Mata Ye leads the way after Day 1B; that’s a wrap!
What a day that was!
The second flight of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event turned out to be an absolute belter, chock-full of the region’s biggest names and action on tap from the moment the cards got in the air. At the end of it all, Zhifan ‘Mata’ Ye emerged as chip leader, bagging up 574,500, with Darren Li not far behind with 528,500.
The 24-year-old South Australian revealed to PokerMedia Australia that he’s only been playing poker for about two years, but in that time, he’s already made a huge impression.
To date, Ye has registered more than $100,000 in live tournament cashes, including victory in the $1,150 buy-in High Roller at the Matchroom Poker Challenge, as well as a final table appearance in the WPT Australia $10K High Roller here at The Star Gold Coast.
And remarkably, ‘Mata’ shares the same surname as our Day 1A chip leader and WSOP $5K High Roller Champion, Sheng Ye, and just like Sheng, also considers himself a cash game specialist.
No doubt about it, folks – something special is brewing here at The Star Gold Coast – and if today is anything to go by, you can only imagine how epic Day 1C is going to be, so be sure join us from 12:30pm tomorrow (Saturday) for all our updates, images and results.
Until then, from all of us at Star Poker Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
‘Vancouver’ hoovered
Canadian ex-pat and mindset maven Mike Maddocks was also amongst those to hit the rail before the last three hands were called, eliminated by Adrian ‘The Celebration’ Sportelli.
Maddocks moved all-in from early position and the action folded to Sportelli who made the call, but discovered that his A♦9♣ trailed Maddocks’ A♣K♥.
That was until the dealer ran out a board of 9♦5♦J♥A♥Q♥ to give Sportelli two pair and the scoop.
| Adrian Sportelli | 326,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | BUSTED! |
Ladies and gentlemen, Day 1B of the Big Dance is now complete! We’ll be back with you shortly to wrap it all up.
Tran canned
Michael Tran has just been eliminated, copping a critical hit at the hands of Michelle Psarras midway through the final level of play.
Tran got his money in holding 10♥10♦, but ran head-first into Psarras’ Q♠Q♣, with neither hand improving on the board of 3♥4♦2♣9♥7♣.
After the chips were cut down, Tran was left with less than one big blind and was then seen heading to the exits a short time later.
| Michelle Psarras | 243,000 |
| Michael Tran | BUSTED! |
Lloyd destroyed
Lloyd Locsin has hit the rail, eliminated at the hands of Zieng Tang as we head towards the end of Day 1B of the WSOP Circuit Main Event.
Locsin moved all-in pre-flop with A♣Q♥, however he was unable to find any assistance on the board of 3♣2♣2♦7♣7♦ against Tang’s 8♠8♣.
Tang moved up to almost 350,000 after that hand, but spare a thought for Darren Li and Mata Ye, who are both chugging along happily as both players are now north of half-a-million in chips!
| Mata Ye | 552,000 |
| Darren Li | 537,500 |
| Zien Tang | 349,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | BUSTED! |
Time to go, Huo
Craig Blight is now back up to 200,000 in chips after he took out Kee Huo shortly after play recommenced.
In their very first hand after the break, Huo moved all-in pre-flop with 9♦9♣, but Craig Blight called him down with K♣Q♣ and then improved to two pair after the board was spread K♦10♠Q♥A♠7♥.
| Craig Blight | 200,000 |
| Kee Huo | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Kisar kicked to the curb
In one of the last hands before the break, Rodney Kisar moved all in before the flop holding A♣K♣, but despite picking up a royal flush draw on the flop of 2♠Q♣J♣, Alex Lee’s 4♠4♣ held firm as the board completed 2♦, 7♠.
| Alex Lee | 125,000 |
| Rodney Kisar | BUSTED! |
And with that, our 84 remaining players are now on the last 15-minute break of the day. Have a stretch, grab a cuppa and we’ll see you back in a bit!
Smiljanic survives
Dan Smiljanic is still alive in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event, having scored a full double through Huyen Nguyen.
Smiljanic shoved before the flop with K♦J♠ and found himself racing off against Nguyen’s 10♦10♣; the flop of 9♦Q♦5♠ kept Nguyen ahead, but the K♥ appeared on the turn to give Smiljanic top pair before the dealer completed the board with the river 3♣.
| Dan Smiljanic | 163,000 |
| Huyen Nguyen | 60,500 |
Ruiyang ruined
David Sebesfi has taken out Ruiyang Wang over the course of two hands as the Main Event player count dropped below 100 players.
Earlier, Sebesfi jammed with 6♥6♣ and found himself in a do-or-die flip against Wang’s A♥9♦, however the board of J♥5♥5♠K♦7♥ was clean for Sebesfi, leaving Wang with just 8,500 in chips, which he ripped into the middle in the very next hand.
Sebesfi called him off and the duo went to showdown once again.
Wang: A♠3♠
Sebesfi: K♦9♦
Board: Q♦8♣4♥9♥Q♠
| David Sebesfi | 119,000 |
| Ruiyang Wang | BUSTED! |
Cohen crippled
Micheal Hill is now up to more than 220,000 in chips after scoring a huge double through Justin Cohen.
All the money had gone in after the turn on a board of 7♥A♦9♠5♠, but despite Cohen flopping top pair with A♣J♥, Hill had spiked a straight with his suited gapper: 8♣6♣.
The river 5♣ was of no consolation, and Cohen’s stack was reduced below the starting amount.
| Micheal Hill | 227,000 |
| Justin Cohen | 37,000 |
Nasab nabs Xu
Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty winner Seyed Nasab continues his run in this Main Event, eliminating Anthony Xu just before the price of poker went up.
After Nasab raised from the button, Xu shoved out of the blinds with 7♠7♣, however Nasab snapped him off with 10♠10♣ and held all the way across the board of 4♦A♦3♣2♠9♥ to send him to the rail.
| Seyed Nasab | 138,000 |
| Anthony Xu | BUSTED! |
Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Kelvin-ator II: Judgement Day
Kelvin Li is now up to almost 300,000 in chips after he eliminated Sean Ragozzini in the lead-up to Level 12.
Ragozzini ripped in the last of his chips holding K♦Q♠, but although he found himself flipping against Li’s 7♠7♥, the board of 3♣4♠10♣2♥9♠ was fresh out of paint.
| Kelvin Li | 298,000 |
| Sean Ragozzini | BUSTED! |
Jade fades
Jade Mitchell’s run in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event has sadly come to an end at the hands of Jason Lau.
Having arrived late for today’s flight due to an emergency dental appointment, Mitchell dug deep to try and run her stack back up, but after she moved all-in with Q♥10♥, she relinquished the last of her chips to Lau, whose A♣7♠ rivered a boat on the board of A♦8♦3♣7♣7♥.
| Jason Lau | 128,000 |
| Jade Mitchell | BUSTED! |
Spano’s spent
Sydney’s Robert Spano – who won the Star Gold Coast Champs $2,500 Shot Clock earlier this year – has now hit the rail, with the last of his severely reduced stack picked up by John Apostolidis.
Once again, all the money was in the middle before the flop and we go there in time to see the players go to showdown.
Apostolidis: Q♥Q♣
Spano: 9♣7♦
Board: A♣8♥9♥8♦10♠
| John Apostolidis | 290,000 |
| Robert Spano | BUSTED! |
Cusenza crushed
Adam Cusenza was also seen heading the rail, having been felted at the hands of Wei Chung just before the clock ticked over to Level 11.
Cusenza put his tournament life on the line with A♠3♠, but although he picked up a heap of outs after the flop of 7♠5♠6♦, Chung’s A♥8♣ turned second pair and held after the board completed 8♦, Q♦.
| Wei Chung | 190,000 |
| Adam Cusenza | BUSTED! |
Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
McCully gutted
Action across the felt is moving thick and fast, with Joe Antar having notched up another K.O. in the form of Josh McCully.
McCully elected to put himself at risk after moving all-in with J♦10♣, however he found himself trailing the K♣J♣ of Antar.
A potential chopportunity appeared after the turn on the board of 3♠5♠6♦4♦, but McCully was cut after the 3♥ came sailing down the river.
| Joe Antar | 162,500 |
| Josh McCully | BUSTED! |
Hussaini’s ladies hold
Meer Hussaini has managed to score a full double through Connie Graham to move back up to almost the amount of the starting stack.
After a pre-flop raise from Graham, Hussaini jammed with Q♠Q♥ and Graham called for value with her 5♦5♣, with neither hand improving after the dealer spread the board of 9♣2♣10♦6♥3♠.
Not a great deal of damage done, however, as Graham still holds a stack in excess of 100K.
| Connie Graham | 111,000 |
| Meer Hussaini | 36,000 |
Hu’s blues
Paul Hu has just hit the rail at the hands of Jessy Song in one of the first hands back from the break.
Song got the last of his money in after a flop of A♦4♣6♣ and Hu called short with A♥Q♠, but found himself outkicked by Song’s holding of A♣K♠, which rivered two pair after the turn and river 9♠, K♥ completed the board.
As a result, Song’s stack shot up to almost 250,000 in chips.
| Jessy Song | 245,000 |
| Paul Hu | BUSTED! |
Stack ’em to the top
Day 1B of the WSOP Main Event has now been locked out at 326 total entries, comprised of 250 uniques and 76 re-entries. Together with the 269 entries taken in yesterday, that gives us a current Main Event prize pool worth more than $1.3 million with one flight still to come.
After rocketing up to the top of the charts earlier today, Craig Blight continues his fine form, returning from the break with more than a quarter-million in chips. Three more levels and one more break, and then we’ll bag and tag!
| Name | Chips |
| Craig Blight | 258,500 |
| Mata Ye | 197,400 |
| Jai Duffy | 176,000 |
| Luke McCredie | 169,300 |
| Christopher Colaneri | 155,800 |
Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Break it up!
Time for another 15-minute break. Back soon!
Maguire evens the odds
Tom Maguire has found himself a very nice double-up through Jason Yu in the last few minutes leading up to the next break.
The action was three-handed to a flop of 4♣K♥4♥; Maguire checked over Yu who opened for 2,500, and Yu was the only caller after Maguire’s check-raise of 8,300, so it was heads-up to the turn, which was the J♥.
Maguire then check-raised all-in for 26,300 after Yu’s bet of 12,500 and Yu called.
Maguire: A♦4♦
Yu: Q♣10♣
A slim chance with the open-ender, but Yu missed it after river the 10♦ completed the board.
| Tom Maguire | 78,000 |
| Jason Yu | 74,000 |
Mantell back on track
Having been as low as 10,300, Chris Mantell is now up to almost 200,000 in chips after doubling up twice during this level.
The catalyst came around halfway through the level when he shoved over the top of a bet of 5,000 from an opponent in early position; the action then folded around to the EP who called short and himself flipping for his tournament life with J♠J♣ against Mantell’s K♥Q♥.
The EP was then left seeing red – and then saw themselves out – after Mantell rivered the nut flush on the board of 3♥7♣6♥7♥A♥.
| Chris Mantell | 175,000 |
Donaghy delight
Over on Table 17, our reporter witnessed heads-up action between Dennis Huntly and Jesse Donaghy on a flop of 3♠8♠9♣; Huntly checked to Donaghy who opened for 6,000, but Huntly came back with a check-raise worth 19,000 total.
Donaghy called, then both players checked the 4♠ on the turn before Donaghy led out on the river 10♠. Huntly flashed his 3♥3♣ before slamming them down into the muck and Donaghy returned the favour, showing him K♥K♦ before raking in the pot.
“I had to put you on a spade there!” exclaimed Huntly.
| Jesse Donaghy | 115,100 |
| Dennis Huntly | 40,300 |
Good, better, Best
Gavin Best has scored himself another big double-up, taking a chunk of change off Ruiyang Wang.
Best put himself at risk with the holding of K♥Q♥, but found himself well ahead of Wang’s 5♣4♣, which rivered the second nut flush on the board of J♦2♣3♥8♥6♥.
| Ruiyang Wang | 170,000 |
| Gavin Best | 140,000 |
Adrian Pache-KO
Adrian Pacheco’s run in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event has come to an end, having been eliminated at the hands of Dan Smiljanic.
The PMA team picked up the action three-handed as Smiljanic led out after the flop of 5♥Q♣J♣; Pacheco and another player in late position folded before Smiljanic bet again after the turn of the 7♣, which was enough to put Pacheco all-in.
Pacheco: K♠J♥
Smiljanic: Q♦5♠
Needing any King or Jack to survive, the river 9♣ was a brick and Pacheco hit the bricks.
| Dan Smiljanic | 100,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | BUSTED! |
Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
The Doringer rollercoaster
John Doringer has been put through the wringer, but is still hanging in there as we approach Level 9.
In earlier action on Table 18, Doringer put himself all-in after a flop of 4♥9♦6♥ with A♥7♥, however Peter Dykes called short and tabled Q♥Q♦; the ladies held up after the turn and river ran out J♣, 5♠, resulting in a full double for Dykes.
Down to 11,400 in chips, Dykes jammed them in a short time later before action folded around to Justin Cohen who was in the big blind.
“Sorry John, I have to call,” uttered Cohen.
Doringer: J♦J♣
Cohen: 9♠9♣
There was no change to either hand after the dealer spread the board of 3♣5♠8♦Q♣7♣ to give Doringer the much-needed double-up.
| Justin Cohen | 108,000 |
| Peter Dykes | 98,800 |
| John Doringer | 24,400 |
Namrood robbed
Ned Namrood has been crippled by Tam Truong in a huge pot over on the feature table as Day 1B of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event rolls on.
Our reporter picked up the action heads-up between Truong and Namrood on a board of 8♠3♠5♣8♥J♦ into a pot worth about 70,000; Truong had shoved for his last 32,500 and Namrood tanked for a good 3-4 minutes before he made a crying call, but swiftly mucked after Troung showed down A♠A♦ which was good for two pair and the scoop.
Troung moved up to more than 130,000 in chips after that hand.
| Tam Truong | 132,800 |
| Ned Namrood | 32,000 |
Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Damelian’s done-ski
Zhihong Ma has felted Robert Damelian over the course of two hands just before the clock ticked over into Level 8.
In an earlier hand, Ma put himself at risk pre-flop but found that he was well ahead with A♦A♣ against Damelian’s 7♠7♥; neither hand improved on the board of K♠8♠3♣6♠6♥, and after the chips were cut down, Damelian was left with only 1,500 in chips, which he blind shoved fro m under the gun two hands later.
Damelian found three callers, including Ma, David Sebesfi and Qianxi Choong, but the others folded after Ma bet 5,000 into a dry sidepot on a flop of J♦6♠7♣.
Ma: J♥7♥
Damelian: 8♠3♥
Ma then filled up and left Damelian stone dead on the turn as the board completed J♣, A♣.
| Zhihong Ma | 44,500 |
| Robert Damelian | BUSTED! |
The Kelvin-ator
Kelvin (Xuqian) Li has been sighted by our team as the first player to hit 200K in chips, eliminating another player out on Table 25.
Our reporter just caught the result after the dealer had run out a board of K♣K♦2♦Q♣5♠; the all-in player had put themselves at risk with A♠J♥, but whiffed against Li’s 7♠7♦.
| Kelvin Le | 202,000 |
Kharman cast out
Almost immediately after play restarted, Adam Kharman put his tournament life on the line, moving all-in after a flop of 7♥K♣2♣ after he paired up with his 7♣5♥, however George Kyritsis called him down holding K♠6♠.
No change to the outcome after the turn and river of A♦, 9♠, and Kharman was eliminated.
| George Kyritsis | 120,400 |
| Adam Kharman | BUSTED! |
Assorted chip counts
Play has now resumed here in Day 1B of the WSOP Circuit Main Event, which is now up to more than 300 total entries. Ron Bean has topped the unofficial leader board with 181,700, followed closely by Xuqian Lu, Craig Blight and Luke McCredie.
| Name | Chips |
| Ron Bean | 181,700 |
| Xuqian Li | 180,000 |
| Craig Blight | 167,500 |
| Luke McCredie | 163,700 |
| Martin Finger | 143,400 |
| Rob Spano | 142,100 |
| Jai Duffy | 138,100 |
| Joe Antar | 121,500 |
| Bert Perry | 115,400 |
| Johnny Rodden | 115,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 105,800 |
| Connie Graham | 97,900 |
| Dennis Huntly | 88,600 |
| Gavin Best | 85,600 |
| Wayne Clinch | 79,400 |
| Russell Fogarty | 73,700 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 68,800 |
| Michelle Psarras | 66,700 |
| Jarred Graham | 51,200 |
| Kenny Wang | 49,200 |
| Sean Ragozzini | 41,900 |
| Jade Mitchell | 39,400 |
| Anthony Cierco | 37,500 |
| Mina Gerges | 27,400 |
| Robert Campbell | 27,400 |
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Let’s eat!
Time for a 30-minute dinner break. Back soon with chippies!
Luong gonged
Another all-in-pre situation has resulted in the elimination of David Luong at the hands of Dean Boskovic in the moments leading up to the end of the level.
Luong put his tournament life on the line with J♠6♠ and found himself in a fair fight against the A♥J♣, but couldn’t find any help on the board of 2♠5♥10♠A♠10♥.
| Dean Boskovic | 89,000 |
| David Luong | BUSTED! |
Oh, Dang!
Alex Lynskey has now been sent on an early dinner break, giving up the last of his chips to Alan Dang.
Lynskey ripped his last 13,500 into the middle pre-flop holding 3♠3♣ but Dang came in over the top with A♠J♣, and so it was off to the races.
Dang then hit top pair on the flop of A♣5♦2♦ and tripped up with the repeat A♥ on the turn and held after the 6♦ bricked out on the river.
| Alan Dang | 50,500 |
| Alex Lynskey | BUSTED! |
Psyduck powers up
Queensland young gun Luke ‘Psyduck’ McCredie has caught all the chips in a big pot to eliminate another opponent on Table 20 as we head into the last level before the dinner break.
Our reporter picked up the action on the river with a board of 9♥5♠9♠Q♥10♣, where the all-in player had shoved for 37,000 effective; McCredie went deep into the tank, and then, after several minutes:
*McCredie uses CALL!*
McCredie: A♣Q♣
Opponent: J♦J♣
*It’s SUPER EFFECTIVE!*
| Luke McCredie | 122,000 |
Level 6: 400/800 (800)
Oh, Best!
Gavin Best has been tearing it up on the feature table, taking out two players from this Main Event in the lead-up to Level 6.
In earlier action, Best got the last of his money in pre-flop holding A♥3♥ and found two callers in John Doringer, who showed down J♦9♦, and another player who had them both covered with 10♠10♥, Best effectively tripled up after he rivered the nut flush on a board of J♥K♥7♠2♣5♥, which also resulted in Doringer’s elimination.
Martin Ward followed Doringer to the rail soon after; despite getting his short stack in with 10♥10♣, Best had him dominated with Q♠Q♥ and hit the bigger boat on the board of 9♥9♠2♠9♥A♦.
| Gavin Best | 92,500 |
| Martin Ward | BUSTED! |
| John Doringer | BUSTED! |
More late arrivals
Day 1B of the Main Event has now surpassed 250 entries, with Australian Poker Hall of Famer Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros in the mix, along with 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell, Martin Finger, Robert Damelian, Adam Cusenza, Emmanuel Seal and Mishel Anunu just a smattering of the big names who have now taken their seats today.
We also saw Troy McLean and WSOP Circuit $1,500 Action Clock Champion Jarrod Thatcher in a friendly hand on Table 22; McLean raised to 1,300 from under the gun and Thatcher was the only caller from the cut-off, then both players checked through the flop and turn of 4♣J♦8♦3♣ before McLean flicked out 600 on the river 5♦.
Thatcher called, but threw his hand into the muck after McLean tabled A♥5♥ for a small pair.
| Jarrod Thatcher | 67,700 |
| Troy McLean | 36,500 |
A Nguyen win situation
Huyen Nguyen has just taken out another player as play continues here in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event.
All the money was in the between the two after a flop of 7♠10♥8♦; Nguyen’s rival had moved all-in holding 9♥5♥, but Nguyen called with A♠A♣, which improved to two pair and held after then turn and river 8♠, 2♠ completed the board.
we also caught some three-way action which included Chris Tran and Deborah James on a flop of A♠2♦J♥; all three players checked their option before Tran checked again after the turn of the 7♣.
The player to his immediate left then bet 1,300 and both James and Tran called before they all checked down the river 8♦; Tran rolled over K♦10♠, and James also turned up K♥10♥ as the other player mucked. Gotta love a chopportunity!
| Huyen Nguyen | 87,600 |
| Deborah James | 47,700 |
| Chris Tran | 17,400 |
Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Doubles for Sun and Shanasa
Peter Sun and Qais Shanasa have both scored double-ups as we head into the fifth level of play in today’s Main Event flight.
Earlier on the feature table, Sun limped in from early position before Ricky Kroesen raised to 2,300 from the cut-off; Martin Ward then three-bet to 9,500 from the small blind, which prompted Sun to move all-in and then forced Kroesen out of the way before Ward made the call.
Sun: J♠J♦
Ward: A♥K♠
Board: 4♠3♥5♦8♠6♠
Our team then picked up action with Shanasa having ripped in his remaining chips after the river on a board of 9♣4♦7♥6♣6♥; Dennis Huntly called him down, but mucked after Shanasa tabled 10♦8♠ for the straight.
| Qais Shanasa | 52,800 |
| Peter Sun | 50,900 |
| Martin Ward | 32,300 |
| Dennis Huntly | 23,500 |
Fletcher fleeced
Another three-way all-in pot in one of the first hands after the break has resulted in the elimination of Fletcher Smith.
Smith moved the last of his money in pre-flop and found two callers in Sean McKenzie and Zoe Charters and we were there just as the trio went to showdown.
Charters: Q♦Q♣
McKenzie: 10♥10♦
Smith: A♦J♥
Board: 7♠9♥8♠3♥3♦
As a result, Charters is now up to almost double the starting stack, and Smith was relegated to the rail.
| Zoe Charters | 79,100 |
| Fletcher Smith | BUSTED! |
More loot for Lu
No shortage of action here today, with Xiaoting Lu marking his mark after taking out a player late in the previous level.
Our reporter caught the action after Lu and another player went all-in on the turn on a board of 7♠9♠6♥10♣; the unknown adversary had already hit a straight holding J♣8♣, but still needed to fade a spade on the river against Lu’s A♠6♠.
Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
River: 4♠
| Xiaoting Lu | 88,000 |
Big names, bigger stacks
Play is now back underway here at The Star Gold Coast, with Chris Costanza, Ken Demlakian and Mike Maddocks amongst those having taken their seats late in the previous stanza, along with Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event winner Jen Cassell and Sean Ragozzini, most famous for his 11th place finish in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas last year.
| Name | Chips |
| Craig Blight | 147,800 |
| Connie Graham | 137,000 |
| Yuanting Wang | 124,700 |
| George Psarras | 115,300 |
| Po Hu | 100,600 |
Level 4: 300/500 (500)
Break time!
Our players are now on their first 15-minute break of the day.
Currie cut out
There’s been a handful of eliminations already, with Linda Currie taken out in heart-breaking fashion out on Table 15 after having her Aces cracked by Mike Ivin and Yang Lei.
Our reporter got there after all the money went over the line with a board that read Q♦9♠J♣K♠ as the trio went to showdown.
Currie: A♥A♣
Ivin: K♥10♦
Lei: 10♠7♠
River: Q♥
Currie was left with nothing after Ivin and Lei chopped the pot with their King high-straights, but it’s a different story for Craig Blight, who after taking out Nikolas Schlie in a previous hand, is now sitting behind a pile of chips worth almost four times the starting stack!
| Craig Blight | 157,000 |
| Mike Ivin | 57,000 |
| Yang Lei | 48,200 |
| Linda Currie | BUSTED! |
Hey Bert!
The field in today’s Main Event flight is now up to 200 entries, with Chad Awerbuch, George Frilingos, Dinesh Singham and Michel Bouskila amongst those to have taken their seats during this level, along with Bert Perry, who took on Slav Rypinksi in a recent hand on Table 8.
We picked up the action three-handed on the turn with a board of 6♥2♦5♣8♣, into a 13,000-chip pot; Perry checked to Rypinski who led out for 4,500 and another player in the cut-off folded before Perry check-called to go heads-up to the river 2♣.
Perry then check-called Rypinksi’s bet of 8,000, but before he had a chance to table his cards, Rypinksi insta-mucked, handing the pot to Perry.
“Sorry you didn’t get to see a showdown there!” Perry exclaimed to our dealer.
| Bert Perry | 55,000 |
| Slav Rypinski | 32,100 |
Snap ’em up
Our first batch of notable photo-bles!
Level 3: 200/400 (400)
Angelo goes’ fishin’
Out on Table 20, our reporter caught three-handed action between Angelo ‘Angelfish’ Smith, Jason White and an unknown opponent to a flop of A♠7♦Q♥; Smith checked to the player in middle position who opened for 1,200 and both White and Smith called before all players checked through the turn of the 4♣.
The dealer then peeled a repeat 4♠ from the shoe; Smith quickly opened for 1,800, which elicited folds from the others before Smith raked in the pot.
| Angelo Smith | 44,000 |
| Jason White | 30,100 |
Gross gets one early
Plenty of big names arriving fashionably late for today’s flight, with Table 26 shaping up to be the ‘Table of Death’, featuring Johnny Rodden, Dee Dee Chen and WSOP Circuit Main Event Champion Alex Lynskey, along with Michael Gross and Chuck Caris, who we caught going heads-up into a raised pot to a flop of K♠9♠10♦.
Caris checked out of the big blind position to Gross, who led out for 700. Caris called, and then the action repeated after Gross’ bet of 1,800 on the turn of the 7♠, however Caris then check-folded to Gross after he fired a third shell worth 4,000 on the river of the A♥.
| Michael Gross | 48,800 |
| Chuck Caris | 36,100 |
That’s gonna Da Cost-ya
Over on Table 7, Florian Da Costa limped in from UTG+1 before Michelle Psarras raised to 800 from middle position; action then folded aroud to Kim MacNaught who called from the small blind, as did Da Costa to make it three-handed to a flop of 6♥5♦4♣, which they all checked.
On the turn of the Q♦, MacNaught checked to Da Costa, who opened for 1,600. Psarras folded and MacNaught check-called before the pair checked down the river K♠.
Da Costa turned over 5♥4♥ for two pair, which was best against MacNaught’s 9♠8♣ to move him back up to almost 30,000 in chips.
| Florian Da Costa | 29,200 |
| Kim MacNaught | 22,300 |
Level 2: 200/300 (300)
Chhauv down, but not out
Table 11 is jam-packed full of talent, including Team PMA‘s own Russell Fogarty, along with Vahe Hovagimian, Ali Ghezelbash and Anya Azimai, along with Jenny Chhauv and Yoon Kang, who also clashed early.
Action folded to Chhauv who raised before Kang followed with a three-bet, forcing the rest out of the way before Chhauv called to go head-up to a flop of 6♠K♦Q♦.
Chhauv check-called Kang’s bet of 2,200 and then checked her option again when the 8♠ on the turn, but released her hand into the muck after Kang fired out a bet of 8,500.
| Yoon Kang | 40,600 |
| Jenny Chhauv | 31,500 |
Blight and Schlie have at it
Already up to 140 entries in the opening level, with Ricky Kroesen, Chris Tran Adam Karman and Slav Rypinski already seated, along with Luke ‘Psyduck’ McCredie, Matthew Pongrass, Dennis Huntly, poker power couples Connie & Jarred Graham, and George & Michelle Psarras.
Over on Table 15, we caught up with Andrej Senic, Jason Mansell and Deaf Poker Australia CEO Nikolas Schlie, who was involved in a hand early against Craig Blight; after Blight limped in pre-flop from middle position, Schlie raised from next door before the action folded back to Blight, who came back with a three-bet of 3,500.
Schlie called, then smooth called Blight’s bet of 4,000 after the flop of 3♥4♠5♣ before Blight opened for 6,000 on the turn of the Q♥. Schlie raised to 14,000, however Blight quickly announced that he was all-in, which put Schlie into the tank for almost two minutes before he eventually let his hand go.
| Craig Blight | 56,500 |
| Nikolas Schlie | 19,700 |
Shuffle up and deal!
Cards are now in the air for Day 1B of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Main Event! Once again, our players will start with 40,000 in tournament chips and play through 13 levels of 45 minutes’ duration, which will see our survivors bagging up at approximately 11pm local time.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 2 | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 3 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 4 | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 9 | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 13 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
Level 1: 100/200 (200)
Are you ready for more?
Hello there and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia for our continued coverage of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast series!
Last night saw the continuing story of two best friends sharing success, with Kenny Wang breaking through for his first major victor in the record-breaking Mystery Bounty tournament, fresh off the back of his runner-up finish in the $5K High Roller to his mate Sheng Ye, who now leads the way after last night’s Day 1A flight.
Based on the numbers we’ve seen over the last couple of days – including the unprecedented turnout for the Turbo Satellite which saw the alternates list in the hundreds – this Main Event is shaping up to be huge, and bodes well for Australian poker in 2023 as we begin to see more events being scheduled well in advance.
But of course, there’s still plenty more action coming your way here from The Star Gold Coast, so stay with us here at PMA from 12:30pm AEST as we bring you the action fresh from the felt. See you soon!
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