climbs well above average stack.
| Taner Ates | 266,000 |
| Carolyn Chen | 56,500 |
| Jen Cassell | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Time to shine
Good afternoon and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s continued Live Reporting coverage of The APL Million Jackstar Super High Roller!
With 172 players one Day 1 through to Day 2, with additional entries expected in droves until the 12:40pm cutoff, the Jackstar looks to be yet another event on The APL Million Series schedule to have an enormous prize pool.
Players have returned to empty their bags as they prepare for a grinding final day, however the trend so far this series suggests that we may have to enter into the schedule to reach a result.
For now we’ve got all the action covered for you as we climb towards near 500 entry mark! Stay tuned.
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 12pm AEST, with recommencing blinds at 2,000/4,000 (4,000). Please ensure you have your photo ID with you for verification purposes. Should you have any queries regarding your seating allocation, please approach one of the APL Million crew. Best of luck, everyone!
Table 1
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Yita Choong | 178,500 |
| 2 | Jacob Faull | 124,500 |
| 3 | Arthur Stevens | 91,000 |
| 4 | Bert Perry | 67,500 |
| 5 | Eric Xu | 267,000 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Danny Wood | 67,000 |
| 8 | Rob Damelian | 141,000 |
| 9 | Russell Fogarty | 134,000 |
Table 2
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Charles Tsai | 557,000 |
| 2 | Brad Smith | 58,500 |
| 3 | Ben Kirkham | 114,500 |
| 4 | Darren Moves | 560,500 |
| 5 | Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 219,500 |
| 6 | Simon Chahine | 80,000 |
| 7 | Kenny McLaren | 130,000 |
| 8 | Paul Huber | 282,000 |
| 9 | Caroline Lin | 217,500 |
Table 3
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | John Gilberg | 701,000 |
| 2 | Daniel O’Shea | 146,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Edwards | 355,000 |
| 4 | Mina Gerges | 159,000 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Vito Montalto | 185,000 |
| 8 | Jiapeng Yang | 204,000 |
| 9 | Alex Predojevic | 492,500 |
Table 4
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Marc Seymour | 87,500 |
| 2 | Tony Grosso | 90,000 |
| 3 | Steven Vogt | 94,000 |
| 4 | Richard Balkau | 272,000 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Michael Gross | 213,500 |
| 7 | Richard Tang | 163,500 |
| 8 | Greg Burgess | 355,000 |
| 9 | Joe Cristallo | 169,500 |
Table 5
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Craig Scott | 56,000 |
| 3 | Samuel Kennedy | 82,000 |
| 4 | Michael Madden | 413,500 |
| 5 | Michael Collins | 298,000 |
| 6 | Billy Bremner | 326,000 |
| 7 | Liam Jehu | 302,500 |
| 8 | Mishel Anunu | 241,500 |
| 9 | Richard Davis | 177,500 |
Table 6
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Jaymie Hunter | 126,000 |
| 2 | Taner Ates | 93,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Gonn | 193,500 |
| 4 | Jen Cassell | 55,500 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Carolyn Chen | 137,500 |
| 8 | Mogens Hansen | 273,000 |
| 9 | Michael Barker | 68,000 |
Table 7
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Dylan Garland | 323,000 |
| 2 | Chi Truong | 117,000 |
| 3 | Qing Ye | 392,000 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | James Camilleri | 302,500 |
| 6 | Grant Wheeler | 211,000 |
| 7 | Yang Lei | 309,000 |
| 8 | Tim Mitchell | 154,000 |
| 9 | Roland Hawkins | 174,500 |
Table 8
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Mena Tawfik | 295,500 |
| 2 | Kyle Hinchclifffe | 79,500 |
| 3 | Martin Ward | 160,500 |
| 4 | Faraz Ayyaz | 284,500 |
| 5 | Zachary McDannold | 195,000 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 | Wayne Clinch | 176,500 |
| 9 | John Camilleri | 62,000 |
Table 9
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Romain Morvan | 146,000 |
| 2 | Steven Hoek | 114,500 |
| 3 | Michael Mavrolakis | 52,000 |
| 4 | Karsten Kobbing | 243,000 |
| 5 | Mark McQuinn | 199,000 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Minh La | 154,500 |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | Higor Siebel | 286,500 |
Table 10
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Dylan Natoli | 76,500 |
| 2 | Mitchell Frost | 303,000 |
| 3 | Tony Bagshaw | 346,500 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Ben Yap | 129,000 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Hanan Braun | 95,000 |
| 8 | Jack Brown | 141,000 |
| 9 |
Table 11
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Shannon Hart | 233,500 |
| 2 | Wayde Rickhuss | 53,500 |
| 3 | Rimon Fanous | 203,500 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Jason White | 117,500 |
| 7 | Christopher Shao | 175,500 |
| 8 | Shaun Dunn | 103,500 |
| 9 | Jaime Dalton-Allen | 85,500 |
Table 12
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Roy Agresta | 80,000 |
| 2 | Dan Smiljanic | 109,000 |
| 3 | Joe Fullam | 124,500 |
| 4 | Jason Chahine | 131,500 |
| 5 | Metin Gul | 201,500 |
| 6 | Brett Crouch | 196,500 |
| 7 | Phat Nguyen | 227,500 |
| 8 | Tom Maguire | 123,000 |
| 9 | Matthew Howearth | 341,500 |
Table 13
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Leeroy Turnbull | 185,500 |
| 2 | Terry Oates | 189,500 |
| 3 | Octavian Voegele | 152,500 |
| 4 | Jon Stark | 51,000 |
| 5 | Matthew Bevin | 214,500 |
| 6 | Mitch Bognar | 538,000 |
| 7 | Jack Drapier | 62,500 |
| 8 | Troy McLean | 80,000 |
| 9 | Khac-Trung Tran | 181,000 |
Table 14
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Karl Symonds | 100,000 |
| 2 | Pierce Hynes | 186,000 |
| 3 | Luke De Ruiter | 282,500 |
| 4 | Adrian Roberts | 149,000 |
| 5 | Rithy Chhay | 227,500 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | John Duggan | 314,500 |
| 8 | Matt Jones | 197,000 |
| 9 | Ryan Hong | 391,000 |
Table 15
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | David Luong | 133,500 |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | Rauran Toye | 124,500 |
| 5 | Sal Fazzino | 269,000 |
| 6 | Ashish Gupta | 199,000 |
| 7 | Kane Lewis | 273,000 |
| 8 | Billy Kennedy | 118,000 |
| 9 | Braydon Kirkley | 80,000 |
Table 16
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Michael Callanan | 430,500 |
| 2 | Wayne Field | 434,500 |
| 3 | Peter Peeters | 264,500 |
| 4 | Tim McDonnell | 411,000 |
| 5 | Craig Trevenna | 211,000 |
| 6 | Peter Saward | 121,500 |
| 7 | Hasian Hyde | 57,000 |
| 8 | Nathaniel Hutton | 255,000 |
| 9 | Victor Bernardeau | 200,500 |
Table 17
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Kevin MacDonald | 221,000 |
| 3 | Scott Roderick | 60,500 |
| 4 | Alan Dang | 83,000 |
| 5 | Win Tan | 180,500 |
| 6 | Luke Jackson | 79,500 |
| 7 | Ben Setta | 166,000 |
| 8 | Quan Dinh | 228,000 |
| 9 | Dylan Stringer | 269,000 |
Table 70
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Zhihao Chen | 101,000 |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | Nilanka Kularathne | 43,500 |
| 4 | Brock Munro | 349,500 |
| 5 | Cam Adams | 175,000 |
| 6 | Jade Brunson | 203,500 |
| 7 | Sergio Kacanas | 71,500 |
| 8 | Brock Haslam | 174,000 |
| 9 | Todd Aguila | 134,500 |
Table 71
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Phillip Edwards | 160,000 |
| 2 | Aden Nicholls | 157,000 |
| 3 | Samuel Wells | 375,000 |
| 4 | Kalan Shuttlewood | 227,000 |
| 5 | Dylan Wayne | 447,000 |
| 6 | Jamie De Bono | 103,000 |
| 7 | Linh Bui | 84,000 |
| 8 | Dennis Huntly | 261,000 |
| 9 | Toby Allsop | 353,500 |
Table 72
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Matt Sykes | 95,000 |
| 2 | Steve Meertens | 99,000 |
| 3 | Shaun Elliott | 175,000 |
| 4 | Yoon Kang | 189,000 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Liam Murray | 148,000 |
| 7 | Carlos Youssef | 126,500 |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | Elvira Rock | 279,500 |
Table 73
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Juri Roots | 90,500 |
| 3 | ||
| 4 | Tim Caban | 31,500 |
| 5 | Bao Le | 171,500 |
| 6 | Phil Siddell | 136,500 |
| 7 | Greg Hoy | 114,500 |
| 8 | Bruno Portaro | 32,800 |
| 9 |
Table 74
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Nathan Cramb | 223,500 |
| 2 | Jeff Crosby | 333,000 |
| 3 | Kelly Dubberley | 262,500 |
| 4 | Renato Trentin | 388,500 |
| 5 | Travis Endersby | 43,000 |
| 6 | Matty Guilleaume | 80,500 |
| 7 | Dexter McMillan | 271,500 |
| 8 | Nick Williams | 102,500 |
| 9 | Chris Andreadis | 318,000 |
Be the first to comment