Congratulations Leo Kamiya ($29,914), WPT Australia $550 PLO Champion!
Leo Kamiya is now the one to watch here at the WPT Australia series, taking the overall lead in the Player of the Festival after winning the $550 PLO!
It’s strictly business for the new-generation grinder, who has not only taken out his third Tier One title, but also adds to his third-place finish in the $2,500 8-Max two nights ago, taking his earnings this week up to more than $78,000.
And as a result, he’s now jumped up to top spot in the POF race, and is well and truly in the running for the USD $5,000 WPT Main Tour package. No doubt we’ll be seeing more of him throughout the remainder of the series!
WPT AUSTRALIA $550 PLO ($550 buy-in, 265 entries, 34 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 1st | Leo Kamiya | Australia | $29,914 |
| 2nd | Jun Wang | Australia | $21,054 |
| 3rd | Sean Lannon | Australia | $13,542 |
| 4th | Duy Ho | Vietnam | $8,268 |
| 5th | Natalia Rozova | Australia | $6,387 |
| 6th | Robert Spano | Australia | $5,287 |
| 7th | Joseph Sandaev | Australia | $4,439 |
| 8th | Ben Kirkham | Australia | $3,710 |
| 9th | John Overbeek | Australia | $2,995 |
And with that, the $550 PLO is now all wrapped up! PMA will be back tomorrow to bring you Day 2 of the $660 Big Bounty from 12:30pm AEST. Be sure to join us here once again for all the action, but until then, from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
Jun Wang eliminated in 2nd place ($21,054)
The final hand of the tournament played out before the clock struck 7pm local time; Leo Kamiya min-raised to 160,000 from the button pre-flop, Jung Wang called from the big blind and then jammed in the rest after the flop of 10♠A♦8♠. Kamiya insta-called.
Kamiya: J♠J♦9♠2♠
Wang: 10♦8♥8♣5♦
A flopped set of eights for Wang, but the 6♠ gave Kamiya the flush, which held up after the dealer peeled the 4♣ from the shoe.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a champion! Our wrap-up of today’s proceedings will be heading your way soon.
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Sean Lannon eliminated in 3rd place ($13,542)
We’re now heads-up for the WPT Australia $550 PLO title after Sean Lannon’s elimination in third place!
Lannon opened from the button to 175,000 before Leo Kamiya three-bet it to 580,000. Lannon moved all-in and Kamiya snap-called.
Lannon: A♠A♦8♣5♦
Kamiya: K♠K♣J♣5♠
Board: Q♣10♦K♦3♣4♦
| Leo Kamiya | 4,960,000 |
| Jun Wang | 1,665,000 |
| Sean Lannon | BUSTED! |
Duy Ho eliminated in 4th place ($8,268)
Having copped a couple of big hits in the previous level, Duy Ho was unable to get much going after the dinner break and has since fallen in fourth place.
Ho was the only caller after Lannon’s pre-flop raise of 100,000, making it heads-up to a flop of 5♦6♦Q♦. Lannon checked his option to Ho who opened for 300,000. Lannon then check-shoved and Ho short-called.
Lannon: A♦A♣3♦2♣
Ho: K♦10♦9♦2♥
The turn and river of 5♥, K♣ completed the board, and just like that, we’re down to three!
| Sean Lannon | 1,800,000 |
| Duy Ho | BUSTED! |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Dinner time!
Our final four players are now on a 30-minute dinner break. Time for some chippies!
| Leo Kamiya | 3,035,000 |
| Duy Ho | 1,790,000 |
| Jun Wang | 1,340,000 |
| Sean Lannon | 465,000 |
Natalia Rozova eliminated in 5th place ($6,387)
Natalia Rozova was sent to the rail for an early dinner after being taken out by Duy Ho.
Rozova risked it all pre-flop with a double-suiter of A♠8♣6♣3♠, but was dominated by Huy’s A♣Q♦5♦5♣ which then made top-top on the board of 7♦2♥10♠Q♥J♥.
| Duy Ho | 2,150,000 |
| Natalia Rozova | BUSTED! |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Robert Spano eliminated in 6th place ($5,287)
Down to five in the finale of the WPT Australia PLO, with Robert Spano departing in sixth place.
Another all-in and a call pre-flop; Spano was at risk with Q♠10♦9♣6♣, but Lannon woke up with a monster, tabling A♥A♣K♥5♦.
Board: 7♦J♥2♣3♣Q♥
| Sean Lannon | 2,150,000 |
| Robert Spano | BUSTED! |
Joe Sandaev eliminated in 7th place ($4,439)
Joe Sandaev’s chances of a second WPT Australia title this series have been dashed, eliminated by Leo Kamiya.
Down to around 180,000, Sandaev moved it all in with A♦K♠J♦5♠, but although he picked up a Broadway draw on the board of Q♥Q♣7♥J♠3♦, Kamiya held with his A♠K♣Q♦10♠.
| Leo Kamiya | 1,000,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Ben Kirkham eliminated in 8th place ($3,710)
Although he scored himself an early elimination, Ben Kirkham was himself taken down by Duy Ho, who’s now the first to hit the two-million chip mark.
The last of Kirkham’s chips went in after the turn on a board that read 4♣2♦4♦3♥A♥; Kirkham had hit trips with 7♥6♠6♥4♥, but Ho had turned the wheel holding A♥Q♥9♥5♣.
| Duy Ho | 2,000,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | BUSTED! |
John Overbeek eliminated in 9th place ($2,995)
John Overbeek was our first elimination from this table, taken out in ninth place by Ben Kirkham.
Having come into the FT as the short stack, Overbeek ripped his last 145,000 in with A♣K♠J♦10♣, but ran head-first into Kirkham’s K♥K♦10♦3♣, which held after the dealer fanned out a board of J♥3♥7♠8♥8♣.
| Ben Kirkham | 680,000 |
| John Overbeek | BUSTED! |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
WPT Australia $550 PLO final table
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Sean Lannon | Australia | 1,650,000 |
| 2 | Jun Wang | Australia | 540,000 |
| 3 | Robert Spano | Australia | 700,000 |
| 4 | Duy Ho | Vietnam | 1,495,000 |
| 5 | Ben Kirkham | Australia | 535,000 |
| 6 | Leo Kamiya | Japan | 770,000 |
| 7 | John Overbeek | Australia | 145,000 |
| 8 | Joseph Sandaev | Australia | 310,000 |
| 9 | Natalia Rozova | Australia | 445,000 |
Fotakis taken out, final table set!
Fotis Fotakis has been eliminated by Robert Spano in a flurry of action leading up to the confirmation of our final table.
Fotakis put his last 200,000 at risk with Q♦5♥3♦2♠, but found himself well behind Spano’s A♦K♣J♠4♥ and couldn’t catch up as the board was spread A♠4♦7♠10♥10♣.
And with Gary Benson and Elizabeth Thomson also being sent to the rail, our final table was confirmed! we’ll have the official portrait and line-up ready for you shortly.
Lionel Lu-ses
It’s all happening here at the WPT Australia $550 PLO, with Lionel Lu amongst those to hit the rail as we move closer to the business end of this tournament.
Lu put his tournament life on the line with his A♣Q♥9♦9♣, but Natalia Rozova’s Q♦10♠10♦7♣ led all the way down the board of 3♦5♥5♥K♦K♠.
| Natalia Rozova | 465,000 |
| Lionel Lu | BUSTED! |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
White whacked, Frost iced
Having taken a huge hit to his stack earlier, David White moved all-in for his last 125,000 pre-flop and was called by Duy Ho.
White: Q♣J♠J♥9♦
Ho: A♥K♦5♣4♥
Board: 7♣Q♦J♦6♦8♠
White was soon followed by Mitchell Frost, who jammed pre-flop with K♠Q♠8♣7♦, but was eliminated after Robert Spano’s turned the Ace-high straight on the board of K♦8♠Q♣A♥A♣.
| Duy Ho | 1,450,000 |
| Robert Spano | 400,000 |
| David White | BUSTED! |
| Mitchell Frost | BUSTED! |
Chip counts at the break
| Sean Lannon | 1,450,000 |
| Duy Ho | 1,200,000 |
| Leo Kamiya | 809,000 |
| Benjamin Kirkham | 726,000 |
| Fotis Fotakis | 381,000 |
| Jun Wang | 337,000 |
| Lionel Lu | 280,000 |
| Robert Spano | 263,000 |
| David White | 250,000 |
| John Overbeek | 209,000 |
| Joseph Sandaev | 189,000 |
| Mitchell Frost | 163,000 |
| Gary Benson | 161,000 |
| Natalia Rozova | 125,000 |
| Elizabeth Thomson | 75,000 |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Break it down!
Our 15 remaining players are now on a 10-minute break. We’ll have the full round of counts coming your way shortly.
Yin binned
It didn’t take long for Louis Yin to also hit the rail, who was taken out by Jun Wang in the last few minutes before the break.
Yin pushed his remaining 150,000 into the middle pre-flop holding 8♥6♠5♥4♦, but was crushed by Wang’s Q♥Q♦6♦2♥ that filled up by the river on the board of 3♥A♠2♠Q♣A♥.
| Jun Wang | 320,000 |
| Louis Yin | BUSTED! |
Carnage!
A massive three-way all-in pot on Table 8 resulted in the elimination of Daisuke Ogita.
Our reporter jostled their way through the crowd that had gathered around to witness the pre-flop showdown between Ogita, Ben Kirkham and Louis Yin.
Kirkham: A♠A♦9♣3♣
Yin: A♥A♣Q♦6♠
Ogita: J♥10♥10♣7♣
Board: 5♥9♦5♥4♣7♦
The result was a split for Kirkham and Yin, and Ogita was chopped out.
| Ben Kirkham | 611,000 |
| Louis Yin | 152,000 |
| Daisuke Ogita | BUSTED! |
A couple of doubles
Double-ups for Gary Benson and Ben Kirkham as play continues into the last level before our first break of the day.
Earlier, Benson moved all-in after a flop of 4♥Q♠9♣ holding K♠K♣6♦6♣ and was called down by Leo Kamiya who tabled 8♦7♥4♠2♦, but Benson held firm as the turn and river ran out A♦, J♥.
Kirkham then got his remaining chips in against Louis Yin after a flop of 3♦K♥2♥ holding J♠10♠10♦9♥, which then went on to hit a full house as the turn and river 10♣, 3♠ completed the board to outdraw Yin’s A♣Q♥Q♠2♠.
| Leo Kamiya | 720,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | 355,000 |
| Gary Benson | 286,000 |
| Louis Yin | 72,000 |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Sandaev on song
Craig Blight has just departed at the hands of Joe Sandaev as action continues here in the WPT Australia $550 PLO.
Blight moved the last of chips in pre-flop holding Q♠8♥5♥5♠, but was bested by Sandaev’s K♥K♣8♣7♣ as the board was spread 4♥2♠2♣8♦6♣
| Joe Sandaev | 252,000 |
| Craig Blight | BUSTED! |
Gan no good
Another elimination out on the Star Poker Gold Coast feature table, with Wan Gan taken out by Leo Kamiya.
The money was all over the line pre-flop and our reporter got there to capture the action as they went to showdown:
Gan: A♥A♦3♥2♦
Kamiya: A♣K♠10♥7♣
Gan smiled at the dealer as he asked, tongue-in-cheek: “Keep it all red, please!”
Flop: J♠2♥8♦
“Okay, not bad, two reds are good!” said Kamiya.
Turn: 6♦
“That’s it, red is good!”
River: 9♥. Not so good.
| Leo Kamiya | 847,000 |
| Wan Gan | BUSTED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Two KO’s for Ho
Duy Ho has just taken out two players on the feature table, felting both Raph Tenenbaum and Andrej Senic in quick succession.
Earlier, Tenenbaum moved the last of his money into the middle pre-flop holding A♥10♥9♠6♣, but although he made two pair on the board of 3♦6♥9♣2♦7♥, Ho had him crushed with A♠6♥6♦5♠.
The cry of “all in, call” went up in the next hand, with Senic and Ho getting it all in after a flop of 8♦7♥A♦.
Ho: K♥K♦Q♥9♦
Senic: 10♦6♦5♠3♠
Turn: 6♥
River: Q♣
| Duy Ho | 859,000 |
| Andrej Senic | BUSTED! |
| Raph Tenenbaum | BUSTED! |
Two for Lu
Lionel Lu has taken out two more players over on Table 8 as we moved into the 18th level of play.
Our reporter picked up the action the pre-flop showdown, with Aaron Li and Dylan Rowe both at risk.
Rowe: A♥A♣J♣2♠
Li: K♣Q♠10♥9♠
Lu: J♦9♣8♦7♣
Lu then went on to make Broadway on the board of A♦7♠K♦3♣J♠ and scored the double KO.
| Lionel Lu | 436,000 |
| Aaron Li | BUSTED! |
| Dylan Rowe | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Good night, Yoon
Yoon Kang has just given up the remainder of his stack to WPT Vietnam Duy Ho over on the feature table.
Again, all the money was in the middle before the flop, with Kang at risk with with his A♣J♦9♦7♦, but despite turning flopping two pair on the board of 4♣J♣7♠10♦K♦, Ho got there on the river for Kings-up holding his A♥K♣9♠4♦.
And with Michael Guttman also eliminated, that took us up to our first pay jump!
| Duy Ho | 383,000 |
| Yoon Kang | BUSTED! |
| Michael Guttman | BUSTED! |
The Hachem heist
Daniel Hachem was our first elimination for the day, felted in 27th place at the hands of Louis Yin.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop and we go there just as the cards were tabled.
Lin: K♥K♦9♣4♠
Hachem: A♥9♥3♠3♣
Board: 2♦7♣7♦4♣2♥
| Louis Yin | 172,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | BUSTED! |
Shuffle up and deal!
Cards are now in the air for Day 2 of the WPT Australia $550 PLO!
Our players will be battling their way through 30-minute levels until we have a winner tonight. Here’s what our remaining 27 players are fighting for.
WPT AUSTRALIA $550 PLO – REMAINING PAYOUTS (265 entries, 34 players paid)
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $29,914 |
| 2nd | $21,054 |
| 3rd | $13,542 |
| 4th | $8,268 |
| 5th | $6,387 |
| 6th | $5,287 |
| 7th | $4,439 |
| 8th | $3,710 |
| 9th | $2,995 |
| 10th-12th | $2,518 |
| 13th-15th | $2,160 |
| 16th-18th | $1,802 |
| 19th-21st | $1,497 |
| 22nd-24th | $1,193 |
| 25th-27th | $1,037 |
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Let’s go with the PLO!
Hello everyone and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia‘s Live Reporting coverage of the WPT Australia series!
Today, we’re switching things up with Day 2 of the $550 Pot Limit Omaha. 27 players will be returning out of the 265 total entries taken in last night, and competing for their share of what’s remaining in the $132,500 prize pool, which includes a tidy $29,914 up top.
Leading the pack is Duy Ho with 700,000 neat, who will no doubt be looking to add to his poker CV after winning the WPT Prime Vietnam Player of the Festival, but following closely are Sean Lannon (651,000), Rob Spano (492,000), Daisuke Ogita (447,000) and Leo Kamiya (400,000).
Other notables also returning today include Natalia Rozova, Mitchell Frost, Australian Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson and Joe Sandaev, fresh from his big win in the WPT Australia $2,500 8-Max two nights ago.
It’s going to be another big day of action ahead, so lock your browsers onto PMA from 12: 30pm AEST as we bring you all the updates 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. Good luck, all!
Table 1
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | Wan Gan | 278,000 |
| 0102 | 2 | Duy Ho | 700,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Yoon Kang | 41,000 |
| 0104 | 4 | Ben Kirkham | 301,000 |
| 0105 | 5 | Andrej Senic | 210,000 |
| 6 | |||
| 0107 | 7 | Raph Tenenbaum | 190,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | Natalia Rozova | 331,000 |
Table 7
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0701 | 1 | David White | 248,000 |
| 2 | |||
| 0703 | 3 | Mitchell Frost | 287,000 |
| 4 | |||
| 0705 | 5 | Fotis Fotakis | 254,000 |
| 0706 | 6 | Sean Lannon | 651,000 |
| 0707 | 7 | Neil Moss | 30,000 |
| 0708 | 8 | Joe Sandaev | 219,000 |
Table 8
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0801 | 1 | Daniel Hachem | 40,000 |
| 0802 | 2 | Louis Yin | 127,000 |
| 0803 | 3 | Aaron Li | 110,000 |
| 0804 | 4 | John Overbeek | 155,000 |
| 0805 | 5 | Lionel Lu | 256,000 |
| 6 | |||
| 0807 | 7 | Michael Guttmann | 82,000 |
| 0808 | 8 | Dylan Rowe | 149,000 |
Table 9
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0901 | 1 | ||
| 0902 | 2 | Leo Kamiya | 400,000 |
| 0903 | 3 | Craig Blight | 362,000 |
| 0904 | 4 | Gary Benson | 318,000 |
| 0905 | 5 | Robert Spano | 492,000 |
| 0906 | 6 | Daisuke Ogita | 447,000 |
| 0907 | 7 | Elizabeth Thomson | 143,000 |
| 0908 | 8 | Jun Wang | 136,000 |
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