Congratulations Andres Vasquez ($39,558), WPT Australia $550 Action Clock Champion!
Colombian import Andres Vasquez is now the latest member of Los Parceros to earn himself a major poker title on Aussie soil, taking down the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock event!
The final table of this event was everything you’d come to expect in a format of this nature, full of action, plenty of twists and turns and high drama in the closing stages, but through it all, Vasquez remained unperturbed, picking his moments carefully and taking full advantage of a misstep from Ali Zebarjad to eliminate him in third place before picking off Tuan Nguyen heads-up.
For Vasquez, however, the victory meant so much more than money, telling PokerMedia Australia his family and friends – and especially his wife Laura, and poker coach Francis – were the cornerstone in making this dream a reality.
“It was a crazy final table, but I was prepared for this,” Vasquez said. “My friend Martin [Finger] and I took meditation in the morning … my focus was on trying to play as well as I can, showing gratitude for being in this situation and playing this tournament like it was your last.”
“Taking this approach makes you really appreciate everything you have and helps you to make better decisions. I think a lot of people take all of this – being able to play poker – for granted, and it shouldn’t be like that.”
“If you surround yourself with good people, show discipline, work hard and study, things will go your way. That’s winning for me!”
WPT AUSTRALIA $550 ACTION CLOCK ($550 buy-in, 380 entries, 48 players paid)
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 1st | Andres Vasquez | Colombia | $39,558 |
| 2nd | Tuan Nguyen | Australia | $27,702 |
| 3rd | Ali Zebarjad | Australia | $17,803 |
| 4th | Arisa Ito | Japan | $11,742 |
| 5th | Charbel Boustani | Australia | $9,044 |
| 6th | Philip Nguyen | Australia | $7,486 |
| 7th | Jaxon Byrne | Australia | $6,270 |
| 8th | Tobias Davis | New Zealand | $5,111 |
| 9th | Win Meng Tan | Australia | $3,952 |
And with that, the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock event is in the books! Be sure to join us again tomorrow from 12:30pm AEST as we bring you updates from Day 2 of the $550 PLO, and stay with us here at pokermedia.com.au for all the latest from The Star Gold Coast.
Until then, thanks for tuning in and we look forward to seeing you again real soon. ‘Bye for now!
Tuan Nguyen eliminated in 2nd place ($27,702)
Tuan Nguyen is now $27,702 richer after being taken out in second place in what was a short but sweet heads-up battle.
Andres Vasquez was able to stretch his lead further before the final hand of the night played out just before 8pm local time; Vasquez raised to 375,000 from the button before Nguyen shoved for his last 1,275,000 from the big blind. Vasquez snap-called.
Vasquez: K♠K♥
Nguyen: A♠Q♦
Board: 2♦J♠J♣5♥5♦
Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a winner! Our wrap-up of today’s action will be coming your way soon.
Ali Zebarjad eliminated in 3rd place ($17,803)
We are now officially heads-up for the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock title after Ali Zebarjad was sent to the rail in third place by Andres Vasquez!
With the pot built up to around 800,000, all the money went into the middle on the river on a board that read 5♠7♦7♠6♦J♦; Vasquez deliberated for a full 30 seconds, and then threw in a Time Bank token to take another 30 seconds.
Zebarjad appeared to have perceived this as a single-chip call, tabling his 4♠3♦, but quickly realised his mistake and turned his cards over. Vasquez shoved, and Zebarjad angrily jammed the rest of his chips in.
The error would prove fatal, as Vasquez turned over J♥7♥ for the full house. Ay, dios mio!
| Andres Vasquez | 5,500,000 |
| Tuan Nguyen | 4,000,000 |
| Ali Zebarjad | BUSTED! |
Level 29: 75,000/125,000 (125,000)
Break time!
Our remaining three players are now on another 10-minute break.
| Ali Zebarjad | 3,375,000 |
| Tuan Ngueyn | 3,135,000 |
| Andres Vasquez | 2,995,000 |
Arisa Ito eliminated in 4th place ($11,742)
Japan’s Arisa Ito was the first into five figures in the $550 Action Clock finale, eliminated in fourth place by Andres Vasquez
Despite an earlier double-up through Ali Zebarjad, Ito’s run ended after she moved all-in for 890,000 with Q♣10♣, but lost the fair fight against Vasquez’s K♠J♣ after he flopped another King and improved to two pair as the board completed K♦8♥5♠A♣5♣.
For her efforts, Ito has earned $11,742 in prize money. おめでとう!
| Andres Vasquez | 2,880,000 |
| Arisa Ito | BUSTED! |
Charbel Boustani eliminated in 5th place ($9,044)
Down to four now in the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock finale, after Charbel Boustani was taken out by Tuan Nguyen in fifth place ($9,044).
Boustani put the last of his chips at risk, electing to open-shove from the button pre-flop holding 9♦9♣, however Nguyen woke up with a monster in the big blind in the form of K♥K♣.
The flop was a somewhat sweaty 7♦2♦8♦, but the turn and river 8♠, 3♥ completed the board to give Nguyen two pair, Kings up.
| Tuan Nguyen | 3,000,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | BUSTED! |
Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Philip Nguyen eliminated in 6th place ($7,486)
After a successful double-up for Charbel Boustani, Philip Nguyen took his leave, collecting $7,486 for sixth place finish.
Earlier, Boustani ripped in the last of his chips from the small blind with 6♠6♥ and found a call from Andres Vasquez, who called out of the big blind with Q♥4♠. Both players hit two pair on the board of K♥5♦4♣10♦K♣, but Boustani was best with the bigger two pair.
A short time later, Philip Nguyen jammed from the button with 8♦8♣ after a pre-flop raise of 225,000 from Tuan Nguyen. Tuan snap-called and rolled over A♦10♠, which paired up on the flop after the dealer spread a board of 6♣5♥A♣K♠4♠.
| Tuan Nguyen | 2,445,000 |
| Andres Vasquez | 2,025,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 950,000 |
| Philip Nguyen | BUSTED! |
Jaxon Byrne eliminated in 7th place ($6,270)
Another bust-out at this final table, with Jaxon Byrne bowing out in seventh place after being eliminated by Arisa Ito.
The action folded around to Ito in the small blind who raised all-in, which was enough to cover Byrne who flicked his remaining chips from the big blind position.
Ito: A♠10♠
Byrne: 9♠5♦
Ito extended her lead after pairing up on the J♦7♠A♣ flop; a glimmer of hope appeared for Byrne on the turn of the 9♣, but the river 4♥ was one pip short.
| Arisa Ito | 700,000 |
| Jaxon Byrne | BUSTED! |
Tobias Davis eliminated in 8th place ($5,111)
New Zealand’s Tobias Davis has taken his leave, collecting $5,111 for his eighth-place finish after being sent packing at the hands of Ali Zebarjad.
From under the gun, Davis ripped in his last 870,000 and Arisa Ito called out of the hijack position before action folded around to Zebarjad, who shoved over the top for 995,000. Ito quickly called.
Zebarjad: A♥A♦
Davis: Q♦Q♣
Ito: A♣J♣
Zebarjad effectively tripled after the board ran clean 8♠10♥K♦6♥5♣, and Ito was crippled down to 2.5 BBs as Davis went out the door.
| Ali Zebarjad | 2,860,000 |
| Arisa Ito | 200,000 |
| Tobias Davis | BUSTED! |
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Wing Men Tan eliminated in 9th place ($3,952)
With less than three minutes remaining in this level, action folded around to Wing Men Tan who open-shoved for his last 500,000 from the small blind, but was quickly called off by Charbel Boustani.
Boustani: A♥Q♠
Tan: Q♥10♣
Board: J♦3♥4♣3♠J♣
A great effort from Tan, who collects $3,952 for his ninth place finish. Well played, sir!
| Charbel Boustani | 1,050,000 |
| Wing Men Tan | BUSTED! |
WPT Australia Player of the Festival update
Although the average stack at this final table is only 16 bigs, there are still nine players remaining and action has slowed to a crawl, with barely anything above a raise-and-fold over the last hour.
This gave WPT Asia-Pacific Live Events Specialist Danny McDonagh the chance to give us an update on the Player of the Festival race, which has been part and parcel of all the WPT Global events since it was introduced this year as part of the brand’s 20th Anniversary celebrations.
After the completion of two events, Opening Event Mystery Bounty Champion Chris Tran holds a 50-point lead over Joe Sandaev, who took out last night’s $2,500 8-Max. Not far behind are their resective runners-up, Jin Li and Luke Martinelli, but there could be a big change coming should Ali Zebarjad make another deep run tonight in this, his second FT appearance of the series!
Our eventual winner of the POF race will receive a WPT Main Tour Passport valued at USD $5,000, along with a special commemorative trophy. For more information, including the full points matrix and terms and conditions, visit worldpokertour.com.
WPT AUSTRALIA PLAYER OF THE FESTIVAL – CURRENT STANDINGS
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1st | Christopher Tran | 650 |
| 2nd | Joseph Sandaev | 600 |
| 3rd | Jin Li | 500 |
| 4th | Luke Martinelli | 450 |
| 5th | Peter Peeters | 400 |
| 6th | Leo Kamiya | 375 |
| 7th | Michael Clair | 325 |
| 8th | Jarred Graham | 300 |
| 9th | Kenneth Stewart | 250 |
| 10th | Zhengmin Zhang | 250 |
| 11th | Matthew Radcliffe | 200 |
| 12th | Sean Ragozzini | 200 |
| 13th | Mishel Anunu | 150 |
| 14th | Nabil Edgtton | 150 |
| 15th | Ali Zebarjad | 125 |
| 16th | Adrian Indovino | 125 |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
WPT Australia $550 Action Clock final table
Our final table is now officially underway! Leading the pack is Philip Nguyen, who’s just shy of 2 million in chips after eliminating Thomas Pongrass in 10th place, followed closely by Andres Vasquez who holds a touch over 1.6 million.
Players have now been reset up to five Action Clock tokens each, save for Charbel Boustani, who has his original five chips brought through from Day 1.
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Arisa Ito | Japan | 635,000 |
| 2 | Jaxon Byrne | Australia | 700,000 |
| 3 | Win Meng Tan | Australia | 675,000 |
| 4 | Charbel Boustani | Australia | 860,000 |
| 5 | Andres Vasquez | Colombia | 1,615,000 |
| 6 | Tuan Nguyen | Australia | 1,090,000 |
| 7 | Ali Zebarjad | Australia | 1,250,000 |
| 8 | Tobias Davis | New Zealand | 750,000 |
| 9 | Philip Nguyen | Australia | 1,930,000 |
FINAL TABLE PAYOUTS ($550 buy-in, 380 entries, 48 players paid)
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $39,558 |
| 2nd | $27,702 |
| 3rd | $17,803 |
| 4th | $11,742 |
| 5th | $9,044 |
| 6th | $7,486 |
| 7th | $6,270 |
| 8th | $5,111 |
| 9th | $3,952 |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Thomas Pongrass eliminated in 10th place ($3,304)
The final nine of the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock has now been set after Thomas Pongrass was cut out of the tournament by Philip Nguyen!
Over on the feature table, our reporter caught the action after Pongrass had moved all-in for the last of his money pre-flop with A♥J♣; Philip Ngyuen called with 6♥6♣ and went on to win the flip to claim Pongrass’ tournament life after the board was spread 8♣K♠9♥4♠3♥.
And with that, Pongrass was confirmed as our 10th place finisher, good for a payout of $3,304. Our remaining players have now headed off for their 30-minute dinner break – we’ll have the official FT portrait and counts when they return. Stay with us!
| Philip Nguyen | 1,930,000 |
| Thomas Pongrass | BUSTED! |
Sayonara, Seyed
Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty Champion Seyed Hosseini has just been taken down over the space of two hands by Tuan Nguyen.
In earlier action, Nguyen got his money in good with A♦A♣ against Hosseini’s K♣Q♥; both players made two pair on the board of 2♥3♠J♣2♣Q♣, but Nguyen was best with the overpair and scored the double-up.
Down to 325,000 after that hand, Hosseini copped the killer blow after jamming with 9♠9♣, but was devastated to see Nguyen wake up again with – yep, you guessed it – A♠A♥!
Nothing but paint on the board of J♠K♦Q♣Q♠K♥, and thus Hossein departed.
| Tuan Nguyen | 1,250,000 |
| Seyed Hosseini | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Ward off
Another massive three-way all-in pot has resulted in Martin Ward’s elimination from this tournament.
All the chips were in the middle pre-flop and our reporter had to dodge through the crowd that was gathering to capture the action as it went to showdown.
Byrne: Q♠Q♣
Zerarjad: A♦K♠
Ward: A♣6♥
Nothing changed after the flop of 2♠9♦4♠, but Zerarjad pumped his fist after the K♣ spiked on the turn, which held after the 3♦ came down the river.
| Ali Zerarjad | 1,175,000 |
| Jaxon Byrne | 350,000 |
| Martin Ward | BUSTED! |
See ya, Youssef
Carlos Youssef has been sent packing at the hands of Win Meng Tan in dramatic fashion as we edge ever closer to the final table of the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock.
The cry of “all in, call” went up from the feature table; Youssef had got his money in good with K♦K♣ against Tan’s 9♥9♦.
Tan’s chances improved after the flop came down 7♥6♠5♣, but despite Youssef improving to two pair with the repeat 5♠ on the turn, the dealer peeled the river 8♥ from the shoe to give Tan the gut-shot. Ouch!
| Wing Men Tan | 1,400,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | BUSTED! |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Schmalkuche left with squadouche
A few hands after being crippled by Arisa Ito, Lindsay Schmalkuche was off to collect his payout slip, moving his last 305,000 into the middle after a pre-flop shove from Philip Nguyen.
After the rest of the table folded, Schmalkuche tabled A♥7♥, but headed to the exits (stage right) after Nguyen made Broadway on the board of 2♠8♥Q♣J♦10♠.
| Philip Nguyen | 1,020,000 |
| Lindsay Schmalkuche | BUSTED! |
Chin binned
Shortly after the field was condensed to two tables, Chin Wang was felted after a big three-way all-in pot played out on the feature table.
From early position, Wang moved all-in for his last 185,000 before Arisa Ito shoved over the top for 395,000. Lindsay Schmalkuche quickly called and their tablemates all got out of the way before the cards were tabled.
Wang: K♥K♣
Ito: 10♦10♣
Schmalkuche: A♠K♦
Ito squealed in delight and clasped her hands in celebration as the flop was spread 9♦2♣10♠ to give her the set, which held as the turn and river 3♦, A♦ completed the board.
As a result, Ito moved past the one-million chip mark and Wang headed off to the cage.
| Arita Ito | 1,080,000 |
| Lindsay Schmalkuche | 365,000 |
| Chin Wang | BUSTED! |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Omer gored
Omer Silajdzija has now hit the rail after taking a massive hit against Michel Bouskila.
Despite getting his money in good with K♠K♦ against Bouskila’s 5♦5♣, the dealer spread a board of 9♠3♣7♣Q♣4♣ to give Bouskila the runner-runner flush!
Down to just 40,000 in chips, Silajdzija was taken out in the very next hand.
| Omer Silajdzija | BUSTED! |
Davis dominating
Tobias Davis is now close to reaching the two-million chip mark after he eliminated Ali Ghezelbash on the Star Poker Gold Coast feature table.
Ghezelbash raised to 55,000 with K♥Q♦ before action folded to Davis, who elected to shove with his A♥K♠ to move the rest of the table out of the way before Ghezelbash called short.
No change to either hand after the board ran out 3♥5♣J♥J♣7♣, and thus Ghezelbash’s day was done.
| Tobias Davis | 1,725,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | BUSTED! |
Arisa rising
Arisa Ito has eliminated Chin Wang in one of the first hands after the break here in the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock event.
Action folded around to Wang who open-shoved for his last 230,000 from the cut-off before Ito iso-shoved from the button, forcing the blinds out of the way before going to showdown.
Ito: A♥K♦
Wang: Q♣J♠
Board: 2♦9♥2♣8♦3♣
| Arisa Ito | 765,000 |
| Chin Wang | BUSTED! |
Top 10 chip counts
| Tobias Davis | 1,275,000 |
| Philip Nguyen | 740,000 |
| Jaxon Byrne | 730,000 |
| Seyed Hosseini | 710,000 |
| Ali Zerarjad | 600,000 |
| Thomas Pongrass | 560,000 |
| Daisuke Ogita | 540,000 |
| Tuan Nguyen | 480,000 |
| Martin Ward | 465,000 |
| Andres Vasquez | 435,000 |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Break time!
Our 23 remaining players are now on their first 10-minute break of the day. We’ll be back with the big stacks shortly!
Feature table carnage!
Two more eliminations as we head into the first break of the day, with John White and Xuwen Zhou both departing from Table 1.
Earlier, White moved all-in for his last 200,000 from under the gun with 7♥7♣ and action folded around to Thomas Pongrass who called from the big blind with A♠K♦ and then went on to win the flip after the rivering top pair, top kicker on the board of 9♦Q♠J♣4♣K♠.
Zhou then got the last of his chips in holding A♠J♥, however despite getting in ahead of Byrne’s A♣10♥, the dealer spread the board of 3♦3♥10♦2♥9♣ to give Byrne two pair and the scoop.
| Jaxon Byrne | 950,000 |
| Thomas Pongrass | 461,000 |
| Xuwen Zhou | BUSTED! |
| John White | BUSTED! |
Damelian’s done
Robert Damelian has just hit the showers after being cleaned out by fellow Queenslander Carlos Youssef.
After Damelian ripped in his last 143,000 in from early position holding K♦10♦, the action folded around to Youssef who called from the cut-off with A♠Q♣.
Both players then made two pair on the J♠J♣A♦10♠2♥, but Youssef was best with Aces-up.
| Carlos Youssef | 425,000 |
| Robert Damelian | BUSTED! |
No more Noman
Noman Mirza has just been sent to the rail at the hands of Ali Ghezelbash over on Table 9 as we head into the last level of play before the first break.
Down to just 90,000 in chips, Mirza moved all-in pre-flop for his last 90,000 with the “Adrian Attenborough special” – J♦4♦ – but found himself well behind Ghezelbash’s A♥10♥.
A small pair for Mirza on the flop wasn’t enough as Ghezelbash rivered the stone cold nuts on the board of 8♥7♦4♥5♣3♥.
| Ali Ghezelbash | 320,000 |
| Noman Mirza | BUSTED! |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Ladak done-ski
Tuan Nguyen has claimed another scalp, taking out Mohammed Ladak in the lead-up to Level 20.
After Nguyen opened from under the gun, action folded around to Ladak who 3-bet, leaving just 3,000 in chips behind. Nguyen decided to rip it in and Ladak called short.
Nguyen: J♥J♣
Ladak: K♦5♦
Board: J♦A♣8♥10♣2♠
| Tuan Nguyen | 573,000 |
| Mohammed Ladak | BUSTED! |
Kong gonged
Christopher Kong has been amongst those to have joined the queue for payouts, eliminated at the hands of Philip Nguyen.
Kong shoved his last 180,000 into the middle pre-flop holding K♦10♣, but needed help against Nguyen’s A♣J♠.
He found it – albeit briefly – when a Ten appeared in the window on the 4♦J♦10♦ flop, however Nguyen’s top-top held as the turn and river ran out 8♥, 2♥.
| Philip Nguyen | 510,000 |
| Christopher Kong | BUSTED! |
Elias retired
Mina Elias, who won the $440 PLO at The Star Gold Coast Champs earlier this year, has just been taken down at the hands of Tobias Davis.
Again, all the money was in the middle pre-flop; Elias was at risk with A♦5♥, but Davis called him down and found himself well ahead with his A♣7♣, which booked up by the river on the board of 7♦3♣A♥4♠7♠.
| Tobias Davis | 480,000 |
| Mina Elias | BUSTED! |
Over for Rozova
Natalia Rozova was amongst a flurry of bust-outs shortly after the money was reached and as the blinds ticked over into Level 19.
Down to just 45,000 in chips, Rozova jammed them in pre-flop holding 4♦3♥, but ran into Yitian Fan’s A♥8♣.
Fan then paired his Ace after the dealer fanned a flop of 5♦3♦A♣, but despite the sweaty 6♠ on the turn, the river J♠ completed the board to end Rozova’s run.
| Yitian Fan | 775,000 |
| Natalia Rozova | BUSTED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Richards gets Byrne’d, Deussen doubles
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official – we are now in the money here at the WPT Australia $550 Action Clock!
A crowd gathered around Table 8, where Nicholas Richards had open-shoved from the cut-off for his last 42,000 with K♦J♠, but was called down by Jaxon Byrne who turned up A♣5♣.
The dealer then spread the board of 6♠7♦Q♥7♠3♥, and a ripple of applause went up throughout the room.
“Still one more to go!” announced the tournament director as he rushed across the room to Table 15, where Blake Deussen had jammed pre-flop with 8♦8♠ against Lindsay Schmalkuche, who called him down with A♥4♦.
“I don’t want to get too greedy, but an eight will do!” Deussen joked with the dealer.
“Either way, you’re fine!” Martin Ward exclaimed. “You’ll get the full min-cash or half!”
Deussen took the full option, rivering a set despite Schmalkuche turning a pair of fours on the board of 2♦7♠6♠4♣8♥ to double up.
Bippity-boppity, bubble goes poppity.
| Jaxon Byrne | 628,000 |
| Lindsay Schmalkuche | 468,000 |
| Blake Deussen | 67,000 |
| Nicholas Richards | BUSTED! |
A little Bett-er now
Down to just a single big blind Mark Betts ripped it in holding Q♣J♣ and found a caller in Noman Mirza who tabled 9♠8♣.
The board of 9♥J♥3♣5♥6♦ paired up both players, but Betts was best with his pair of Jacks and thus secured the double-up.
Still at 49!
| Mark Betts | 60,000 |
| Noman Mirza | 290,000 |
Larsson lives!
Our first all-in-call on the button resulted in a much-needed double-up for Mikael Larsson against Hayden Rowe.
Over on Table 7, the action folded around to Larsson who open-shoved for 42,000 from the small blind; Rowe called him out of the big blind and tabled A♥3♠, but found himself dominated by Larsson’s Q♦Q♣, which coasted to a boat after the dealer spread the board of 6♠2♣6♣7♥Q♠.
| Mikael Larsson | 95,000 |
| Hayden Rowe | 103,000 |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
White’s alright, Martin Finger-ed
John White has just scored himself a crucial double-up through the hands of Yitian Fan just as German wunderkind Martin Finger was eliminated by Martin Ward.
Our reporter caught the action on Table 1 as all the money went into the middle after the turn on a board of J♠A♦5♣Q♠; White had turned two pair with his Q♥J♣, but needed to fade a spade against Fan’s A♠6♠.
The river 4♣ was the right shade, wrong suit, but alright for White … not so for Finger though, who ripped in his last 33,000 with K-Q over on Table 15, but was crushed after Ward flopped a King-high straight with his 10-9.
And with that, we are now on the bubble!
| Yitian Fan | 468,000 |
| John White | 269,000 |
| Martin Ward | 223,000 |
| Martin Finger | BUSTED! |
Thatcher and Kroesen’s chips all ate up
Two more bust-outs in quick succession on Table 8, with both Ricky Kroesen and Jarrod Thatcher eliminated early.
Earlier, Thatcher jammed the last of his short stack into the middle after Tuan Nguyen raised to 22,000 pre-flop; Nguyen snap-called and turned over A♠K♥, which then hit top-top on the board of 5♠6♦K♣4♥10♦ against Thatcher’s A♥Q♠.
Then in the very next hand, action folded around to Andres Vasquez who raised from the cut-off before Kroesen jammed from the button. Vasquez quickly called.
Kroesen: 9♥9♦
Vasquez: Q♣J♣
Board: 3♦K♦5♠8♥Q♠
| Tuan Nguyen | 418,000 |
| Andres Vasquez | 204,000 |
| Ricky Kroesen | BUSTED! |
| Jarrod Thatcher | BUSTED! |
Bad luck, Chuck
Chuck Caris was confirmed as our first elimination of the day, felted at the hands of Anne Beygirlioglu.
After Beygirlioglu limped in from under the gun, the action around to Caris who shoved for his last 41,000. Beygirlioglu called, turning over 9♠9♦ and found herself ahead of Caris’ 8♥8♦.
Caris struck gold on the flop of 3♥8♠2♠ for a set, which turned into a full house with the repeat 3♠, but Beygirlioglu got the bigger boat, spiking the two-outer with the river 9♥!
| Anne Beygirlioglu | 235,000 |
| Chuck Caris | BUSTED! |
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
The numbers are in!
Hello there and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia‘s continued live coverage of the WPT Australia series!
Today, we’ll be bringing you Day 2 of the $550 Action Clock. From the 380 total entries brought in yesterday, 54 players will be returning to continue their quest for WPT Australia glory.
Leading the way is Yitian Fan with 579,000 in chips, followed by Jaxon Byrne (526,000), Tobias Davis (407,000), Seyed Hosseini (375,000) and Lindsay Schmalkuche (339,000).
Our top 48 players will be paid out a minimum of $931, while tonight’s winner will take home close to $40,000 – and with the Action Clock system in effect, we’re expecting a frenetic day on the felt – but as you may have already seen, we’ve got a new system in place to help us and help you keep up with even more of the action.
Introducing the PMA ID.
Similar to others used by poker media organisations across the globe, the PMA ID system is a simple yet highly effective tool that allows our reporters to track all players throughout the course of a poker tournament. Here’s how it works:
Before the start of Day 2 (and onwards, as the case may be), each player is assigned one of our numbered tracking cards, which corresponds to their starting table and seat allocation (refer to the seat draw below). For example, if a player starts the tournament at Table 12, Seat 8, their PMA ID for the day is 1208.
Players are then asked to keep their PMA ID face-up, close to their stack and visible at all times, and move it with them if are balanced or broken to another table – and if they happen to be eliminated, their PMA ID card remains in place on the table where it will be collected by one of our crew.
Naturally, it requires a little bit of house-keeping, but with your help, it allows us to maximise our team’s accuracy and efficiency in obtaining the information and images required and with minimal fuss during the course of live play.
And from there, you’ll be able to see the results right here on our Live Reporting blog, so bookmark your browsers, save us on your home screens and keep refreshing from 12:30pm AEST as PMA captures every bluff, sweat and tear until the final river falls!
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 12:30pm AEST. Please ensure that you have your photo ID and Star Club Card for verification purposes, and should you have any questions regarding your seat allocation, please see Star Poker Gold Coast staff upon arrival. Best of luck to all players, and may the flop be with you!
Table 1 (Feature Table)
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | Marcus McKean | 203,000 |
| 0102 | 2 | Yitian Fan | 579,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Xuwen Zhou | 104,000 |
| 0104 | 4 | Mina Elias | 87,000 |
| 0105 | 5 | Win Meng Tan | 80,000 |
| 0106 | 6 | Thomas Pongrass | 318,000 |
| 0107 | 7 | Tobias Davis | 407,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | John White | 139,000 |
| 0109 | 9 | Natalia Rozova | 224,000 |
Table 6
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0601 | 1 | Arisa Ito | 229,000 |
| 0602 | 2 | Haowen Sun | 133,000 |
| 0603 | 3 | Dylan Atkinson | 144,000 |
| 0604 | 4 | Ali Zerarjad | 229,000 |
| 0605 | 5 | Michel Bouskila | 104,000 |
| 0606 | 6 | Darren Sarchett | 205,000 |
| 0607 | 7 | Daisuke Ogita | 93,000 |
| 0608 | 8 | Philip Nguyen | 317,000 |
| 0609 | 9 | Ali Ghezelbash | 73,000 |
Table 7
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0701 | 1 | Tyrone Tongia | 145,000 |
| 0702 | 2 | Robert Damelian | 133,000 |
| 0703 | 3 | Chin Wang | 50,000 |
| 0704 | 4 | Mikael Larsson | 138,000 |
| 0705 | 5 | Hayden Rowe | 207,000 |
| 0706 | 6 | Jaxon Byrne | 526,000 |
| 0707 | 7 | Stuart Tripp | 100,000 |
| 0708 | 8 | Jumpei Furihata | 67,000 |
| 0709 | 9 | Seyed Hosseini | 375,000 |
Table 8
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0801 | 1 | Andres Vasquez | 183,000 |
| 0802 | 2 | Ricky Kroesen | 85,000 |
| 0803 | 3 | Nicholas Richards | 156,000 |
| 0804 | 4 | Tuan Nguyen | 319,000 |
| 0805 | 5 | Ji Eun Cho | 220,000 |
| 0806 | 6 | Jarrod Thatcher | 115,000 |
| 0807 | 7 | Aaron Wilson | 137,000 |
| 0808 | 8 | Christopher Kong | 114,000 |
| 0809 | 9 | Melissa Russell | 124,000 |
Table 9
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0901 | 1 | Mark Betts | 84,000 |
| 0902 | 2 | Paul Pedersen | 151,000 |
| 0903 | 3 | Charbel Boustani | 106,000 |
| 0904 | 4 | Anne Beygirlioglu | 174,000 |
| 0905 | 5 | Gang Zhu | 96,000 |
| 0906 | 6 | Noman Mirza | 115,000 |
| 0907 | 7 | Carlos Youssef | 173,000 |
| 0908 | 8 | Jake Drake | 245,000 |
| 0909 | 9 | Chuck Caris | 41,000 |
Table 15
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1501 | 1 | Martin Ward | 223,000 |
| 1502 | 2 | Martin Finger | 54,000 |
| 1503 | 3 | Reggie Diaz | 84,000 |
| 1504 | 4 | Moon Gab Chung | 155,000 |
| 1505 | 5 | Omer Silajdzija | 247,000 |
| 1506 | 6 | Mohammed Ladak | 65,000 |
| 1507 | 7 | Blake Deussen | 186,000 |
| 1508 | 8 | Neil Moss | 108,000 |
| 1509 | 9 | Lindsay Schmalkuche | 339,000 |
Be the first to comment