Zheming Zhu leads final nine; that’s a wrap!
After just eight hours of play today, our original field of 77 players coming into Day 2 has now been shortlisted to nine.
There were a lot of swings in the late levels of the day’s play as the chip lead was wrestled between several players, and the overall chip leader, Michael Falcon, was eliminated in the lead-up to forming the final table.
Ultimately the pole position has now been claimed by Zheming Zhu, whose elimination of Shane Thompson was a real turning point, with the final knock out of Patrick Barba setting him up for tomorrow.
WPT Prime Gold Coast Opening Event final table
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips | BBs |
| 1 | Zheming Zhu | Australia | 3,950,000 | 79 |
| 2 | David Luong | Australia | 3,540,000 | 71 |
| 3 | Nil Esteve | Australia | 2,400,000 | 48 |
| 4 | Andrew Batey | Australia | 2,625,000 | 53 |
| 5 | Anthony Cierco | France | 2,225,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Tu Le | Australia | 1,645,000 | 33 |
| 7 | Lawrence Stephenson | Australia | 545,000 | 11 |
| 8 | Adrian Pacheco | Australia | 590,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Brandon Bailey | Australia | 730,000 | 15 |
No doubt that all of our final tablists will also be thankful for the relatively early finish tonight, and looking forward to a full night’s rest ahead of Day 3, which kicks off at 11:30 AEST.
PokerMedia Australia will be back again to bring you all the action, but until then, thank you all for joining us today, and from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
Patrick Barba eliminated in 10th Place ($6,699)
Zheming Zhu completed from the small blind as Patrick Barba checked on the big blind. Both players eyed off the 3♦4♦5♥ flop, with Barba calling Zhu’s 100,000 bet.
On the J♥ turn, Zhu bet 125,000, then called as Barba ripped all in.
Zhu turned up 7♦6♦ for the flopped straight, against Barba’s 5♦3♣ two pair, which found no further help on the 10♠ river, sending him to the rail.
And with that, we now have our final table locked up!
| Zheming Zhu | 3,995,000 |
| Patrick Barba | BUSTED! |
Mata Ye eliminated in 11th Place ($6,699)
Action is moving quickly as we had another elimination succeeding Jack Drake’s exit. Mata Ye got it all in from the cutoff, with Tu Le calling from the big blind.
As the dealer spread 6♥2♠7♣J♣2♣, Ye couldn’t get a lift with A♠3♥, dragging behind Le’s A♥10♣ which held the upper hand all the way.
| Tu Le | 1,595,000 |
| Mata Ye | BUSTED! |
Jack Drake eliminated in 12th Place ($6,699)
Almost immediately after Michael Falcon’s elimination, Jack Drake shoved all in pre for the last of his stack and was called by David Luong.
Drake’s pockets 2♣2♠ were defending against Luong’s [/pcn]Td7s[/pcn], and barely holding on the flop Q♠9♠J♣ before the dam burst on the K♣ turn and 8♣ river.
Luong cried, “I hit the mega straight!”
| David Luong | 3,440,000 |
| Jack Drake | BUSTED! |
Michael Falcon eliminated in 13th Place ($5,324)
It’s been a massive run for Michael Falcon in this event, with the Day 2 starting chipleader falling agonisingly short of the final table after a quick series of hands against Andrew Batey.
Batey went all in on the turn over a spread 5♥4♦3♠9♠, and was snapped up by Falcon. Falcon’s A♥9♥ was riding the top pair on the board, but was shot overhead by Batey’s J♣J♥ for the overpair.
Batey scored the massive double up, leaving Falcon down with 50,000 (1BB). Falcon then subequently went all in on the next hand, with Batey raising to 3 times on the button to force folds from round the table.
Falcon was hoping to find a way to recover with K♣10♦, but was left behind Batey’s K♦Q♥ as it ran through 9♥5♣3♣3♠3♥.
| Andrew Batey | 2,710,000 |
| Michael Falcon | BUSTED! |
Michael Kalin eliminated in 14th Place ($5,324)
A no-look jam from the small blind by Lawrence Stephenson’s A♦4♥ was called short by Michael Kalin in the big blind with J♦7♦.
Stephenson tripped up on the flop with A♠10♦A♣, improving to a full house with the Q♥ turn and Q♦ river.
| Lawrence Stephenson | 545,000 |
| Michael Kalin | BUSTED! |
Wayne Clinch eliminated in 15th Place ($5,324)
Wayne Clinch raised preflop and was met with a 3-bet from Anthony Cierco in cutoff, putting out a 4-bet before calling Cierco’s jam all in. Clinch’s stack was behind Cierco’s as they met heads up:
Board: K♥5♦4♠4♦J♥
Cierco: Q♣Q♦
Clinch: A♠5♠
| Anthony Cierco | 2,150,000 |
| Wayne Clinch | BUSTED! |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Pacheco chasing that cheque
Adrian Pacheco is still keeping the dream alive, after going all in heads up with Brandon Bailey who called.
Pacheco’s Q♦J♥ was behind Bailey’s pockets 9♣9♥, and as the flop was peeled J♦K♦10♥, it presented both a blessing and a potential curse for Pacheco with his second top pair defending against a straight draw.
Luckily for Pacheco, Bailey bricked out the 5♥ turn and 6♠ river, giving him another double up.
| Brandon Bailey | 885,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 845,000 |
Kenny Wang eliminated in 18th Place ($4,505)
Kenny Wang raised preflop UTG to 100,000 and David Luong defended from the big blind.
Wang got the last of his chips in on the flop 7♥10♥8♦, and was called by David Luong.
Wang’s A♠9♥ was chasing a straight against Luong’s A♥10♣ which already made top pair on the flop, and he bricked out on the 5♣ turn and 4♦ river. So Luong, Panda!
| David Luong | 1,925,000 |
| Kenny Wang | BUSTED! |
Falcon back in the skies
Adrian Pacheco went all in preflop, snapped up by Michael Falcon, who woke up with Q♥Q♠ for the ride.
Pacheco’s A♥Q♦ hit dead air on the board 7♦6♣3♣10♦J♠, with Falcon holding out overpair.
Falcon, whose stack growth seemed to have stalled after a few levels, has now found his way back up.
| Michael Falcon | 1,855,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 515,000 |
Not too late for Tu Le
We are getting close to the final table, and we are still seeing some stacks falling short being pushed into the middle for double ups to keep alive.
Tu Le ripped all in from the small blind and Lawrence Stephenson called from the big blind. Stephenson was ahead with pockets Q♥Q♠, facing off Le’s 7♣7♦ pockets.
Le hit a set on the turn and held through 4♥A♣3♣7♠K♦, giving him a full double.
| Tu Le | 720,000 |
| Lawrence Stephenson | 555,000 |
Barba v. Bailey
Brandon Bailey opened to 80,000 from middle position, then tanked as Patrick Barba went all in for 625,000 from the cutoff.
Bailey: “I feel like we’re flipping.”
After some time in the tank, Bailey decided to make the call and watched as Barba’s cards turned up J♣J♠.
“We’re not flipping,” Bailey admitted as he turned up A♥J♦, and watched as the dealer spread 6♦4♦3♥3♦4♥ for Barba’s pockets to hold higher two-pair.
In the next hand, the dealer completed the next round of card dealing, but mucked Barba’s cards in error. Barba appeared on tilt as he mentioned having Aces.
| Patrick Barba | 1,350,000 |
| Brandon Bailey | 925,000 |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Shane Thompson eliminated in 17th Place ($4,505)
In a stunning turn of events, after see-sawing through the early levels with short stack double ups to run it up as the overall chip leader at dinner break, Shane Thompson has been sent packing in 17th place.
Zheming Zhu opened to 60,000 UTG, called by Thompson from middle position. On the flop of 3♣Q♥4♥, Zhu C-bet, before calling Thompson’s raise to 150,000. On the 6♦ turn, Zhu check-raised all in to Thompson’s bet of 250,000.
With a mass of chips committed to the pot, Thompson made the call and turned over Q♠10♦ for the flopped top pair, but was met with a nasty shock as Zhu revealed he’d spiked a set on the flop with 4♦4♠, and couldn’t find a two outter Queen to recover as the river peeled A♥.
Zheming Zhu now moves to the front of the pack as the overall chipleader in our field.
| Zheming Zhu | 2,696,000 |
| Shane Thompson | BUSTED! |
Adam Thaggard eliminated in 18th Place ($4,505)
Not long after clashing with Patrick Barba, Adam Thaggard ripped all in from the Hijack with 200,000, called by Michael Falcon on the button, who then folded after Adrian Pacheco shoved on top.
Pacheco: A♥K♦
Thaggard: A♠8♣
Board: A♦7♦3♣8♥9♦
Pacheco’s King kicker held to eliminate Thaggard.
| Adrian Pacheco | 1,390,000 |
| Adam Thaggard | BUSTED! |
Drake doubles, Barba bounces
Patrick Barba raised preflop from middle position and called Jack Drake’s shove from the big blind.
Barba’s 10♦10♥ pockets were pipped by Drake’s J♦J♠ which swept cleanly through the board K♣8♥Q♦6♣4♣.
Barba bounced back shortly a few hands later when Adam Thaggard raised 60,000 on the button and called Barba’s shove for 295,000. Thaggard turned over A♠6♦.
Barba flipped up Q♦Q♠, sailing through the J♦8♣K♦10♥2♠ to rake back some chips.
| Jack Drake | 840,000 |
| Patrick Barba | 580,000 |
| Adam Thaggard | 200,000 |
Chip Counts at Break
Below is a round of counts amongst our remaining field of 18 players.
Shane Thompson has emerged as the chipleader of the pack, after some early double ups to run his stack up, followed closely behind by Nil Esteve and Zheming Zhu as they race up the chip leaderboard.
Feature Table
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Michael Falcon | 1,375,000 |
| 2 | Shane Thompson | 2,025,000 |
| 3 | Adrian Pacheco | 890,000 |
| 4 | Jack Drake | 410,000 |
| 5 | Andrew Batey | 820,000 |
| 6 | Brandon Bailey | 1,750,000 |
| 7 | Zheming Zhu | 1,775,000 |
| 8 | Adam Thaggard | 540,000 |
| 9 | Patrick Barba | 690,000 |
Table 8
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | David Luong | 1,240,000 |
| 2 | Kenny Wang | 540,000 |
| 3 | Tu Le | 470,000 |
| 4 | Lawrence Stephenson | 1,235,000 |
| 5 | Wayne Clinch | 1,300,000 |
| 6 | Nil Esteve | 1,850,000 |
| 7 | Michael Kalin | 490,000 |
| 8 | Anthony Cierco | 1,000,000 |
| 9 | Mata Ye | 960,000 |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Dinner Break!
We are now down to a whittled field of 18 players remaining, so we have a list of payout updates for you, and we’ll be back with a update on field counts after this.
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 19 | Ben Turner | Australia | $3,788 |
| 20 | Alan Wilson | Australia | $3,788 |
| 21 | Jennifer Cassell | Australia | $3,788 |
| 22 | Majid Saab | Australia | $3,174 |
| 23 | Shane Dickfos | Australia | $3,174 |
| 24 | Kiko Puyat | Australia | $3,174 |
| 25 | Gary Lin | Australia | $2,744 |
Ben burned
Brandon Bailey has been no stranger to pocket Kings in some of the hands we’ve witnessed, but this time he called Ben Turner’s all in and met against K♥K♥.
Bailey seemed set to take this into stride with his 8♥8♠ finding nothing up to the turn J♥5♠5♦6♠, but fate turned quickly against Turner to deliver a suck out 8♣ on the river.
OUCH.
| Brandon Bailey | 1,650,000 |
| Ben Turner | BUSTED! |
Wiiiiilllson!
Zheming Zhu has zapped Alan Wilson from the tournament, snap-calling after Wilson went all in pre on the button.
Zhu:A♠Q♠
Wilson:10♣10♦
Board: J♠A♣A♥J♥K♦
Zhu filled up with Aces full of Jacks to send Wilson out.
| Zheming Zhu | 1,545,000 |
| Alan Wilson | BUSTED! |
Saab story
Over on Table 8, Majid Saab called Michael Kalin’s all in from late position, turning up suited K♣10♣ for the heads up.
Despite hitting the top pair on the 2♣K♥J♥, Saab was outgunned by Kalin’s pockets K♦K♠, and was never able to recover as he bricked on the 7♠, 8♥ streets.
| Michael Kalin | 875,000 |
| Majid Saab | BUSTED! |
Cassell out, Batey bites
Jen Cassell’s stack has been found on life support, crippled in an earlier hand by Michael Falcon and Andrew Batey doubled through all-in pre flop, in a battle of the blinds against Cassell’s small blind.
In the next hand, Casell called Alan Wilson’s all in pre for 105,000. Her A♠Q♥ was ahead of Wilson’s K♠10♦ at the start of showdown, but the 9♥9♣J♣10♣4♥ board improved Wilson to a two pair to double up.
Wilson shoved in the next hand and Cassell called short from the button, her stack running out of steam as she turned up A♦4♣ to meet with Wilson’s A♠9♣.
Wilson hit top pair and held on 3♣7♥9♠2♠8♥, sending Cassell to the payout desk.
| Michael Falcon | 1,525,000 |
| Alan Wilson | 400,000 |
| Jennifer Cassell | BUSTED! |
Look who’s here, it’s Adrian Pacheco!
Adrian Pacheco has doubled up off Michael Falcon, after Falcon raised to 80,000 on the button and then snap-called Pacheco’s shove for 385,000 from the big blind.
Pacheco’s A♠9♣ fell behind Falcon’s 10♠8♠ on the 8♥2♣10♥ flop, but found a runner-runner straight on the Q♠ turn and J♠ river.
| Michael Falcon | 1,105,000 |
| Adrian Pacheco | 785,000 |
Thaggard thunder
Adam Thaggard has scored a huge double through Alan Wilson after moving all in pre flop, in some blind-on-blind action. Wilson called him off with A5o as Thaggard showed up J♥3♠.
As the board ran out 9♠A♥8♦10♥7♠, Thaggard rivered a straight to Jack to take down the pot, leaving Wilson severely short with a little over 40,000.
In the next hand, Wilson went all in on the small blind and found a caller in Michael Falcon. Falcon held the preflop edge with J♦9♣ as Wilson rolled up 5♦3♦, but Falcon couldn’t do better than top pair as Wilson flopped the flush on a spread of 6♦9♦7♦8♠A♥.
| Michael Falcon | 1,500,000 |
| Adam Thaggard | 685,000 |
| Alan Wilson | 105,000 |
Dickfos and Kiko kicked out
Kiko Puyat sent the last of his stack all in preflop, hoping to double as he was called off by Wayne Clinch.
Clinch was riding ahead with A♥K♦ to Puyat’s A♠6♠, and ran cleanly through 7♦3♥10♦2♠9♠.
On the same table next hand, Shane Dickfos went all in short from the cut off and was snapped up by Mata Ye.
Dickfos was ahead with royally suited connectors, K♠Q♠, against Ye’s A♣4♣. Dickfos fell behind as Ye connected bottom pair on the flop and improved to two pair on the turn over a spread 8♥10♥4♦10♣9♥.
| Wayne Clinch | 1,060,000 |
| Mata Ye | 860,000 |
| Shane Dickfos | BUSTED! |
| Kiko Puyat | BUSTED! |
Nil to Lin
Nil Esteve has eliminated Gary Lin after calling him all in on the flop of 6♦5♠8♣. A little over 200,000 was gathered in the pot as the action went heads up.
Lin’s 9♥9♠ overpair were outmatched by Esteve’s 7♣4♥ which had flopped the straight, and held through 3♠ turn and 10♦ river.
| Nil Esteve | 1,840,000 |
| Gary Lin | BUSTED! |
Quick update
Another look at our field where the remaining 25 players are still in the mix, getting their chips in to keep grinding for the final table approaching.
Here’s a quick list on the recent round of payouts paid:
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 26 | Robert Damelian | Australia | $2,744 |
| 27 | George Iordanou | Australia | $2,744 |
| 28 | Steven Smith | Australia | $2,424 |
| 29 | Win Meng Tan | Australia | $2,424 |
| 30 | Mitchell Frost | Australia | $2,424 |
| 31 | Charles Tsai | Australia | $2,424 |
| 32 | Stephen Boyd | Australia | $2,424 |
| 33 | Aroha Ngata | Australia | $2,424 |
| 34 | Mason Trevanion | Australia | $2,424 |
| 35 | Dylan Wayne | Australia | $2,424 |
| 36 | Khal Fayad | Australia | $2,424 |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Cassell rollin’
Jennifer Cassell, the reigning Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event champion, has just seen to the double eliminations of two players, Robert Damelian and George Iordaou.
Cassell called off both players from the button after all in preflop action, holding A♦J♥ against Damelian’s Q♠7♥ and Iordanou’s AQo.
She hit the board early on the flop and held through 10♦2♣J♠10♥3♥, taking out both stacks to move closer to the Million chips mark.
| Jennifer Cassell | 800,000 |
| Robert Damelian | BUSTED! |
| George Iordanou | BUSTED! |
Ngata gone, Boyd busted
Aroha Ngata has been eliminated by Brandon Bailey after she went all in preflop with Q♣Q♦.
Unfortunately for Ngata, Bailey was ready for the party with K♣K♥, and spiked a set on the flop to seal the win on a board of K♠2♠5♦8♦4♥.
Bailey complimented Ngata’s prowess to the table, saying, “That’s the sort of hand you need to knock her out… she’s such a good player!”
In the very next hand, Bailey called and took out another player, Stephen Boyd, after Boyd pushed his short stack into the middle.
Boyd’s A♠K♥ ran behind Bailey’s 10♥10♠ which improved to a two pair on the spread J♣6♠8♦8♠3♠, scooping up more chips for Bailey.
Bailey wasn’t done chatting up the table as he proclaimed, “That’s how you win tourneys, mate… act like a monkey, play like a pro!”
| Brandon Bailey | 1,735,000 |
| Stephen Boyd | BUSTED! |
| Aroha Ngata | BUSTED! |
Payouts update
We are now down to 36 players left in the field, with four tables left and 6 more levels to be played, unless the final table is set before Level 27.
Below is a list of the recent round of payouts paid:
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 37 | Carlos Youssef | Australia | $2,109 |
| 38 | John Hutchins | Australia | $2,109 |
| 39 | Jason Anand | Australia | $2,109 |
| 40 | Mishel Anunu | Australia | $2,109 |
| 41 | Mark Ericksen | Australia | $2,109 |
| 42 | Luke McCredie | Australia | $2,109 |
| 43 | Jarrod Thatcher | Australia | $2,109 |
| 44 | Meerwais Hussaini | Australia | $2,109 |
| 45 | Charlie Hawes | Australia | $2,109 |
| 46 | Anthony Harach | Australia | $1,798 |
| 47 | Ashish Gupta | Australia | $1,798 |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Fayed faded
Khal Fayed went all in preflop, quickly called off by Andrew Batey who turned up A♥Q♣, running ahead of Fayed’s suited A♣3♣.
Fayed couldn’t get a foot in the door on the board 8♠6♠J♣8♦5♥, and with Batey’s kicker riding high for the win he was faded out of the tournament.
| Andrew Batey | 375,000 |
| Khal Fayed | BUSTED! |
Thompson stomps
Shane Thompson raised preflop to 35,000 UTG and then called Carlos Youssef’s raise UTG+1 to 135,000.
The two watched the flop dealt 5♥2♠5♠, before Thompson jammed all in and was called short by Youssef.
Thompson: 7♦7♠
Youssef: Q♦Q♥
Thompson’s runner runner flush beat up Youssef’s flopped two pair, on the remaining 6♠ and J♠ river, cleaning out Youssef’s stack and taking the pot.
It’s been a good few levels for Thompson, who was down to as little as 110,000 in chips earlier, has recovered to keep up with the pack!
| Shane Thompson | 1,005,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | BUSTED! |
Turner turfs one
Ben Turner has eliminated John Hutchins after calling his all-in for a little over 120,000 preflop.
Hutchins held A♠10♣, but couldn’t hold against Turner’s better A♥K♦ which ran cleanly through the board 4♠4♥7♠5♥3♠.
| Ben Turner | 610,000 |
| John Hutchins | BUSTED! |
Double KO by Bailey
A three-way all in action between Brandon Bailey from UTG+1, Mark Eriksen on the button and Mishel Anunu in the small blind, has seen the latter two eliminated.
Bailey: K♦K♠
Mark Eriksen: A♦8♦
Mishel Anunu: Q♦10♣
The board was spread 2♦10♦4♥8♠2♠, with Bailey’s Kings holding and delivering a double knockout.
| Brandon Bailey | 1,030,000 |
| Mishel Anunu | BUSTED! |
| Mark Eriksen | BUSTED! |
Falcon flies
Michael Falcon has scalped another stack, eliminating Charlie Hawes. Hawes shoved from the button after a raise from middle position preflop, and Falcon muscled in to isolate from the big blind.
Hawes was ahead with A♦J♦ against Falcon’s 7♦7♠, and charged strongly through the board to the turn 9♦A♥K♦K♠ with top two pair, before being rivered 7♥ to fill Falcon up to a boat.
Falcon has now moved past the Million mark, continuing his strong form at the top of the leaderboard.
| Michael Falcon | 1,065,000 |
| Charlie Hawes | BUSTED! |
Harach harrassed
Shane Thompson has scored another double off Anthony Harach after shoving all in preflop again.
Harach snapped him up with J♣J♠, but was left reeling as Thompson’s A♦J♦ hit trips on the flop A♥3♥A♣. With no hope of improving his hand as the dealer dealt 8♣ turn and 2♦ river, Harach was left with 1BB of chips and a chair.
In the next hand, Harach went all in UTG for 15,000, with Andrew Batey on the small blind raising and forcing a fold from the big blind.
Harach: 5♣4♣
Batey: K♣K♦
Incredibly, both players found a hit on the flop K♠4♦5♠, and after the 2♦ turn, both improved their hands to a full house with the 4♥ on the river, although Batey had him well covered with the better boat, shipping Harach to the rail.
| Shane Thompson | 560,000 |
| Andrew Batey | 240,000 |
| Anthony Harach | BUSTED! |
“It’s not over ’til the fat lady sings!”
This was the exclamation from Mark Eriksen after his stack endured some swings in these first few levels, falling short.
Eriksen shoved UTG for 75,000, called by Kiko Puyat from the cutoff. Eriksen held Q♠8♠, standing behind Nguyen with A♦K♥.
The first window gave Eriksen a pair on the flop Q♦9♣2♥, with the remaining streets 3♣5♦ sealing a double up for Eriksen.
| Kiko Puyat | 385,000 |
| Mark Eriksen | 190,000 |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Break!
Our players are on their first break of the day, so here’s a list of the latest round of payouts, with 47 players remaining in our field:
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 48 | Zien Tang | Australia | $1,798 |
| 49 | Jim Giannoukos | Australia | $1,798 |
| 50 | Jeremy Winlaw | Australia | $1,798 |
| 51 | Andrew Menzies | Australia | $1,798 |
| 52 | Duncan McKinnon | Australia | $1,798 |
| 53 | David Croucher | Australia | $1,798 |
| 54 | Lucas Tae | Australia | $1,495 |
| 55 | Steven Gluyas | Australia | $1,495 |
| 56 | Phil Stamler | Australia | $1,495 |
| 57 | Thomas O’Brien | Australia | $1,495 |
Winlaw walks
Jeremy Winlaw has walked off to collect his payout from the desk, after moving all in pre flop against David Luong.
Winlaw was falling short as went all in with J♥2♣, heads up to Luong’s suited connectors 10♦9♦. Luong hit on the flop and held through A♣9♠4♦3♣3♠ to bust Winlaw to the rail.
| David Luong | 682,000 |
| Jeremy Winlaw | BUSTED! |
Shane splits
Shane Thompson, after just earlier having lost a good chunk of his chips, has moved all in again preflop, this time snapped up by Anthony Harach.
It was pockets against pockets, with Thompson’s A♥A♠ looking down at Harach’s 10♣10♥.
Harach flopped a set on J♦10♦9♥, but the turn Q♥ and river 8♠ ended in a chop for both players.
| Anthony Harach | 168,000 |
| Shane Thompson | 168,000 |
Esteve doubles
Nil Esteve has clawed a double off the chipleader Michael Falcon after moving all in pre flop with A♦K♠.
Falcon called him off with A♣Q♠ which hit the first window and connected two-pair on the flop Q♣10♣10♥, but after the 5♠ turn, the river J♠ swung the favour back to Esteve, giving him a big double up for the day’s grind.
| Michael Falcon | 764,000 |
| Nil Esteve | 390,000 |
Barba shaves off a stack
Patrick Barba opened to 24,000 from the cutoff, with Shane Thompson defending his big blind to make the call.
On the flop 4♠A♣K♠, Barba called Thompson’s 60,000 bet. Thompson led out a larger bet of 125,000 on the 7♥ turn, which Barba called.
On the 5♣ river, Thompson decided to shove all in, with Barba calling short. It proved to be a bluff as Thompson turned up 5♦2♠ for a weak second-bottom pair, which Barba had him trumped with K♥Q♦ for the second-top pair.
| Patrick Barba | 585,000 |
| Shane Thompson | 138,000 |
Bert busto on bubble
Bert Perry moved all in preflop, at risk against Wayne Clinch who called.
Perry: A♠K♣
Clinch: A♣10♠
Perry led through the board, but was rivered by Clinch who connected a straight on the 7♣8♣J♥2♣9♥ board, busting Perry out as the stone bubble.
Players are now in the money!
| Wayne Clinch | 570,000 |
| Bert Perry | BUSTED! |
Double double, but no bubble
With a cry of “All in, call!”, Nil Esteve went heads up with Win Meng Tan pre-flop, going all in for his last 79,000.
Tan turned up K♦K♠ against Esteve’s A♥Q♥. Tan’s Kings were leading through the flop hitting two pair, but was cracked on the turn and left dead through 4♦5♣5♥A♠2♣.
| Nil Esteve | 212,000 |
| Win Meng Tan | 166,000 |
All Lin, call!
Gary Lin went all in pre with A♥Q♦, called by Lawrence Stephenson who woke up with K♣K♦.
Lin was sweating as the flop was peeled, but visibly relieved as he hit top top on the turn and held out on 6♠7♠9♣A♣9♠, to loud groans from the crowd.
At the end of the hand, Phil Stamler said to Stevenson, “They were all rooting for you mate!”
Stephenson: “I know, I was rooting for me too!”
| Lawrence Stephenson | 582,000 |
| Gary Lin | 335,000 |
Brewin’ and bubblin’
We are now on the bubble as action is brewing between chip leader Michael Falcon and Jim Giannoukos over a laid up board of 8♦9♦5♣J♠7♣ and some 150,000 in the pot.
Falcon bet 75,000 into the river, with Giannoukos at risk with 110,000 behind. Giannoukos flashed J♦ and mucked his hand, with Falcon flashing a 10♦ in kind as he took the pot.
Action has moved to hand-for-hand as the bubble hunt continues.
| Michael Falcon | 939,000 |
| Jim Giannoukos | 110,000 |
Kalin calls in
A small double for Michael Kalin off Brandon Bailey after the former went all in on the turn for the last of his 66,000 stack, with the board facing up K♣J♣7♣4♠.
Bailey’s K♦10♥ was slightly outmatched by Kalin’s suited K♥Q♥ which held higher kicker as the river rolled K♠ for the trips.
| Brandon Bailey | 396,000 |
| Michael Kalin | 252,000 |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Hawes back for more
Charlie Hawes had clashed again with Zheming Zhu heads up, after moving all in pre with 7♣7♦.
Zhu called and turned over a strongly suited Q♠J♠ which only met with dead air on the board 2♠A♦10♦3♣2♦, giving Hawes a return of chips back in exchange to double up.
| Zheming Zhu | 660,000 |
| Charlie Hawes | 276,000 |
Psyduck vs Panda!
Two of the most recognisable figures on felt – and their owners – are now seated next to each other as we approach the bubble.
Luke McCredie, whose stack token Psyduck regularly travels across the felt on the Australian poker scene, has taken to his seat next to none other than Kenny Wang, aka “Panda” per the figurine which regularly tops his chip stacks across events.
Psyduck vs Panda: whose stack will be super effective?
Eriksen doubles
Mark Eriksen has found a double through Robert Damelian after going all in preflop on the button, his stack falling a little short.
Damelian was leading preflop with Q♣Q♥, but Eriksen’s 8♣5♣ quickly flopped a two pair and held through 5♦8♦10♠J♠K♣ for the double up.
| Mark Eriksen | 401,000 |
| Robert Damelian | 220,000 |
Hum and Hawes
Over on Table 7, the clock was called after some action had built up to the river, with about 420,000 in the pot and two players heads up, Zheming Zhu and Charlie Hawes.
The board was spread 7♠K♣2♦K♠3♦, and Zhu had bet all in on the river for 250,000 effective, covering Hawes who went deep in the tank.
Hawes was unapologetic as he deliberated his decision with about 194,000 behind, considering the field edging close to the bubble. The dealer heard another player call for time, activating the 30 second clock.
Hawes eventually folded, leaving Zhu to take the pot.
| Zheming Zhu | 688,000 |
| Charlie Hawes | 183,000 |
Croc snapped up
Some more all in pre-flop action as Billy “The Croc” Argyros went heads up with A♦K♥, against Shane Dickfos who answered with K♠10♥.
Argyros appeared agitated as the flop was dealt 9♣J♥Q♣, throwing his hands up in the air and exasperating, “Why does this always happen to me?”
The 2♠ turn and A♠ river completed the action, sending Argyros out.
| Shane Dickfos | 150,000 |
| Billy “The Croc” Argyros | BUSTED! |
Seeing Stars
Check out our quick round of photos featuring notable faces in our field for Day 2 today!
Money, money, money!
With a series of quick eliminations in our first level, the bubble is fast approaching as we have 64 players still remaining.
Here is a full rundown of the payouts:
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $82,001 |
| 2nd | $57,502 |
| 3rd | $36,978 |
| 4th | $25,102 |
| 5th | $19,287 |
| 6th | $16,032 |
| 7th | $13,419 |
| 8th | $10,811 |
| 9th | $8,202 |
| 10th–12th | $6,699 |
| 13th–15th | $5,324 |
| 16th–18th | $4,505 |
| 19th–21st | $3,788 |
| 22nd–24th | $3,174 |
| 25th–27th | $2,744 |
| 28th–36th | $2,424 |
| 37th–45th | $2,109 |
| 46th–54th | $1,798 |
| 55th–57th | $1,495 |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Stevensons vs Jung vs Jang
We’re experiencing a serious case of Deja-vu as we have had two elimination hands with a Stephenson vs Jang, and a subsequent Stephenson vs. Jung. DUN DUN!
Lawrence Stephenson raised preflop from the LoJack, Mose Jang shoved from the Hijack and was snapped up by Stephenson.
Stephenson quickly showed 10♦10♠, ahead of Jang’s 5♦5♥ which fell further behind as Stephenson improved to a set on the flop and Jang bricked out a straight draw on 10♥6♠8♦7♦A♦.
Another Stephenson on felt, this time in the form of Dean Stevenson, went all in preflop with Jong Jung, whose 7♣7♥ failed to hit as Stevenson’s J♣J♥ flopped a set and held on 5♣10♣J♠4♠5♥.
| Dean Stevenson | 258,000 |
| Lawrence Stephenson | 212,000 |
| Mose Jang | BUSTED! |
| Jong Jung | BUSTED! |
Double, on the double!
We’ve just witnessed a quick elimination in the first few hands of this level, after some betting action saw Marinka Vulic go all in pre-flop, called by Alan Wilson.
Vulic flipped up A♣4♣, as Wilson turned over A♠Q♥, falling behind on the 4♥A♥K♥ flop, bricking the 10♦ turn before quickly connecting with 10♥ on the river for the nut flush, sending Vulic to the rail. Wilson’s stack moved just shy of the half-Million mark to keep up with the leaders.
| Alan Wilson | 470,000 |
| Marinka Vulic | BUSTED! |
Stop! Continue…
A slight delay in proceedings today as a glitch in the Matrix resulted in a text message sent to players notifying of an 11:50am AEST starting time, as opposed to the advertised 11:30am starting time. Staff have reeled the last of the players back in, with Danny McDonagh joking, “Find out who hacked into the system, they’ll be disqualified!”
The call has now been made to shuffle up and deal, so play is officially underway. We will be bringing you all the bluffs, sweats and tears from the felt as it happens.
Good luck to all 77 players today, and may the flop be with you!
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the WPT Prime Gold Coast Opening Event Day 2, live from the poker room here at The Star Gold Coast!
77 players will be returning today from the starting field of 455 entries, all eyeing to take home the $82,001 up top for the champion title and a beautiful WPT Prime Gold Coast crystal surfboard trophy.
The top 57 from today’s field will finish in the money, taking a slice of the $409,500 prizepool, with a min-cash of $1,495. Michael Falcon is still sitting atop the chip counts with a lead of 857,000 chips, at 300,000 more than the second chipleader.
The field will play 45 minute levels, with blinds recommencing at 4,000/8,000 (8,000), playing down to end of level 27 or until the final table is reached, with some breaks in between to stretch their legs.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
| 17 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| 18 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 19 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| 20 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| 21 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 22 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| 23 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| 24 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| 25 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| 26 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| 27 | 40,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 |
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 11:30am AEST, with recommencing blinds at 4,000/8,000 (8,000). Please make sure you have your Star Club Card and photo ID with you for verification purposes, and should you have any questions regarding your seat allocation, please see the Star Poker Gold Coast team upon arrival. May the flop be with you!
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 (Feature Table)
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0101 | 1 | Tu Le | 125,000 |
| 0102 | 2 | Lucas Tae | 82,000 |
| 0103 | 3 | Chi Chu | 143,000 |
| 0104 | 4 | Mishel Anunu | 240,000 |
| 0105 | 5 | Jason Anand | 501,000 |
| 0106 | 6 | Dylan Foster | 133,000 |
| 0107 | 7 | Mick Gavrilovic | 112,000 |
| 0108 | 8 | Adam Thaggard | 344,000 |
| 0109 | 9 | Andrew Menzies | 126,000 |
Table 2
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0201 | 1 | Lawrence Stephenson | 126,000 |
| 0202 | 2 | Mose Jang | 134,000 |
| 0203 | 3 | Gary Lin | 233,000 |
| 0204 | 4 | Attila Bognar | 198,000 |
| 0205 | 5 | Majid Saab | 269,000 |
| 0206 | 6 | Ben Turner | 543,000 |
| 0207 | 7 | Stephen Boyd | 205,000 |
| 0208 | 8 | Shane Dickfos | 116,000 |
| 0209 | 9 | Brandon Bailey | 282,000 |
Table 3
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0301 | 1 | Steven Smith | 170,000 |
| 0302 | 2 | George Iordanou | 168,000 |
| 0303 | 3 | Win Meng Tan | 466,000 |
| 0304 | 4 | Charles Tsai | 366,000 |
| 0305 | 5 | Jim Giannoukos | 256,000 |
| 0306 | 6 | Lucy Sheppard | 272,000 |
| 0307 | 7 | Ashish Gupta | 318,000 |
| 0308 | 8 | Jennifer Cassell | 336,000 |
| 0309 | 9 | George Archer | 550,000 |
Table 4
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0401 | 1 | David Luong | 131,000 |
| 0402 | 2 | Luke McCredie | 328,000 |
| 0403 | 3 | Aroha Ngata | 324,000 |
| 0404 | 4 | Adrian Pacheco | 474,000 |
| 0405 | 5 | Jack Drake | 110,000 |
| 0406 | 6 | Meerwais Hussaini | 381,000 |
| 0407 | 7 | Tom O’Brien | 296,000 |
| 0408 | 8 | Kiyo Puyat | 385,000 |
| 0409 | 9 | Mark Ericksen | 393,000 |
Table 5
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0501 | 1 | Alan Wilson | 199,000 |
| 0502 | 2 | Steven Gluyas | 90,000 |
| 0503 | 3 | Anthony Cierco | 148,000 |
| 0504 | 4 | Marinka Vulic | 201,000 |
| 0505 | 5 | Lauren Bonte | 149,000 |
| 0506 | 6 | Robert Damelian | 43,000 |
| 0507 | 7 | Richard Tang | 209,000 |
| 0508 | 8 | Phil Stamler | 226,000 |
| 0509 | 9 | David Croucher | 136,000 |
Table 6
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0601 | 1 | Zhifan Ye | 247,000 |
| 2 | |||
| 0603 | 3 | Anthony Harach | 223,000 |
| 0604 | 4 | Khal Fayad | 143,000 |
| 0605 | 5 | Patrick Barba | 166,000 |
| 0606 | 6 | Jason Sampson | 250,000 |
| 0607 | 7 | Guangyu Wang | 372,000 |
| 0608 | 8 | Andrew Batey | 301,000 |
| 0609 | 9 | Shane Thompson | 485,000 |
Table 7
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0701 | 1 | Nil Esteve | 127,000 |
| 0702 | 2 | Charlie Hawes | 185,000 |
| 0703 | 3 | Mitchell Frost | 149,000 |
| 0704 | 4 | Anthony Maglicic | 50,000 |
| 0705 | 5 | Michael Falcon | 851,000 |
| 0706 | 6 | Ruiyang Wang | 124,000 |
| 7 | |||
| 0708 | 8 | Zheming Zhu | 468,000 |
| 0709 | 9 | Nigel Kwok | 68,000 |
Table 8
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0801 | 1 | Jong Jung | 118,000 |
| 0802 | 2 | Jeremy Winlaw | 96,000 |
| 0803 | 3 | Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros | 111,000 |
| 0804 | 4 | Dean Stevenson | 252,000 |
| 0805 | 5 | Jesper Henrich | 151,000 |
| 0806 | 6 | Duncan McKinnon | 174,000 |
| 0807 | 7 | Mason Trevanion | 80,000 |
| 8 | |||
| 0809 | 9 | Kevin Lee | 152,000 |
Table 9
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 0901 | 1 | Jon Rounce | 119,000 |
| 0902 | 2 | Carlos Youssef | 154,000 |
| 3 | |||
| 0904 | 4 | Jarrod Thatcher | 248,000 |
| 0905 | 5 | Mark Lawton | 135,000 |
| 0906 | 6 | Michael Kalin | 40,000 |
| 0907 | 7 | Wayne Clinch | 370,000 |
| 0908 | 8 | John Hutchins | 146,000 |
| 0909 | 9 | Bert (John) Perry | 249,000 |
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