LIVE REPORTING: WPT Australia Opening Event Mystery Bounty Day 2

Congratulations Chris Tran ($79,744) WPT Australia Opening Event Mystery Bounty Champion!

Chris Tran is the first to hold a trophy aloft in the WPT Australia Series, winning the first event of the 2022 schedule.

This victory marks the second time in the space of a few months where a Mystery Bounty event at The Star has seen the recipient of the Grand Bounty go all the way to win the entire tournament.

Tran follows in the footsteps of The Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty Champion, Seyed Nasab, by doing just that! Except this time, Tran has the bragging rights of having done it amongst a bigger field, the largest ever for an Australian-held event of this format.

“I feel ecstatic, the whole day feels surreal!” Tran told PokerMediaAustralia in his post-win chat.

Having played mystery bounty tournaments in the past, despite limited success, Tran knew what he had to do to go deep, recommencing on Day 2 with a healthy 472,000 in chips.

“You have to go for it, you have to hunt the bounties.”

That hunt paid dividends the very moment Tran peeled the $54,000 Grand Bounty, which he described as unexpected, and “really nice”.

The 29-year-old Sydneysider has been a professional poker player since 2017, but describes this result as his best to date, and plans to celebrate the victory with the rail that supported him throughout the final table.

Thanks for joining us over the previous three days for a phenomenal beginning to a series that will only get bigger. PMA’s coverage of WPT Australia will continue with Sunday’s $2,500 8-Max Day 2, with reporting getting underway from 11:30am AEST. Thanks for your viewership, see you real soon!


WPT Australia Opening Event Mystery Bounty ($1,350 buy-in, 513 entries, 65 players paid)

PLACENAMEPAYOUT
1stChris Tran$79,744
2ndJin Li$55,896
3rdPeter Peeters$35,951
4thMichael Clair$25,075
5thKen Stewart$19,248
6thMatthew Radcliffe$16,006
7thMishel Anunu$13,338
8thAli Zebarjad$10,629
9thJerome Tan$7,962

Jin Li eliminated in 2nd place ($55,896)

After an extended period of time spanning across the course of top three and heads-up action, we finally have had our final hand of the tournament play out.

Both players were happy to move all-in preflop and see they were flipping for the tournament.

Tran: 99
Li: KJ

Board: 83776

Chris Tran20,520,000
Jin LiBUSTED!
Jin Li

Peter Peeters eliminated in 3rd place ($35,951)

A remarkable run has come to a close for the man who finished Day 1A as the chip leader. Despite the chip advantage coming into Day 2, it’s never easy to sustain such a stack, especially to nurse it all the way to the final three.

Chris Tran spiked a lucky river to out-two pair Peter Peeters.

With all the chips in preflop, Tran’s A2 hit the right card at the right time to better the 109 holding in Peeters’ hand on a board that resulted in 2Q109A.

Chris Tran11,500,000
Peter PeetersBUSTED!
Peter Peeters

Michael Claire eliminated in 4th place ($25,075)

Jin Li has taken the chip lead with the knockout of Michael Claire.

Not for the first time on this final table, the all-in and call came before any community cards were laid to felt.

Li: AQ
Clair: 88

Board: 7946Q

Jin Li9,040,000
Michael ClairBUSTED!
Michael Clair

Ken Stewart eliminated in 5th place ($19,248)

Chris Tran has once again picked up another nockout, knocking out Ken Stewart as we reach the final quartet of the Mystery Bounty.

A short-stacked Stewart pulled the trigger, getting his remaining chips in the middle with J9 and Tran woke up at an opportune time to have another dip in the treasure chest.

Tran turned over KQ and held true on 510473.

Chris Tran8,300,000
Ken StewartBUSTED!
Ken Stewart

Matthew Radcliffe eliminated in 6th place ($16,008)

Matthew Radcliffe has walked away from the final table with a five-figure payday to add to his collection of bounties, which includes the $15,000 bounty.

Chris Tran was the one who did the damage, once again.

An open, an all-in, and a call preflop saw the two open their hands.

Tran: AQ
Radcliffe: A7

Board: 10K23K

Chris Tran5,620,000
Matthew RadcliffeBUSTED!
Matthew Radcliffe

Mishel Anunu eliminated in 7th place ($13,338)

Jin Li has picked up another knockout in emphatic style, ending Mishel Anunu’s tournament with an insane hand.

Jin Li opened the action from the cutoff, Anunu moved all-in and Li promptly called.

The board ran out Q833K.

Anunu had KK for the full house, however it wasn’t good enough to beat Li’s 33.

Jin Li3,920,000
Mishel AnunuBUSTED!
Mishel Anunu

Ali Zebarjad eliminated in 8th place ($10,629)

Chris Tran is continuing to build his chip lead on the final table, ending the tournament life of Ali Zebarjad.

Zebarjad moved all-in with A10 and having to only risk a small portion of his stack, Tran made an easy call with KQ.

The board of 10753Q gave Tran the better pair, handing him a bounty, and sending Zebarjad to the payout desk.

Chris Tran4,620,000
Ali ZebarjadBUSTED!
Ali Zebarjad

Jerome Tan eliminated in 9th place ($7,962)

Jerome Tan has come away with a successful beginning to his WPT Australia campaign, on top of a couple of bounties to his name, he’ll also come away with almost $8,000 more for his appearance in the top nine.

It was Ken Stewart doing the damage, initially opening to 125,000 before Tan moved all-in from the small blind.

Tan: AK
Stewart: KQ

Board: 29Q66

Ken Stewart1,400,000
Jerome TanBUSTED!
Jerome Tan

WPT Australia 2022 Opening Event Mystery Bounty final table

Following the culmination of three days of poker, we have reached the first final table of the WPT Australia.

Chris Tran leads the way with the chip advantage, with Jin Li, Michael Clair, and Peter Peeters breathing closely behind.

SeatPlayerChips
1Jin Li3,670,000
2Matthew Radcliffe1,900,000
3Kenneth Stewart940,000
4Mishel Anunu735,000
5Chris Tran4,070,000
6Peter Peeters3,485,000
7Ali Zebarjad710,000
8Jerome Tan1,410,000
9Michael Clair3,605,000

FINAL TABLE

Bubble busto

Action has almost come to halt, with the odd flop being seen, most players have tightened up as the last major bounty remaining tops out at $6,800.

Dan Smiljanic has been eliminated in 10th place, sending the remaining players to the final table. Peter Peeters did the job, with his 108 holding firm against Smiljanic’s A7 on a board that the dealer put out 9K1010A.

Peter Peeters3,485,000
Dan SmiljanicBUSTED!

Ah Dan, you’ve done it again

Shortly after his bad beat, Jeff Lisandro has been eliminated in 11th place. Dan Smiljanic has sent the Mystery Bounty tournament to the bubble of its final table.

Smiljanic: 33
Lisandro: K10

Board: 4Q738

Dan Smiljanic770,000
Jeff LisandroBUSTED!
Dan Smiljanic

Lisandro no!

A correct call gone wrong has seen Peter Peeters spike a lucky river card after a bluff almost went horribly wrong.

We caught the action from the turn where Peeters sent Lisandro into the tank with all-in bet on a board showing 6323.

Lisandro made the call to see Peeters’ bottom pair with J2 and turned over his own cards to show 88.

However the river fell the J, denying Lisandro the bounty chip and decimating his stack.

Peter Peeters2,410,000
Jeff Lisandro75,000

Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)

Un-Wellington

Aaron Wellington is out, busted thanks to Michael Clair. With the all-in and call coming pre-flop, the players turned over their hands. Wellington’s A7 was dominated by Clair’s A10, and the spread of 67102Q.

Meanwhile, we’ve also lost Robert Damelian who went to the rail after losing to Jin Li.

Li: AQ
Damelian: AJ

Board: 376K8

Michael Clair2,705,000
Jin Li3,820,000
Aaron WellingtonBUSTED!
Robert DamelianBUSTED!

Bognar busted

Mitch Bognar’s run has come to a close in 14th Place. Mishel Anunu adds another knockout to his list of casualties and sends the field one step closer to the final table.

Anunu: KQ
Bognar: JJ

Board: 10108K9

Mishel Anunu3,580,000
Mitch BognarBUSTED!
Mitch Bognar

Tran on track for glory

Finally going up to cash in his bounty chip following the elimination of Adrian Salter, Chris Tran went up to the bounty chest following a day filled with the continually selection of the $400 minimum bounties.

GRAND BOUNTY: $54,000

After many players peeled the bounties slowly to build suspense, only to win the amounts at the lower end of the scale, Tran ripped his off like a bandaid. Letting out a huge roar, the realisation sunk in that the largest ever Australian Grand Bounty total had been won!

Congratulations Chris Tran!

Level 24: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)

Alan all-in

Ali Zebarjad has eliminated the overall chip leader from the commencement of Day 2.

Alan Zheng and Zebarjad found themselves in an inevitable all-in when both players awoke to monsters.

Zebarjad: KK
Zheng: QQ

Board: 4K996

Zheng heads to the payout desk in 14th place.

Ali Zebarjad1,850,000
Alan ZhengBUSTED!
Alan Zheng

Salter grinded out

Adrian Salter has been eliminated in 16th place, with Chris Tran picking up his bounty in the process.

Tran: AQ
Salter: AJ

Board: 376K8

Chris Tran3,820,000
Adrian SalterBUSTED!

Blinded by the Blight

Craig Blight was sent to the payout desk in 18th place, going down at the hands of Ken Stewart.

Stewart: KK
Blight: Q6

Board: A65109

Ken Stewart2,850,000
Craig BlightBUSTED!

Level 23: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)

With 19 players left, and the big bounty still in play, the chances were growing for a knockout to lead to the claiming of the $54,000 Grand Bounty.

A strong run for Emmanuel Seal came to an end as Mitch Bognar added another bounty chip to his possession.

Bognar: A10
Seal: A7]

Board: 4KJ42

Bognar also collected yet another $400 for his troubles at the bounty chest!

Mitch Bognar1,650,000
Emmanuel SealBUSTED!
Emmanuel Seal

Damelian ends Wyvil’s run

After beginning Day 2 with few chips to her stack, a quadruple-up for Janet Wyvil set her on a deep path in the Mystery Bounty event. The good run has come to end due to a runner-runner flush for Robert Damelian.

The action all took place preflop and fate was left in the hands of a flip as Wyvil attempted to give herself stand-up equity.

Wyvil: JJ
Damelian: KQ

Board: 441057

Robert Damelian2,015,000
Janet WyvilBUSTED!
Robert Damelian

Ho-me time

Duy Ho has hit the rails as we reach the final three tables. In a battle between two short stacks, it was Yang Lei who emerged unscathed.

Lei: K9
Ho: Q10

Board: 6831010

Yang Lei235,000
Duy HoBUSTED!

Level 22: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)

Can we get Nabil please?

Jin Li took the aggressive route, moving all-in on a board of Q8K83. This amount was enough to cover Nabil Edgtton, and left him with a decision to make on the river that would determine the outcome of his tournament life.

Edgtton made the call, and the two flipped their cards.

Li: 86
Edgtton: KJ

Jin Li1,095,000
Nabil EdgttonBUSTED!
Jin Li

Big stacks collide

Mishel Anunu and Robert Damelian both share almost three million in chips between them, and a hand took place where neither wanted to risk losing too much.

Preflop, Anunu limped the small blind before Damelian raised the big, adding another 25,000 on top for the price to call. Anunu obliged to see a board spread 5A10.

Anunu check-called Damelian’s bet of 50,000 to a turn of the 8. Another Anunu check-call took place, this time to the amount of 85,000. The 3 river came, and this time Anunu piled 130,000 in front of him, sending Damelian into the tank before eventually folding.

Mishel Anunu1,830,000
Robert Damelian1,150,000
Mishel Anunu


On the Tran home

Dan Smiljanic is continuing the trend of the big stacks reigning supreme.

Two shorter stacks found themselves at risk against Smiljanic, with Danny Tran’s A5 and Yiteng Ge’s KQ were both behind against AJ.

Smiljanic held on as the board spread K76JA to hand him two bounty chips.

Dan Smiljanic1,550,000
Yiteng GeBUSTED!
Danny TranBUSTED!

Level 21: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)

The Edgtton of glory

Nabil Edgtton has picked up a double-knockout. Both Will Kennedy and Edgtton limped to begin the hand, when Meer Hussaini moved all-in. Kennedy called before Edgtton re-jammed and was called by Kennedy also.

Hussaini: QQ
Edgtton: AQ
Kennedy: A9

Board: 9102J6

Nabil Edgtton1,270,000
Will KennedyBUSTED!
Meer HussainiBUSTED!

Not to be for Toby

Peter Peeters continues to wreak havoc across the tournament.

Toby Giles exits the tournament thanks to Peeters, however Giles has consolation in the fact that he claimed the $12,000 bounty.

Peeters: AA
Giles: AK

Board: 106377

Peter Peeters1,850,000
Toby GilesBUSTED!

Up to date updates

Players are back, having just enjoyed a ten-minute rest and with 35 entrants remaining, some big stacks are forming.

Day 1A chip leader Peter Peeters leads the way, continuing his good form throughout the entire run.

PlayerChips
Peter Peeters1,160,000
Yiteng Ge1,130,000
Jerome Tan1,095,000
Roman Priplotski1,090,000
Mishel Anunu950,000
Dan Smiljanic855,000
Ken Stewart760,000
Nabil Edgtton725,000

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

No gamble, no future… no future

Toby Giles shared a humurous exchange with fellow tablemate Duy Ho.

Ho moved all-in, and whilst Giles contemplated a decision, he uttered, “I’ve got a really bad hand here.”

Ho responded “Then I want you to call!”

Chris Tran shared his input with a word of advice, “No gamble, no future!”

Giles made the call with 52 to see he was up against Ho’s AQ.

The flop 9JJ didn’t help Giles’ cause, and when the turn came the Q, Giles quipped, “Yep, no future.”

The river 6 was meaningless and Ho doubled.

Toby Giles413,000
Duy Ho150,000

Pete’s feat

Peter Peeters has picked up a knockout for himself. The Day 1A chip leader has eliminated Luke Fong in a hand where Peeters raised preflop and was called by Fong. A bet and a call on the turn, followed by a check-call from Peeters when Fong jammed the river, saw Peters surpass the seven-figure mark for his stack.

Peeters: 77
Fong: 22

Board: 53397

Peter Peeters1,348,000
Luke FongBUSTED!

Roman’s numerals

Roman Priplotski’s chip counts has soared to the one million mark after a series of back-to-back busts.

Moments after effecting the knockout of Michael Homstein the hand prior, Priplotski picked up the scalp of Qi Xu. With an all-in and call on the flop both players turned over their cards to see Priplotski had drilled middle set against Xu’s overpair.

Priplotski: 77
Xu: KK

Board: Q764J

The very next hand, Priplotski’s K7 managed to hit two pair against Kiko Puyat’s KJ on a board of 3Q7K9.

Roman Priplotski1,000,000
Michael HomsteinBUSTED!
Qi XuBUSTED!
Kiki PuyatBUSTED!
Roman Priplotski

Level 19: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)

K-K-K-Kuads

Dylan Rowe fell victim to Yitian Fan’s four of a kind when his 1010 were flopped dead on a board of KKK27. Fan’s AK enabled him to double-up to stay in the game.

Simultaneously, Emmanuel Seal is soaring, collecting plenty of bounties. Much to the delight of the remainder of the field, Seal is continually winning the $400 bounties.

Seal’s A10 managed to win against Andres Vasquez’s AK as the board spread Q107A3.

Emmanuel Seal1,125,000
Yitian Fan458,000
Dylan Rowe330,000
Andres VasquezBUSTED!

Action galore

There’s plenty going on here at The Star Gold Coast Poker Room, now that the players have secured a payout. Vlad Barbu has doubled up through Yang Lei. Whilst Josh Hutchins had to hand his stack over to Zhifan Ye.

Barbu: 102
Lei: AQ

Board: 471028

Hutchins: KQ
Ye: A5

Board: 27A93

Later on, Toby Giles doubled Nabil Edgtton’s stack over on Table 27.

Edgtton piled his 215,000 into the middle with KQ and Giles had A10.

The board ran out 3364Q to deny Giles a bounty chip.

Nabil Edgtton406,000
Zhifan Ye386,000
Yang Lei270,000
Vlad Barbu206,000
Toby Giles206,000
Josh HutchinsBUSTED!

Place bubble popped!

Hasian Hyde has had to walk the plank as the final elimination before place payouts commence.

We caught the action on the turn with a major hand brewing, tensions were high as play slowed on the verge of the pay jump from $0 to $1,190.

We caught action from the turn on Table 15, where a board showed 99A3.

Hyde checked to Seal who placed 75,000 into the middle. After over a minute in the tank, Hyde moved all-in and was swiftly called by Seal, who needed little more to match the bet.

Seal: AK
Hyde: AJ

River: 10

Hyde retreated in his seat in a moment of reflection as the rest of the field cheered as they all locked up at least a 4-figure payout

Emmanuel Seal575,000
Hasian HydeBUSTED!
Hasian Hyde

Level 18: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)

Follet adds to the wallet

Connie Graham was nursing a short stack before finding a spot to get the chips in the middle.

Follet made the call preflop and spiked top pair to pick up Graham’s bounty token, and send the field to the bubble!

Follet: A7
Graham: K9

Board: A6K10J

Antoine Follet198,000
Connie GrahamBUSTED!

Rodden rides his luck

Johnny Rodden has escaped the purge of bounty hunters, and managed to double his stack count though Will Kennedy despite being dominated preflop.

Kennedy: AK
Rodden: KJ

Board: 410AQ10

Johnny Rodden324,000
Will Kennedy209,000

Smiljanic building

Dan Smiljanic has enjoyed a successful morning, forming as one of the big stacks as we head towards the money. Yang Lei has managed to scrape some chips from Smiljanic to pinch a double-up.

Lei: AA
Smiljanic: 77

Board: 8534J

Yang Lei250,000
Dan Smiljanic856,000

Varma drama

Slav Rypinksi moved all-in from the cutoff to commence the action on Table 17. Varma moved all-in over the top for isolation on the button and the two went heads-up with Rypinksi’s tournament life, and a bounty token up for grabs.

Rypinski: 1010
Varma: K5

Board: 336Q9

Varma is deciding to hang on to his bounty tokens, waiting before he takes his chance to redeem them at the chest.

“That’s two I’m holding now!”

Hari Varma370,000
Slav RypinskiBUSTED!
Hari Varma

Level 17: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)

No boost for Durust

Taner Durust was hoping for a push to increase his short stack at the beginning of Day 2, instead Jeff Lisandro has sent him to the rail, picking up Durust’s bounty in the process.

Durust: 99
Lisandro: AQ

Board: 10K29A

Lisandro made his way to the chest, and exclaimed a cheer of “YES!” to decieve the rest of the field as he peeled a $400 prize.

In other bounty news, Dylan Rowe has picked up the $6,600 bounty, taking another one of the bigger prizes away from contention!

Jeff Lisandro530,000
Taner DurustBUSTED!

Quadruple-up

Janet Wyvil has won a four way all-in, multiplying her short-stack four-fold to sit comfortable at average stack at the start of Day 2.

Wyvil’s AK found itself up against AQ,1010 and Q4.

Board: 37AKA

The hand resulted in a singular knockout, with Luke Martinelli hitting the rail after Hari Varma collected the side pot. Meanwhile Matthew Radcliffe has collected the third largest bounty up for grabs after eliminating Rod Batoz!

Radcliffe: A3
Batoz: AK

Board: Q93AJ

Going up to the treasure chest after the hand to claim:

$15,000!

Matthew Radcliffe486,000
Janet Wyvil296,000
Rod BatozBUSTED!
Luke MartinelliBUSTED!

“I could be getting the first bounty here!”

Mitch Bognar has claimed the first knockout of the day, and in doing so has redeemed bounty number one.

Up against a short-stacked Jian Long, Bognar’s 97 in the big blind spiked a pair on the river to best Long’s A2.

Board: 10K5J9

Bognar waited a few minutes before heading to the treasure chest to select his choice of bounty.

$400!

One of the minimum bounties out of the way means there’s a higher chance of the big ones, so the whole room erupted with cheers as Bognar laughed.

Mitch Bognar258,000
Jian LongBUSTED!

Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)

Big time rush

Good morning and welcome back to The Star Gold Coast for Day 2 of the WPT Australia Opening Event Mystery Bounty!

After two action-packed Day 1 flights, the prize pool for the first event of the series has been set. Players will no doubt be eager to hit the felt to chase the first trophy on offer, as well as a slice of the $415,200 prize pool. 65 players will be paid out a minimum of $1,181, with a massive $79,000 for our winner up top.

But that won’t be the only prize to chase, with $207,600 in the bounty pool, including a Grand Bounty worth $54,000 – the largest prize of its kind in Australian history.

Our remaining 78 competitors will have a tough choice to make: redeem their bounty chips as they go, or keep them safe and cash them all in at once … but ultimately, the choice is theirs to make.

Who will come away with the win and earn their place in history? Find out as we bring you all the action here at pokermedia.com.au from 11:30am AEST and right up until the final river falls!


Day 2 seat draw

Play will resume at 11:30am AEST, with recommencing blinds at 4,000/8,000 (8,000). Please ensure you have your photo ID with you for verification purposes, and should you have any queries regarding your seat allocation, feel free to approach one of the Star Poker Gold Coast team. Best of luck, everyone!

Table 14

PMA IDSeatNameChips
14011Kim McNaught175,000
14022Mitchell Bognar203,000
14033Qi Xu241,000
14044Benjamin Thomas312,000
14055Adrian Indovino227,000
14066Jian Long47,000
14077Jin Li204,000
14088Emmanuel Seal286,000
14099Nabil Edgtton386,000

Table 15

PMA IDSeatNameChips
15011Dylan Rowe548,000
15022Rod Batoz260,000
15033Roman Priplotski310,000
15044Yitian Fan93,000
15055Matthew Radcliffe149,000
15066Sherif Derias253,000
15077Joseph Cristallo212,000
15088Hasian Hyde70,000
15099Subba Vanaparthy89,000

Table 16

PMA IDSeatNameChips
16011Vanig Kalpakian335,000
16022Paul Pedersen122,000
16033Ken Stewart195,000
16044Alan Zheng842,000
16055Win Meng Tan640,000
16066Martin Ward164,000
16077Adrian Salter468,000
16088Ryan Stevenson161,000
16099Meer Hussaini364,000

Table 17

PMA IDSeatNameChips
17011Luke Martinelli102,000
17022Aleksander Andrejev266,000
17033Slav Rypinski119,000
17044Hari Varma267,000
17055Tony Grosso83,000
17066Janet Wyvill70,000
17077Michael Hornstein168,000
17088Kiko Puyat241,000
17099Naoki Yashiro147,000

Table 24

PMA IDSeatNameChips
24011Chris Zenonos305,000
24022Patrick Fletcher263,000
24033Jeff Lisandro261,000
24044Ricky Kroesen150,000
24055Taner Durst40,000
24066Da Tran461,000
24077Suraj Kara120,000
24088Todd Sekli253,000
24099Peter Brasile119,000

Table 25

PMA IDSeatNameChips
25011Vlad Barbu176,000
25022Dan Smiljanic477,000
25033Ali Zebarjad277,000
25044Yiteng Ge481,000
25055Yang Lei416,000
25066Mishel Anunu472,000
25077Liam Jehu295,000
25088Andres Vasquez573,000
25099Liam Murray346,000

Table 26

PMA IDSeatNameChips
26011Michael Clair193,000
26022Peter Peeters764,000
26033Chris Tran472,000
26044Keling Fan306,000
26055Lionel Lu336,000
6
26077Hsiang-Po Feng313,000
26088Karsten Kobbing164,000
26099Duy Ho300,000

Table 27

PMA IDSeatNameChips
27011Nichole Roberts147,000
27022Craig Blight97,000
27033Daniel Gabriel375,000
27044Toby Giles275,000
27055Zhifan Ye175,000
27066Josh Hutchins230,000
7
27088Vincent Huang383,000
27099Mike Ivin221,000

Table 29

PMA IDSeatNameChips
1
29022Aaron Wellington73,000
29033Kerry Chambers182,000
29044Connie Graham102,000
29055Jumpei Furihata234,000
29066Antonie Follet150,000
29077Johnny Rodden242,000
29088William Kennedy234,000
29099Robert Damelian191,000

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