$1,500 Platinum Player Championships
Day 1a Completed
$1,500 Platinum Player Championships
Day 1a Completed
An exciting start to the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships at the beautiful Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi saw 148 entrants take their shot at building a stack on Day 1a. It took almost 15 full levels to reach the money, with two players surpassing the million-chip mark. One built up steadily to take a commanding lead at the Australian Poker Open, while the other was the beneficiary of a brutal cooler on the bubble.
Minkyu Jun took control midway through the day and never looked back, bagging an impressive 1,521,000 and a big lead after the first of five opening flights. Greg Davison also crossed 1,000,000 chips, with more than half of them sitting in his stack after the final hand of the night.
That pair lead a group of 19 survivors who will return for Day 2, all in the money having earned at least AUD $2,300.
Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Minkyu Jun | Australia | 1,521,000 |
2 | Greg Davison | Australia | 1,078,000 |
3 | Adrian Salter | Australia | 627,000 |
4 | Gavin Ogilvy | Australia | 541,000 |
5 | David Bowen | Australia | 518,000 |
6 | Michael Sleiman | Australia | 499,000 |
7 | Jesse Alati | Australia | 433,000 |
8 | Stylianos Makariou | Australia | 331,000 |
9 | Rehman Kassam | United Kingdom | 321,000 |
10 | Khanh Le | Australia | 288,000 |
There were fireworks throughout the day in the poker room at Club Marconi, including a flopped royal flush that resulted in a knockout. Lauchlan Swann not only flopped the best hand in poker, but was able to get all of Jarrod Thatcher’s chips after the latter went runner-runner to make a full house.
Day 1a saw a pair of Australian Poker Open Ambassadors hit the felt, each faring quite differently in the opening flight. Bert Perry busted twice after failing to find any momentum, while Rehman Kassam sat down just as late registration closed and amassed a top ten stack with 321,000 chips.
The final hand of the night was also one of the most dramatic, as Davison and Jason Lau got almost identical stacks into the middle with the ultimate preflop cooler – aces against kings. Davison had the aces and covered Lau by just two big blinds, sending Lau to the rail on the bubble.
Davison finished with the second-largest stack after managing to survive just a short time earlier, turning a flush to triple up and see several opponents at his table hit the rail.
The action will continue on Thursday, March 28 as players return for Day 1b at 3 p.m. local time. Another full day of 40-minute levels begins with blinds of 100/200 and a 200 big blind ante, with all players receiving a starting stack of 50,000 chips.
Breaks will again fall after every three levels of play, and late registration will close at the start of Level 10. Several players took full advantage of the unlimited reentry format on Day 1a, and more of the same is expected as the event continues.
Keep it locked to PokerNews for full coverage of this and other events here at the Australian Poker Open.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Minkyu Jun | 1,521,000 | |
|
||
Greg Davison | 1,078,000 | |
Adrian Salter |
627,000
520,000
|
520,000 |
Gavin Ogilvy |
541,000
267,000
|
267,000 |
David Bowen |
518,000
-77,000
|
-77,000 |
Michael Sleiman |
499,000
499,000
|
499,000 |
Jesse Alati |
433,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
Stylianos Makariou |
331,000
-114,000
|
-114,000 |
Rehman Kassam |
321,000
321,000
|
321,000 |
Khanh Le |
288,000
288,000
|
288,000 |
Didier Guerin |
251,000
251,000
|
251,000 |
Kenta Ito |
236,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
Steffan Thomas |
180,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
Hassib Younan |
166,000
112,000
|
112,000 |
Dustin Tran |
134,000
134,000
|
134,000 |
Harry Basle |
129,000
-209,000
|
-209,000 |
Jim Pizanias |
76,000
-196,000
|
-196,000 |
Steven Marrone |
63,000
-229,000
|
-229,000 |
Liet Ung |
58,000
-127,000
|
-127,000 |
19 players have advanced to Day 2, led by Jun Clark with 1,521,000 chips.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
On the stone bubble of Day 1a, Jason Lau and Greg Davison traded raises until both stacks were in the middle. Davison had Lau covered by just 17,000 chips as the cards were turned up.
Jason Lau: K♣K♦
Greg Davison: A♠A♥
Lau bowed his head as he saw Davison's aces, unable to catch a king on the 5♠Q♣5♦7♥J♥ runout to bust the bubble.
All remaining players bagged up for the night $2,300 richer.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Greg Davison |
1,078,000
656,000
|
656,000 |
Jason Lau
|
Busted |
Emmanuel Derecho moved his short stack all in from the cutoff and found a call from chip leader Minkyu Jun in the big blind,
Emmanuel Derecho: A♠6♥
Minkyu Jun: 3♠3♣
Derecho was flipping but could not find help on the 4♥8♥9♠2♣2♦ runout, tapping the table and wishing everyone good luck on his way to the rail.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Minkyu Jun |
1,280,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
||
Emmanuel Derecho
|
Busted |
Level: 15
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Zac Vigar opened to 16,000 in early position and found a call from David Bowen in the cutoff.
Vigar led out for 25,000 after the 3♠10♦K♦ flop and Bowen made the call. The J♣ turn saw Vigar check-call a bet of 40,000 from Bowen before seeing the J♦ river.
Vigar then led out for 100,000 on the J♦ river, with Bowen taking some time before tossing in the call.
"Nice call," said Vigar as he showed Q♣7♥ for a bluff. Bowen turned over A♠A♣ to take down a sizeable pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
David Bowen |
595,000
576,000
|
576,000 |
Zac Vigar |
80,000
-172,000
|
-172,000 |
Alex Le opened to 16,000 from the hijack and Greg Davison called in the cutoff. Bernie Stang then moved his short stack all in on the button, followed by Ray Badaoui in the big blind.
Le let his hand go before Davison made the call, leaving two players at risk.
Bernie Stang: K♣J♥
Greg Davison: K♥2♥
Ray Badaoui: J♠J♣
Badaoui was in great position to score the double knockout, but the 10♥5♥8♠ flop brought Davison a flush draw. The dealer then revealed the 8♥ turn, completing Davison's flush. The K♦ river was no help, as Davison scored the triple-up while knocking out Stang.
A short time later, both Le and Badaoui hit the rail as the field closed in on the money bubble.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Greg Davison |
422,000
244,000
|
244,000 |
Bernie Stang | Busted | |
Alex Le
|
Busted | |
Ray Badaoui | Busted |
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Pierce Hynes
|
Busted | |
Michael Brahim | Busted | |
Amin Riyazati | Busted | |
Slav Rypinski | Busted | |
Dylan Wayne | Busted | |
Higor Seibel | Busted | |
Jeison Berdugo
|
Busted | |
Jacque Ramsden | Busted | |
Joshua McSwinney
|
Busted | |
Daniel Embelton
|
Busted |