Hong Kong’s Leslie Tsui leads 12 players returning on Day 3 of WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event
After 11 long hours of play, Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event has come to an end with 12 players set to return on Tuesday to play down to a winner.
Emerging from the pack to take the chip lead into the final day is Hong Kong’s Leslie Tsui – a somewhat surprise frontrunner given that this is his first ever live tournament!
Speaking with PokerMedia Australia after bagging 6,250,000, Tsui said he has been playing socially with friends for a few years now but decided to try the live game during some time off work.
“I just got my annual leave, so I just took it and traveled to Sydney for this Main Event, then I’m going to travel to Jeju for the Red Dragon this week too.
“It’s just recreation – I wanted to travel and play some poker because I’ve been watching some videos like Triton and I feel like, why don’t I try it?”
The tournament chip lead changed hands multiple times late on Day 2, with Daniel Veljkovic storming to a strong lead at one point and Alex Ibrahim also enjoying his time out front after a huge call in a clash with Usukhbayer Unarbayar.
But it is Tsui on top for now and ready to resume tomorrow as the main man to catch.
Asked how he will approach Day 3, he smiled, “People usually say the chip leader should do chip leader things, but that might not be for long so I might just give a try and then if not, just be patient like what I did in these few days.
“Until [late on the day] I have been lower than average [stack] and just being patient all the time – waiting for the winning hands instead of monsters because you need winning hands instead of monster hands.”
Play resumes at 11:30am AEDT on Tuesday, with the remaining 12 players all guaranteed a $31.760 payday but chasing the $387,558 first place prize.
The chip stacks are as follows:
| Player | Chips |
| Leslie Tsui | 6,250,000 |
| Alex Ibrahim | 5,450,000 |
| Banipal Babana | 4,825,000 |
| Paris Sitzoukis | 4,450,000 |
| Daniel Veljkovic | 3,675,000 |
| Mufit Brahim | 3,300,000 |
| Jethro Horowitz | 3,225,000 |
| James Rubinski | 3,125,000 |
| Dean Blatt | 2,375,000 |
| Huey Lam | 1,900,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 1,450,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 1,450,000 |
Usukhbayer Unarbayar eliminated in 13th ($25,753)
Shortly after being crippled by Alex Ibrahim, Usukhbayer Unarbayar got his last 650,000 in holding 7♠3♥ and in big grouble against the K♦3♣ of Leslie Tsui, who called out of the big blind.
The board ran out A♥A♣6♣3♠10♦ to send Unarbayar to the rail just a few hands before the end of the day’s play.
What a call!
Action on Table 31 began with a raise from the lojack with Usukhbayer Unarbayar making it 200,000. Alex Ibrahim re-raised from the cutoff to 525,000. Unarbayar called to see a flop.
Flop: 4♥J♦6♦
Unarbayar checked and Ibrahim continued for for 300,000. Unarbayar slowly counted out a raise of 850,000 from his stack and slid it forward. Ibrahim gave time to think and then called.
The turn brought a double flush draw, with the 5♥.
Unarbayar pulled the trigger and shoved for 2,275,000 – an amount that covered Ibrahim’s stack.
Ibrahim was sent into a spin, verbalising his thoughts as he tried to put Unarbayar on a hand.
Out of nowhere he slammed down calling chips and turned over A♥6♥ with his Main Event at risk.
Unarbayar turned over K♠Q♠. The river came the 7♣ to hand Ibrahim one of the biggest pots of the tournament, and win the praise of both tablemates and onlookers for finding the call.
Ibrhahim moves to 6,850,000 and Unarbayar is left with just 70,000.
Riyazati doubles
Daniel Veljkovic has been opening every hand recently and did so again in the cutoff to 225,000. Amin Riyazati shoved from the big blind for a little over a million and Veljkovic called.
It was Veljkovic with a slight edge holding A♠8♦ to Riyazati’s K♠J♣ but the K♣ on the flop was enough to ship the pot his way as he doubles through to survive.
Veljkovic gets busy
Daniel Veljkovic is starting to build quite a healthy chip lead in the final level of the day’s play. We caught him 3-betting to 800,000 from the big blind after Sherry Fang opened UTG to 250,000, then continuing with a bet of 175,000 on the A♠8♥2♣ flop.
Fang called to see the Q♥ on the turn and both players checked.
When the 7♠ arrived on the river, Veljkovic bet 350,000 and Fang called but mucked when he showed A♥A♣.
Next hand Jethro Horowitz opened the button to 225,000 but folded when Veljkovic 3-bet to 600,000.
He now sits with a very healthy 6.8 million.
Final level of Day 2
13 players remain, average stack now stands at more than 3,180,000, and the end of a long day’s play draws near. Keep tuning in over the course of the next hour for updates!
Chip counts
| Player | Chips |
| Daniel Veljkovic | 5,450,000 |
| Leslie Tsui | 4,575,000 |
| Usukhbayer Unarbayar | 4,550,000 |
| Paris Sitzoukis | 3,825,000 |
| Alex Ibrahim | 3,300,000 |
| James Rubinski | 3,125,000 |
| Mufit Brahim | 3,050,000 |
| Banipal Babana | 3,025,000 |
| Dean Blatt | 2,375,000 |
| Jethro Horowitz | 2,375,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 2,275,000 |
| Huey Lam | 2,050,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 1,500,000 |
Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Break time
Players are now on their last 15-minute break of the night. When they return, we will play either one more level, or stop should we reach the final table of nine. There are currently 13 players remaining.
Bad hand, can’t fold
Jethro Horowitz opened to 150,000 from the cutoff, with Banipal Babana defending his big blind.
The two went heads-up to a flop of 2♠K♣9♠, and Babana checked the action over to Horowitz who bet 75,000.
Babana called the flop bet, as well as Horowitz’ turn bet of 225,000 on the 3♣.
The river came the 9♦, Babana checked a third time, and Horowitz fired a third bullet.
This time, Horowitz was all in for his last 675,000, sending Babana into the blender.
“I’ve got a really bad hand, but I don’t think I can fold this,” he declared.
He threw in the call and the two went to showdown.
Horowitz: K♥9♥
Babana: A♥Q♦
A full house more than good enough to beat Ace-high, sending Horowitz’ stack to 2,375,000 and Babana’s to 3,025,000.
Stephen Larkman eliminated in 14th ($21,090)
Stephen Larkman got his last 950,000 in holding 9♠9♣ but was way behind the A♥A♦ of Sherry Fang.
The board bricked and the field is narrowed even further with just 13 players remaining.
Josh McSwiney eliminated in 15th ($25,753)
Usukhbayer Unarbayar opened the action on Table 31 with a raise to 175,000 from the hijack. Play folded to Josh McSwiney in the small blind, who put his remaining 1,175,000 all in. Unarbayar snap-called, immediately turning over his A♠A♥.
McSwiney called for clubs as he revealed his K♣J♣.
The flop had McSwiney drawing thin, only to be turned dead as the board ran 3♠Q♥Q♣Q♠7♠ to see him walk away with more than $25,000 as a consolation.
Unarbayar now moves to 5,400,000.
Mufit brings the hammer down
After Amin Riyazati opened to 150, Mutif Brahim 3-bet to 375,000 in late position and Riyazati made the call.
The flop of 10♣K♦6♠ saw Riyazati check-call a bet of 225,000 before both players checked the 4♦ turn.
When the river landed the 8♦, Riyazati led for 550,000 only for Brahim to jam for 2 million total. That sent Riyazati deep into the tank before he eventually folded.
| Mufit Brahim | 2,265,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 2,000,000 |
Joe Sandaev eliminated in 16th ($21,090)
Alex Ibrahim opened to 150,000 in early position and a short-stacked Joe Sandaev re-raised, leaving just 75,000 behind. Ibrahim duly put him all-in with Sandaev pausing to see what action was taking place on the other table before calling.
It was Sandaev’s A♠Q♥ up against the Q♣Q♠ of Ibrahim as the board ran out 10-high to leave us with 15 players remaining and another pay jump.
Ibrahim moves to 3,950,000 after that hand.
Level 26: 50,000/75,000 (75,000)
Hieu Nguyen eliminated in 17th ($21,090)
In one of the biggest hands of the day – and the most outrageous – Hieu Nguyen shoved for his last 1,125,000 before Jethro Horowitz jammed over the top on the button. Daniel Veljkovic then reshoved and it was a 3-way pre-flop all-in as the cards were shown.
Jethro Horowitz: A♠A♥
Daniel Veljkovic: Q♦10♣
Hieu Nguyen: A♣Q♥
It looked to be all over for Veljkovic and Nguyen but miraculously the case Queen came on the flop, rocketing Veljkovic into the lead. The board ran out 9♠Q♠8♥8♦6♠ to eliminate Nguyen.
| Daniel Veljkovic | 4,095,000 |
| Jethro Horowitz | 1,015,000 |
| Hieu Nguyen | BUSTED |
Chak Hei Chan eliminated in 18th ($21,090)
Having lost s stack of chips moments earlier in a hand against Usukhbayar Unarbayar, Chak Hei Chan shoves for his last 390,000 holding A♠6♣ and was looked up by Leslie Tsui with J♣J♠.
The board ran out 7♠9♣9♥5♣7♦ as Chan heads to the rail.
Crilly crushed
Lachlan Crilly was extremely short-stacked when he shoved for his last few hundred thousand in chips and was called by Chak Hei Chan.
Crilly turned over A♠Q♥ but was in trouble against the A♣K♠ of Chan. The K♣ in the window was bad news for Crilly and he couldn’t find any miracles to stay alive.
We are now down to our final two tables with 18 players remaining.
Ibrahim bluffs his way to glory
Alex Ibrahim opened from the small to 165,000 and was called in the big blind by Chak Hei Chan. The flop came 5♠A♦J♠ and Ibrahim continued for 150,000 with Chan making the call.
On the 9♣ turn Ibrahim fired again for 375,000 and Chan came along for the ride.
However, when Ibrahim jammed the 10♦ river, Chan went deep into the tank before reluctantly folding his cards.
Ibrahim thought for a moment before showing the bluff … K♣3♣!
| Alex Ibrahim | 2,665,000 |
| Chak Hei Chan | 700,000 |
Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Pot builds to more than twice average stack
Amin Riyazati raised to 100,000 from the lojack during seven-handed play.
Hieu Nguyen was next to act, and made it 260,000. Riyazati called to see a flop of 6♠7♣3♥.
Riyazati check-called Nguyen’s continuation bet of 160,000.
Riyazati checked once again as the turn came the 3♣. Nguyen bet 285,000 and was met with a check-raise from Riyazati to 585,000. Nguyen put in the 300,000 more.
The river brought the 10♥, and Riyazati took the betting lead, wagering 475,000.
After close to a minute, Nguyen raised to 1,235,000. Riyazati went into the tank for almost two minutes and made the call.
Nguyen turned over A♦8♥ for Ace-high, with Amin’s rivered top pair with 10♣8♣ good enough to rake in a pot of more than 4,600,000. This launches Riyazati into the chip lead with more than 5,200,000, leaving Nguyen with 1,050,000.
Joseph Boustani hits the rail
Joseph Boustani shoved for the last of his chips from the button holding K♠J♥ and was called by Leslie Tsui with Q♦Q♥.
The board ran out 10♣2♦8♠A♦J♦ to send the chips Tsui’s way.
With that we are down to 19 players remaining.
| Leslie Tsui | 1,980,000 |
| Joseph Boustani | BUSTED |
Over the Hill
Amin Riyazati opened to 100,000 from the cut-off before Robert Hill 3-bet all-in from the small blind for 760,000. It folded back around to Riyazati who quickly called, tabling 8♠8♦.
Hill held K♣Q♣ but fell way behind on the A♠4♣8♥ flop. The 7♣ turn gave him flush outs but the 9♠ river sealed his fate as he fell in 22nd place.
Riyazati now sits with 2.9 million.
Jehu given out
Liam Jehu placed a majority of his stack in the middle from under-the-gun, raising to 130,000, leaving 70,000 behind. Action then folded to Dean Blatt on the button who announced a re-raise to the minimum amount (210,000) – enough to cover Jehu.
The two went to showdown, and Jehu’s A♣8♣ needed to catch up against Blatt’s [invalid notations].
The board ran out 2♣J♠J♥A♥7♣, with Jehu’s fate all but sealed.
Level 24: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
McSwiney doubles up
Josh McSwiney shoved from middle position and it was folded around to Usukhbayer Unarbayar who made the call.
It was a fair fight, although McSwiney’s K♣J♣ needed some help against the A♣Q♥ of Unarbayar. That help arrived on the 10♥K♦2♠9♠Q♠ as McSwiney survives.
| Usukhbayer Unarbayar | 2,290,000 |
| Joshua McSwiney | 1,500,000 |
Steel strung out
Huey Lam opened to 80,000 on the button before Jeremy Steel shoved for his remaining 680,000. Lam thought for a while but ultimately made the call, turning over J♠J♦ to be racing against Steel’s A♠K♠.
The board ultimately bricked for Steel, running out 4♣5♠Q♦Q♠2♦ to send another to the rail.
With that we’re down to 27 players remaining and the final three tables, with all remaining players guaranteed a minimum $12,300 payout.
No luck for Yifeng
It was a rough few minutes for Yifeng Zhang upon returning from the dinner break. After losing a big flip against Hieu Nguyen, he opened next hand from the hijack but folded when Jethro Horowitz raised big enough to put him all-in.
For the third hand in a row, Yifeng opened to 80,000, then shoved when. Horowitz 3-bet to 220,000. Horowitz snap-called with Aces to be way ahead of Yifeng’s AJ and when no miracle arrived we were one player less in the field.
Level 23: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
All counts at the break – Sitzoukis sizzles
Melbourne’s Paris Sitzoukis holds the biggest stack of our remaining players. Average stack is 1,293,750.
| Player | Counts |
| Paris Sitzoukis | 3,435,000 |
| Jethro Horowitz | 2,865,000 |
| Yifeng Zhang | 2,365,000 |
| Usukhbayer Unarbayar | 2,175,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 2,105,000 |
| Huey Lam | 2,100,000 |
| Banipal Babana | 2,275,000 |
| James Rubinski | 1,710,000 |
| Alex Ibrahim | 1,640,000 |
| Mufit Brahim | 1,560,000 |
| Chak Hei Chan | 1,520,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 1,410,000 |
| Daniel Veljkovic | 1,300,000 |
| Leslie Tsui | 1,190,000 |
| Hieu Nguyen | 1,165,000 |
| Ivan Jakovac | 1,100,000 |
| Dean Blatt | 1,950,000 |
| Jeremy Steel | 825,000 |
| Josh McSwiney | 820,000 |
| Liam Jehu | 880,000 |
| Jiaying Ni | 970,000 |
| Lachlan Crilly | 780,000 |
| Joseph Boustani | 780,000 |
| Zhang Hongtao | 730,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 680,000 |
| Stephen Larkman | 495,000 |
| Robert Hill | 455,000 |
| Weiran Li | 450,000 |
| Jiapeng Yang | 465,000 |
| Andrew Convrey | 400,000 |
| Kushal Shirodkar | 350,000 |
Dinner time
The 32 remaining players are currently on a 45-minute dinner break.
Jethro Toll
In a remarkable hand on our Feature Table, Jethro Horowitz’s decision to slow-play a monster paid off big time against Jiapeng Yang.
It was blind-versus-blind, with the action folding around to Horowitz in the small who elected to flat. Yang checked from the big blind and the two saw a flop of 3♥3♦5♥.
The action checked through to the K♦ turn. Horowitz checked again, and called when Yang bet 30,000.
The river brought the 2♣. Horowitz checked a third time, and Yang fired 200,000.
Horowitz put in the river check-raise to 700,000, with Yang putting in the crying call and showing his flopped trips with 7♠3♠.
Horowitz had the best of it though, slow-playing his K♠K♣ to secure a pot to take his stack past the three million mark, leaving Yang with 250,000.
Tran bitten by Fang
Sherry Fang opened to 65,000 in then hijack and was called by Jimmy Tran in the blinds. The flop fell A♣2♣Q♦ and Tran checked to Fang who continued for 35,000. Tran called.
On the 8♠ turn, he checked again to Fang who fired 125,000. Tran called to see a J♠ land on the river. This time Tran check-raised all-in with Fang quickly calling.
Tran sheepishly showed A♠7♠ which was nowhere near good enough to best Fang’s turned set of 8s.
Tran hit the rail moments later, while Fang is now sitting pretty with 1.4 million.
Convery eliminates Irving
The chips were all-in pre when Luke Irving found himself at risk with A♠8♣ against Andrew Convery’s J♠J♦
The board followed 7♠K♠K♥5♦2♣, allowing Jacks to hold and send Irving to the rail in 39th place. This took Convery’s stack to above 540,000.
Hachem hushed
Joe Hachem’s deep run has come to an end, falling at the hands of Alex Ibrahim.
The hand in question saw Hachem open to 50,000 before Ibrahim jammed to put him all-in. Hachem called with pocket 10s and found himself in a race against the K♦J♦ of Ibrahim.
The flop was bad for Hachem as it came 7♠J♠6♠ and when no help arrived on the turn and the river he was sent to the rail.
Ibrahim has around 1.6 million.
Level 22: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Paris builds his tower
Paris Sitzoukis opened to 50,000 in the cut-off and was met with a 3-bet to 225,000 from Joe Sandaev in the big blind. Sitzoukis made the call as they took a A♥5♠9♦ flop. Sandaev continued for 125,000 and Sitzoukis made the call.
Both players checked the K♣ turn as the 8♥ landed on the turn. Sandaev again checked to Sitzoukis who this time announced he was all-in, putting Sandaev’s remaining 675,000 to the test.
The Adelaidian thought long and hard but eventually folded as Sitzoukis flashed pocket 9s for the flopped set.
| Paris Sitzoukis | 2,750,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 675,000 |
Diamonds are [still] Mufit’s best friend
It was only 15 minutes ago that Mufit Brahm cracked Andrew Xu’s Aces with the A♦Q♦ after turning a flush. Well, he’s done it again – this time as part of a massive 3-way all-in clash.
The hand in question again began with Andrew Xu opening the action before Victor Dai announed he was all-in. Brahim went all-in over the top and Xu snap-called.
It was Xu again with A♥A♠ against the 10♠10♣ and the Q♠Q♦ of Brahim.
The Q♣K♦8♦ flop rocketed Brahim into the lead, with the turn 2♦ narrowing Xu’s outs. The river was the A♦ as Xu hit his set but also giving Brahim the flush.
That’s twice now that a Brahim diamond flush has cracked Xu’s Aces in a matter of minutes!
| Mufit Brahim | 1,500,000 |
| Andrew Xu | 850,000 |
| Victor Dai | BUSTED |
Damelian Departs
Midway through Level 21, 46 players remain at their seats. Average stack is at 900,000 and we are getting closer to the big money.
Meanwhile, Amin Riyazati has recovered after his stack bled down from more than 1,200,000 to just 400,000.
Sitting with over 1,200,000 once again, he faced a UTG+1 jam for 220,000 from Robert Damelian. Riyazati elected to flat, while action folded around to let the two go heads-up.
Riyazati: A♦Q♦
Damelian: A♥8♥
Board: K♦7♥5♣7♦J♣
| Amin Riyazati | 1,510,000 |
| Robert Damelian | BUSTED! |
Diamonds are Mufit’s best friend
Andrew Xu opened in middle position and was met with a shove for a touch over 300,000 from Mufit Brahim. It folded back around to Xu who snap-called.
Brahim needed a lot of help with A♦Q♦ against the A♣A♠ of Xu and it duly arrived as the board fell 5♣7♦8♦9♦5♠ to double him through! Xu is still in good shape even with that beat.
| Andrew Xu | 1,350,000 |
| Mufit Brahim | 660,000 |
Level 21: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Banana peels quads
Our resident photographer/comedian joked that he had captured “Two bananas in one photo” when he snapped a picture of Ivan Jakovac using the fruit as a card protector.
It’s provided good luck for him so far, and on the stroke of the break he got all 200,000 of his chips in the middle with two overs against big-stack Sherry Fang.
Fang: 7♠7♥
Jakovac: Q♠10♦
Needing to hit one of his overs to stay alive, Jakovic struck twice on a 9♦Q♣Q♦ flop, only to improve to quads as the runout followed Q♥,K♠.
| Ivan Jakovac | 440,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 1,100,000 |
New chip leader
Also on Table 17, Huey Lam opened from UTG to 45,000. Amin Riyazati then three-bet from the small blind to 125,000.
Lam responded with a four-bet to 350,000, eliciting a five-bet from Riyazati to 600,000 – more than half his stack.
A rare six-bet from Huey Lam then followed, with an all-in covering Riyazati.
Riyazati showed his frustration as he mucked his cards, leaving 500,000 behind.
Huey Lam now looks to be our new chip leader, with a stack of over 2,200,000 as we near the break.
Pacheco back in the game
On a seven-handed Table 17, Daniel S opened from the hijack with a bet of 55,000. Adrian Pacheco made the call from the button and the two went heads-up to a monotone flop of Q♣3♣4♣.
Daniel S checked-jammed against Pacheco’s small lead of 20,000.
Pacheco could not have snap called any faster, immediately showing he had flopped the nuts.
Pacheco: A♣6♣
Daniel S: A♠Q♥
The runout K♦,2♠ ensured a full double for Pacheco, as he moves to 375,000, leaving Daniel S with just 130,000.
Stewart departs, Tsui too good
Down to his last 15,000. Martin Stewart could only post three-quarters of his big blind, as three other players limped the action pre-flop.
A 60,000 main pot sat alongside a 15,000 side pot between Leslie Tsiu, Banipal Babana, and Alex Bortolazzo.
Flop: Q♣6♠7♦
Babana checked from the small blind and Tsiu bet 60,000. Bortolazzo folded and Babana called.
Turn: J♠
Both players checked through to the 6♦ river, when Tsui downbet to 25,000. Babana mucked immediately when Tsiu turned over his A♦Q♥. Stewart’s K♦3♣ not good enough to remain in the tournament.
From Paris with love
Paris Sitzoukis opened to 50,000 from UTG and was called by Joe Sandaev before Daniel Klinger announced he was all-in for almost half a million.
It was folded back around to Sitzoukis who thought briefly before shoving over the top. Sandaev folded.
It was Sitzoukis in great shape holding K♦K♥ against the A♥Q♠ of Klinger and he held as the board ran out 4♥3♥10♦7♠10♥.
Klinger hits the rail while Sitzoukis is now one of the big stacks with 1.7 million and change.
Level 20: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Too-tank Kharman
It’s not too often you see a hand still progressing from a blind level that concluded 11 minutes earlier. Especially when action didn’t even proceed to a flop.
That’s exactly what we saw on Table 20, where Jeremy Steel opened the action from middle position with a raise to 30,000. Higor Seibel re-raised from the lojack to 90,000 and Adam Kharman then four-bet to 190,000 from the button.
Steel then moved all in for the entirety of his 930,000 stack, folding out Seibel.
Kharman then sunk into an almighty blender, tanking for almost 10 minutes.
In that time, his anguish was clearly visible. Muttering to himself and the table.
“How do I fold this hand?” He pondered out loud. “I’ve never folded this hand in my life!”
A crowd built around them, with tablemates taking the chance to stretch their legs during the extensive tank.
Eventually, Kharman threw his hand into the muck, handing a healthy pot to Steel uncontested.
Kharman claimed post-hand to have folded Ace-King off-suit.
| Jeremy Steel | 1,205,000 |
| Adam Kharman | 680,000 |
Hachem ends Awerbuch’s day
The action was folded around to Joe Hachem on the button who shoved for an little over 200,000. The small blind folded but Chad Awerbuch in the big blind called.
Hachem turned over J♦J♥ to be well in control against the A♥8♥ of Awerbuch and when the board ran out Q-high Awerbuch was off to the rail.
Hachem moves to exactly 500,000 with that hand.
Kang cracks Kings
We caught action from the moment both Yoon Kang and Martin Stewart turned over their cards, with each of their stacks in the middle.
Stewart: K♥K♣
Kang: Q♠Q♥
Yoon was the at-risk player, with his 145,000 covered by Stewart’s stack of 240,000.
The board ran Q♣6♥A♣5♣5♦ for Yoon to spike one of his two outs on the flop and boat-up on the river to get the full double.
| Yoon Kang | 360,000 |
| Martin Stewart | 95,000 |
Down the river
Brendan Pettit shoved from the button and was quickly called by Sherry Fang in the big blind.
The cards were shown and it was Pettit needing help with A♠10♦ against the K♦K♥ of Fang.
The flop was kind to Pettit, falling 10♥8♣A♥ and leaving Fang as the one needing help. The 5♥ turn gave her a few extra outs and the K♠ river saved the day as she soared above the million chip mark, while Pettit is headed to the rail.
Updated counts around the room
Jiapeng Yang leads the remaining field of 76 as we reach the midway point of level 19, with Monster Stack champion Adam Kharman closing in alongside Max Pearce.
| Player | Chips |
| Jiapeng Yang | 1,375,000 |
| Adam Kharman | 1,250,000 |
| Max Pearce | 1,250,000 |
| Sherry Fang | 1,150,000 |
| Usukhbayar Unurbayar | 1,100,000 |
| Paris Sitzoukis | 1,050,000 |
| Amin Riyazati | 1,025,000 |
| Steven Li | 1,000,000 |
| Lachlan Crilly | 1,000,000 |
| James Ong | 915,000 |
| Huey Lam | 900,000 |
| Yifeng Zhang | 900,000 |
| Banipal Babana | 875,000 |
| Weiran Li | 850,000 |
| Jimmy Tran | 840,000 |
| Daniel Klinger | 820,000 |
| Leslie Tsui | 805,000 |
| Adam Bortolazzo | 795,000 |
| Alex Ibrahim | 785,000 |
| Zheming Zhu | 765,000 |
| Josh McSwiney | 650,000 |
| Van Tran | 525,000 |
Van driving back uphill
Van Tran came into today’s play as the overall tournament chip leader with a stack of almost 950,000, but he has seen that stack dwindle today – down to around 200,000 at one stage.
But he is on the comeback trail, courtesy of the best starting hand in poker. Tran got it all-in holding A♣A♥ against the A♠K♣ of Jiapeng Yang and faded any trouble to double back through to 475,000.
Yang is still in good shape through with a stack of well over a milly!
| Jiapeng Yang | 1,150,000 |
| Van Tran | 475,000 |
Level 19: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Break time!
Players are on their first 15-minute break of the day.
Chan on a heater
Chak Hei Chan has won two big pots in a row to find himself closing in on the million chip mark.
We caught the first hand on the river with Chan having bet out for 160,000 on a 3♣J♣9♥ flop before Martin Stewart announced he was all-in. Chan snap-called and rolled over Q♥J♥, with Stewart mucking his cards.
On the very next hand, the button shoved for his last 200k with Chan again making the call. This time it was off to the races with Chan holding J♥J♦, which held against his opponent’s A♠Q♥.
He now sits on a little over 880,000.
For those we’ve lost
We’ve lost almost 60 players since the start of the day, with a flurry of bust-outs over the past 30 minutes in-particular.
Among those to have hit the rail are Marco Perri, Didier Guerin, Tom Maguire, Adam Cusenza, Avi Ayalon, Michael Egan, Matt Rolfe, Tom Hulley, Marc Liddell, Daniel Hachem and Joseph Antar.
Goodes takes a swan dive
AFL legend Adam Goodes was looking to add a different kind of trophy to his cabinet this week to go with his two AFL premierships (2005 and 2012), two Brownlow Medals (2003 and 2006) and countless other achievements.
But he’ll have to wait a little longer for a WSOP ring after shoving for his last 220,000 with A♠Q♥ and running into the A♣K♠ of Adam Bortolazzo.
The board ran out 10♦9♣3♥3♠K♠ to send Goodes to the rail, while Bortolazzo moves to 672,000.
Level 18: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Babana with the double knockout
Kurt Kruszynski shoved his short stack from the cut-off with Day 1A chip leader Banipal Babana moving in over the top.
Nicholas Wright, also nursing a short-stack, reluctantly committed his remaining chips as the cards were turned over.
Kruszynski: Q♣Q♦
Babana: J♠J♣
Wright: A♣5♦
The board ran out K♠J♦2♥6♦4♣ as Babana hit his set to send two players to the rail. He moves back up to 675,000 with that score.
Nicholas Economos is our bubble boy … and in brutal fashion!
With hand-for-hand play having lasted for around 25 minutes, Nicholos Economos on the feature table announced he was all-in for his last 65,000, with Jethro Horowitz making the call.
Once all other tables had completed their hands, the cards were flipped with Economos in great shape holding 3♣3♠ against the 9♥9♠ of Horowitz on the 10♦2♥3♥ flop.
But the turn was a killer for Economos as it landed the 9♣, with the river 6♣ sealing the deal.
Economos hits the rail just shy of the money while Horowitz moves to 455,000.
Jakovac sweats the bubble
Ivan Jakovac was all-in for his tournament life holding J♦J♥ and was called by an opponent holding A♠K♣.
On the verge of bubbling, Jakovac instead lived to fight another bday as the board ran out seven-high to double him through to 290,000.
The bubble continues!
Hand-for-hand
There are 158 players remaining with 156 players set to get paid. Play is now hand-for-hand.
Currie not hot enough
It just wasn’t William Currie’s day. Having lost a flip to Liam Jehu early, he got is remaining 140,000 in holding Q♦Q♠ and in great shape against the J♣10♥ of Paris Sitzoukis.
The Q♥5♠2♦ flop looked to be a good one for Currie, but the K♦ turn and 9♥ river gave Sitzoukis runner-runner and sent Currie for an early lunch.
Sitzoukis moves to 620,000 after that hand.
Big double for Jehu
Liam Jehu has doubled through early at the expense of William Currie. It was a classic race as the chips went-in pre-flop, with Jehu holding Q♦Q♠ against the A♠K♥ of Currie.
The board ran out a safe 6♦J♦2♥2♠6♣ as Jehu finds himself sitting in a great position early with a stack of around 520,000.
Early double for Kruszynski
Kurt Kruszynski was two cards away from being our first casualty of the day but found the card he needed to survive and double through.
He shoved for his last 62,000 holding A♠K♣ and was called by Daniel Hachem, who had opened the action holding J♣9♣.
The J♦6♣Q♣ flop had Kruszynski in trouble but the A♥ landed on the turn and the 2♠ on the river to see Kruszynski move to around 140,000.
Level 17: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Cards are in the air
Play is underway here on Day 2.
What’s up top?
With 163 players returning for Day 2, we’re just seven eliminations away from sending this field into the money.
Payouts will start from 156th place onwards, with a minimum payout of $3,696. Five-figure payouts come into play for our top 30.
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $387,558 |
| 2nd | $239,531 |
| 3rd | $180,104 |
| 4th | $136,666 |
| 5th | $104,662 |
| 6th | $80,904 |
| 7th | $63,130 |
| 8th | $49,727 |
| 9th | $39,549 |
| 10th to 12th | $31,760 |
| 13th to 15th | $25,753 |
| 16th to 18th | $21,090 |
| 19th to 21st | $17,444 |
| 22nd to 24th | $14,575 |
| 25th to 27th | $12,300 |
| 28th to 30th | $10,490 |
| 31st to 33rd | $9,037 |
| 34th to 36th | $7,869 |
| 37th to 45th | $6,924 |
| 46th to 54th | $6,159 |
| 55th to 63rd | $5,538 |
| 64th to 72nd | $5,032 |
| 73rd to 81st | $4,627 |
| 82nd to 90th | $4,299 |
| 91st to 99th | $4,042 |
| 100th to 126th | $3,841 |
| 127th to 156th | $3,696 |
Moving day
Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s coverage of the 2024 WSOP Circuit Sydney Main Event, live from The Star Sydney.
Today sees the 163 players who survived one of the three Day 1 flights return for Day 2 – all of them with hopes and dreams of being crowned the next WSOP Circuit champion and taking home one of those shiny WSOP rings.
Sydney’s Van Tran comes into today as chip leader with 948,000, just ahead of Adam Kharman with 920,000.
We’te also just seven players away from the money, so expect the bubble to burst within the first level of play.
Today sees 11 one-hour levels scheduled, which should take us through to midnight before we bag and tag.
To see how the action has unfolded in recent days, check out our Day 1A, Day 1B and Day 1C blogs.
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 11:30pm AEDT as we enjoy this long-awaited return to the Harbour City!
Day 2 Seat Draw
| Last name | First name | Table | Seat | Chip Count |
| Agosta | Nathan | ’33 | 1 | 121000 |
| Alam | Fred | ’22 | 5 | 154000 |
| Alamdari | Matt | ’20 | 1 | 70000 |
| Albarri | Adam | ’34 | 1 | 265000 |
| Antar | Joseph | ’14 | 7 | 150000 |
| Argyros | Vasilios | ’21 | 1 | 119000 |
| Asaadi | Pooria | ’32 | 4 | 154000 |
| Au | Wai | ’14 | 4 | 172000 |
| Awerbuch | Chad | ’30 | 4 | 198000 |
| Ayalon | Avi | ’19 | 7 | 281000 |
| Babana | Banipal | ’18 | 2 | 724000 |
| Blatt | Dean | ’23 | 1 | 255000 |
| Bolovson | Unensaikhan | ’27 | 2 | 139000 |
| Bortolazzo | Adam | ’18 | 8 | 148000 |
| Bouskila | Michel | ’20 | 9 | 243000 |
| Boustani | Charbel | ’23 | 2 | 266000 |
| Boustani | Joseph | ’27 | 5 | 156000 |
| Brahim | Mufit | ’33 | 2 | 170000 |
| Bridgewater | Warren | ’22 | 7 | 225000 |
| Chan | Chak hei | ’19 | 8 | 290000 |
| Clark | Kevin j | ’17 | 7 | 303000 |
| Convery | Andrew | ’19 | 4 | 335000 |
| Corr | John | ’29 | 7 | 76000 |
| Crilly | Lachlan | ’20 | 4 | 248000 |
| Currie | William | ’31 | 1 | 380000 |
| Cusenza | Adam | ’33 | 9 | 139000 |
| Dai | Victor | ’19 | 6 | 392000 |
| Damelian | Robert | ’18 | 9 | 350000 |
| Davis | Richard | ’17 | 3 | 338000 |
| Duan | Chao | ’24 | 6 | 71000 |
| Economos | Nicholas | ’32 | 5 | 127000 |
| Egan | Michael | ’22 | 4 | 193000 |
| El asmar | Michel | ’23 | 7 | 180000 |
| Elias | George | ’20 | 3 | 199000 |
| Emran | Md a | ’22 | 2 | 46000 |
| Etaat | Javad | ’34 | 2 | 71000 |
| Fang | Xueying | ’25 | 2 | 764500 |
| Fazzino | Salvatore | ’27 | 1 | 282000 |
| Fendy | Fendy | ’18 | 3 | 166000 |
| Frazis | Peter | ’20 | 6 | 216000 |
| Gamerov | Jonathan | ’19 | 2 | 254000 |
| Gan | Haozhe | ’34 | 4 | 227000 |
| Garabedian | Tro | ’21 | 6 | 250000 |
| Goh | Linus | ’19 | 3 | 225000 |
| Goldsmith | Joshua | ’20 | 7 | 315000 |
| Goodes | Adam | ’18 | 7 | 110000 |
| Guerin | Didier | ’27 | 7 | 146000 |
| Ha | Mai | ’26 | 5 | 369000 |
| Hachem | Daniel | ’18 | 5 | 188000 |
| Hachem | Joe | ’30 | 1 | 372000 |
| Hakim | Roni | ’32 | 1 | 194000 |
| Hammond | Patrick | ’34 | 6 | 237000 |
| Hansimikali | Manuel | ’19 | 5 | 274000 |
| Hill | Robert a. | ’32 | 8 | 185000 |
| Horowitz | Jethro | ’32 | 9 | 215000 |
| Houshimandi | Reza | ’19 | 1 | 290000 |
| Howard | Jane | ’28 | 2 | 318000 |
| Hsu | Jeffrey | ’29 | 4 | 220000 |
| Hu | Charlie | ’30 | 5 | 150000 |
| Huang | Yao de | ’29 | 1 | 205000 |
| Huang | Yaolun | ’28 | 1 | 193000 |
| Hulley | Thomas | ’24 | 7 | 94000 |
| Hynes | Pierce | ’17 | 4 | 226000 |
| Ibrahim | Alex | ’26 | 2 | 522000 |
| Irving | Luke | ’33 | 4 | 235000 |
| Ivanchenko | Oleg | ’28 | 4 | 228000 |
| Jaber | Noel | ’29 | 9 | 330000 |
| Jakovac | Ivan | ’33 | 3 | 172000 |
| Jaya | Ardi | ’20 | 2 | 530000 |
| Jehu | Liam | ’31 | 9 | 244000 |
| Joseph | Mark | ’21 | 7 | 109000 |
| Joyce | Toby | ’25 | 4 | 75000 |
| Kang | Yoon | ’23 | 8 | 289000 |
| Kharman | Adam | ’25 | 5 | 920000 |
| Kim | Musang | ’25 | 8 | 268000 |
| Klinger | Daniel | ’31 | 6 | 372000 |
| Kondevski | Todor | ’24 | 9 | 115000 |
| Kruszynski | Kurt | ’18 | 1 | 13000 |
| Lam | Huy k | ’17 | 2 | 316000 |
| Lam | Nhut | ’31 | 7 | 153000 |
| Larkman | Stephen | ’26 | 3 | 245000 |
| Larsson | Mikael | ’25 | 1 | 310000 |
| Lee | Alex x | ’14 | 9 | 394000 |
| Lee | Kevin | ’29 | 8 | 214000 |
| Levy | Michael | ’24 | 2 | 779000 |
| Li | Steve | ’25 | 3 | 574000 |
| Li | Weiran | ’14 | 6 | 411000 |
| Liddell | Marc | ’32 | 7 | 117000 |
| Lin | Shu | ’33 | 5 | 123000 |
| Lin | Yongjia | ’29 | 6 | 213000 |
| Lisandro | Jeffrey | ’26 | 9 | 118000 |
| Lucisano | Salvatore | ’20 | 8 | 317000 |
| Ly | David | ’30 | 7 | 94000 |
| Maguire | Tom | ’30 | 6 | 271000 |
| Mariglis | George | ’21 | 3 | 107000 |
| Mcswiney | Joshua | ’14 | 5 | 439000 |
| Mekouane | Jalil | ’22 | 9 | 221000 |
| Mosquera | Peddie | ’21 | 2 | 96000 |
| Nguyen | Hieu | ’32 | 6 | 186000 |
| Ni | Jiaying | ’24 | 3 | 595000 |
| Noordin | Mohamad z. | ’21 | 5 | 194000 |
| Ong | Chu kheng james | ’30 | 8 | 307000 |
| Pacheco | Adrian | ’17 | 5 | 107000 |
| Parker | John | ’33 | 7 | 124000 |
| Pearce | Max | ’23 | 4 | 319000 |
| Perri | Marco | ’17 | 1 | 177000 |
| Pettit | Brendan | ’30 | 3 | 303000 |
| Pinkas | Klaus | ’26 | 4 | 71000 |
| Pritchard | Jason | ’17 | 8 | 110000 |
| Rajnoch | Rusty | ’27 | 9 | 171000 |
| Rands | Dylan | ’31 | 3 | 457000 |
| Riyazati | Amin | ’17 | 9 | 607000 |
| Roberts | Adrian | ’23 | 5 | 213000 |
| Rojas | Jeison | ’33 | 8 | 240000 |
| Rolfe | Matthew | ’17 | 6 | 346000 |
| Rovere | Brett a. | ’34 | 9 | 135000 |
| Rubinski | James | ’22 | 1 | 223000 |
| Rypinski | Slav | ’22 | 3 | 37000 |
| Samimi | Kamran | ’19 | 9 | 426000 |
| Sandaev | Joseph | ’29 | 3 | 521000 |
| Santos | Rachel | ’31 | 5 | 88000 |
| Satchi | Jehan | ’23 | 6 | 312000 |
| Segre | Lior | ’23 | 3 | 237000 |
| Seibel | Higor | ’34 | 7 | 291000 |
| Shabtay | Aharon | ’22 | 6 | 266000 |
| Shan | Daniel | ’28 | 8 | 69000 |
| Shirodkar | Kushal | ’34 | 8 | 349000 |
| Sitzoukis | Paris | ’34 | 3 | 451000 |
| Stang | Bernie | ’25 | 9 | 287000 |
| Starcevic | Joseph | ’25 | 6 | 217000 |
| Steel | Jeremy | ’14 | 2 | 284000 |
| Stephanov | Vladimir | ’26 | 6 | 88000 |
| Stewart | Damien | ’21 | 8 | 103000 |
| Stewart | Martin | ’28 | 6 | 610000 |
| Sun | Hong | ’27 | 8 | 335000 |
| Thatcher | Jarrod | ’26 | 1 | 80000 |
| Thompson | Darren | ’27 | 6 | 115000 |
| Tolomeo | Daniel | ’14 | 1 | 306000 |
| Tran | Liem | ’21 | 4 | 325000 |
| Tran | Van | ’26 | 8 | 948000 |
| Trindade | Carlos | ’18 | 6 | 221000 |
| Tsui | Leslie | ’14 | 3 | 251000 |
| Unurbayar | Usukhbayar | ’24 | 8 | 345000 |
| Veljkovic | Daniel | ’24 | 5 | 247000 |
| Vu | Hai | ’32 | 3 | 86000 |
| Wang | Yue | ’31 | 8 | 129000 |
| Whiteman | Paul | ’20 | 5 | 42000 |
| Woo | Justin | ’24 | 1 | 107000 |
| Wood | Scott | ’31 | 4 | 64000 |
| Wright | Nicholas | ’18 | 4 | 301000 |
| Wu | Nan | ’29 | 2 | 203000 |
| Xu | Andrew | ’25 | 7 | 153000 |
| Xue | Jin | ’28 | 5 | 196000 |
| Yang | Jiapeng | ’22 | 8 | 409000 |
| Yang | Liu | ’28 | 7 | 434000 |
| Zhang | Andrew | ’24 | 4 | 138000 |
| Zhang | Hongtao | ’28 | 9 | 351000 |
| Zhang | Peng | ’30 | 9 | 181000 |
| Zhang | Xiaojun | ’14 | 8 | 106000 |
| Zhang | Yifeng | ’26 | 7 | 432000 |
| Zhou | Steven | ’27 | 3 | 245000 |
| Zhu | Wei | ’21 | 9 | 287000 |
| Zhu | Zheming | ’23 | 9 | 568000 |
Be the first to comment