Van Tran bags overall chip lead for Day 2 of WSOP-C Sydney Main Event; That’s a wrap!
Cash game specialist Van Tran has just concluded Day 1C of the WSOP Circuit Main Event with 948,000 in chips to his name. This overtakes Adam Kharman’s impressive 920,000 from last night.
The Sydneysider is enjoying the gradual return of these large-scale casino series to his home city. Despite being a regular cash game and PLO player, Van Tran makes the most of the occasional times he plays an NLH tournament., with his last success coming in South Korea, winning the title of Single-Day High Roller champion for over $27,000 US in September of last year.
He has the opportunity to play for much more than that, with this field locking out with a total of 1,035 entries and generating a $2,277,000 prize pool.
A calm figure on and off the felt, Tran elaborated on his approach when he spoke with PokerMedia Australia after bagging.
“I just pick my spots and play as best as I can,” he began. “It’s still a long way to go (regarding being chip leader ahead of Day 2).”
Regarding his movements in his spare time, Tran spoke of his love for golf. “I’ve been playing golf for the last three days!”
At this point you could say he’s “on par” “on the green” or has “got a hole in one”, but in golf terms it’s safe to say he’s just striking the ball perfectly.
For his game plan, Tran shared his approach.
“If the guy is aggressive, then I’ll trap them. If they’re passive, then I’ll attack.”
In reply, PMA asked if it was wise to share that much of his strategy publicly, and if he’ll take the same approach tomorrow, to which Tran responded: “I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow!”
He’s keeping us guessing, but his opponents on the felt more so. We’ll see plenty more of Van Tran tomorrow from 11:30am as he un-bags the most chip of anyone else when we get underway with Day 2.
Thanks again for joining us for our coverage here from The Star, Sydney! We’ll be back for even more exciting times from tomorrow, see you then!
Late double for Mufit Brahim
In one of the final hands of the day, Mufit Brahim moved all in from under-the-gun for 87,000. Action folded around to Alex Lee who re-jammed from the small blind.
The big blind cleared the way for the two to go to showdown.
Lee: 7♠7♦
Brahim: A♦10♦
Board: 8♠J♣A♣K♥A♠
| Mufit Brahim | 170,000 |
| Alex Lee | 394,000 |
You got a pair in your hand?
Van Tran has been steamrolling through Day 1C with ease, looking to be our likely chip leader by the end of play.
We caught flop action in a hand between he and Salvatore Lucisano, with a board showing 7♣A♠7♦.
Lucisano had checked from the big blind, and Tran placed a bet of 20,000 into a pot of more than 50,000.
Lucisano looked troubled and reluctantly announced a fold.
Tran looked at him and asked, “You got a pair in your hand?”
Lucisano confirmed he did.
Tran: “How big?”
Lucisano: “Eights”
Tran: “Eights?”
Tran turned over 9♠9♣ in reply.
| Salvatore Lucisano | 301,000 |
Giles teases a comeback
After losing a 200,000 pot with K♥9♥ against 8♠8♦ on 10♦5♦J♣2♦3♠, Toby Giles stood up and was about to exit when he was told he’d have 2,000 change – a quarter of a big blind.
He found a quadruple up and then put his 8,000 into the middle with 7♠5♣ against two others.
One player had K♠9♠, and Reza Houshmandi held J♥10♥, covering both.
Board: 7♦5♦Q♠6♦J♣
Giles moved from 2,000 to 32,000 within two hands, and was delighted to peel 8♠8♦ immediately afterwards, only to see Houshmandi make the call with J♠J♣.
The board ran clean with a runout of 6♦4♠Q♥3♣J♥ to end Giles’ hopes.
| Reza Houshmandi | 252,000 |
| Toby Giles | BUSTED! |
40 minutes to go!
Players have just completed their last break for the day and head into the last level for the day.
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Guerin gets the goods against Goodes
Didier Guerin joined the action late in this final flight of the Main Event and has already experienced a rollercoaster start.
In search of a crucial double-up, Guerin found his spot against Adam Goodes.
When Goodes raised to 45,000 from the small blind, Guerin responded by shoving all-in from middle position. The move sent Goodes deep into the tank before he eventually made the call, setting up a pivotal showdown.
Guerin: A♦K♦
Goodes: J♣10♣
Board: Q♠8♥4♥K♠4♣
With Guerin finding the goods against Goodes, he now sits a bit more comfortably on 220,000.
Fang bests Best
Gavin Best was all in as we arrived at the table, with Sherry Fang having already called and Nick Wright in the tank.
Wright eventually made the call, and the three saw a flop.
Flop: Q♣5♦5♥
Fang and Wright both checked.
The turn brought the 7♠, prompting Fang to bet 50,000, which quickly forced Wright to fold.
Best revealed J♠J♣, while Fang showed A♦Q♦. Needing a jack to stay alive, the river brought the 2 of hearts, sealing Best’s fate and sending him to the rail.
| Sherry Fang | 585,000 |
| Gavin Best | BUSTED! |
Royal Alert!
Pre-flop action saw Oleg Ivanchenko get all 105,000 of his chips in the middle with A♦K♦ against Jimmy Tran’s K♠K♣.
Ivanchenko flopped a flush on 6♦Q♦J♦ but the turn brought the magical 10♦.
The irrelevant river brought the 7♣, but all the phones were out capturing the rare moment as Ivanchenko helped himself to a timely double.
| Oleg Ivanchenko | 220,000 |
| Jimmy Tran | 285,000 |
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Fang attacks
We caught some hefty action at Table 14 without even proceeding to a flop, with two big stacks colliding.
Sherry Fang opened to 16,000 from UTG+1, and was called by the player on the button. Alex Ibrahim put in the three-bet to 65,000. Fang pondered her options before grabbing slightly more than half her chip stack and betting 176,000.
The button cleared the way before Ibrahim also sent his cards to the muck, letting our reporter know, “It was a tough spot!”
| Sherry Fang | 472,000 |
| Alex Ibrahim | 465,000 |
Baz’s gamble pays off
We caught some three-way all-in action with Adam “Baz” Albarri declaring he was “gambling” when he turned over his Q♠J♠.
He was live against a shorter-stacked opponent with 9♠9♥, but was in trouble and at-risk against Leo Lee’s A♦Q♦.
The board ran out J♦7♥2♥8♥Q♣ to hand Albarri a huge boost to his stack taking him to more than 250,000.
Level 14: 3,000/5,000 (5,000)
Tran gets one back on Goodes
Jimmy Tran was the man in the middle in the hand before the last break, literally in between Chin Yaw Chan and Adam Goodes as they flipped their Queens versus Ace-King.
Tran had three-bet folded, and now is looking to get some chips back.
We caught action on a flop of Q♠7♠Q♥, where a pot of more than 50,000 sat in the middle with Goodes having wagered 16,000. Tran check-raised to 37,000, sending Goodes into deep thought before making the fold.
Tran raked in the pot, taking his stack above the 240,000 mark.
Bounce-to for Rounce-Sue
In a tense hand, Mai Ha opened from middle position for 8,000, and JP Rounce-Sue raised it to 24,000. Yuan Ting Wang in the big blind came over the top with a 64,000 raise, sending Ha to fold. Rounce-Sue made the call.
Flop: 10♠3♦K♦
Both players checked.
Turn: Q♦
Wang checked again, and Rounce-Sue fired 42,000. Wang made the call.
River: 7♠
Wang checked once more, and after a brief moment of thought, Rounce-Sue announced “all-in”. The dealer placed the all-in tile in front of him. Wang asked for a count to which the dealer cut out Rounce-Sue’s bet totalling 77,000, then spent several moments shuffling his chips before ultimately deciding to fold.
Rounce-Sue scooped the pot, soaring to a stack of over 300,000.
| JP Rounce-Sue | 305,000 |
| Yuan Ting Wang | 175,000 |
Top counts after the break
The average stack count has increased to more than 150,000 after the break, with just 112 remaining from today’s field of 430.
Here are some of the biggest stacks we could find, with Dean Blatt still maintaining the chip lead over the course of the last session.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Dean Blatt | 465,000 |
| Van Tran | 405,000 |
| Adam Goodes | 390,000 |
| Alex Lee | 355,000 |
| Yuan Ting Wang | 310,000 |
| Ehsan Amiri | 255,000 |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Goodes wins monster pot
Right on the cusp of the break, action on Table 21 commenced with a raise from Chin Yaw Chan, making it 6,500 from the cutoff. Jimmy Tran three-bet from the button, and Adam Goodes tanked from the small blind before jamming for roughly 200,000.
Chan tanked for about 30 seconds and put the rest of his chips in the middle, slightly less than Goodes’ total. Tran had a look of anguish before he found the fold and let a huge flip play out.
Chan: A♣K♦
Goodes: Q♠Q♦
An Ace in the window prompted a muted scream from Chan, as the board completed 3♠7♥A♠5♥K♠ to send Chan to the rail and hand Goodes a mammoth stack.
| Adam Goodes | 390,000 |
| Chin Yaw Chan | BUSTED! |
Reza’s Turn
On Table 10, Reza Houshmandi opened the action to 6,500 from under-the-gun. It folded around to Usukhbayar Unurbayar in the big blind, who made the call.
On a flop of K♥3♥10♠, Unurbayar check-called Houshmandi’s continuation bet of 4,500.
On the 3♠ turn, both players checked to let the dealer put out the J♦ river.
Unurbayar lead out for 22,000 and was snap-called, with Houshmandi’s A♠A♣ giving him a better two-pair than Unurbayar’s K♦J♥.
Reza raked in the pot, and announced it was the first time today that he got the pocket rockets.
| Reza Houshmandi | 167,500 |
| Usukhbayar Unurbayar | 84,000 |
Crilly applies some pressure
Action began with Crilly opening to 6,000 from the hijack, with the small blind making the call to go heads-up to the flop.
Flop: A♣5♣3♣
Check, bet 4,000, call.
Turn: 8♠
With the pot now at 26,000, and after another check from the small blind, Crilly ramped up the aggression with a bet of 18,000. After some thought, the small blind called again.
River: 10♥
The small blind checked one final time, and Crilly fired a sizeable bet of 73,000. The small blind went deep into the tank but ultimately folded, sending the pot to Crilly without a showdown. Crilly now sits on 166,000.
Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Another victim to the KK v AA…
During the intense Hulley vs. Huang hand, a sudden uproar was heard from a distant table. Torn between capturing the ongoing action and investigating the outcries, our reporter quickly ran over, snapped a photo, noted the players involved, and made it back just in time to catch the conclusion of the Hulley hand. A recap was easy to get from the players involved.
Having not read the previous post where Aces are no good in this poker room, Fred Litchfield had opened, only to be raised by James Ong. Litchfield jammed and Ong was quick to make the call.
Litchfield: A♦A♠
Ong: K♦K♠
An A♣ in the window was extremely promising for Litchfield but as the story goes, bullets are no good here and the rest of flop came K♣K♥ giving just a measly QUADS to Ong. We suppose this is why the uproar!
The turn and river delivered no help to Litchfield who was looking for the last ace in the deck.
Once again, let this be a reminder… kings are greater than aces here in Sydney.
| James Ong | 160,000 |
| Fred Litchfield | 26,000 |
Hulley up!
Tom Hulley and Yaode Huang, one of the big stacks, clashed in a huge pot.
Hulley raised to 5,500 from middle position, and Huang made the call in the big blind. The other players stepped aside.
Flop: K♥5♠6♦
Huang checked, Hulley fired a 5,000 continuation bet, and Huang raised to 15,000, to which Hulley called.
Turn: 10♣
Huang led out for 21,000. Once again sending Hulley into the tank.
River: 6♠
Huang checked, Hulley bet 30,000, and Huang moved all in. After another seemingly long tank of which there was enough time for us to get a story from another table, Hulley called for his tournament life with 61,000 total.
Huang turned over pocket nines, but Hulley revealed A♠K♠ for the higher two pair, scooping the pot.
“You win,” Huang admitted as he lay his nines down. Hulley raked in the chips, boosting his stack and staying alive in the tournament.
| Tom Hulley | 215,000 |
| Yaode Huang | 117,000 |
Flip it up!
We caught a flip between Brett Rovere and Weiran Li, with action beginning with an upon to 5,000 from the under-the-gun player. Rovere called from middle position, and Li jammed over the top for 37,500.
Rovere was the only caller, as the two saw they were off to the races.
Rovere: 10♠10♣
Li: A♠K♠
Board: A♣6♣7♠Q♥7♥
Rovere was still smiling and quipped, “There you go, chipped you up!”
| Brett Rovere | 170,000 |
| Werian Li | 81,000 |
Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Pipped by one
JP Rounce-Sue opened the action with a raise to 4,000 from UTG. Action folded around to a player in the cutoff, who jammed for their remaining 22,000.
Mai Ha re-jammed, but found quick folds from the other players to clear the way for the two to head to showdown.
Ha’s 9♠9♣ had his opponent’s 8♠8♥ in bad shape, with the runout 4♣5♦5♥Q♣K♠ improving neither player.
| Mai Ha | 97,000 |
Steel holds up
We got over to Table 12 just in time to to see a three-way all in between Jeremy Steel, Ilavenil Arumugam and another unknown player.
Steel: J♠J♦
Arumugam: A♠K♠
Unknown: A♦2♦
The players were shocked to realise no players had a heart in their hands as the board ran 5♥4♥7♥10♥7♦.
No improvement came for any player, with Steel’s pair of Jacks holding up three-ways. His count of 36,000 improved to over 100,000, with the shorter Arumugam eliminated as a result.
Best to get it in pre
Gavin Best woke up with A♥K♥ at the right time, with UTG opening the action with a raise to 4,000, and the button jamming for their remaining 35,000.
Best promptly called and the original raiser got out of the way.
Best had his opponent’s A♠Q♣ dominated, with the board running out clean to grant Best a scalp and take his stack to 85,000.
Board: 8♠2♥4♥5♣10♣
Rego closed | Total field of 1,035 entries in 2024 WSOP-C Sydney Main Event
Upon returning from the break, the field for Day 1C locked out with a total of 430 entries – over 100 more than yesterday’s 318.
This sets prize-pool at $2,277,000 with payouts to be confirmed by Star Poker tomorrow.
Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
WSOP-C Sydney Breaks 1,000 Entries, Prize Pool Climbs Over $2.2 Million
The 2024 WSOP-C Sydney at The Star has smashed expectations, with over 1,000 entries logged across the three starting flights and a staggering prize pool exceeding $2.2 million. Players from all corners of the poker world in Australia and with some international guests have gathered for their shot at WSOP-C glory, making this one of the most exciting stops on the circuit.
The massive turnout is a testament to the enduring appeal of the WSOP-C and the exciting poker scene in Australia.
The tournament so far has seen a mix of seasoned pros, local grinders, and recreational players battling it out for a share of the life-changing payouts. As the remaining flight plays out, players are focused on bagging a stack and securing their place for Day 2.
Billy “The Croc” Argyros sat down with The Star’s Tanera Nathan for a chat to camera to discuss the success of this year’s tournament. The interview will be posted to https://www.facebook.com/thestarpokersydney so keep an eye out there!
Heading in to the dinner break now, we got a handful of chip counts from around the room for Day 1C. With 6 more levels of play to go, will someone surpass Adam Kharman at the end of the day and reach that million mark?
| Player | Chip Count |
| Dean Blatt | 320,000 |
| Brett Rovere | 240,000 |
| Alex Lee | 235,000 |
| Josh McSwiney | 235,000 |
| Van Tran | 225,000 |
| Todor Kondevski | 220,000 |
| Yoade Huang | 210,000 |
| Neng Zhao | 169,000 |
| Higor Seibel | 163,000 |
| Chin Yaw Chan | 120,000 |
| Lachlan Crilly | 99,300 |
Goodes: “You weren’t recording that one, were you?”
We waked over to Table 21 to see Michael Kaanan all in for his remaining 18,200 into a pot of almost 30,000 with a board reading 8♣K♦10♦5♥.
Adam Goodes was in the tank, and took his time before making the call, shaking his head with disappointment when Kanaan turned over A♠A♣.
Goodes turned over Q♣10♣ for second pair, needing help on the river.
Help is what he got, with the dealer providing the Q♠ on the river for two-pair.
He saw our reporter and immediately felt embarrassed, resigned to the fact his suck-out was going to feature on Poker Media Australia!
| Adam Goodes | 87,000 |
| Michael Kanaan | BUSTED! |
I have a Ten, U2 Bono?
Vaibhav Patodia, better known as “VB” got into a hand against Ricardo Bono.
Action opened with VB in the cutoff raising to 3,200. Bono defended his big blind and went to a flop heads-up.
On 4♦10♣6♦, Bono check-raised to 8,000 after VB continued for 2,400.
VB responded with a jam for 29,100. Bono called and the two went to showdown.
VB: 10♠9♠
Bono: 10♦8♦
Bono’s flush draw made him a slight favourite on the flop, but the turn and river ran out Q♥,Q♣ to see VB double up to 67,000. Bono still sits healthily with 91,500 in his stack.
Level 9: 800/1600 (1600)
Bhatt-ering with Unurbayar
One of the chip leaders Usukhbayar Unurbayar with close to 200,000 just battled Pranav Bhatt.
Bhatt raised pre-flop to 2,600 with Unurbayar bumping it up to 9,000. All other players got out of the way and Bhatt placed some yellow chips in to make the call.
Board: 9♥Q♦8♦
An easy check/check and the turn 10♥ is peeled by the dealer.
Bhatt bets 12,000 with a call from Unurbayar.
River: K♠
24,000 is placed across the line from Bhatt. A short tank, call and then muck from Unurbayar after Bhatt’s A♦J♦ is turned over for the high straight.
Kim Liv’s to fight on
Four-way action on a flop of A♦5♦6♦ began with limps from both UTG and UTG+1, before Dexter Wang raised to 3,200 from middle position.
Kim Liv made the call from the lojack and so did the two limpers, as they saw the flop with 14,800 in the middle.
There were two checks to Wang, who continued for 7,000 before Liv moved all in, covering Wang.
Wang put in his remaining 37,300 and the two went to showdown.
Liv: Q♦J♦
Wang: 5♠5♥
Turn: 8♥
River: 2♥
With no board-pair to help Wang, Liv’s flush was good enough to effect the knockout.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Kim Liv | 102,000 |
| Dexter Wang | BUSTED! |
Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Ibrahim involved in two big spots
Alex Ibrahim enjoyed an eventful Level 7 over on Table 39.
He won a pre-flop three-way all in, with his A♥Q♦ holding against A♠9♠ and a smaller stack’s K♠Q♣. Despite a sweaty turn card, Ibrahim’s all in of 41,700 turn into 102,500 thanks to a runout of 7♠8♦J♥Q♠J♦.
This knocked out one player, and left the other with less than 2 big blinds, which went in the next hand with 9♥4♥ against Ibrahim’s K♣9♣. The board paired each player’s 9, but Ibrahim’s superior kicker meant a second knockout for him in as many hands.
A short time later. we caught pre-flop action with Ali Ghezelbash opening to 2,000 from UTG. Ibrahim raised to 8,000 and Phoebe Yan re-raised to 18,000 from the button. Ghezelbash called, and Ibrahim then moved all-in.
Yan folded, and Ghezelbash took a moment and called.
Ibrahim turned over his K♠K♥, only for Ghezelbash to reveal his K♦K♣.
The flop gave Ghezelbash a freeroll with two clubs on 2♥9♣10♣, only for the J♣ turn to provide a very real sweat for Ibrahim.
Ghezelbash asked the dealer not to give him a straight flush and the dealer obliged, putting a 10♦ on the river to split the pot.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Alex Ibrahim | 112,600 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | 89,100 |
Friendly fire
Two South Australians went head-to-head, with Higor Seibel being involved once more.
Pre-flop, there was a limp from UTG+1, with action folding around to Adelaide’s Rajat Sidana in the small-blind, who shoved for his last 8,000.
Seibel tanked in the big blind and placed a re-raise which quickly folded out the limper.
Seibel: A♣10♣.
Sidana: Q♥8♦.
Board: K♦3♠3♣3♥5♠.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Higor Seibel | 61,600 |
| Raj Sidana | BUSTED! |
Hulley grinds
Tom Hulley bled down to below start stack before getting into a hand against Andre Dowling.
Hulley opened to 2,000 from UTG, and found calls from Dowling on the button and Brett Rovere in the small blind.
The 6♣Q♦J♣ flop saw Dowling as the only caller of Hulley’s 4,000 c-bet.
The turn brought a third club in the form of the 2♣. Hulley took his time before putting in 6,000 and Dowling quickly raised to cover Hulley, who called to put his tournament life at risk for his remaining 17,200.
Hulley: 6♥6♦
Dowling: A♣9♥
River: J♦
Dowling’s nut flush draw did not eventuate, only filling up Hulley’s set to double him up.
The very next hand, Dowling opened to 4,000 with Hulley defending the big blind and seeing the flop spread 8♥K♥5♥. Both players checked through to the Q♣ turn.
Hulley checked, Dowling bet 5,000 and Hulley folded, announcing, “You can have this one!” as he turned over A♠J♠. Dowling showed he had turned a set, tabling Q♠Q♦.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Tom Hulley | 46,000 |
| Andre Dowling | 54,500 |
Bullets firing blanks
The pocket rockets. Bullets. Best starting hand. Etc etc. UNLESS you’re in The Star Sydney playing the WSOP-C this series.
Yet again we see the bullets firing but they just seem to be shooting blanks.
Toby Joyce is the next player to be so fortunate to receive the cowboys against his opponent’s aces and finds a double up.
Joyce: K♦K♠
Opponent: A♣A♦
Board: 10♠K♣3♠9♥5♦
Take heed… kings > aces…
| Toby Joyce | 79,000 |
A few hot chip stacks around the room
We have just completed a break and players are returning to the tables to head into Level 7. 348 entries and climbing, the prizepool has been confirmed to be over $2mil.
Here are a few stack counts from around The Star Poker Room here in Sydney.
| Player | Chip Count |
| Yaode Huang | 265,000 |
| Damien Stewart | 235,000 |
| Usukhbayar Unurbayar | 194,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 183,500 |
| Jordan Bautista | 166,000 |
| Dean Blatt | 160,000 |
| Phillip Kyaw Thuang | 146,000 |
| Jza Yzng Ni | 145,000 |
| Thibaut Fixari | 140,000 |
| Ken Demlakian | 136,000 |
| Sandra Marshall | 120,000 |
| Zhen Hao Hu | 118,800 |
| Michael Zhang | 99,300 |
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Pro Bono
On Table 9, Ricardo Bono opened the action from under-the-fun, was called by Paris Sitzoukis in the small blind, and faced a three-bet from Daniel Tolomeo in the big-blind.
Bono moved all in for his last 24,100, folding out Sitzoukis but getting a call from Tolomeo.
Bono: 10♥10♣
Tolomeo: 7♠7♣
The board gave the table a reason to gasped, as it spread 7♦9♣9♥10♠3♥, giving both players full houses.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Ricardo Bono | 50,600 |
| Daniel Tolomeo | 72,500 |
Board assists in avoiding cooler
Alex Lee and Emad Mouref were involved in a hand together, with Le opening from UTG, and Mouref the only caller, defending from the small-blind.
The flop spread J♠A♣10♣, and Mouref check-called Le’s continuation bet of 1,800.
Both players checked through the final two streets as the board completed with K♦,Q♦ to put broadway on the board.
Both players revealed their cards to reveal Mouref had flopped two-pair, whilst Le had turned a better two-pair, only for the nuts on the board to see them each take half the pot.
Alex Lee: K♥J♥
Emad Mouref: J♦10♦
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Alex Lee | 45,600 |
| Emad Mouref | 40,300 |
Level 6: 400/800 (800)
Tony ABG C puts on the pressure
Our reporter had a glance at Table 6 to see a three-way pot between Huey Lam, Mark Yazbeck, and Tony C.
9,900 was already in the middle as the flop spread 8♥5♣7♠, and the three players checked it through to the A♥ turn.
Yazbeck checked, Lam lead for 2,800 and Tony C raised to 8,000. Yazbeck reluctantly folded and Lam slowly slid his cards to the muck also.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Tony C | 52,400 |
| Huey Lam | 150,200 |
| Mark Yazbeck | 50,500 |
K-Kanaan with a Stark call
Catching the action once the cards were dealt we turn our heads to see an all in from Michael Kanaan and a call from Shane Stark.
Stark had opened pre-flop with a 3-bet. Kanaan jammed his last remaining 9-bigs into the middle and the call came from Stark.
Kanaan: K♥K♣
Stark: A♣4♣
With the K♠ in the window Kanaan sighed a small relief as the flop played out with Q♣7♥.
The turn 4♠ meant nothing and just to further secure it all the K♦ on the river gave Kanaan the quads and much needed double up.
Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Rao doubles through Hovagimian
Aditya Rao is also one of the newly-arrived Adelaideans, and Vahe Hovagimian, Sydney local, found himself in a race against Rao’s all-in pre-flop bet.
Rao pushed his 29,000 stack in announcing his move. Hovagimian snap called and we went to a flop.
Rao: A♣K♥
Hovagimian: Q♥Q♠
It didn’t take long for the race to be over with the A♥ on the flop. Even a back door flush would be no help, Hovagimian needed a Queen but his lady was nowhere to be seen.
Board: 3♥A♥10♦2♦4♠
Rao doubles and now sits on 65,000.
Seibel’s aggression backfires
Adelaide’s Higor Seibel has been on the felt here since Friday but has been joined by a large contingent of fellow South Australians who have arrived today, including: Gavin Best, Adam Cusenza, Amin Chehade, Jerry Yang and Elliot Esca to name a few.
Seibel is known for his signature aggressive play style, which has seen him almost double his start stack so far, but we caught a hand from the turn where it worked against him.
We caught action from the turn on a board spread Q♦4♥6♥8♠. 25,500 was in the middle and Seibel had wagered 9,000 from the big blind position.
Lucho Vargas was in middle position and took his time before announcing all-in for approximately 18,000 more, but it was enough for Seibel to snap fold, seeming caught out.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Lucho Vargas | 72,000 |
| Higor Seibel | 59,000 |
Split it up
We caught the action on the flop, where there were four players in a limped pot to see a flop of 8♥10♣3♣.
The big-blind player, Phillip Kyaw Thaung, lead out for a near-pot sized 2,200. He was called in one spot by Pranav Bhatt from UTG+1.
The turn brought the 2♦, Kyaw Thaung bet 4,500 and Bhatt called.
On the K♥ river, Kyaw Thaung bet 6,500 and Bhatt took a little bit of time before throwing in calling chips.
They both then wished for four minutes of their life back when they went to showdown.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Phillip Kyaw Thaung | 95,000 |
| Pranav Bhatt | 59,000 |
Level 4: 300/500 (500)
15-minute break… for most
The field has climbed to 283 entries as of the first break, with the remaining 269 players now on a 15-minute break, except for some of the players on Table 8.
We walked over and caught Phil Newbull in the tank facing a river bet with more than four minutes of break time used up.
A small crowd had built around the only table with a hand still running, as Newbull pondered what he might be up again on a completed board of J♠5♥K♥4♣5♠.
More than 22,000 was in the pot, and the bet was 11,700. Newbull made the call, leaving himself just about 11,000 behind.
His opponent said, “Good call, I haven’t got anything.” Mucking their hand in the process.
Newbull’s K♠Q♦ was good to take the pot and increase his stack to 55,500 at the break.
Family time
A six-way limped pot is as close as you’ll get to a family pot in a $2,500 Main Event, and that’s what we witnessed in the dying stage of Level 3.
With 2,800 in the middle preflop, all players checked through to the turn onA♠6♥6♣8♠.
The player in the small blind lead out for one big blind, with all five others making the call for 400 chips.
The board completed with 7♦ and river action checked through, with one player tabling Q♠9♠ for queen high with a missed flush draw. Daniel Tolomeo turned over 10♥8♥, and it was good!
Tolomeo scraped a pot of 37 black (100) chips and one blue (500) chips, taking his count to 44,600 at the break.
Just a mini one
Higor Seibel checked under the gun on a board of 3♥9♠3♠10♠ on a 9,000 pot. His opponent checked behind.
The river brings the 2♠ and Seibel made a bet of 2,200.
Tanking briefly his opponent folds and Seibel took down this pot bringing his stack up to 92,000.
Ladies Day!
It’s Ladies Day here at The Star, with some of poker’s most notable women taking their seats. Among them are Michelle Psarras, Suzy Khoueis, and Heidi May, to name just a few. Over on Table 23, Nikki Turner is joined by Marianne Crane and Jacqueline Slyer.
In the hijack position Turner put in a bet of 1,000, followed by calls from the cut-off, dealer and big blind player.
The flop – 2♦3♥7♥
A check from Slyer in the big blind and Turner throws out a bet of 1,000. The cut-off and button players make the call and Slyer folds.
The turn – J♥
It’s a check round to the button who bets 3,500. There was no hesitation from Turner or the cut-off player.
The river – 4♥
Turner makes a bet of 3,500. Both other players call with Turner tabling Q♠J♠ for the win. The other players take no time in mucking as Turner rakes in the pot.
| Player Name | Chip Count |
| Nikki Turner | 72,000 |
Level 3: 200/400 (400)
Thousand within reach…
With 287 entries on Day 1A and 318 for yesterday’s Day 1B, the magic number today is 395.
That magic number is the field total we need today to hit 1,000 entries in this WSOP-Circuit Main Event.
As of the end of Level 2, we’ve hit over 220 entries, with registration open right through until 7pm this evening.
Adam’s good
Adam Goodes is in the building, and the Sydney Swans legend found exactly what he needed after losing the first three hands he played today, and was gracious enough to recount the hand to our reporter.
He found himself down to 34,000 from the initial 40,000 starting stack, and woke up with A♥A♦ in the cutoff.
The player in the lojack opened pre-flop, raising to 600. Goodes re-raised 1,600, and the small-blind three-bet to 3,200. The lojack folded and Goodes raised to 8,500 and was called by the small-blind to see a 3♦3♣6♠ flop.
The small-blind check-called Goodes’ bet of 6,000 before they both checked the 3♥ turn.
The small-blind lead out for 7,000 on the 7♣ river and called Goodes’ jam for his remaining 19,000. The small-blind’s pocket Queens out-boated by Goodes’ Aces.
| Player | Chips |
| Adam Goodes | 73,000 |
Level 2: 200/300 (300)
Field of contenders
Strong start for Psarras
Michelle Psarras has almost doubled her stack within the first level of play here on Day 1C of the WSOP-C Sydney Main Event, showing down pocket Queens three times in the first 40-minutes of play.
In one hand, she peeled Q♥Q♣ from under-the-gun and raised to 600. The player to her direct left re-raised to 1,600 from UTG+1.
Michelle check-called a continuation bet of 2,600 on a 10♥2♣10♦ flop.
The turn brought concern for Psarras in the form of a K♥, with her checking once more. UTG+1 checked back to see another scare card for Psarras with the A♠ on the river.
Action went check-check and Psaras’s Queens were good.
The very next hand, The hijack player opens the action to 600, the button called and Psarras defended her button with A♦J♦.
She found top pair on the flop of 10♦2♣J♥, and lead for 1,100, finding the hijack as the only caller.
The turn gave Psarras top-two pair, with the A♠. She then check-called a small bet from the hijack to see the 7♣ river.
Psarras bet 3,500 and the hijack sigh-called and then mucked upon seeing the two-pair.
| Player | Chips |
| Michelle Psarras | 71,000 |
Welcome to Day 1C of the WSOP-C Sydney at The Star!
The final flight is here, and the poker room has a electric energy as players take their last shot to bag a stack for Day 2. With 605 entries already and plenty more expected today, the prizepool is looking to be over $2mil.
It’s time to shuffle up and deal! Stay tuned as we bring you all the action, big hands, and chip counts throughout the day. Who will rise to the top and secure their place in the next round? Let’s find out!
Level 1: 100/200 (200)
Last chance saloon
Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s coverage of the 2024 WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event, live from The Star Sydney.
Today sees the third and final Day 1 flight, following on from Friday’s impressive opening flight when 287 players took their seats, and the 318 who took part on Saturday. Of those, just 95 players have progressed so from a total of 605 starters but as always we’re expecting today’s flight to be the biggest of the three, suggesting a very healthy prize pool.
The man to catch after the opening flights is Adam Kharman, who bagged a massive 920,000 late last night ahead of Michael Levy on 779,000, while Friday saw Banipal Babana emerge on top with a stack of 724,000.
Check out our Day 1A and Day 1B blogs to see how the action unfolded.
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!
How come there is no WSOP merchandise on sale???