Congratulations Alex Markopoulos ($100,000), 2023 Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller Champion!
After a gruelling 13-hour day and a relentless final table battle, Alex Markopoulos has emerged victorious and has claimed his first major title, defeating Mata Ye heads-up in the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller!
The relative newcomer has only recorded two other results on The Hendon Mob up until this point, with tonight’s win worth 10 times more than his previous best when he final tabled the Stacked Poker Championship Main Event in May last year.
But in true Stacked fashion, both he and and Ye – along with several other final tablists from tonight’s tournament – were already back into the swing of things, jumping into Day 1A of the Big Dance at the last minute to score themselves a bag. As Loverboy once said: “Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend!”
STACKED POKER CHAMPIONSHIP SUPER HIGH ROLLER ($4,000 buy-in, 98 entries, 12 players paid)
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Alex Markopoulos | $100,000 |
| 2nd | Mata Ye | $67,000 |
| 3rd | Marco Perri | $38,600 |
| 4th | Gary Benson | $32,300 |
| 5th | Jono Karamalikis | $27,000 |
| 6th | David Sun | $21,600 |
| 7th | P.P. Huang | $18,000 |
| 8th | Jin Li | $14,400 |
| 9th | Pierre Aoukar | $11,800 |
| 10th | Garry Lin | $9,425 |
| 11th | Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal | $9,425 |
| 12th | Gavin Best | $9,425 |
Well folks, it’s been a massive day for us here at Stacked Social, and we simply cannot thank you all enough for your continued support.
Stay tuned as we bring you more Main Event action with back-to-back flights from 12pm local time, but until then, from all of us here in Adelaide, it’s ‘bye for now!
Mata Ye eliminated in 2nd place ($67,000)
After a frenetic heads-up affair, Mata Ye copped a massive hit from Alex Markopoulos before falling in second place, bringing the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller to an end!
In earlier heads-up action, Markopoulos got the last of his chips in with A♣Q♥ and improved to two pair on the board of 6♣6♠10♦Q♣10♠ to double through comfortably against Ye’s A♠7♣.
From there, Markopoulos kept up the pressure on Ye, before the final hand of the night played out at around 2:15am local time. All the money went in after the turn on a board that read 6♦Q♠8♣6♣7♥; both players had hit two pair, but Ye’s 10♥8♥ needed help against Markopoulous’ K♦Q♦.
River: 7♥
| Mata Ye | BUSTED! |
Ladies and gents, we have ourselves a winner! The PMA team will be back shortly to wrap this tourney up. Stay with us!
Level 26: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Marco Perri eliminated in 3rd place ($38,600)
After being left short in the previous hand, Marco Perri wasted no time moving the last of his chips into the middle, which Mata Ye called.
Perri: K♦7♠
Ye: A♥2♥
Perry’s hand only found dead air as the dealer spread 9♣2♠5♥10♦A♣, sealing Ye’s winning hand as it found two pair. Action now moves to heads up with Alex Markopoulos and Ye, with stacks close to even.
| Mata Ye | 5,200,000 |
| Marco Perri | BUSTED! |
Making his mark
A big swing to Alex Markopoulos after some heated heads up action between Markopoulos and Marco Perri. Markopoulos raised preflop from the small blind to 250,000, called by Perri.
On the flop K♠J♥10♥, Perri then called Markopoulos’ 150,000 bet. The turn 3♠ excited a 325,000 bet from Markopoulos before Perri moved all in, and was quickly snapped off.
Markopoulos:A♦K♠
Perri: A♠7♠.
With the 6♦ river, Perry’s nut flush draw bricked out for Markopolous’ King high to hold, shifting the balance of chips into Markopolous’ favour, and leaving Perri severely crippled to little less than two BBs.
| Alex Markopolous | 4,450,000 |
| Marco Perri | 220,000 |
Gary Benson eliminated in 4th place ($32,300)
Alex Markopoulos raised from the cutoff for 250,000, which was called by Marco Perri before the hand quickly turned very serious with a shove from Gary Benson on the big blind for a little less than one million in chips.
Markopoulos snap-called, showing J♦J♣ which loomed over Benson’s A♠9♠, unable to connect on a spread of 3♠10♦3♥7♥J♠, leaving him to bow out in fourth place.
| Alex Markopolous | 2,600,000 |
| Gary Benson | BUSTED! |
Updated chip counts
| Name | Chips |
| Marco Perri | 4,120,000 |
| Alex Markopoulos | 2,445,000 |
| Mata Ye | 2,115,000 |
| Gary Benson | 1,130,000 |
Level 25: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Break time!
Our final four players are now on another 10-minute break.
A Perri peculiar hand
Marco Perri still holds court at this Super High Roller final table, but Gary Benson hasn’t been afraid to switch things up in order to apply some pressure.
After Alex Markopolous folded, Perri raised from the button and Mata Ye folded his small blind before Benson came out with a three-bet of 305,000 from the big blind. Perri called, and Ben then c-bet 100,000 after the flop of K♣8♠A♥ before both players checked the turn of the 7♣.
Benson then fired 475,000 after the river 5♠, and leaving only 20,000 behind. Perri looked puzzled as he looked across to Benson, and then to the board, and after asking the dealer to spread the pot, he thought about it a little longer before laying his hand down.
| Marco Perri | 4,085,000 |
| Gary Benson | 1,420,000 |
Jono Karamalikis eliminated in 5th place ($27,000)
The Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller is now down to four after Jono Karamalikis bowed out in fourth place.
After Marco Perri min-clicked from under the gun, Mata Ye flatted from the +1 position before action folded to Karamalikis, who moved all-in from the big blind.
Perri isolated from the small blind and Ye mucked his hand to force the heads-up showdown.
Perri: A♥K♠
Karamalikis: A♦10♦
Board: 5♣5♥2♣K♣3♥
| Marco Perri | 3,810,000 |
| Jono Karamalikis | BUSTED! |
Karamalikis clings to life
After Gary Benson doubled through him in an earlier hand, Jono Karamalikis has dropped to the short stack at this final table after giving up a big pot to Mata Ye just before the blinds went up.
Ye min-raised from under the gun and action folded to Karamalikis, who three-bet to 380,000 from the small blind. Ye called, and then both players checked down the flop and turn of A♣4♦8♥2♠.
Karamalikis then led out for 250,000 after the river 9♠, but Ye called quickly and turned over A♥7♥, which was best against Karamalikis’ J♦J♣.
| Mata Ye | 2,850,000 |
| Gary Benson | 1,100,000 |
| Jono Karamalikis | 740,000 |
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
‘Marko’ vs Marco
Alex Markopoulos has now taken the chip lead at this Super High Roller final table, winning a sizeable pot off Marco Perri as our final five battle it out.
After a flop of K♣2♦4♠, Perri check-called Markopolous’ bet of 150,000 before the action repeated on the turn of the Q♠ following a bet of 250,000 from Markopoulos.
Perri check-called once more after Markopolous fired 300,000 on the river 9♣, but mucked his hand as soon as Markopoulos tabled K♥J♣.
| Alex Markopoulos | 3,375,000 |
| Marco Perri | 2,900,000 |
David Sun eliminated in 6th place ($21,600)
Having nursed a short stack for the most part, David Sun made his last stand after shoving from the button with K♣J♦, but found himself up against David Markopoulos’ 6♠6♣.
No more paint in sight on the board of 5♥A♥A♠8♦9♦, and Sun had to settle for a sixth-place finish.
| David Markopoulos | 2,500,000 |
| David Sun | BUSTED! |
More for Markopoulos
Action has slowed considerably as play moved into the 23rd level, but there was another big double for Alex Markopoulos just before the blinds went up.
Markopoulos moved all-in for 590,000 before the flop with 10♠10♦, but although he found himself in a do-or-die flip against Ye’s A♣, nothing changed after the board was spread 3♠2♥2♣5♥6♦.
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,255,000 |
| Mata Ye | 1,675,000 |
Level 23: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Another million for Mata
Mata Ye has managed to chip up again through Marco Perri, moving all-in for one million exactly after a flop of 2♣8♣5♣ holding K♠K♣.
Perri called him off, but was well behind with his K♥Q♣ and he ended up dead on the turn as the board completed 2♠, A♠.
| Mata Ye | 2,270,000 |
| Marco Perri | 2,325,000 |
P.P. Huang eliminated in 7th place ($18,000)
Marco Perri has extended his chip lead, and in doing so became the first player to reach the three-million chip mark after he busted P.P. Huang in seventh place.
Huang shoved his last 705,000 from under the gun and action folded around to Perri who iso-shoved from the small blind to force Mata Ye out of the way.
Perri: A♣K♣
Huang: K♥Q♥
Two pair by the turn for Huang, but Perri hit the nut flush on the river on the board of 5♥8♦8♣Q♣10♣ and we’re now down to six in the Super High Roller.
| Marco Perri | 3,620,000 |
| P.P. Huang | BUSTED! |
Mata and Perri pad their stacks
Not much action for the most part of the 22nd level, but there were a couple of big doubles in the lead-up to the new level.
Mata Ye was the first to double up against Alex Markopoulous, getting his money in pre-flop with A♥Q♦, but managed to win the flip for his tournament life after improving to two pair on the the board of A♣9♦K♠5♥Q♥ against Markopoulos’ 7♥7♦.
A few hands later, Perri moved all-in for 1.265 million from the cut-off after a pre-flop raise from Markopoulos; P.P. Huang called from the small blind and Markopoulous mucked his hand.
Huang: Q♠Q♥
Perri: A♣J♦
Perri turned the flush and held on the board of 4♦10♦K♦A♦8♣, and as a result is now the overall chip leader at this final table!
| Marco Perri | 2,610,000 |
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,305,000 |
| Mata Ye | 710,000 |
| P.P. Huang | 705,000 |
Level 22: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Break it up!
The tournament clock was paused and our players took an early 10-minute break, which allowed us to get a fresh round of counts.
| Name | Chips |
| P.P. Huang | 2,150,000 |
| David Sun | 2,025,000 |
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,650,000 |
| Gary Benson | 1,395,000 |
| Marco Perri | 1,250,000 |
| Jono Karamalikis | 965,000 |
| Mata Ye | 345,000 |
Jin Li eliminated in 8th place ($14,400)
Down to seven in the Super High Roller, with Jin Li cut out by Alex Markopoulos as final actin continues.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop with Li having shoved wtih A♣J♥, but Markopoulos insta-called his all-in bet with A♠K♠ and held all the way across the board of 5♥2♠9♣4♣2♥, confirming Li as our sixth-place finisher.
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,635,000 |
| Jin Li | BUSTED! |
Li drops to Karamalikis
Jono Karamalikis has scored a double-up through Jin Li as action continues eight-handed at the final table of the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller.
The action folded to Karamalikis who open-shoved for his last 615,000 from the cut-off with K♦10♦; he found himself in a fair fight against Li, who rolled over A♠J♥, but Karamalikis took it down after turning top pair on the board of 7♥6♦2♣10♥8♥.
| Jono Karamalikis | 1,250,000 |
| Jin Li | 650,000 |
Pierre Aoukar eliminated in 9th place ($11,800)
Pierre Aoukar has been confirmed as our first elimination from this final table, taken out in ninth place by David Sun.
Action folded around to Aoukar who open-shoved from the cut-off for 425,000, but found an immediate call from Sun, which forced Gary Benson and Alex Markopolous out of the blinds before the two players went to showdown.
Sun: Q♥Q♣
Aoukar: Q♦J♦
Board: 2♦K♦K♣J♣9♣
| David Sun | 1,935,000 |
| Pierre Aoukar | BUSTED! |
Level 21: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Li draws first blood
Jin Li has scored the first double-up at the Super High Roller final table, taking a chunk of change off Marco Perri.
All the money was in the middle after a flop of J♥2♠2♦; Li was at risk, but had hit two pair with his [pcbn]QsJs[/pcn] against Perri’s A♣5♦.
The turn of the 8♣ changed neither hand, and the river 5♥ was merely a consolation prize for Perri, who dropped down to almost 800,000 after that hand.
| Jin Li | 1,185,000 |
| Marco Perri | 805,000 |
Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller final table
Presenting your final nine of this year’s Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller!
Play will resume with 29m 30s remaining in Level 20, with the button having been re-drawn and starting with Jono Karamalikis in Seat 4. Best of luck, everyone!
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | David Sun | 840,000 |
| 2 | Gary Benson | 1,175,000 |
| 3 | Alex Markopoulos | 1,725,000 |
| 4 | Jono Karamalikis | 790,000 |
| 5 | Marco Perri | 1,085,000 |
| 6 | Mata Ye | 740,000 |
| 7 | Jin Li | 1,080,000 |
| 8 | P.P. Huang | 1,835,000 |
| 9 | Pierre Aoukar | 440,000 |
Garry Lin eliminated in 10th place ($9,425)
The final table of the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller is now set after Garry Lin was felted in 10th place!
Lin first scored a double-up through Mata Ye after his K♣8♥ turned two pair and held on the board of 10♠3♣8♦K♠4♥ against Ye’s A♠3♦ to bring his stack back up to one million.
The relief was short-lived, however, as Ye got it all in again a few hands later, but this time, he ran his K♦8♥ into P.P. Huang’s 10♥10♦ which flopped a set and held firm, despite the gut-shot Broadway draw on the board of 10♠Q♦A♠6♦3♥.
Back soon with the official line-up and counts – stay with us!
| P.P. Huang | 1,800,000 |
| Mata Ye | 1,000,000 |
| Garry Lin | BUSTED! |
Level 20: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal eliminated in 11th place ($9,425)
Another Aussie poker veteran to the rail, with Emanuel Seal felted in 11th place and now placing us back into hand-for-hand play for the final table.
Seal moved all-in pre-flop for his last 180,000 and found two callers in P.P. Huang and Mata Ye, who then checked all streets across a board of 3♦6♦4♠J♣K♥.
Ye: A♥Q♦
Huang: A♣10♣
Seal: 10♥9♥
Ye took down the pot and with that, we’re down to 10!
| Mata Ye | 1,200,000 |
| P.P. Huang | 1,075,000 |
| Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal | BUSTED! |
‘Mark’ up
Alex Markopoulos has found a triple-up thanks to Gary Benson, keeping us at 11 players in the Super High Roller as Stacked Social hit full capacity for tonight’s Main Event flight.
Action folded to Markopoulos who shoved for his last 295,000 from the cut-off; Jono Karamalikis flatted from the button, only to fold after Benson iso-shoved from the small blind.
Benson: A♦K♦
Markopoulos: A♣Q♠
Board: 10♦J♣9♠A♠9♥
He beat him … straight up. Pay him. Pay that man his money.
| Gary Benson | 1,275,000 |
| Alex Markopoulos | 935,000 |
| Jono Karamalikis | 730,000 |
Huang gets some
P.P. Huang has found a crucial double-up through Pierre Aoukar as play continues in the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller.
Our reporter caught the action as Aoukar led out for 75,000 on the river with a board that read Q♦10♣6♠8♥9♠, with the pot up to around 210,000; Huang shoved for his last 495,000 and after a few minutes Aoukar called, but although he had hit a straight holding J♦10♣, Huang had gone one better with his K♥J♠.
| P.P. Huang | 1,200,000 |
| Pierre Aoukar | 725,000 |
Updated chip counts
| Name | Chips |
| David Sun | 1,550,000 |
| Pierre Aoukar | 1,350,000 |
| Alex Markopolous | 1,125,000 |
| Garry Lin | 1,050,000 |
| Gary Benson | 1,040,000 |
| Jin Li | 920,000 |
| Mata Ye | 745,000 |
| Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal | 550,000 |
| Will Bolton | 550,000 |
| Marco Perri | 425,000 |
| PP Huang | 320,000 |
Level 19: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Dinner time!
Our Super High Roller players are now on a 40-minute dinner break. We’ll be back soon with a full round of counts!
Gavin Best eliminated in 12th place ($9,425)
After losing a big pot to Jin Li, Gavin Best has been sent to the rail at the hands of Gary Benson, although the circumstances surrounding his elimination may well get the virtual rail talking.
In earlier action, Li found himself all-in after the river on a board of 8♦Q♥2♦8♣J♠, with the pot worth around 250,000; Best made the call with his J♦7♦, but discovered that his two pair was no good against Li, who had turned trips with his A♦8♠.
A short time later, Best got the last of his money in from the big blind after Pierre Aoukar; Best shoved and Aoukar called, tabling Q♠6♠ against Best’s 3♠3♥ …
… but before the flop was dealt, the dealer mistakenly spread the stub over the muck and brought in all the cards to prepare the shuffle for the next hand.
The tournament director stepped in and ruled that as action had been completed in the pre-flop betting round, the hand would still be played out as normal.
The TD then instructed the dealer to shuffle the remainder of the deck and run out the board, and Aoukar was awarded the pot after improving to two pair on the board of 10♦4♣4♦9♠9♦.
| Pierre Aoukar | 1,350,000 |
| Jin Li | 960,000 |
| Gavin Best | BUSTED! |
No sugar
Australian Poker Hall of Fame Legend Joe Hachem has been awarded the dubious honour of the stone bubble in the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller, and we are now officially in the money!
Over on Table 2, the action folded around to Hachem who open-shoved for the last of his chips in from the small blind with A♣7♠, well ahead of Alex Markopoulos who called with Q♣7♦.
Hachem was crushed, however, after Markopoulos spiked trips on the board of 6♦Q♠Q♦2♥8♥.
And just like that folks, we’re down to 12!
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,250,000 |
| Joe Hachem | BUSTED! |
Foster shot down
The Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller has now moved to hand-for-hand play after Josh Foster was routed by Gavin Best in 14th place!
After Best min-clicked from early position, the action folded around to Foster who defended his big blind to go heads-up to a flop of 10♥3♥Q♠. Foster check-called Best’s bet of 55,000, and then then action repeated after Best opened for 90,000 after the turn of the 2♠.
Foster then checked the river 6♦ and Best ripped in his last 445,000. Foster agonised over the decision for a good five minutes, scrunching up his face as he looked down at the board and tilted his head from side-to-side.
“I’ve changed my mind, like, six times, I reckon!” Foster exclaimed before eventually calling short.
The seventh change of heart proved to be Foster’s undoing.
Best: A♠A♦
Foster: Q♦5♦
| Gavin Best | 900,000 |
| Josh Foster | BUSTED! |
Hi-gored!
Another massive twist in the Super High Roller saga, as Higor Sebel’s tournament life was by Australian Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson just as the price of poker went up.
After taking a huge hit in a previous hand, Sebel jammed the rest of his chips in pre-flop with Q♣J♠, but Benson woke up with K♠K♣, with no change to the outcome after the board was spread 2♣4♦3♣7♥10♦.
| Gary Benson | 1,350,000 |
| Higor Sebel | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
No more Corr
Shortly after the field was reduced to two tables, John Corr was confirmed as our 16th place finisher, taken out by P.P. Huang.
Corr moved all-in pre-flop for his last 150,000, but Huang iso-shoved to force the rest of the table out of the way before their hands were tabled.
Huang: Q♦Q♣
Corr: 5♥5♣
Board: 6♥A♣K♣8♣3♠
| P.P. Huang | 480,000 |
| John Corr | BUSTED! |
Hachem holds on, Reid retired
Joe Hachem has found another double-up to keep his Super High Roller alive, but after being left running on fumes in an earlier hand, Mitch Reid has now been eliminated.
Earlier on Table 3, Hachem ripped in the last of his short stack in pre-flop with A♦7♦, and scored a full double after he tripped up against Best’s 10♦7♣ on the board of Q♠A♠8♦2♦A♣.
Then after Reid got a triple-up on Table 2, he moved all-in again, but his 8♠8♦ were outgunned by Karamalikis’ 3♠3♣, which flopped bottom set and held after the board came 3♥J♣6♦Q♠9♦.
| Jono Karamalikis | 858,000 |
| Gavin Best | 530,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 560,000 |
| Mitch Reid | BUSTED! |
A Pierce-ing blow
Pierce Hynes found himself at the wrong end of a three-way all-in, and was eliminated by David Sun over on Table 2 as play moved into Level 17.
Action folded around to Hynes who open-shoved from the button; Sun flat-called out of the small blind, but after Mitch Reid shoved over the top from the big blind, Sun called short for 537,000.
Sun: A♠A♦
Reid: 10♠10♣
Hynes: A♣Q♥
Sun got the full double and then some, as the board ran clean 8♦6♠K♠9♠9♥, and in turn crippled Reid to around a quarter of the starting stack as Hynes took his leave.
| David Sun | 1,214,000 |
| Mitch Reid | 27,000 |
| Pierce Hynes | BUSTED! |
Level 17: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)
Marko on a milly
Alex Markopoulos is now the first player to move beyond the one-million chip mark after eliminating Joe Sandaev and Brett Marshall in quick succession!
In earlier action, Sandaev ripped in his last 375,000 from the UTG+1 position, but was called down by Markopoulos who was on his immediate left.
Sandaev was ahead pre-flop with his Q♥Q♣, but Markopoulos caught a King on the flop and held on the board of 5♥K♥A♠4♣6♠.
Some time passed before Marshall moved all-in for his last 72,000 holding K♥4♦, but despite picking up two pair after the run-out of K♦4♥J♠2♣J♥, Markopoulos hooked trips with his J♣10♦.
| Alex Markopoulos | 1,050,000 |
| Brett Marshall | BUSTED! |
| Joe Sandaev | BUSTED! |
Priplotski pipped
A brutal beat for Roman Priplotski, who was eliminated at the hands of Pierre Aoukar as action continues in the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller.
After Priplotski moved the last of his chips into the middle from early position with Q♠Q♣, Aoukar was the only caller and showed A♥K♣. Priplotski then drilled a set on the flop of 8♠10♥Q♥, but Aoukar hooked up Broadway and held after the turn and river ran out J♣, 3♥.
| Pierre Aoukar | 665,000 |
| Roman Priplotski | BUSTED! |
Gavin’s got the Best of it
We now have ourselves a new chip leader in the Super High Roller, with Gavin Best scoring a massive double-up through Alex Markopoulos.
Once again, all the chips went in pre-flop and we got there for the heads-up showdown.
Best: K♥K♣
Markopoulos: 9♠9♥
Both player boated up on the river after the board was spread 2♦6♦9♣K♠6♠, but Best’s Kings were more than enough to increase his stack to just shy of one million.
| Gavin Best | 975,000 |
| Alex Markopoulos | 555,000 |
Updated chip counts
Our final 23 players have returned after a quick stretch, and it’s Alex Markopoulos who now tops the counts, followed closely by Marco Perri and Gary Benson.
We can also confirm that Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, Meerwais Hussaini and Amin Chehade were all amongst those to have hit the rail in the previous stanza.
| Name | Chips |
| Alex Markopoulos | 945,000 |
| Marco Perri | 930,000 |
| Gary Benson | 825,000 |
| Josh Foster | 770,000 |
| Higor Sebel | 700,000 |
| Mitch Reid | 555,000 |
| Gavin Best | 545,000 |
| Mata Ye | 485,000 |
| David Sun | 460,000 |
| Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal | 460,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 460,000 |
| Will Bolton | 455,000 |
| John Corr | 435,000 |
| Jin Li | 355,000 |
| PP Huang | 320,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 280,000 |
| Garry Lin | 240,000 |
| Shane Moran | 166,000 |
| Pierre Aoukar | 165,000 |
| Pierce Hynes | 150,000 |
| Brett Marshall | 135,000 |
| Roman Priplotski | 101,000 |
| Ashish Gupta | 90,000 |
Level 16: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Elim-Amin-ated
In one of the last hands before the break, Amin Chehade moved all-in for his last 220,000 pre-flop, but was snap-called by Higor Sebel
Sebel: A♥A♦
Chehade: 9♦8♠
Board: 2♣9♠7♠5♠K♦
| Higor Sebel | 700,000 |
| Amin Chehade | BUSTED! |
And with that, we’re now on our first break of the afternoon in the Super High Roller. Back a full round of counts in 10 minutes!
Joe and Joe go toe-to-toe
It was a battle of the Joes on Table 3, with Australian Poker Hall of Fame Legend Joe Hachem up against reigning Stacked Poker Championship Main Event winner Joe Sandaev.
Our reporter picked up the action on the river with a board that read 10♦8♠Q♦5♠3♣ into a pot worth around 20,000; Sandaev bet 50,000, but after some time in the tank, Hachem let his hand go, which reduced him down to around the starting stack of 100,000.
Hachem then jammed his chips in on the very next hand with 6♥6♦ and won the do-or-die flip against Sandaev’s K♣7♣ after the dealer ran out a board of J♥5♥4♦9♠9♦.
| Joe Sandaev | 735,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 220,000 |
Haddad done and dusted
Inaugural Stacked Poker Championship Main Event winner Michael Haddad has had his run in the Super High Roller ended after being crippled by Ashish Gupta.
Gupta got all of his chips in pre-flop with A♠K♣ and found himself well ahead of Haddad’s 5♣4♣, but couldn’t complete the flush draw on the board of 9♣6♠Q♥2♣7♦, which resulted in a full double for Gupta; Haddad relinquished the rest of his chips a short time later.
| Ashish Gupta | 167,000 |
| Michael Haddad | BUSTED! |
Show me the money!
Down to 27 players in the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller as we head into the 15th level of play, and the official numbers are in!
98 total entries have generated a prize pool $358,975, with the top 12 players guaranteed a min-cash of $9,425. All final table players will lock up five figures, but tonight’s winner will be taking home a tidy $100,000 in cash!
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $100,000 |
| 2nd | $67,000 |
| 3rd | $38,600 |
| 4th | $32,300 |
| 5th | $27,000 |
| 6th | $21,600 |
| 7th | $18,000 |
| 8th | $14,400 |
| 9th | $11,800 |
| 10th-12th | $9,425 |
Level 15: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Adibi and Armon go bye-bye
Two more bust-outs as we head into Level 15, with Sammy Adibi and Armon Van Wijk now on the casualty list.
In earlier action on Table 3, Adibi jammed pre-flop with A♣4♦ and found some help on the flop of 2♠5♦4♥ against Joe Sandaev’s A♠Q♣, but was sunk on the river after the board completed 7♠, Q♦.
Van Wijk then ripped in the last of his chips in before the flop holding A♣Q♠, but whiffed on the board of 4♦2♠9♣3♥10♣ against Jono Karamalikis, who had him covered with A♠K♠.
| Joe Sandaev | 713,000 |
| Jono Karamalikis | 365,000 |
| Armon Van Wijk | BUSTED! |
| Sammy Adibi | BUSTED! |
A spiral-Lin saga
It’s been a less than ideal start for Garry Lin, who’s now a touch over 500K in chips after relinquishing part of his stack to Jono Karamalikis.
Our reporter caught the action as the cards were tabled, with Lin showing down K♠K♣.
“Can you put in the description that Jono slow-rolled Aces?” Pierce Hynes asked of our reporter.
“Please do!” Karamalikis laughed.
And thus, by decree of the Australian Poker Hall of Famer, Karamalikis thus slow-rolled Lin with his holding of A♥A♣, which then rivered a set on the board of 6♥2♣6♠3♣A♦.
Hynes leant over in Lin’s direction and needled him mercilessly.
“How does it feel, Garry? You had ALL the chips!” Hynes exclaimed. “Started with 800K … and now you’ve got 500K. He’s spiralliiiiiiiiing!“
| Jono Karamalikis | 145,000 |
| Garry Lin | 500,500 |
Sandaev on song
Joe Sandaev is no stranger to winning here at Stacked, and his Super High Roller run continues after he eliminated Chris Edgar.
Edgar put himself at risk with A♠10♥, but Sandaev had him hooked up big time with his J♠J♣, which filled up on the turn after the board ran out 2♦7♣7♠7♦K♥.
| Joe Sandaev | 380,000 |
| Chris Edgar | BUSTED! |
Yeet!
“That was the fastest $4K I’ve ever spent!”
Those were the words of 2022 GPI Australian Player of the Yita Choong, who was busted by Oliver Daly after the Super High Roller Event was locked out.
Choong moved the last of his money in pre-flop, but was quickly called down by Daly and the cards were tabled.
Daly: A♥A♣
Choong: A♠Q♣
Board: 8♠K♠J♣9♦6♠
| Oliver Daly | 223,000 |
| Yita Choong | BUSTED! |
Level 14: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
It ain’t Chea’s day
After having been taken out on Table 2, Max Chea re-fired for another $4K bullet, but his second time out in the Super High Roller was short-lived.
Chea decided to gamble with 9♣7♦, but although he found himself flipping against the 3♠3♥ of Gavin Best, Chea was smashed by Best’s rivered set on the 2♥10♠Q♣4♥3♣ board.
| Gavin Best | 259,500 |
| Max Chea | BUSTED! |
Xu tied up, Chea maxed out
Two more eliminations from Table 2, with Tony Xu and Max Chea both taken out in the space of two hands.
Xu was the first to depart, taken down by Higor Sebel after running his 8♥8♦ into Sebel’s Q♥Q♦, with no change to the outcome after the board was spread J♦4♣4♥3♣K♠.
Chea was then sent to the rail by Will Bolton after he put his tournament life on the line with A♣Q♠, but Bolton’s A♥K♦ was best, hitting top-top on the board of 4♥K♠9♥10♣8♠.
| Higor Sebel | 612,000 |
| Will Bolton | 161,500 |
| Max Chea | BUSTED! |
| Tony Xu | BUSTED! |
Amin holding on
Amin Chehade has had a solid start in the Stacked Poker Championship series, backing up his runner-up finish in The Grind with victory in the PLO5, but although he’s still got some work to do, he’s just scored a double-up through Shane Moran.
Chehade found himself all-in before the flop with A♣Q♦, but held firm against Moran’s K♠Q♣, turning the better two pair on the board of K♣5♦J♠A♠J♣.
| Amin Chehade | 256,000 |
| Shane Moran | 237,500 |
Time to go, Calcagno
Scott Calcagno has been confirmed as the first elimination of the day, felted at the hands of Garry Lin out on Table 5.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop; Calcagno had moved the last of his money in with A♣2♠, but despite turning the nut flush draw on the board of 3♥8♣10♣Q♣J♥, the river J♥ improved Lin’s J♠10♠ to two pair.
| Garry Lin | 630,000 |
| Scott Calcagno | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Roll up, roll up!
From wherever you’re watching in Australia, New Zealand, or around the world, good afternoon and welcome to Stacked Social and PokerMedia Australia’s coverage of the Stacked Poker Championship series!
We begin today with Day 2 of the $4,000 buy-in Super High Roller, which sees 35 players returning from the 81 entries brought in yesterday. Australian Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson comes back as the chip leader, un-bagging more than 900,000 in chips.
Play is about to get underway very shortly, so stay with us as we bring you all the action until the final river falls!
Day 2 seat draw
Day 2 of the Stacked Poker Championship Super High Roller will commence at 1:30pm local time, with recommencing blinds at 3,000/6,000 (6,000). Late registration and re-entries are still available until the end of the first level (approx. 2:15pm).
To assist our WPT Live Reporting Team, please ensure your PMA ID cards are kept close to your stack, face-up and visible at all times.
Players are also asked to move their PMA IDs with them when broken or balanced to another table, and they must be left on the table to be collected after an elimination and at the end of day’s play.
Table 1
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | ||
| 0102 | 2 | John Corr | 175,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Shane Moran | 314,500 |
| 0104 | 4 | Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros | 250,000 |
| 0105 | 5 | Andrew Michael | 145,000 |
| 0106 | 6 | Eddie Saade | 150,500 |
| 0107 | 7 | Ben T | 345,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | Pierre Aoukar | 164,000 |
| 0109 | 9 |
Table 2
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0201 | 1 | Tony Xu | 120,500 |
| 0202 | 2 | Higor Sebel | 464,500 |
| 0203 | 3 | Will Bolton | 101,000 |
| 0204 | 4 | Tyendol West | 147,500 |
| 0205 | 5 | Michael Haddad | 78,000 |
| 0206 | 6 | ||
| 0207 | 7 | David Sun | 358,000 |
| 0208 | 8 | Max Chea | 77,500 |
| 0209 | 9 |
Table 3
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0301 | 1 | Gavin Best | 215,000 |
| 0302 | 2 | Joe Hachem | 144,500 |
| 0303 | 3 | ||
| 0304 | 4 | Sammy Adibi | 203,500 |
| 0305 | 5 | Chris Edgar | 406,000 |
| 0306 | 6 | Joe Sandaev | 121,500 |
| 0307 | 7 | Kim Nguyen | 100,000 |
| 0308 | 8 | ||
| 0309 | 9 | Marco Perri | 134,000 |
Table 4
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0401 | 1 | ||
| 0402 | 2 | PP Huang | 254,000 |
| 0403 | 3 | Alex M | 384,500 |
| 0404 | 4 | Gary Benson | 909,000 |
| 0405 | 5 | Jin Li | 210,500 |
| 0406 | 6 | Meerwais Hussaini | 74,500 |
| 0407 | 7 | Roman Priplotski | 211,500 |
| 0408 | 8 | Truc La | 47,000 |
| 0409 | 9 |
Table 5
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0501 | 1 | ||
| 0502 | 2 | Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal | 319,000 |
| 0503 | 3 | Armon Van Wijk | 126,000 |
| 0504 | 4 | Pierce Hynes | 321,500 |
| 0505 | 5 | Oliver Daly | 108,500 |
| 0506 | 6 | Garry Lin | 646,000 |
| 0507 | 7 | Scott Calcagno | 46,000 |
| 0508 | 8 | Mitchel Reid | 227,500 |
| 0509 | 9 |
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