Congratulations Jack Lamberg ($24,841), WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty Champion!
New Zealand’s Jack Lamberg has broken through for his first major poker title and almost $25,000 in prize money after taking out the WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty!
In only his third live tournament ever, the 21-year-old from Christchurch topped a stellar field of 403 entries and defeated Jerry Wang heads-up for his first Tier One trophy after a two-hour heads-up battle.
Speaking with PokerMedia Australia in the moments after his win, Lamberg said that he had always been fascinated by the game of poker as a teenager.
“I’ve always had a knack for odds and statistics and stuff like that,” Lamberg said, “and yeah … the fact that you can make money off it too is really nice.”
Lamberg admitted that finding big action back home had proven challenging, but when he learned that the WPT Australia series was on, he immediately put it on his radar.
As to whether or not he’d like to see the WPT return to the Land of the Long White Cloud, Lamberg added: “For sure, I’d love to see something like that come back … I wasn’t old enough to play the first one [back in 2019]!”
WPT AUSTRALIA $660 BIG BOUNTY ($660 buy-in, 403 entries, 46 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 1st | Jack Lamberg | New Zealand | $24,841 |
| 2nd | Jerry Wang | Australia | $17,410 |
| 3rd | Toby Giles | Australia | $11,195 |
| 4th | Yang Lei | Australia | $7,447 |
| 5th | Ari Yoshinari | Japan | $5,731 |
| 6th | Kentaro Moriyama | Japan | $4,751 |
| 7th | Michael Tran | Australia | $3,990 |
| 8th | Shem Goltz | Israel | $3,240 |
| 9th | Ali Ghezelbash | Australia | $2,491 |
And with that, Day 2 of the $660 Big Bounty is in the books!
The PMA Live Reporting Team will be back tomorrow from 2:30pm AEST as we bring you Day 1 of the $20,000 20th Anniversary Super High Roller, before moving into our social media coverage of the $5,400 WPT Australia Main Event on Thursday.
Be sure to join us again here at pokermedia.com.au, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for even more exclusive content. Until then, thanks again for joining us – and from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
Jerry Wang eliminated in 2nd place ($17,410)
After a long and arduous heads-up battle, Jerry Wang has succumbed to Jack Lamberg, bowing out in second place.
In the final hand of the tournament, Lamberg open-shoved and Wang short-called.
Wang: K♠9♠
Lamberg: Q♠10♠
Board: J♥10♣7♦6♥3♥
| Jerry Wang | BUSTED! |
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! We’ll be back soon with the full results and the wrap-up of today’s event – stay with us!
Jack takes Jerry’s Juice
Another big pot for Jack Lamberg, who has wrestled back the chip lead from Jerry Wang in this epic heads-up battle!
A button raise of 700,000 from Wang elicited a call from Lamberg, and then both players checked the flop of 8♠7♣6♦ before Lamberg opened for 425,000 on the turn of the 9♠.
Both players then checked river the 2♦, and Lamberg turned over J♥7♥ to scoop the pot and move back over 8 million in chips.
| Jack Lamberg | 8,650,000 |
| Jerry Wang | 3,450,000 |
Level 33: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Jerry’s double act
Jerry Wang’s fortunes changed for the better, scoring a double-up through Jack Lamberg as we moved into the 33rd level of the day.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop; Lamberg showed down K♥10♦, but Wang’s A♦7♦ held on all streets after flopping two pair and despite the potential Broadway draw on the board of A♠Q♥7♠8♥5♣.
| Jerry Wang | 6,700,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 5,400,000 |
Just the tip of the ‘Berg
Jack Lamberg has now extended his lead over Jerry Wang as this heads-up battle rages on.
From the button, Wang raised to 700,000 and Lamberg called before check-calling Wang’s bet of 400,000 on the flop of 7♣J♣10♥ before the remainder of the board 2♦, A♣ was checked through.
Lamberg showed down 9♥7♣ and Wang let his hand go.
| Jack Lamberg | 8,675,000 |
| Jerry Wang | 3,425,000 |
Swings and roundabouts
Our heads-up players are starting to get more active, with a couple of big double-ups witnessed in this see-sawing heads-up battle.
In the first hand of the new level, Jerry Wang min-clicked from the button to 500,000 and Jack Lamberg called before checking his option on the flop of J♠9♦Q♠. Wang c-bet 400,000, Lamberg check-shoved and Wang called.
Wang: Q♥6♥
Lamberg: 10♠8♣
Wang could only watch as the turn and river ran out 3♣, K♥, resulting in a full double for Lamberg.
Lamberg then looked to end it after open-shoving from the button with A♥6♦, but Wang woke up with J♠J♥ and doubled through after the dealer spread the board of 7♠Q♦4♠7♦5♦.
| Jack Lamberg | 6,750,000 |
| Jerry Wang | 5,350,000 |
Level 32: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Advantage, Wang
Jerry Wang has now managed to edge out further over Jack Lamberg in this heads-up battle at The Star Gold Coast.
In the lead-up to the start of Level 32, Wang raised to 400,000 from the button and Lamberg called before check-calling Wang’s bet of 300,000 after a flop of K♥6♠Q♦.
Both players checked the turn of the 5♥ before Lamberg led out for 450,000 to force another fold from Wang.
Then as the blinds ticked over, Wang raised to 500,000 from button and Lamberg called; both players then checked through the flop and turn of J♥Q♣10♣8♥ before Wang opened for 200,000 on the river 6♥.
Lamberg insta-mucked his cards before Wang even had the chance to turn them over.
| Jerry Wang | 6,650,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 5,450,000 |
Back and forth
Jack Lamberg and Jerry Wang are going hammer-and-tongs in this heads-up battle as we now enter into Level 31.
In just some of the major action we caught in the first 15 minutes, Lamberg limped in and Wang checked his option before check-calling to Lamberg’s bet of 250,000 after the flop of K♣2♦8♥.
The action then repeated on the turn of the 9♠ after Lamberg fired out 750,000, but then both players checked the river Q♣. Wang showed down K♦7♣, which was enough to take it down.
A few hands later, Wang completed his small blind and Lamberg checked his option before check-calling to Wang’s bet of 200,000 after a flop of J♥K♠2♠.
Both players then checked the 9♠ on the turn before Lamberg opened for 975,000 after the river 4♥, which elicited a fold from Wang.
| Jerry Wang | 7,000,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 5,100,000 |
Level 31: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Toby Giles eliminated in 3rd place ($11,195)
Having copped a brutal beat in the previous hand, it didn’t take long for Toby Giles to get the rest of his chips into the middle, ripping in his remaining 900,000 from the big blind after Jerry Wang iso-shoved out of the small blind.
The railbirds flocked back to the feature table area and crammed in to witness the showdown.
Wang: Q♥2♣
Giles: J♦5♠
No change to either hand after the flop of A♦A♣A♥, but even though Giles spiked the J♠ on the turn, Wang rivered the bigger boat with the Q♦, much to the dismay of his rail.
And with that, we are now heads-up for the WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty title!
| Jerry Wang | 6,750,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 5,350,000 |
| Toby Giles | BUSTED! |
Giles gutted
A devastating blow to Toby Giles’ stack by Jerry Wang has seen him drop below one million in chips.
Jack Lamberg folded on the button and Wang completed the small blind before Giles raised to 450,000; Wang called, and proceeded to open-shove after the flop of J♥8♠5♦. Giles insta-called.
Giles: Q♠Q♣
Wang: A♦4♠
“Let’s goooooo Toby!” cried one of Giles’ friends.
Turn: 10♠
“HOOOOOOOOOLD!”
River: A♥
The collective cries of anguish from Giles’ rail echoed through the room, mixed in with the cheers of joy from Wang’s supporters on the other side of the feature table as Wang took back the chip lead!
| Jerry Wang | 5,850,000 |
| Toby Giles | 900,000 |
Level 30: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Giles gets them back
Toby Giles appears to have shaken off the hit from Jack Lamberg’s double-up back at the start of this level, getting back up more than 4 million in chips through Jerry Wang as the final table of the WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty continues.
In just some of the significant action we caught, Giles raised to 250,000 from the button and Lamberg folded his small blind before Wang defended his big blind to go heads-up to a flop of 4♣K♣6♦.
Wang check-called Giles’ bet of 120,000, then both players checked the turn of the 7♣ before Wang check-mucked to Giles’ wager of 350,000.
A few hands later, Lamberg raised to 250,000 from the button and Giles called from the big blind to see a flop of 7♦4♥4♠, which both players checked before Giles check-called Lamberg’s open of 200,000 after the turn of the 4♣.
On the river K♠, Giles led out for 600,000 and Lamberg called, but sent his hand into the muck after Giles turned up K♣10♠
| Jerry Wang | 5,500,000 |
| Toby Giles | 4,100,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 2,500,000 |
Lamberg gets a double
A big double-up for Jack Lamberg has seen him take over the chip lead at this final table for the first time!
In the first hand back after the break, Toby Giles raised to 255,000 from the button before re-raised to 875,000. Jerry Wang folded his big blind, Giles shoved and Lamberg called short.
Lamberg: 10♠10♥
Giles: A♣K♥
Board: 6♦4♦Q♠5♥4♣
| Jack Lamberg | 5,350,000 |
| Toby Giles | 3,500,000 |
Level 29: 75,000/125,000 (125,000)
Break time!
Our final three players are now on another 10-minute break.
| Toby Giles | 6,000,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 3,125,000 |
| Jerry Wang | 2,975,000 |
Lamberg in the blender
Toby Giles has been using the big stack to his advantage, taking down most of the pots as our final three players battle it out, but an interesting hand played out between Jerry Wang and Jack Lamberg in the lead-up to the next break.
Wang raised from the button pre-flop, Giles folded his small blind and Lamberg defended his big blind to go heads-up to a flop of 3♥A♥2♥.
Lamberg checked his option to Wang who led out for 225,000; Lamberg called, but after he opened on the turn of the 4♦, Wang came back with a raise worth 550,000.
Lamberg called, and then checked again when the dealer produced the river 6♣. Wang flicked in a single Bounty Chip, which under Star Poker Gold Coast rules, is deemed an all-in.
Lamberg threw his head back in despair, sighed and then peeked down at his cards, tanking for at least three minutes before turning to the tournament director.
“Can I flip a coin?” Lamberg asked.
“I don’t see why not,” was the reply.
Lamberg then pulled out a $2 coin and flicked it onto the table, but the result didn’t seem to sway him that much as he snap-folded soon after.
And with that, our players are now on another 10-minute break.
Yang Lei eliminated in 4th place ($7,447)
Just as the blinds ticked up to Level 28, Yang Lei got the remainder of his stack in against Jerry Wang after some heavy pre-flop betting action.
Lei called and showed down A♦9♠, but found himself well behind Wang’s A♥K♦, which flopped top-top and held firm on the board of K♥5♣7♣2♣10♣.
After the chips were cut down, it was verified that Wang had Lei covered by only 110,000 in chips, confirming the WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event Champion as our fourth-place finsher.
| Jerry Wang | 3,840,000 |
| Yang Lei | BUSTED! |
Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Ari Yoshinari eliminated in 5th place ($5,731)
The bright hair and colourful antics of Ari Yoshinari are no more, as he has just left this final table in fifth place.
Yoshinari jammed his remaining 860,000 in from under the gun; Yang Lei asked a count and then elected to call, showing down K♣5♣ against Yoshinari’s Q♣7♣.
The dealer then spread a board of 9♥3♥K♦6♠8♥, giving Lei another bounty chip, who gave a friendly parting high-five to Yoshinari as he made his way out from the feature table area.
| Yang Lei | 2,900,000 |
| Ari Yoshinari | BUSTED! |
Kentaro Moriyama eliminated in 6th place ($4,751)
Japan’s Kentaro Moriyama has just departed the final table after falling to Yang Lei in sixth place.
Moriyama open-shoved for the last of his stack from the +1 position, however Lei iso-shoved which prompted the rest of table to move out of the day.
Lei: A♣Q♣
Moriyama: K♦10♠
No help for Moriyama on the 4♣3♥7♣, nor on the turn 5♦, and with the river Q♥ pairing up Lei, Moriyama was on his way.
| Yang Lei | 2,200,000 |
| Kentaro Moriyama | BUSTED! |
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Michael Tran eliminated in 7th place ($3,990)
Michael Tran has fallen victim to Yang Lei, finishing his run in seventh place.
From UTG+1 Tran raised to 250,000; Lei then re-raised it to 440,000 and the others got out of the way before Tran shipped it in. Lei snap-called.
Lei with 7♠7♥
Tran: A♠4♦
The flop and turn of 6♠2♦J♦Q♦ gave Lei a bit of a sweat, but the river J♥ was a brick and Lei moved back up to more than 2.8 million.
| Yang Lei | 2,840,000 |
| Michael Tran | BUSTED! |
He has Ari-sen!
Yang Lei’s dominant chip lead was short-lived, having just given up a sizeable portion to Ari Yoshinari.
Lei made it 180,000 from the +1 position and the action folded around to Yoshinari who ripped in his last 400,000 from the small blind. Michael Tran folded his big blind and Lei quickly called.
Yoshinari: 3♥3♦
Lei: A♥10♥
Board: 8♠J♦Q♠8♥2♠
| Ari Yoshinari | 950,000 |
| Yang Lei | 3,065,000 |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Shem Goltz eliminated in 8th place ($3,240)
Shem Goltz has now departed $3,240 richer after being eliminated from this final table in eighth place.
After Yang Lei opened from the cut-off to 100,000, Jerry Wang and Gotz both calling to see a flop of 4♣Q♣J♣.
Goltz checked his option back to Lei, who c-bet 65,000, which was enough for Wang to fold before Goltz announced he was all-in. Lei quickly called.
Lei: K♣10♦
Goltz: 7♣6♥
The turn and river 10♠, 5♦ completed the board and thus Lei’s lead extended even further, moving up to 4 million in chips after that hand.
| Yang Lei | 4,000,000 |
| Shem Goltz | BUSTED! |
Giles climbing
The pace of play has steadied here at this final table, but Toby Giles has taken a sizeable chunk out of Jack Lamberg.
Action folded around to Giles who raised to 175,000 from the small blind; Lamberg called out of the big blind to go head-up to a flop of Q♥10♥10♠.
Giles opened for 150,000 and Lamberg called, and then the action repeated after Giles’ bet of 250,000 on the turn of the K♣ before Giles shoved on the river 2♥
After almost three minutes in the blender, Lamberg muttered “nice hand” before tossing his hand into the muck.
| Toby Giles | 2,720,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 900,000 |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Ali Ghezelbash eliminated in 9th place ($2,491)
Having taken a big hit against Yang Lei earlier, Ali Ghezelbash has been knocked out by Toby Giles in ninth place.
Ghezelbash put all of his stack in pre-flop with K♥9♠ and Giles called him off with J♥10♠.
The board would present 7♠10♣5♠4♣J♠, reducing our final table down to seven.
| Toby Giles | 2,270,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | BUSTED! |
Early bang from Yang
Yang Lei has taken the first major pot of the final table of WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty.
Ali Ghezlebash opened the betting from the cutoff to 80,000; Yang 3-bet from the button to 230,000 and Ghezelbash flat-called to go heads-up to a flop of 8♦2♠4♦.
Ghezelbash checked to Lei who bet 135,000, but Ghezelbesh then check-raised to 300,000. Yang took some time before making the call, prompting to dealer to peel out the turn of the Q♥. a
Ghezelbash counted out 250,000 and put it over the line and again was called by Lei, which brought out the river J♦.
Ghezelbash checked, Lei announced he was all-in, and Ghezelbash took a couple of minutes to ponder before letting his hand go.
| Yang Lei | 2,750,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | 380,000 |
WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty final table
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Jack Lamberg | New Zealand | 1,240,000 |
| 2 | Shem Goltz | Israel | 680,000 |
| 3 | Ari Yoshinari | Japan | 670,000 |
| 4 | Michael Tran | Australia | 745,000 |
| 5 | Kentaro Moriyama | Japan | 1,095,000 |
| 6 | Ali Ghezelbash | Australia | 1,315,000 |
| 7 | Yang Lei | Australia | 2,705,000 |
| 8 | Jerry Wang | Australia | 1,315,000 |
| 9 | Toby Giles | Australia | 2,330,000 |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Slav Rypinski eliminated in 10th place ($2,092)
Slav Rypinski’s run in this tournament has come to a grinding halt, finding himself on the wrong end of a massive three-way all-in pot before eventually falling in 10th place.
Earlier, Rypinski’s stack was cut down to just 250,000 after moving all-in with A♠K♥, only to run into Shem Goltz’s K♠K♣ and Kentaro Moriyama’s A♥A♦, with no change to the outcome after the board was spread 8♠8♣7♦8♥10♦.
Rypinksi then got the last of his money in a short time later against Goltz, and the railbirds clamoured around Table 8 once again to witness the showdown.
Rypinski: A♣Q♣
Goltz: A♥3♥
Rypinksi kept his lead after the flop came down 2♦10♣10♦ and picked up the gut-shot straight draw with the K♠ on the turn, but the crowd erupted after Goltz spiked the 3♣ on the river, which left Rypinski too stunned to even move for a good 10 seconds before he eventually composed himself and took his leave.
| Slav Rypinski | BUSTED! |
Our final nine players are now taking a 30-minute dinner break – we’ll be back with the full counts and official final table portrait soon. Stay with us!
Sormi scorched
John Sormi has hit the rail in 11th place after being ousted from this tournament by Jerry Wang.
Sormi put his last 220,000 at risk pre-flop with K♠10♠, however Wang woke up with Q♥Q♦ and held firm as the board was spread 2♣J♥J♣7♣10♣.
One more to go until we reach our final table!
| Jerry Wang | 1,450,000 |
| John Sormi | BUSTED! |
Boustani goes bye-bye
Yang Lei has now moved past the two-million chip mark after he eliminated Charbel Boustani.
Boustani moved all-in-pre for his last 590,000 holding Q♦Q♣, but he rivered a set on the board of J♣K♠2♦10♦Q♥, Lei’s 9♥9♦ picked up the King-high straight to take him down.
| Yang Lei | 2,345,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | BUSTED! |
Best busts
Gavin Best has been sent to the rail by Shem Goltz, moving all-in from the small blind pre-flop for his last 320,000 before Goltz called him out of the big blind.
Goltz: A♦8♥
Best: J♠4♠
No change after the flop of 6♣5♠5♦ but although Best hooked up two pair on the turn of the J♥, the crowd reeled after the dealer produced the river A♣ to give Goltz the scoop!
| Shem Goltz | 875,000 |
| Gavin Best | BUSTED! |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
C-V-J-K-O
Two more eliminations were captured by the PMA crew as the blinds ticked over into Level 23, with Corey Van Jaarsveldt and Jarred Graham both sent to the rail.
Earlier on the feature table, the action folded around to Toby Giles who min-clicked from the button to 50,000 before Van Jaarsveldt re-raised to 150,000 from the small blind. The big blind folded, Giles jammed and Van Jaarsveldt short-called.
Van Jaarsveldt: 10♠10♦
Giles: A♣Q♦
Board: 8♣K♥9♦Q♣4♥
| Toby Giles | 2,400,000 |
| Michael Tran | 1,060,000 |
| Jarred Graham | BUSTED! |
| Corey Van Jaarsveldt | BUSTED! |
Thai says goodbye
Back over on Table 8, the action folded around to Jackie Thai who raised to 50,000 from the hijack before Ali Ghezelbash three-bet to 150,000 from the cut-off; after the button and the blinds got out of the way, Thai shoved for his last 540,000 and Ghezelbash snapped him off.
Ghezelbash: J♦J♣
Thai: A♦Q♠
Board: K♥6♥8♠7♥K♠
| Ali Ghezelbash | 1,450,000 |
| Jackie Thai | BUSTED! |
Murphy mashed
Over on the feature table, Patrick Murphy min-raised to 50,000 from under the gun before the action folded around to Toby Giles, who shoved out of the big blind.
Murphy called short and tabled A♠Q♣, but found himself left in the dust after Giles’ K♦K♣ held across all streets on the board of 4♥7♥9♣J♥3♣.
| Toby Giles | 1,280,000 |
| Patrick Murphy | BUSTED! |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Sebesfi smashed
Down to less than two tables’ worth in this tournament, with David Sebesfi felted at the hands of Ali Ghezelbash as we moved into the 21st level of play.
Again, all the money was in the middle before the flop; Sebesfi was at risk with 2♠2♣, but was obliterated in the do-or-die battle against Ghezelbash, whose A♣8♣ flopped trips on the board of A♦K♥A♥Q♥4♠. That’ll do it.
| Ali Ghezelbash | 850,000 |
| David Sebesfi | BUSTED! |
Oh my God, they killed Kenny!
You bastard!
Not really – that was, of course, an iconic South Park reference – however we can indeed confirm the elimination of Guangyu (Kenny) Wang at the hands of Michael ‘Pickle’ Tran.
Tran min-clicked to 40,000 from under the gun before Wang shoved for his last 400,000 with 9♦9♣, but lost the flip for his tournament life after Tran snap-called with A♠K♦ and hit trips on the board of A♥9♣4♣3♣A♥
| Michael Tran | 960,000 |
| Kenny Wang | BUSTED! |
Cassell dethroned
Despite an early double-up, Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event winner Jennifer Cassell has just been eliminated from this tournament.
Earlier, Cassell found herself all-in pre-flop in the very first hand after the break, getting her money in with A♠6♠ and flopped two pair against Toby Giles’ 8♦8♣ after the dealer spread a board of A♥K♦6♦7♦Q♠.
Some time passed before Cassell found herself heads-up into a raised pre-flop pot against Ari Yoshinari on a flop of 7♥4♠Q♦, which they both checked before Yoshinari led out for 25,000 on the turn of the Q♥.
Cassell flatted, then short-called after Yoshinari open-shoved on the river A♥.
Yoshinari: A♣K♦
Cassell: A♠2♣
| Ari Yoshinari | 990,000 |
| Toby Giles | 805,000 |
| Jennifer Cassell | BUSTED! |
Updated chip counts
Our final 20 players are now back in action, with Yang Lei still leading the way with 1.375 million in chips, almost a full 300,000 ahead of Toby Giles.
We can also confirm Mastaka Kuwahawa, Junya Luo, Alan Dang, Haowen Sun and Paul Lumsden have all been eliminated.
| Name | Chips |
| Yang Lei | 1,375,000 |
| Toby Giles | 980,000 |
| Slav Rypinski | 925,000 |
| Ari Yoshinari | 750,000 |
| Kentaro Moriyama | 715,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 710,000 |
| Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 710,000 |
| Jerry Wang | 650,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | 585,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 580,000 |
| Guangyu Wang | 540,000 |
| Jarred Graham | 540,000 |
| Michael Tran | 505,000 |
| Jackie Thai | 455,000 |
| Jack Lamberg | 440,000 |
| John Sormi | 350,000 |
| Patrick Murphy | 320,000 |
| Gavin Best | 295,000 |
| David Sebesfi | 215,000 |
| Jennifer Cassell | 170,000 |
| Mastaka Kuwahawa | BUSTED! |
| Junya Luo | BUSTED! |
| Alan Dang | BUSTED! |
| Haowen Sun | BUSTED! |
| Paul Lumsden | BUSTED! |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Take 10
Time for a short break – we’ll be back with the full round of counts from our 20 remaining players right after this!
Chambers crushed, Sarkiss sunk
Another two to the rail before we headed off to the first break of the day, with Kerry Chambers and Osalian Sarkiss confirmed as our latest casualties.
Earlier, Chambers moved all-in from the button for 260,000 from the button pre-flop with A♦7♥, but Charbel Boustani woke up in the small blind with A♠A♣ and left Chambers drawing dead by the turn on the 10♠2♠6♣3♣9♣ board.
A short time later, Sarkiss shoved his last 215,000 into the middle; Shem Goltz then iso-shoved over the top to force Sarkiss to a heads-up showdown.
Goltz: J♦J♣
Sarkiss: 8♠8♥
Board: 5♦2♣6♠3♣7♣
| Charbel Boustani | 780,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 680,000 |
| Osalian Sarkiss | BUSTED! |
| Kerry Chambers | BUSTED! |
Heartache for Ates
Taner Ates’ run in this event has now come to end, eliminated by Michael ‘Pickle’ Tran.
Ates moved the last of his chips in pre-flop holding A♦4♥, but lost the fair fight against Tran’s K♦Q♦ after he hit trips on the flop of Q♣5♦Q♥, which then filled up as the turn and river repeated 9♥, 9♦.
| Michael Tran | 605,000 |
| Taner Ates | BUSTED! |
Vasquez vanquished
Fresh from his big win in the $550 Action Clock event, Andres Vasquez has sadly fallen to Ali Ghezelbash.
After Yang Lei opened to 30,000, Slav Rypinski called before Ghezelbash re-raised to 75,000. Vasquez then four-bet it to 160,000, which prompted Lei and Rypinski to fold before Ghezelbash five-bet-shoved. Vasquez short-called.
Ghezelbash: 10♠10♥
Vasquez: A♦Q♥
Board: 10♦9♥2♦J♣2♥
| Ali Ghezelbash | 902,000 |
| Andres Vasquez | BUSTED! |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Bailey busto
Brandon Bailey has been sighted as our latest elimination, taken down by Sydney’s Slav Rypinski.
After Rypinksi fired out a pre-flop raise, Bailey shoved and the rest of the table got out of the way before the cards were revealed.
Rypinksi: A♠K♣
Bailey: Q♠10♠
Board: 7♠4♦9♥6♦A♣
| Slav Rypinski | 758,000 |
| Brandon Bailey | BUSTED! |
Caridad cut
Out on Table 9, John Caridad put himself at risk after a flop of 2♣K♦3♥, only to be called off by Jerry Wang.
Wang: A♣K♠
Caridad: 5♦4♥
Caridad was left drawing thin after Wang hit top set with the K♣ on the turn, but the 7♣ bricked out on the river to end the Sydney veteran’s run.
| Jerry Wang | 1,180,000 |
| John Caridad | BUSTED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Mina maxed out
Star Gold Coast Champs $440 PLO Champion Mina Elias has been amongst the latest to hit the cage for their payouts as we had into Level 19.
Over on Table 8, action folded around to Elias who moved all-in for his last 108,000 after a flop of 8♥K♥K♠, only to run into the J♠J♥ of Kerry Chambers, who held firm despite a sweaty turn as the board completed 9♠, 2♥.
| Kerry Chambers | 405,000 |
| Mina Elias | BUSTED! |
Feng felted
Not long after Craig Blight’s elimination, Hsiang-Po Feng jammed his last 85,000 into the middle pre-flop before Patrick Murphy called, taking us to another all-in showdown.
Murphy: Q♥Q♣
Feng: J♥8♥
Neither hand improved on the board of 9♠A♣A♦7♠2♥, and Feng headed to the exits.
| Patrick Murphy | 486,000 |
| Hsiang-Po Feng | BUSTED! |
Blight goes bust
Guangyu Wang has claimed another scalp, felting Craig Blight over on the feature table as play continues in the WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty.
Blight risked the remainder of his stack with 4♠4♦ and found himself in a coin flip against Wang’s A♥9♣, however Blight’s run came to an end after Wang flopped top-top on the board of J♦K♥A♦8♥2♠.
| Guangyu Wang | 790,000 |
| Craig Blight | BUSTED! |
Prime time, baby!
Over on Table 9, action folded to Aaron Li who moved all-in for the last of his short stack with A♣K♥, but found himself flipping for his tournament life against the 9♠9♣ of Yang Lei.
The WPT Prime Gold Coast Champion then flopped a set on the board of 4♣7♦9♥4♥10♦, which was more than enough to send Li to the rail.
Gavin Best then alerted us to a gem of a hand that he picked up on Table 7; as the WPT Prime Gold Coast $5K Challenge Champion recalled, Jackie Thai raised from under the gun pre-flop before action folded around to Best who called out ofthe small blind, as did Toby Giles from the big blind to make it three-handed to a flop of 2♦J♥K♥, which they all checked.
The blinds then checked to Thai who opened after the turn of the A♥; Best was the only caller, and he then checked again on the river 6♣. Thai checked back, but Best had nothing but the best, tabling Q♥10♥. Royal flush!
| Yang Lei | 1,170,000 |
| Gavin Best | 540,000 |
| Aaron Li | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Da Silva sent off
Nuno Da Silva has also collected his payout slip after being eliminated by Guangyu Wang.
Da Silva put his tournament life on the line, open-shoving pre-flop with A-Q before Wang called with his A♣J♦.
No change after the flop and turn of 8♠7♠8♦4♠, however Wang hooked up two pair with the river J♠ to send the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event final tablist to the rail.
| Guangyu Wang | 916,000 |
| Nuno Da Silva | BUSTED! |
Williams waves goodbye
From under the gun, Nick Williams ripped in the last of his stack before action folded around to David Sebesfi who called from the hijack, prompting the others to get out of the way before the cards were tabled.
Sebesfi: Q♥Q♣
Williams: J♦J♣
Both players were set up after the board was spread Q♠K♦2♦J♠4♥, but Sebesfi was best with his Queens to send the affable South Australian to the rail.
| David Sebesfi | 594,000 |
| Nick Williams | BUSTED! |
Maruo KO
Our first eliminated player of the day was Tasuku Maruo, who was sent to the rail at the hands of fellow Japanese player Kentaro Moriyama.
After an early position raise from Moriyama, Maruo ripped in the rest of his stack with A♥K♠, but found himself against Moriyama’s A♦K♦.
The flop was a very sweaty 5♦J♦Q♥, but although the turn of the 6♠ gave a little more breathing room, the dealer peeled out the river 6♦ to give Moriyama the nut flush!
| Kentaro Moriyama | 490,000 |
| Tasuku Maruo | BUSTED! |
Shuffle up and deal!
Play is now underway for Day 2 of the WPT Australia $660 Big Bounty!
Our remaining 38 runners will be playing through 30-minute levels until we crown a winner tonight. For those of you keeping score at home, this is what’s left in the kitty (excluding bounties):
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $24,841 |
| 2nd | $17,410 |
| 3rd | $11,195 |
| 4th | $7,447 |
| 5th | $5,731 |
| 6th | $4,751 |
| 7th | $3,990 |
| 8th | $3,240 |
| 9th | $2,491 |
| 10th-12th | $2,092 |
| 13th-15th | $1,753 |
| 16th-18th | $1,439 |
| 19th-21st | $1,197 |
| 22nd-24th | $1,003 |
| 25th-27th | $846 |
| 28th-36th | $689 |
| 37th-38th | $605 |
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Let’s go huntin’!
Hello everyone and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia‘s Live Reporting coverage of the WPT Australia series!
Today, we’re picking up the action from the start of Day 2 of the $660 Big Bounty – your classic ‘terminator’ style event – where each elimination will earn you $300 a pop. All up, there a total of $241,800 was generated from the 403 entries taken in, and our 38 remaining players will be chasing a top prize worth $24,841.
Today’s field is stacked full of talent and led by a man no stranger to success here at The Star Gold Coast – reigning WPT Prime Gold Coast Champion, Yang Lei, who returns today with 849,000 in chips.
Charbel Boustani (656,000) will also be looking to add to his deep run from the $550 Action Clock, while Ari Yoshinari (647,000), Jackie Thai (647,000) and Jerry Wang (592,000) round out the top five.
That being said, this has shaped up to be arguably one of the toughest Day 2 line-ups so far, with plenty of big names returning including Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event Champion Jennifer Cassell, WPT Prime Gold Coast $5K Challenge Champion Gavin Best, and Star Sydney Champs $1,100 NLH winner Slav Rypinski.
Who will be our next WPT Australia Champion? Find out as the PMA team brings you live updates from 12:30pm AEST and right through until the final winner falls! See you soon!
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 12:30pm AEST. Please ensure you have your photo ID and Star Club Card with you for verification purposes, and should you have any questions regarding your seat allocation, please approach one of the team at Star Poker Gold Coast. Best of luck to everyone, and may the flop be with you!
Table 1 (Feature Table)
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | Patrick Murphy | 453,000 |
| 0102 | 2 | Nuno Da Silva | 99,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Craig Blight | 231,000 |
| 0104 | 4 | ||
| 0105 | 5 | John Sormi | 411,000 |
| 0106 | 6 | Mastaka Kuwahawa | 259,000 |
| 0107 | 7 | Ari Yoshinari | 647,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | Jennifer Cassell | 127,000 |
| 0109 | 9 | Hsiang-Po Feng | 91,000 |
Table 6
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0601 | 1 | Osalian Sarkiss | 360,000 |
| 0602 | 2 | Nick Williams | 181,000 |
| 0603 | 3 | Paul Lumsden | 103,000 |
| 0604 | 4 | Ali Ghezelbash | 147,000 |
| 0605 | 5 | David Sebesfi | 363,000 |
| 0606 | 6 | Taner Ates | 215,000 |
| 0607 | 7 | ||
| 0608 | 8 | Yang Lei | 849,000 |
| 0609 | 9 | Guangyu Wang | 432,000 |
Table 7
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0701 | 1 | Junya Luo | 221,000 |
| 0702 | 2 | Alan Dang | 135,000 |
| 0703 | 3 | ||
| 0704 | 4 | Corey Van Jaarsveldt | 574,000 |
| 0705 | 5 | Gavin Best | 415,000 |
| 0706 | 6 | Toby Giles | 282,000 |
| 0707 | 7 | Jackie Thai | 631,000 |
| 0708 | 8 | Jack Lamberg | 295,000 |
| 0709 | 9 | Jarred Graham | 279,000 |
Table 8
| PMA | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0801 | 1 | Tasuku Maruo | 184,000 |
| 0802 | 2 | ||
| 0803 | 3 | ||
| 0804 | 4 | Kerry Chambers | 267,000 |
| 0805 | 5 | Haowen Sun | 104,000 |
| 0806 | 6 | Kentaro Moriyama | 261,000 |
| 0807 | 7 | Mina Elias | 228,000 |
| 0808 | 8 | Slav Rypinski | 235,000 |
| 0809 | 9 | Brandon Bailey | 251,000 |
Table 9
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0901 | 1 | Charbel Boustani | 656,000 |
| 0902 | 2 | Aaron Li | 231,000 |
| 0903 | 3 | Andres Vasquez | 362,000 |
| 0904 | 4 | ||
| 0905 | 5 | Shem Goltz | 480,000 |
| 0906 | 6 | John Caridad | 296,000 |
| 0907 | 7 | ||
| 0908 | 8 | Jerry Wang | 592,000 |
| 0909 | 9 | Michael Tran | 148,000 |
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