Congratulations Joe Sandaev ($117,685), WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max Champion!
It’s another big win for the Croweaters here at The Star Gold Coast, with Joe Sandaev emerging victorious in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max event!
Having finished fifth place in the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event last year, Sandaev has recorded his biggest career score to date, topping a field of 208 entries for a top prize worth $117,685.
Sandaev was thrilled to have finally broken through for the win, but was quick to praise his fellow final tablists.
“Honestly, they were probably some of the best tournament players I’ve ever come across,” Sandaev said. “I had Sean Ragozzini and Luke Martinelli on my left and right, but they were all super tough.”
“Coming into the final table, I only had about 16 bigs. I had to run super good … I had one big flip go my way and I got lucky in a couple of spots, so yeah! Really happy with the result!”
Sandaev remained tight-lipped about his plans for the rest of the series, but right now, he’s looking to head out to celebrate with his fellow South Australians, but he did assure us that it’ll be “a quiet one” at their favourite sushi bar. Oishii!
WPT AUSTRALIA $2,500 8-MAX ($2,500 buy-in, 208 entries, 26 players paid)
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 1st | Joe Sandaev | Australia | $117,685 |
| 2nd | Luke Martinelli | Australia | $81,663 |
| 3rd | Leo Kamiya | Australia | $49,063 |
| 4th | Jarred Graham | Australia | $29,852 |
| 5th | Zhengmin Zhang | Australia | $23,059 |
| 6th | Sean Ragozzini | Australia | $19,088 |
| 7th | Nabil Edggton | Australia | $16,266 |
| 8th | Adrian Indovino | Australia | $14,017 |
| 9th | Ziyue Zheng | Australia | $11,769 |
This concludes our broadcast day, but we’ll be back again tomorrow from 12:30pm AEST tomorrow to bring you all live updates from Day 2 of the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock event, so be sure to tune in for all the action.
Until then, from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, thanks again for your company and we’ll see you again real soon. ‘Bye for now!
Luke Martinelli eliminated in 2nd place ($81,663)
With only three-and-a-half big blinds left, Luke Martinelli found a double-up to keep his hopes alive, getting the last of his money in with K♣2♣ after Joe Sandaev open-shoved from the button with A♠10♦.
“Kings are always good against Aces!” joked one of Martinelli’s rail.
In this case, it was, as Martinelli spiked top pair on the board of 9♦7♥K♠Q♠10♥.
Two hands later, Joe Sandaev pushed all in again and Martinelli called short with his K♥J♦ to go into a do-or-die flip against Sandaev’s 2♠2♦.
A bit of a sweat, but wasn’t to be as Martinelli missed on the board of A♥6♠3♠Q♠7♦ to end his valiant run in second place and $81,663 to the good.
| Luke Martinelli | BUSTED! |
Sandaev delivers a haymaker
Luke Martinelli is now in big trouble after being dealt a critical hit by Joe Sandaev in this heads-up battle as the blinds ticked over into Level 29.
Martinelli raised to 200,000 from the small blind and Sandaev called before checking his option on the 5♦4♣8♠ flop. Martinelli bet 150,000 and Sandaev took a few seconds before he made the call, and then check-shoved after Martinelli’s second bullet of 450,000 on the turn of the J♦.
Martinelli did not wait long, calling him down with his K♦8♦, but needed help against Sandaev’s J♣7♦.
Martinelli’s rail called out for a diamond, eight or a King, however the river 3♠ completed the board and ensured that Sandaev got the double-up.
| Joe Sandaev | 7,500,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 820,000 |
Level 29: 75,000/125,000 (125,000)
Martinelli fights back
Luke Martinelli has found a crucial double-up against Joe Sandaev as this heads-up battle in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max rolls on.
Just before the blinds went up, Martinelli elected to complete his small blind and Sandaev checked his option out the big blind before he c-bet 100,000 after the flop of 6♦7♣Q♠.
Martinelli raised to 300,000 and Sandaev called, then check-called Martinelli’s second shell of 300,000 on the turn of the 10♣; Sandaev then checked again after the river 5♥. Martinelli shoved for 1.6 million and Sandaev called, but mucked after Martinelli revealed Q♣9♥ for top pair.
And just like that folks, we have ourselves a new chipleader!
| Luke Martinelli | 4,850,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 3,200,000 |
Sandaev turning the screws
Joe Sandaev appears to have the momentum, now back up above 6 million in chips as heads-up action continues in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max.
After another button raise of 225,000 from Luke Martinelli, Sandaev came back with a re-raise of 600,000. Martinelli called, and then Sandaev opened for 400,000 after the flop of 3♥K♣5♥.
Martinelli elected to call, then the action repeated after the turn of the 5♣ before Sandaev open-shoved on the river 9♠. Martinelli folded.
| Joe Sandaev | 6,225,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 2,095,000 |
Martinelli doubles, then donates
Luke Martinelli has managed to hold on for a big double, but still has some work to do against Joe Sanadev as heads-up action continues in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max.
Just as the blinds ticked over into Level 28, Martinelli came out with a button raise of 160,000 before Sandaev shoved from the big blind. Martinelli called and tabled A♣K♦, which managed to stay ahead of Sandaev’s K♠J♣ after the board was spread 4♠8♥10♣10♥3♣.
Two hands later, Martinelli fired out another button raise worth 175,000, but this time Sandaev returned fire with a three-bet of 550,000. Martinelli called, then flatted again after Sandaev led out for 275,000 after the flop of 4♦Q♦Q♣.
Both players checked the turn of the K♣ before Sandaev bet 575,000 on the river K♠. Martinelli called, but sent his hand straight into the muck after Sandaev rolled up K♥J♣ for the full boat.
| Joe Sandaev | 5,640,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 2,480,000 |
Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Leo Kamiya eliminated in 3rd place ($49,063)
We are now officially heads-up for the second trophy of the WPT Australia series after Leo Kamiya was eliminated from the $2,500 8-Max final table in third place!
Earlier, Luke Martinelli found a crucial double-up through Kamiya, getting his last 725,000 into the middle A♦8♠ to find himself in a fair fight against Kamiya’s [/pcn]KhQh[/pcn], however Martinelli held firm all the way across the board of 6♣2♠4♣10♦6♥.
A short time later, Kamiya jammed the remainder in holding 7♣5♣, but ran smack-bang into Martinelli’s 8♠8♣, which improved to two pair after the board was spread 9♠10♠9♥J♥2♠.
Kamiya takes home a tidy $49,063 for his efforts. Well played, sir!
| Joe Sandaev | 6,380,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 1,740,000 |
| Leo Kamiya | BUSTED! |
Sandaev applying the pressure
Joe Sandaev is now the first player past the five-million chip mark after extracting a sizeable pot off Leo Kamiya.
Our reporter caught the action heads-up between the duo into a raised pot after the flop of 3♣2♦10♥; Kamiya opened for 60,000, only to then see Sandaev return fire with a raise worth 190,000.
Kamiya called, and then led out for 350,000 after the turn of the Q♦. Sandaev flat-called, prompting the dealer to peel out the river, which was the K♥.
Kamiya checked his option, but elected to muck after Sandaev came out with a raise of 800,000 straight.
| Joe Sandaev | 5,150,000 |
| Leo Kamiya | 1,590,000 |
Jarred Graham eliminated in 4th place ($29,852)
Jarred Graham’s run in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max has come to an end, after giving up the last of his stack to Leo Kamiya.
After Luke Martinelli and Joe Sandaev folded, Graham open-shoved for 620,000 effective from the small blind with Q♣10♥, however Kamiya woke up with Q♣10♥ in the big blind.
Despite hitting two pair on the 9♠10♦5♦7♥7♣ board, Kamiya was best with the overpair, confirming Graham as our fourth-place finisher ($29,852).
| Leo Kamiya | 2,220,000 |
| Jarred Graham | BUSTED! |
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Zhengmin Zhang eliminated in 5th place ($23,059)
Zhengmin Zhang has departed in fourth place, having been cut down to size before being felted by Joe Sandaev, who now holds the overall chip lead.
Earlier, Zhang raised from under the gun to 100,000 and Sandaev made the call before going heads-up to a flop of 9♥3♠6♦. Sandaev checked to Zhang who proceeded bet another 100,000, and again Sandaev called before the dealer produced the turn of the A♠.
Sandaev checked again, Zheng fired 150,000 and Sandaev took some time before making the call to see the river 5♦.
This time, Sandaev took the initiative, making it 650,000. After a cry of anguish, Zhang made the call and reeled in disbelief after Sandaev showed him the 4♠2♠ for a rivered straight.
“What a sick river!” Zhang exclaimed as he threw his A♦A♣ across the table.
Down to only 90,000 in chips, Zhang was forced all-in in the big blind; Jarred Graham came in with a UTG and Sandaev called before both players checked into a dry sidepot after the flop came 2♣7♠4♣.
Graham then mucked after Sandaev opened for 100,000 on the turn of the 7♦, which resulted in a showdown between Sandaev and Zhang.
Sandaev: K♥7♣
Zhang: 9♦8♦
The river fell a 6♣, but it would matter little to Zhang, who had already made his way out from the feature table area to collect his $23,059 payday.
| Joe Sandaev | 4,140,000 |
| Zhengmin Zhang | BUSTED! |
Updated chip counts
With just over seven minutes remaining in the previous level, our remaining players elected to take their break early. That gave our team a chance to get a full round of counts, and take a break of our own.
See you back in 10!
| Joe Sandaev | 2,605,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 2,230,000 |
| Leo Kamiya | 1,395,000 |
| Zhengmin Zhang | 1,160,000 |
| Jarred Graham | 940,000 |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Sean Ragozzini eliminated in 6th place ($19,088)
The WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max final table is now down to just five players after the elimination of Sean Ragozzini in sixth place ($19,088).
Action folded to Joe Sandaev who raised to 100,000 from the button before Ragozzini shoved from the button with A♣K♦.
Sandaev called and tabled J♠J♥, which hooked up a set after the dealer spread the board of 7♠4♦9♦2♥J♦.
| Joe Sandaev | 3,030,000 |
| Sean Ragozzini | BUSTED! |
Nabil Edggton eliminated in 7th place ($16,266)
Leo Kamiya has soared back up past the one-million chip mark and in the process has sent Nabil Edggton to the rail in seventh place, good for $16,266.
Edggton open-shoved for his last 410,000 before action folded to Kamiya, who called out of the cut-off before the others got out the way.
Edggton: K♥K♣
Kamiya: 9♦9♦
Despite being the overwhelming favourite pre-flop, Kamiya spiked top set on the flop of 7♦8♠9♠, which improved to a full house as the turn and river ran out A♠, 8♠.
| Leo Kamiya | 1,380,000 |
| Nabil Edggton | BUSTED! |
Kamiya back in contention
Leo Kamiya has found himself a double-up through Zhengmin Zhang as we head into the 25th level of this tournament.
Zhang opened for 80,000 from under the gun and action folded to Kamiya who moved all-in; Zhang snap-called, turning up 9♠9♦, but found himself in a classic coin flip against Kamiya’s A♥Q♠.
Kamiya found more assistance after the flop of 10♦K♣8♦, but the turn of the Q♣ was enough to secure the double, with the river 6♥ completing the board.
| Leo Kamiya | 800,000 |
| Zhengmin Zhang | 775,000 |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Scary small ball
Play at this final table has been slow for the most part, but there have been a few decent jabs thrown as action continues here at The Star Gold Coast.
Earlier, the action folded around to Sean Ragozzini who completed his small blind before Zhengmin Zhang checked his option in the big blind to see a flop of 8♥6♥4♠. Ragozzini opened for 40,000 and Zhang called, then both players checked the 3♥ on the turn before Zhang flatted after Ragozzini’s second shell of 40,000 on the river 6♦.
“Scary call, scary call!” Zhang remarked only to then throw his hand to the muck after Ragozzini tabled his A♦4♣.
Joe Sandaev then got busy in a couple of hands, first taking a chunk out of Nabil Edggton; after Edggton min-clicked to 80,000 from the cut-off, Sandaev defended his big blind before check-calling to Edggton’s bet of 90,000 after the flop of 8♦8♥10♥, but Sandaev then forced the fold from Edggton after he led out for 100,000 on the turn of the 4♦.
A short time later, Sandaev opened for 75,000 from UTG+1 and action then folded to Leo Kamiya who called out of the big blind. Both players then checked down the flop of Q♠3♣9♦, however Kamiya check-folded after Sandaev’s bet of 135,000 on the turn of the K♣.
| Zhengmin Zhang | 1,625,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 1,360,000 |
| Sean Ragozzini | 1,170,000 |
| Leo Kamiya | 830,000 |
| Nabil Edggton | 695,000 |
Adrian Indovino eliminated in 8th place ($14,017)
Adrian Indovino was the next player to depart, finishing in eighth place after being sent to the rail by Luke Martinelli.the second player to bust out on the second final table of the WPT Star Gold Coast.
Our reporter picked up the action after the flop of 4♣9♠4♠; Indovino checked from early position to Luke Martinelli who opened 60,000, before Indovino check-shoved. Martinelli called and turned over K♠Q♠ for the second nut flush draw, ahead of Indovino’s 10♠3♠.
The board would give no further assistance as it ran out 6♥, 5♥, and thus reducing the player count to seven.
| Luke Martinelli | 3,505,000 |
| Adrian Indovino | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Ziyue Zheng eliminated in 9th place ($11,769)
Ziyue Zheng has been confirmed as our first elimination at this final table, taken down at the hands of Nabil Edggton.
Action folded to Edggton who raised to 60,000 from the cut-off before Zheng ripped in his last 110,000 from the button; Edggton snap-called.
Edggton: A♦K♥
Zheng: A♥2♥
Neither hand improved on the board of 10♥5♦10♣10♦6♥, sending Zheng off to the cage to collect a tidy $11,769 for his efforts.
| Nabil Edggton | 1,430,000 |
| Ziyue Zheng | BUSTED! |
WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max NLH final table
There we have it, your final nine for the second event of the WPT Australia series. The culmination of over a day and a half of play sees these players battle for the trophy and the top cash of $117,685.
After the huge bubble hand, it’s Luke Martinelli leading the count as the only entrant with over two million in chips, well clear of the next best, Zhengmin Zhang.
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Jarred Graham | Australia | 76,500 |
| 2 | Leo Kamiya | Australia | 550,000 |
| 3 | Luke Martinelli | Australia | 2,050,000 |
| 4 | Joe Sandaev | Australia | 415,000 |
| 5 | Sean Ragozzini | Australia | 830,000 |
| 6 | Zhengmin Zhang | Australia | 1,365,000 |
| 7 | Nabil Edggton | Australia | 1,170,000 |
| 8 | Adrian Indovino | Australia | 250,000 |
| 9 | Ziyue Zheng | Australia | 935,000 |
REMAINING PAYOUTS
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $117,685 |
| 2nd | $81,663 |
| 3rd | $49,063 |
| 4th | $29,852 |
| 5th | $23,059 |
| 6th | $19,088 |
| 7th | $16,266 |
| 8th | $14,017 |
| 9th | $11,769 |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Joseph Cristallo eliminated in 10th place ($10,238)
We caught the action from the turn with a board that showed 6♣10♣2♠A♥, where Luke Martinelli lead from the small blind with a bet of 200,000 into a pot of about half a million.
Cristallo called and the river came the 2♦. Martinelli moved all-in for 630,000, marginally covering Cristallo’s total of 570,000. Cristallo called for his tournament life and the two went to showdown.
Martinelli: A♠10♥
Cristallo: A♦J♦
| Luke Martinelli | 2,050,000 |
| Joseph Cristallo | BUSTED! |
Jian Long eliminated in 11th place ($10,238)
Jian Long has earned a five-figure payout for her result in the $2,500 8-Max NLH. Busting out as the soft bubble and as the last female remaining in the two-day event.
Long moved all-in from UTG pre-flop with 5♠5♥ but ran into the K♥K♣.
The spread of Q♠8♠9♣6♦A♣ made no difference and sent Long to the payout desk, and send the field into the bubble for the final table.
| Jarred Graham | 700,000 |
| Jian Long | BUSTED! |
Martin Ward eliminated in 12th place ($10,238)
Martin Ward has fallen as the latest victim of Nabil Edgtton. With all the chips in preflop, a short-stacked Ward couldn’t gain any help from the board to keep him alive in the tournament.
Edgtton: A♠10♣
Ward: K♠4♠
Board: J♥7♠8♣3♠9♦
| Nabil Edgtton | 1,220,000 |
| Martin Ward | BUSTED! |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Alan Dang eliminated in 13th place ($8,707)
Sitting in the small blind, Leo Kamiya called Alan Dang’s button shove with 15,000 the margin separating the counts between the two.
With Kamiya’s 6♠6♥ behind against Dang’s 10♦10♣, the all-hearts flop of 9♥4♥3♥ gave Kamiya a better chance of taking the win. The runout obliged when the board completed with Q♣,5♥.
Dang’s last 15,000 went in the middle against Adrian Indovino.
Dang: 9♥9♣
Indovino: A♦10♣
Board: 4♥2♦10♠Q♠4♣
| Leo Kamiya | 470,000 |
| Adrian Indovino | 435,000 |
| Alan Dang | BUSTED! |
Ryan Stevenson eliminated in 14th place ($8,707)
The man who took the most chips into Day 2, Ryan Stevenson, has fallen short of a final table appearance. Having his Aces brutally cracked by Zhengmin Zhang.
Stevenson opened A♥A♣ to 40,000 from UTG and Zhang called from the button with K♣10♣ to flop a flush on Q♣5♣9♣Q♦10♠. Zhang lead the flop for 35,000 when he was checked to and Stevenson called. On the turn, Stevenson check-shoved Zhang’s 120,000 bet and was snap-called, finding none of his outs on the river to lose his seat in the field.
| Zhengmin Zhang | 1,510,000 |
| Ryan Stevenson | BUSTED! |
Mitch Bognar eliminated in 15th place ($8,707)
Across two crushing hands, Mitch Bognar has spiralled out of contention in the $2,500 8-Max NLH.
Firstly, it was Luke Martinelli’s big blind defend with K♣Q♣ against Bognar’s UTG open with A♦J♣.
Board: K♥7♦8♣Q♠9♥
This chipped Bognar down to his last 200,000. With ten big blinds left, he saw an opportunity with A♠8♠ to move all-in from the small-blin over Nabil Edgtton’s open from the button. Ziyue Zheng woke up with K♠K♥ and moved all-in over the top from the big blind.
Edgtton couldn’t release his 10♠10♥ and on a board that followed 3♦9♠6♥5♥Q♣, Zheng picked up a near-triple up and Bognar was out.
| Nabil Edgtton | 1,430,000 |
| Ziyue Zheng | 815,000 |
| Mitch Bognar | BUSTED! |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Stephen Boyd eliminated in 16th place ($7,176)
Stephen Boyd has been knocked out by Joseph Cristallo.
Nursing a short-stack for a little while, Boyd finally picked up a hand to attempt to find a double. Cristallo woke up with a much better hand to hold and put a stop to Boyd’s run.
Cristallo: 10♦10♣
Boyd: 4♠4♥
Board: 9♣5♥K♠3♣Q♠
| Joseph Cristallo | 750,000 |
| Stephen Boyd | BUSTED! |
Zhengmin maxes out
Zhengmin Zhang has stung Ryan Stevenson, taking over half a million in chips away from the overnight chip leader.
On a flop of 8♣8♠6♦, Stevenson lead for 40,000 and was called by Zhang. The turn J♣ saw Stevenson move all-in, getting a snap-call from Zhang.
Zhang: A♥8♥
Stevenson: K♠Q♦
River: A♣
Zhang booked up on the river to gain a huge double-up at top 16.
| Zhengmin Zhang | 1,145,000 |
| Ryan Stevenson | 630,000 |
Case ace from space
If Martin Ward is telling the truth, then the river on the 8♣5♥3♣7♥A♣ was the last Ace in the deck in a hand that saw Michael Hornstein at risk against Luke Martinelli and Nabil Edgtton.
Martinelli: Q♦Q♣
Edgtton: A♦K♥
Hornstein: A♠J♠
| Nabil Edgtton | 1,297,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 345,000 |
| Michael Hornstein | BUSTED! |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Ragozzini sizzles, Rozova walkover
Three hands have proved to be a domino effect resulting in the elimination of Natalia Rozova.
It all began with the bust-out of Aston Campbell. Sean Ragozzini opened from UTG with A♥Q♠ before calling Campbell’s all-in over the top with A♦10♥. Campbell was crushed by the flop on a board that came J♦10♦K♥5♥7♦.
Shortly after, Ragozzini dealt a blow to Rozova on a board that ended up showing 4♥3♠4♣5♣A♦.
Preflop, Rozova raised to 24,000 from the hijack when both Ragozzini and the big blind called the raise to see the flop. Action checked to Rozova who continued in position with a bet of 26,000 to get the big blind out of the way, Ragozzini stuck around with a call and they went heads-up to a turn.
Ragozzini check-called another bet from Rozova, this time to the tune of 70,000. The river action went check-check and and the two turned their cards up.
Ragozzini: 9♥9♦
Rozova: 7♠7♣
With her stack taking a hit, Rozova saw a chance to recover when she peeled A♥Q♥, finding herself all-in pre versus Joseph Cristallo who turned over K♥K♣.
The flop 2♠6♦6♥ changed nothing for either player, until Rozova picked up one of her three outs with an A♣ on the turn.
Not to be outdone, Cristallo spiked the two-outer on the river to collect the entirety of Rozova’s stack with the arrival of the K♦ on the river. Cristallo revelled in the result, slamming the table with ecstasy and and verbalising, “PASS THE SUGAR!”
| Sean Ragozzini | 555,000 |
| Joseph Cristallo | 547,000 |
| Natalia Rozova | BUSTED! |
Ardino-saw no more
Ryan Stevenson has added another contribution to his monster stack at the expense of Eugene Ardino.
In consolation, Ardino survived long enough to make the money, collecting $3,588 for finishing in 26th place.
Stevenson: A♣8♠
Ardino: K♦Q♣
Board: 6♦6♣8♣A♠J♣
| Ryan Stevenson | 1,220,000 |
| Eugene Ardino | BUSTED! |
Oh Ward a feeling!
Martin Ward has serviced the remainder of the field, by narrowing the number of entries from 27 to 26 runners. Meaning we’re in the money!
It took an action packed hand between Ward, Luke Martinelli, and Mikael Larson, with the three-way all-in claiming Larson as the victim of the bubble.
Ward: A♥A♦
Martinelli: 8♦8♣
Larson: K♦Q♥
Board: Q♠3♥5♣4♣10♦
| Martin Ward | 479,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 171,000 |
| Mikael Larson | BUSTED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Goltz to go
Toby Giles has gotten the field on the verge of the money. Eliminating Shem Goltz on the soft bubble to get us down to 27 runners, with the final 26 to earn a payout.
Giles: A♣J♠
Goltz: K♣J♣
Board: 4♥Q♦7♣Q♣3♦
| Toby Giles | 275,000 |
| Shem Goltz | BUSTED! |
Haidary-ing to flip
Like many others so far, Mo Haidary has been getting the chips in the middle with the willingness to flip for a chance to chase a bigstack.
In this case, it was Michael Hornsein who got the better of the coin toss situation, when the all-in and call came pre-flop.
Haidary: 9♠9♥
Hornstein: A♣J♠
Board: J♣7♣6♣5♥5♠
Flopping the nut flush draw was nice for Hornstein, but not needed in the end as the pairing of the Jacks was enough to double him up.
| Michael Hornstein | 128,000 |
| Mo Haidary | 124,000 |
Boyd stays afloat
Stephen Boyd has survived a scare, winning a flip to sustain his tournament life at the expense of Zhengmin Zhang.
Boyd open-shoved 7♥7♦ from early position, Zhang made a customary call with A♥K♥.
Zhang flopped a flush draw on 5♥9♥5♠ but was turned dead with Boyd hitting a full house are the runout followed 7♣,3♦.
| Stephen Boyd | 168,000 |
| Zhengmin Zhang | 159,000 |
Ryan in the nick of time
Overnight chip leader, Ryan Stevenson made a tardy appearance on Day 2 of the $2,500 8-Max NLH. Taking his seat only just as the blinds ticked over to the second level of the day, he had barely settled in when he took a long at his cards to see A♠A♥ with an all-in from a short stacked Roy Agresta.
Stevenson made the obligatory snap-call before he could even part his backpack from his shoulders, to see Agresta’s 6♠6♣ fail to improve on a board of 10♥2♣3♣2♦Q♠.
| Ryan Stevenson | 946,000 |
| Roy Agresta | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Chris miss
With Ken Odaka and Chris Zenonos needing to bump up their stack counts to have any chance of progressing further in the tournament, both were willing to run the risk by getting it all-in on a flop of 9♠2♣5♦.
Odaka turned over his pre-made hand of 8♦8♣ and managed to hold against Zenonos’ K♠Q♣, who failed to pair either of his over cards on the runout which followed 4♠,10♦.
| Ken Odaka | 112,000 |
| Chris Zenonos | 41,000 |
Long way to go
Early action on Table 6 saw Stephen Boyd open to 8,000 from UTG+1, and Mogens Hansen flatted from the cutoff. Jian Long moved all-in for a total of 153,000 pushing Boyd out of the way, before Hansen elected to call.
Long: A♦K♦
Hansen: A♠6♥
Board: J♠K♥3♥6♣A♥
The double-up has gotten Jian Long above average stack and in a great position to hang in until the cash, whilst crippling Hansen down to 22,000 before being eliminated shortly after.
| Jian Long | 330,000 |
| Mogens Hansen | BUSTED! |
GG from ZZ
Carlos Youssef is our first elimination of the day. Arriving on Day 2 with the third lowest chip count, it was a case of double or nothing in terms of a game plan, and sadly for Youssef, it was the latter.
The fact the action was an all-in and call preflop, made the nature of the set-over-set beat easier to take, with Zihue Zheng coming away with the best of it.
Zheng: Q♦Q♣
Youssef: J♠J♣
Board: A♦Q♠10♣J♥5♦
| Zihue Zheng | 185,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | BUSTED! |
Shuffle up and deal
Action has begun, 35 players have taken their seats, unsealed their bags and popped their chips into play.
With $117,685 up for grabs for first prize, there’s plenty to fight for, as we are still nine knockouts away from reaching the money.
| Place | Payout |
| 1 | $117,685 |
| 2 | $81,663 |
| 3 | $49,036 |
| 4 | $29,852 |
| 5 | $23,059 |
| 6 | $19,088 |
| 7 | $16,266 |
| 8 | $14,017 |
| 9 | $11,769 |
| 10-12 | $10,238 |
| 13-15 | $8,707 |
| 16-18 | $7,176 |
| 19-21 | $5,741 |
| 22-24 | $4,449 |
| 25-26 | $3,588 |
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Takin’ it to the max!
Good morning and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s continued coverage of the WPT Australia series!
With the craziness of the Mystery Bounty done and dusted, today we return for the start of Day 2 of the $2,500 8-Max. From a total of 208 entries, the remaining 35 players will be looking to make the top 26 for a big pay day and a share of the prize pool worth $478,000.
Just some of the big names returning include Toby Giles (152,000), Joseph Cristallo (195,000), as well as the young gun from Melbourne in Liam Jehu (281,000) and Sean Raggozini (418,000), who claimed last year’s $5K Challenge trophy at the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast series before going on to win the WPT League QPC Alpha3 Event only three days later.
Not to be overlooked, however, is chip leader Ryan Stevenson, who bagged up 917,000 and is now well in contention to claim the top prize worth $117,000.
It all gets underway very soon, so keep your browsers on PMA for all the updates as we play down to a winner tonight!
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 11:30am AEST. Please ensure you have your photo ID and Star Club Card for verification purposes, and should you have any queries regarding your seat allocation, please approach the Star Poker Gold Coast team. Best of luck, everyone!
Table 1 (Feature Table)
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | Joseph Cristallo | 195,000 |
| 0102 | 2 | Mo Haidary | 55,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Liam Jehu | 281,000 |
| 0104 | 4 | Martin Ward | 142,000 |
| 0105 | 5 | Michael Hornstein | 116,000 |
| 6 | |||
| 0107 | 7 | Vlad Barbu | 314,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | Mikael Larsson | 121,000 |
Table 6
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0601 | 1 | Vesko Zmukic | 204,000 |
| 0602 | 2 | Mitchell Bognar | 577,000 |
| 0603 | 3 | Toby Giles | 152,000 |
| 0604 | 4 | Ken Okada | 115,000 |
| 5 | |||
| 0606 | 6 | Shem Goltz | 46,000 |
| 0607 | 7 | Nabil Edgtton | 351,000 |
| 0608 | 8 | Chris Zenonos | 129,000 |
Table 7
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | |||
| 0702 | 2 | Alan Dang | 292,000 |
| 0703 | 3 | Leo Kamiya | 134,000 |
| 0704 | 4 | Ryan Stevenson | 917,000 |
| 0705 | 5 | Hayato Kitajima | 77,000 |
| 0706 | 6 | Joe Sandaev | 246,000 |
| 0707 | 7 | Roy Agresta | 112,000 |
| 0708 | 8 | Eugene Ardino | 329,000 |
Table 8
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0801 | 1 | Carlos Youssef | 72,000 |
| 0802 | 2 | Zhengmin Zhang | 457,000 |
| 0803 | 3 | Dean Stevenson | 220,000 |
| 0804 | 4 | Ziyue Zheng | 241,000 |
| 0805 | 5 | Natalia Rozova | 243,000 |
| 0806 | 6 | Aston Campbell | 268,000 |
| 7 | |||
| 0808 | 8 | Adrian Indovino | 235,000 |
Table 9
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0901 | 1 | Luke Martinelli | 422,000 |
| 0902 | 2 | Jarred Graham | 186,000 |
| 3 | |||
| 0904 | 4 | Mogens Hansen | 163,000 |
| 0905 | 5 | Jaxon Byrne | 136,000 |
| 0906 | 6 | Sean Ragozzini | 418,000 |
| 0907 | 7 | Jian Long | 165,000 |
| 0908 | 8 | Stephen Boyd | 186,000 |
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