End of day for TLPT Main Event
A hard fought last stanza of The Lord Poker Tour Main Event has resulted in the same nine players who started bagging up stacks to continue tomorrow.
Yisha Chen, a regular in high roller cash games at the Triton series, has finished the day as chip lead – just pipping WPT Ambassador Angel Guillen, who needs no introduction and is essentially an adopted Aussie at this point.
Jordan Westmorland, after finishing runner-up in The Lord Poker Tour Opening Event yesterday, isn’t slowing down; he increased his stack throughout the last two hours to bag up fifth in chips as he looked to add his second major title to the resume – his first? The 2019 Melbourne Poker Championship Main Event.
Yoon Kang found a late double against Andy Lee; Kang got it in with A♦8♦ on the flop of 5♦J♦6♠, but Lee was very much ahead with J♠J♥. An 8♥ on the turn and Kang looked to be going home until the 2♦ flushed Lee down to the bottom of the chip counts.
With nine players left and seven making the money, the viewing public should be in for a treat from 2pm Brisbane time tomorrow. The accumulated level of skill around the table should lead to fascinating watching as the players navigate the bubble, juggling ICM pressures, stack dynamics, and, if today was anything to go by, some world class plays.
TLPT Main Event – End of Day chip counts
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Jordan Westmorland | 1,870,000 |
| 2 | Angel Guillen | 4,690,000 |
| 3 | Josh Hutchins | 1,185,000 |
| 4 | Yoon Kang | 2,640,000 |
| 5 | Travis Endersby | 1,305,000 |
| 6 | Yisha Chen | 4,825,000 |
| 7 | Andres Vasquez | 1,515,000 |
| 8 | Andy Lee | 415,000 |
| 9 | Alex Lynskey | 3,150,000 |
TLPT Main Event reaches final table, Yisha Chen leads
APT Ambassador Didier Guerin fell just shy of making the TLPT Main Event final table, and took the time to recount to PMA exactly what happened – and why Yisha Chen has made a meteoric rise to the top of the chip counts.
According to Guerin, Chen found the majority of her chips in two hands – the first, against Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, Chen found a 4-bet back-jam with King-Queen but Cates snap called with pocket rockets. Fortunately for Chen, she found the nuts on the 9-3-J-T-5 board to double through, leaving Cates on crumbs.
The second big hand for Chen was barely an orbit later, where Chen 3-bet jammed from the blinds with K♥J♥ against Guerin’s button open with A♣K♦. Guerin made the call with Ace-King and turned top pair on the 10♣8♣4♣A♠ board… only for Chen to then spike the back door straight with a Q♠ on the river.
Chen then finished off Jungleman herself to set herself up on the final table, with the chip lead, where 1st or 2nd would mean her biggest ever pay day.
Seated (L-R): Jordan Westmorland, Yoon Kang, Travis Endersby, Yisha Chen
TLPT Main Event – Final Table seat draw and chip counts
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Jordan Westmorland | 805,000 |
| 2 | Angel Guillen | 3,370,000 |
| 3 | Josh Hutchins | 1,370,000 |
| 4 | Yoon Kang | 1,890,000 |
| 5 | Travis Endersby | 1,140,000 |
| 6 | Yisha Chen | 4,250,000 |
| 7 | Andres Vasquez | 3,580,000 |
| 8 | Andy Lee | 1,625,000 |
| 9 | Alex Lynskey | 3,565,000 |
Noja ships Dracakis Players Championship
Daniel Noja had been in control of the Dracakis Players Championship for several hours, taking the chip lead from Kenny Wang on the final table and never relinquishing it.
For the last hand, Noja held J♥10♦ and would have Terry Johnson all-in and at-risk for his last 1,290,000 with 9♦6♥ preflop.
Johnson made a pair on the 8♣Q♠6♠ flop, but the J♣ on the turn served to bring Noja within one card of being named Champion.
The 2♥ on the river was no help to anybody, and confirmed Daniel Noja as the APT Brisbane Dracakis Players Champion! For his efforts, Noja earned himself a $31,450 pay day, and is the proud new owner of a Dracakis Champions Ring.
| Place | Player | Payout |
| Champion | Daniel Noja | $31,450 + Dracakis Ring |
| 2nd | Terry Johnson | $19,250 |
| 3rd | Kenny Wang | $13,650 |
Sportelli Stacker
A brand new event has emerged! Not on the schedule, but Adrian Sportelli has organised – with the help and co-operation of APT – the “Sportelli Stacker”. Sportelli, victorious in the Treasury Poker Series Main Event 2022, is a well-known figure in the community – and if you watch a live stream where he’s on the table, chances are you’ll hear him above the commentators. Or if he is on the rail… or in the room… or outside the room…
The “Sportelli Stacker” is quite a unique event; with a $2,000 buy-in, it functions for all intents and purposes as a normal tournament with a couple of key exceptions.
One – Sportelli has placed a $500 bounty on himself. Bust him and he will reach into his pocket and give you the bounty.
Two – Sportelli is infamous in the Australian poker community for his habit of stacking his chips in a certain eccentric way. To compete in this event, you MUST follow suit – and that means stacking your chips in tens. A pet hate of many a player, we love this ‘condition of entry’!
As of now, the Sportelli Stacker has reached a final table – and Sportelli is on it, of course.
TLPT on break
Down to two tables in the TLPT Main Event, and they have headed off for a short break. 13 players remain, and Brisbane’s Alex Lynskey held the chip lead going into the break after a massive clash against Sosia Jiang.
TLPT Main Event – Feature Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Alex Lynskey | 4,170,000 |
| 2 | Angel Guillen | 1,885,000 |
| 3 | Malcolm Trayner | 960,000 |
| 5 | Travis Endersby | 855,000 |
| 7 | Jordan Westmorland | 905,000 |
| 8 | Josh Hutchins | 705,000 |
TLPT Main Event – Outer Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Andy Lee | 1,750,000 |
| 2 | Yoon Kang | 750,000 |
| 3 | Didier Guerin | 1,525,000 |
| 4 | Andres Vasquez | 2,600,000 |
| 5 | Yisha Chen | 1,150,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Cates | 3,000,000 |
| 8 | Raph Tenenbaum | 875,000 |
Renji Mao was also eliminated just before the break; Yoon Kang opened the action and was met with a 3-bet to 180,000 from Didier Guerin.
Andres Vasquez then upped the ante to 400,000 on the button. Mao put his remaining 650,000 into the middle from the blinds, both Kang and Guerin got out of the way – but unfortunately for Mao with A♥K♦, he’d ran smack bang into the A♠A♣ of Vasquez.
Jiang ousted
On the penultimate hand before the break, Angel Guillen opened to 60,000 under-the-gun with 9♠8♠. Sosia Jiang elected to flat from the hijack with J♦J♣, which then allowed the 3♠3♣ of Jordan Westmorland to flat from the button also.
Alex Lynskey then found a dream spot to squeeze, looking down at Q♥Q♣ on the big blind and upping the ante to 325,000.
Jiang, with her very under-repped hand, back-jammed for 1,485,000 total. Lynskey snap-called to put New Zealand’s All Time Money leader at risk.
Jiang would draw completely dead on the turn as the board ran Q♦2♥A♥5♦6♣, moving Lynskey to the top of the counts – and Lynskey would then win the last hand before the break as well, with A♠Q♠ against the 5♦4♦ of Guillen.
| Player | Chips |
| Alex Lynskey | 4,170,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 1,885,000 |
| Sosia Jiang | BUSTED! |
Redraw!
The TLPT Main Event has redrawn with 24 players remaining.
Alex Lynskey has redrawn the same seat – returning to the Feature Table in Seat 1, and Jordan Westmorland returned to the Feature Table after a spell on an outer table, now in Seat 7.
The remainder of the table is nothing but superstars – New Zealand’s Sosia Jiang, Western Australia’s Travis Endersby, and Australia’s Malcolm Trayner, Adam Kharman, Jarrod Thatcher, and Raph Tenenbaum – this is genuinely a fearsome line-up.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Alex Lynskey | 1,770,000 |
| 2 | Adam Kharman | 820,000 |
| 3 | Malcolm Trayner | 680,000 |
| 4 | Sosia Jiang | 810,000 |
| 5 | Travis Endersby | 1,100,000 |
| 6 | Raph Tenenbaum | 840,000 |
| 7 | Jordan Westmorland | 695,000 |
| 8 | Jarrod Thatcher | 400,000 |
Dracakis Players Championship down to 3
The Dracakis Players Championship looks to be playing down to a winner today, as the tournament has reached the podium places
Faraz Ayyaz was the first to be eliminated from the Final Table, which gave APT CEO Tony Hachem a pay jump from his short stack to start the table before he too hit the rail.
Chris “Dipper” Zenonos and Andrew Moreno were the next to fall – Zenonos achieving his second final table of the APT Brisbane series after finishing 4th for $60,100 in the TLPT Opening Event – before Brisbane local Jigsy Reyes achieved a 5th place finish. Sherif Derias battled vainly with a short stack, but was ultimately felted in 4th.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Danielle Noja | 3,275,000 |
| 4 | Kenny Wang | 1,585,000 |
| 8 | Terry Johnson | 940,000 |
| Finish | Player | Payout |
| 4th | Sherif Derias | $10,000 |
| 5th | Jigsy Reyes | $7,250 |
| 6th | Andrew Moreno | $5,600 |
| 7th | Chris “Dipper” Zenonos | $4,500 |
| 8th | Tony Hachem | $3,700 |
| 9th | Faraz Ayyaz | $3,000 |
World class
Didier Guerin has headed off to enjoy a dinner break, nursing a slightly shorter stack than earlier today. Guerin had a stack of about 475,000 with a few minutes before the break when this hand occurred.
Jordan Westmorland opened to 40,000 pre-flop with A♦8♦ in the cut-off, called only by Guerin on the button. Westmorland would then get sneaky, flopping 2♦K♦Q♦ and checking the action to Guerin.
Guerin, holding K♣J♥, fired a bet of 35,000, which Westmorland flat-called, and then Westmorland would check-call again, this time for 65,000, on the 9♣ turn.
The river was potential disaster for Guerin as the 10♣ completed a straight. Westmorland checked once more and Guerin bet 130,000, leaving himself just 225,000 behind. Seconds later, Westmorland jammed…
Payouts!
Late registration has closed in the TLPT Main Event! 26 players remain from 54 entries, and it is confirmed that the eventual Champion will be walking away with $259,350.
TLPT Main Event – 54 entries, 7 paid ($757,350 prize pool)
| Place | Payout |
| 1 | $259,350 |
| 2 | $160,000 |
| 3 | $116,000 |
| 4 | $80,000 |
| 5 | $61,000 |
| 6 | $45,000 |
| 7 | $36,000 |
Feature Table up and running
Joe Hachem ran into a spot of bother on the Feature Table just as commentators Harvey Silver and Brayden Jinks joined the show; holding K♥J♦, Hachem opened preflop, before leading out for 50,000 on the 6♠2♦J♠ flop and a further 175,000 on the 2♥ turn, called all the way by TLPT Opening Event runner-up Jordan Westmorland.
The pot now over half a million in chips, Hachem would slow down and check-call the bet of 125,000 from Westmorland on the 7♣ river – only to see Westmorland show him bad news, as he tabled A♦J♥ to pip Hachem.
That hand swung the table around, with Hachem – who up until that point was chip leading the table – falling to a middling stack.
The Feature Table itself is absolutely saturated in talent, as is to be expected for an event of this nature. Just on one table, there is; Alex Lynskey (2018 WSOP Main Event final tablist), Joe Hachem (2005 WSOP Main Event Champion), Malcolm Trayner (2024 WSOP $1K Mystery Million Champion), Didier Guerin (APT Ambassador), and Jordan Westmorland (as previously mentioned, yesterday’s TLPT Opening Event runner-up).
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Alex Lynskey | 1,418,000 |
| 2 | Joe Hachem | 538,000 |
| 3 | Yi Sha Chen | 262,000 |
| 5 | Jordan Westmorland | 1,144,000 |
| 6 | Didier Guerin | 415,000 |
| 7 | Malcolm Trayner | 834,000 |
| 8 | JP Rounce-Sue | 486,000 |
Dracakis Players Championship Final Table
The Dracakis Players Championship has been narrowed down to the final nine players, after the eliminations of Lachlan Crilly, Dale Marsland, and Damien Stanley in 10th, 11th, and 12th respectively.
The eventual Champion will walk away with $31,450 and the Dracakis Ring, valued at $12K and added to the prize pool by Dracakis Jewellers.
Seated (L-R): Terry Johnson, Andrew Moreno, Kenny Wang, Danielle Noja
The Final Table players have departed on a break and will return to play down to a winner. Kenny Wang currently leads with a sizeable chip lead over the field, whilst APT CEO Tony Hachem has made the final table, but will have a long fight ahead of him with a 4BB stack.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Daniella Noja | 275,000 |
| 2 | Jigsy Reyes | 810,000 |
| 3 | Tony Hachem | 101,000 |
| 4 | Chris “Dipper” Zenonos | 283,000 |
| 5 | Kenny Wang | 1,860,000 |
| 6 | Faraz Ayyaz | 374,000 |
| 7 | Sherif Derias | 618,000 |
| 8 | Andrew Moreno | 680,000 |
| 9 | Terry Johnson | 805,000 |
TLPT Main Event update
The TLPT Main Event is in it’s last level of late registration; expected to lock out around 5:30pm local time. The $15K buy-in has so far attracted 44 entries, with a host of players expected to max-late-reg the event.
The APT Live Stream, available on Twitch, YouTube, and the APT Live Facebook page, will kick off from 6:30pm, and is expected to feature some of the best players in the room, potentially including the likes of Joe Hachem, Alex Lynskey, Mostafa Haidary, Travis Endersby, and Martin Finger.
Some of the leading stacks in the room included WPT Ambassador Angel Guillen and Australian pro Andy Lee; but it was New Zealand’s number one on the All Time Money List, Sosia Jiang, who had a clear lead at the break.
TLPT Main Event – Big stacks
| Player | Chips |
| Sosia Jiang | 1,818,000 |
| Andy Lee | 1,579,000 |
| Kalan Roberts | 779,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 754,000 |
Dracakis in the money
Plenty of movers and shakers in the Dracakis Players Championships, as the bubble has now burst; 14 players made the money and as of writing, 12 remain.
Benjamin Leblond had the misfortune to be eliminated on the bubble, whilst last night’s chipleader Andres Vasquez fell just before, out in 16th place.
Of Friday’s “State Of Origin” competitors, Westralian Team Captain Dale Marsland is still in the mix, whilst Queenslander Lachlan Crilly will be happy to have not “doughnutted” this one.
Australian Poker Tour CEO Tony Hachem is also still in contention, having taken a shot in the prestigious event.
Dracakis Players Championships – in the money
| Player | Winnings |
| Andrew Moreno | |
| Lachlan Crilly | |
| Dale Marsland | |
| Chris “Dipper” Zenonos | |
| Kenny Wang | |
| Danielle Noja | |
| Faraz Ayyaz | |
| Jigsy Reyes | |
| Damien Stanley | |
| Terry Johnson | |
| Tony Hachem | |
| Sherif Derias | |
| Yi Zhu | $2,300 |
| Neng Zhao | $2,200 |
Another day, another (million) dollars
Welcome back to the PMA Blog as we continue our coverage of the 2024 APT Brisbane series from the Voco Hotel.
Today sees a couple of big events nearing their conclusion with Day 2 of the $15k TLPT Main Event boasting some very familiar names, including China’s Quan Zhou on top of the chip counts and none other than Andy Lee sitting just behind.
Also boasting healthy stacks are the likes of Adam Kharman, Mostafa Haidary, Angel Guillen, Alex Lynskey and the winner of the $7.5k TLPT Opening Event, Kahle Burns.
$15K TLPT Main Event – End of Day 1 counts
| Player | Chips |
| Quan Zhou | 1,077,000 |
| Andy Lee | 958,000 |
| Adam Kharman | 718,000 |
| Mostafa Haidary | 699,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 661,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 660,000 |
| Kahle Burns | 630,000 |
| Sosia Jiang | 626,000 |
| Hamish Crawshaw | 528,000 |
| Toni Kaukau | 392,000 |
| Ivan Zhang | 126,000 |
| Didier Guerin | 93,000 |
| Renji Mao | 33,000 |
Meanwhile, some 29 players from a starting field of 116 will return for Day 2 of the Dracakis, with Andres Vasquez best-placed for a deep run. Lachlan Crilly, Dale Marsland, Sam Haddad, Thomas Ward, JP Rounce-Sue, and Tony Hachem are among the others still in the mix.
Dracakis Players Championship – End of Day 1 counts
| Player | Chips |
| Andres Vasquez | 472,500 |
| Yi Zhu | 364,500 |
| Andrew Moreno | 358,000 |
| Lachlan Crilly | 339,500 |
| Dale Marsland | 328,500 |
| Chris “Dipper” Zenonos | 272,500 |
| Will Wong | 272,500 |
| Jacque Ramsden | 269,500 |
| Benjamin Leblond | 245,000 |
| Sam Haddad | 243,000 |
| Guangyu Wang | 233,000 |
| Keven O’Donahue | 201,500 |
| Victor Li | 195,000 |
| Danielle Noja | 188,500 |
| Faraz Ayyaz | 177,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | 160,000 |
| Jigsy Reyes | 159,500 |
| Noman Mirza | 154,000 |
| Thomas Ward | 154,000 |
| JP Rounce-Sue | 150,500 |
| Damian Stanley | 133,500 |
| Terry Johnson | 124,000 |
| Neng Zhao | 118,500 |
| Shem Goltz | 105,000 |
| Tony Hachem | 97,500 |
| Steven Smith | 89,500 |
| Lucho Vargas | 72,000 |
| Jake Cope | 65,500 |
| Sherif Derias | 64,500 |
Stay tuned to the PMA Blog throughout the day as we provide regular updates on these two events and other important news from Day 5 of APT Brisbane.
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