Kharman bags big on Day 1B of WSOP-C Sydney Main Event
Adam Kharman’s year of wonder shows no signs of abating. A day after winning the Monster Stack event for a cool $61,473, Kharman finished day 1B of the WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event as a clear chip leader – sitting pretty with 920,000 to be the only player within cooee of the magic million.
His nearest rival on Day 1B was Michael Levy, who bagged a healthy 779,000 without ever needing to take any real risks, while Amin Riyazati finished third on the counts with 607,000.
Other notables to progress include Joe Hachem, Steven Zhou, Chad Awerbuch, Jeff Lisandro, Michel Bouskila, Daniel Hachem, Jarrod Thatcher and Billy “The Croc” Argyros”.
Bouskila’s presence is quite the story, having at one stage been down to just 4,000 in chips – half of which was required for the small blind – before a run of doubles helped him bag 243,000.
Of the 318 players who started on Day 1B, just 51 remain, meaning we currently have 95 players through to Day 2 (from 605 total runners so far) with one more flight to come.
Join the PMA team once again from 12:30pm AEDT Sunday as we bring you all the action from Day 1C!
Top 10 stacks:
| Adam Kharman | 920,000 |
| Michael Levy | 779,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 607,000 |
| Ardi Jaya | 530,000 |
| Dylan Rands | 457,000 |
| Yifeng Zhang | 432,000 |
| Victor Dai | 392,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 372,000 |
| Daniel Klinger | 372,000 |
| Hong Tao Zhang | 351,000 |
Three hands to go
The tournament staff have stopped the clock with nine minutes to go and have called for the last three hands of the day to be played. There are still 52 players remaining in today’s flight.
Slow as she goes
Level 16 started fast, with Toby Giles hitting the rail at the hands of Adam Kharman, but play has since slowed with the short stacks now looking to nurse their way through to Day 2 and into the money. There are currently 52 players remaining with 20 minutes left on this final level of the day.
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Break it up
Players are now on their final 15-minute break of the day. There are 53 players remaining and we’re scheduled to stop after one more level or when we reach 48 players remaining, whichever comes first. Either way, it won’t be long before we’re bagging and tagging.
Eel-ectric
With the finish line for today’s flight in sight, it is none other than Michael Levy holding the overall chip lead, sitting behind a stack of 780,000.
Levy is a Parramatta Eels fan, which instantly makes him a good bloke in our books – albeit a long-suffering one – and perhaps this week could see him land a trophy to show his beloved Eels how it’s done.
Discussing his day with the PMA reporting team, Levy said he had simply been picking up a whole heap of small pots rather than through any big all-in clashes.
“Just the way it should be, with no stress,” he smiled.
Crucial double up for Hachem
Daniel Hachem has scored a crucial double-up late in the day against Zefirelli Noordin. Hachem held Q♥10♥ against Noordin’s 8♥8♦
The board ran out 7♣4♠10♠5♣7♦ giving Hachem top pair on the flop and securing the win. The pot boosted Hachem’s stack to 130,000.
A rags to riches tale
By all rights, Michel Bouskila should be sitting on the rail enjoying a cold beer. Dead in the water holding Broadway against a flush, his opponent thought he was putting him all-in on the river with a bet of 100k, but Bouskila actually had 104,000 behind, so was left with four 1k chips when that hand was done.
On the next hand, with 2,000 in the middle for the small blind, he called off with 63o three-handed and hit a 6 on the flop that was good enough for the pot.
The hand after that he was all-in again with A♠9♠ against Uno Bolovson’s 7♣5♣ and held again to move to 60,000.
He picked up Queens and everyone folded, then Aces and everyone folded, before looking down at Aces for the second straight hand and scoring yet another double.
In fact, from that 4k in chips, Bouskila now nurses a very healthy stack of 325,000 in a comeback tale for the ages. Ride on!
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Riyazati moves above the half-million
Amin Riyazati opened the button to 10,000 and was met with a 3,bet from Ardi Jaya to 25,000. He made the call as the flop fell 9♣3♣5♥.
Jaya continued for 15,000 and Riyazati called.
On the A♠ turn, Jaya bet 30,000 and Riyazati called again.
The river was the Q♥ and this time Jaya checked it to Riyazati who bombed it for 139,000. Jaya thought briefly before making the call but he mucked when Riyazati showed A♣9♦ for two pair.
With that hand, Riyazati moves to 550,000 and right around the overall tournament chip lead.
Egan doubles through Awerbuch
Michael Egan opened in middle position and Chad Awerbuch 3-bet to 27,000. Egan then announced he was all-in for a total of 111,000. Awerbuch tank-called with 10♠10♣ but quickly saw the bad news as Egan showed A♥A♠.
The board ran out 6♥A♣K♣6♣J♥ to give Egan the full double.
Some familiar faces still in the crowd
Level 14: 3,000/5,000 (5,000)
Battle to survive
Players are moving towards the pointy end of the evening with just 3 more levels remaining and as such we are seeing an increased amount of all-in/calls.
Fighting for his tournament life, Jack Maris pushes his chips into the middle pre-flop holding 9♦8♦. A snap call from Travis O’Grady who rolls over none other than bullets A♥A♣
Board – 2♦4♦J♦5♦9♠
With the wrong red ace in his hand, O’Grady’s bullets are cracked. Maris took a sigh of relief as he raked in the pot and asks if we will post that he busted aces. Why yes, Maris. We will.
| Jack Maris | 40,000 |
| Travis O’Grady | 65,000 |
Must be nice
Steven Zhou has been on a bit of a heater of late, first doubling through Khac-Trung Tran and then eliminating Peter Lin in horrible fashion.
In the first hand, Zhou found himself all-in and facing elimination holding A♥Q♠ against the 10♠10♣ of Tran on a 2♥6♦7♣6♥ board but managed to find the A♦ on the river, then he got it in against the short-stack of Lin holding Q♣10♥ against Lin’s pocket rockets.
The board ran out 5♠10♦4♥2♦10♠ as Zhou rivered trips to move to 265,000.
Big stacks
| Adam Kharman | 460,000 |
| Jehan Satchi | 400,000 |
| Joseph Starcevic | 390,000 |
| Michael Levy | 377,000 |
| Zeirelli Noordin | 340,000 |
| Chakhei Chan | 270,000 |
| Chad Awerbuch | 265,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 255,000 |
| Keling Fan | 242,000 |
| Avi Ayalon | 238,000 |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Break time
Players are currently on a 15-minute break.
The rich get richer
Adam Kharman is now our tournament chip leader after sending Luis Arrilucia to the rail.
It was five ways to the flop in this one as the dealer spread a flop of 8♣8♠5♣. It was checked around before the 7♣ landed on the turn. With that, Arrilucea announced he was all-in with Kharman making the call.
Arrilucea turned over 6♣4♠ for the straight but was in big trouble against the A♣J♣ of Kharman. The river bricked and Kharman soars above the 400,000 chip mark.
| Adam Kharman | 460,000 |
| Luis Arrilucea | Busted |
He gets a double elimination
Commotion at Table 21 with an all in player on the button for 29,500, a call by Yibo He in mid position and a shove in the cut-off for 42,000. With the two all in players revealing their cards too early, Yibo He decided to make the small call to the larger of the two stacks and the players see the cards run out.
Yibo He – J♠10♠
Cut-off – A♥A♣
Button – Q♦J♥
Board – 7♦9♠Q♣K♠K♥
Turning the straight, and knocking out two players, He’s stack climbs to 197,500.
A-min raise
Amin Riyazati joined today’s field a little late but he’s been steadily building his stack ever since. We caught him moments ago opening under the gun to 5k and getting a call from Jimmy Tran.
On the A♥10♥7♠ flop, Riyazati continued for 5,000 before Tran popped it up to 13,000. Riyazati thought for a whole before 3-betting to 30,000. Tran released quickly as Riyazati moves to 145,000.
Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Zhao clips Zheng
2019 WSOP-C Sydney champ Steven Zhou has scored a big double at the expense of one-time chip leader Xiangxi Zheng.
We caught the action on a board of a Q♥6♠6♣J♠ and with Zhou having bet out 25,000. Zheng shoved and Zhou quickly called, tabling A♦6♦ for flopped trips against the A♥J♣ of Zheng.
The river bricked and Zhou emerges with a very healthy stack, while Zheng is still in good shape with around 175,000 behind.
| Xiangxi Zheng | 175,000 |
| Steven Zhou | 160,000 |
King Kharman
We wandered by Table 6 just in time to see a 3-way all-in, with Adam Kharman the man most at risk.
Kharman was in trouble holding K♣K♦ against the A♣A♦ of Alex Lee, while the original raiser – who had both players covered – held A♥J♥.
Kharman asked our intrepid reporter, “What will the title of this post be if I hit a King?”
“King Kharman,” we replied, and just like that the flop came 4♣K♠8♠ to fulfil his wishes. The 2♥ turn and 8♥ river filled Kharman up as he moves to around 120,000 in chips, while Lee falls back to 29,000.
Locked out
Tournament staff have confirmed today’s final Day 1B field at 318 players, taking the total number of starters after two flights – and with one more to go tomorrow – to 605. Play will continue tonight until either the end of Level 16 or we reach 48 players remaining, whichever comes first.
Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Dinner time!
Players are now on a 30-minute dinner break. We currently have 318 players registered in today’s flight with rego closing once play resumes.
Some notable stacks
| Chakhei Chan | 289,000 |
| Xiangxi Zheng | 210,000 |
| Hong Tao | 205,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 151,000 |
| Daniel Mayoh | 141,000 |
| Henry Sun | 135,000 |
| Marco Perri | 135,000 |
| Uno Bolovson | 134,000 |
| Toby Giles | 130,000 |
Chan cheering
Chakhei Chan under the gun raised to 3,300. Mark Yazbeck, Jeremy Dunkel and Amin Riyazati made the call. With 4 runners, the pot starting to build, the flop came 5♥J♠K♦
Riyazati in the big blind checked it through to the raiser Chan. Chan bet 4,500. Yazbeck called and Dunkel folded. Riyazati also called.
The turn 6♦ brought another check from Riyazati and Chan reached for his chips, betting 13,500. Yazbeck folds and Riyazati once again made the call.
On the river 6♣ Chan picked up a stack of yellow 5k chips and placed it across the line, totalling 39,000. Riyazati tanked before eventually making the call. Chan showed A♦K♣ while Riyazati reluctantly slid his cards into the muck face down.
| Chakhei Chan | 289,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 90,200 |
Jung v Wang
Up near the feature table, sit two main event tables with some action occurring on both tables.
On this action, the UTG player raised to 3500 with two callers. Arin Jung in mid position and Meng Wang in the cut off.
The dealer peeled the flop – 4♦9♣8♦
UTG checked and Jung pushes her remaining chips, 35,300, into the middle with the All-In chip being placed on top. Wang made the decision to do the same pushing his chips, 61,400 in as well. UTG player gets out of the way and the cards are turned over.
Jung – 10♦10♥
Wang – A♦Q♦
With the turn K♥ and the river of 4♣ Wang’s hand did not improve and Jung sees a timely double up.
| Arin Jung | 85,000 |
| Meng Wang | 26,000 |
Level 9: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Let’s call a spade a spade
Jimmy Tran has been building a stack rather than digging a hole with his spades. Tran took a dig at Ardi Jaya winning two pots in a row.
The first hand Tran made a bet on the river of 25,200. Going in to the tank for a while, Jaya eventually mucks claiming he held an Ace. The board was 9♥2♣J♣A♣Q♦. Tran pushed his cards into the muck and pulled in the chips.
The very next hand sees the two battle it out again. Jaya raised to 4500 pre-flop. Tran made the call.
FLOP – 7♠Q♥9♣
After a check from Tran, Jaya bet 3000. Tran flatted.
TURN – Q♠
Check. Check.
RIVER – J♦
Tran bet 3500. Jaya called. Tran turns over 9♠8♠ and Jaya mucks again with Tran raking in the pot.
| Jimmy Tran | 110,000 |
| Ardi Jaya | 124,000 |
Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Whitehouse gets a Full House
A cheer prompted us to check out table 23 where Paul Whitehouse had just made a full house on the turn.
Having clawed back from just 1100 only an hour and a bit earlier, Whitehouse was looking for that all important double up.
Whitehouse tabled 8♦8♠ on a board that read 5♥A♣J♦8♣A♠. His opponent John Thomson mucked his cards handing the win to Whitehouse.
| Paul Whitehouse | 40,000 |
Tran triumphant
Khac-Trung Tran is our current chip leader after winning a big hand against Mark Darbani to send the latter to the rail.
The hand began with Tran opening to 2,500 from the cut-off and Darbani 3-betting to 7,500 from the blinds. Tran called to see a 9♥10♦Q♠ flop. Darbani continued for 10,000 and Tran 3-bet to 30,000. Darbani called.
On the river A♥, Tran put Darbani all-in. He eventually called, showing K♣10♥ but needed help against the Q♥J♦ of Tran.
The river was a brick as Darbani exits, while Tran moves to 185,000!
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Notable stacks
| Charlie Hu | 145,000 |
| Hong Tao | 135,000 |
| Chakhei Chan | 131,500 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 130,000 |
| Chad Awerbuch | 127,500 |
| Jimmy Tran | 124,200 |
| Amin Riyazati | 122,200 |
| Hai Vu | 119,000 |
| Khac-Trung Tran | 106,000 |
| Ehsan Amiri | 97,000 |
| Robert Spano | 92,000 |
| Marco Perri | 71,000 |
| Joe Hachem | 67,000 |
| Michael Egan | 45,000 |
| Higor Seibel | 42,500 |
Break it up
Players are now on a 15-minute break.
When will it end?
We caught the action on the river with Jarrod Thatcher deep into the tank.
“You’re very calm,” he said to his opponent, Charlie Hu, who had bet 23,200 into a pot of 27,000 on a board of 4♥K♠9♣8♠7♥.
Thatcher eventually places a stack of blacks into the middle, indicating his call, but mucked when Hu showed 9♥8♥ for two-pair.
When will the bad luck end?
| Charlie Hu | 145,000 |
| Jarrod Thatcher | 30,000 |
Queen-Hai
Hai Vu wasn’t a believer as he faced a pre-flop 3-bet and decided to shove holding A♦Q♥. His opponents quickly called with A♣K♠ and had Hai in trouble, but the Q♠ on the flop shot Hai into the lead and he held to rocket to 108,000 in chips – making him one of the bigger stacks in the room.
Level 6: 400/800 (800)
Stan the man after huge fold
After a middle position open, Daniel Mayoh made the call from the cut-off and Stan Levitin called from the blinds.
The flop fell 10♠5♣5♦ and it was checked around to Mayoh who bet 1,500. Only Levitin called as they saw a turn 7♦.
This time Mayoh bet 4,000, with Levitin making the call.
On the river Qd, Mayoh fired big with a bet of 20,000. Levitan thought briefly but eventually mucked his A♠5♥ face-up. Mayoh smiled and showed 10♣10♥ for the flopped boat, as Levitin fist-pumped for making a huge but ultimately correct fold.
| Stan Levitin | 50,000 |
| Daniel Mayoh | 47,000 |
Armota tripping out
Jason Pritchard opened the action to 1,600. Van Armota in middle position and the big blind made the call.
The flop fell 6♠10♥10♠ as it went check-check from both big blind and Armota. Pritchard reached for his chips and counted a bet of 3,300 out. The Big blind moved out of the way while Armota flatted. He also checked the 9♦ turn with Pritchard betting 6,200. Armota quickly called.
On the river K♦ both players checked and Armota tabled his 10♦J♦ for trip tens as Pritchard’s cards made their way into the muck.
| Van Armota | 66,300 |
| Jason Pritchard | 28,000 |
Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Giles forces the issue
In a battle of two side event winners here in Sydney this week, Uno Bolovson opened to 1,000 from early position and found two callers before Toby Giles bumped it up from the blinds.
Bolovson responded by 4-betting to 17,500 but Giles wasn’t done yet and shoved for 47,000, sending Bolovson into the tank. He eventually folded as Giles starts building a stack.
| Toby Giles | 78,000 |
| Uno Bolovson | 65,000 |
Face time
Level 4: 300/500 (500)
Break time
Players are heading to their first 15-minute break of the day. The floor staff tell us there are currently 201 players registered today with six more levels remaining until registration closes.
Xu finds a double through Kalpakian
Vanig Kalpakian and Qi Xu saw a flop of Q♥6♠2♥, before Xu check-shoved over Kalpakian’s 1,600 bet.
Kalpakian went into the tank but eventually made the call, showing J♠J♦ and needing help against Xu’s K♦Q♦.
The turn 10♣ and river 8♣ saw Xu double through.
| Vanig Kalpakian | 40,000 |
| Qi Xu | 32,500 |
Rockets for Hachem
After a button open, 2019 WSOP Sydney champion Steven Zhou 3-bet to 2,500 before Joe Hachem 4-bet to 8k. The button folded but Zhou made the call.
The flop fell 5♥9♦3♥ and Zhou check-called a bet of 5k from Hachem.
On the 8♦ turn, Zhou announced he was all-in for another 19,000, with Hachem quickly calling and showing A♥A♠. Zhou stood up as he turned over A♦6♥ and his day was done when the Q♥ landed on the river.
Hachem moves to 78,000 after that hand.
Level 3: 200/400 (400)
The old 5-bet
After 3-betting an early position open only for the initial raiser to 4-bet, Michael Levy came in with the old 5-bet which his opponent called.
With a little over 30,000 in the middle, Levy then shoved for his last 15,000 on the A♣10♥10♠ flop, sending his opponent deepn into the tank. He eventually folded, sending the pot Levy’s way as he flashed A♥K♣.
Levy now moves back above starting stack with a little under 50,000 in chips.
Logan rises
Ian Logan opened in the cut-off and received a call on the button before Tolly Sakellariou shioed for his last 10,500.
Logan called and the cards were shown, with Sakellariou needing help holding A♥9♣against Logan’s Q♥Q♦.
The board ran out Q♠10♠8♠8♦6♦, with Logan filling up to send Sakellariou to the rail.
Logan now has a healthy stack of 75,000 – almost double his starting stack.
Level 2: 200/300 (300)
Sun running
Henry Sun has enjoyed a fast start today and currently sits behind a stack of around 65,000 after taking some chips off Ehsan Amiri.
We caught the river as Sun, who had called down Amiri on all streets, again called a 10,500 river bet – showing J♦9♦ which was enough to best his fellow Sydneysider’s A♦10♣ on the J♥10♦6♥4♥2♦ board.
Amiri is down to 16,500 early on.
Faces in the crowd
With today’s field still building, a quick scan of the room has revealed a number of familiar faces including Joe Hachem, Ehsan Amiri, Michael Kanaan, Martin Finger, Matt Rolfe, Toby Giles, Sam Capra and Michael Levy.
Level 1: 100/200 (200)
Cards are in the air!
Play is underway here at The Star Sydney, with 90 registrations and counting to start proceedings.
The action is scheduled for 16 levels on Day 1 or until 15% of the field remains. Each level will be 40-minutes in length and will increase from Day 2 onwards to 60-minutes. Start stack is 40,000.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind 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 |
| 14 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| 15 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 16 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
Weekend warriors
Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s coverage of the 2024 WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event, live from The Star Sydney.
Today sees the second of three Day 1 flights get underway, following on from Friday’s impressive opening flight when 287 players took their seats. Just 44 of those survived, with Sydney’s Banipal Babana leading the way behind a stack of 724,000.
You can also check out our Day 1A blog to see how yesterday’s action unfolded.
With the WSOP brand back in Sydney for the first time in five years, we’re expecting a sizeable field here today – all looking to join 2019 WSOP Circuit Sydney champ Steve Zhou and last year’s WSOP Circuit Gold Coast winner as Aussie WSOP ring winners.
Who will etch their name into the record books in 2024? Follow PMA’s live reporting over the next five days to find out! Our team will be on the ground from go to woe bringing you all the action right here at pokermedia.com, so stay tuned from 12:30pm AEDT as we enjoy this long-awaited return to the Harbour City!
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