2014 WSOP APAC Day 14: Teng Leads Main with Shack-Harris Alive; High Roller Begins
Day 14 of the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific came to a close Wednesday. The AU$10,000 Main Event played out its Day 3, with the field cutting its way from 70 down to the final 18. The AU$25,000 High Roller was also in action, kicking off Day 1 and attracting 63 entries thus far.
AU$10,000 Main Event
Day 3 of the AU$10,000 Main Event came to a conclusion with just 18 players remaining.
Beginning the day with 70 players, everyone was hopeful of first reaching the money-paying top 36 before making a run at building a stack as play headed towards the final table. Jonathan Duhamel, Jeff Gross, Kyle Cheong, Jonathan Karamalikis, Harry Demetriou, Dennis Huntly, Eddy Sabat, Heinz Kamutzki, Dylan Hortin, Kahle Burns, Brian Rast, and Byron Kaverman all found themselves on the rail short of the money, though, and the money bubble was soon realized.
Unfortunately, it would be Kasra Bakhshaee who would earn the moniker of "bubble boy" after three-betting all in with the A♥K♥ and being called by Ang Italiano with the J♦J♣. The board ran out 3♦K♦Q♠A♠10♦ to see Italiano make a straight and send Bakhshaee home empty handed.
With players in the money, eliminations mounted quickly as Yu Kurita (36th), Sam Higgs (32nd), Xuan Liu (31st), Jamie Pickering (30th), Sam Cohen (26th), Aaron Lim (24th), Mikel Habb (23rd), Shane Warne (22nd), and Tobias Reinkemeier (20th) all took home a piece of the prize pool before play concluded for the night.
Victor Teng bagged the chip lead with an impressive 1,854,000 in chips after steamrolling the field throughout the day. Local player Jason Giuliano was down to just a few big blinds once in the money, but he made a huge run and sits in second with 1,203,000, while Day 2 chip leader Kyle Montgomery is the only other player sitting with seven figures as he finished with 1,196,000.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Teng | 1,854,000 |
| 2 | Jason Giuliano | 1,203,000 |
| 3 | Kyle Montgomery | 1,196,000 |
| 4 | Frank Kassela | 783,000 |
| 5 | Henry Szmelcer | 663,000 |
| 6 | Brandon Shack-Harris | 648,000 |
| 7 | Gary Benson | 458,000 |
| 8 | JJ Liu | 431,000 |
| 9 | Henry Wang | 378,000 |
| 10 | Scott Davies | 322,000 |
WSOP bracelet winners Frank Kassela (783,000), Gary Benson (458,000), and Alexander Antonios (127,000) still remain in the hunt, while three ladies are still alive with JJ Liu (431,000), Jackie Glazier (300,000), and the aforementioned Italiano (256,000) still in contention.
However, the major story is Brandon Shack-Harris as he continues to keep the WSOP Player of the Year race alive after finishing sixth place on the chip counts page with 648,000. If he can keep the momentum going and finish first or second in this event, he will again take the lead back from George Danzer and capture the honors.
Play is set to begin on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. local time with the PokerNews Live Reporting team providing all the live updates as the field plays down to the final table of six.
AU$25,000 High Roller
Day 1 of the AU$25,000 High Roller has come to a close. At the end of the first 10 levels on the structure sheet, 63 entries have been tallied and 31 of those remain. Leading the bunch will be WSOP gold bracelet winner Andrew Hinrichsen with 346,000 in chips.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Hinrichsen | 346,000 |
| 2 | Mike Leah | 320,500 |
| 3 | [Removed:17] | 319,800 |
| 4 | Andy Lee | 279,000 |
| 5 | Sam Higgs | 223,500 |
| 6 | Danny Hunyh | 218,900 |
| 7 | Rory Young | 215,100 |
| 8 | David Steicke | 199,200 |
| 9 | Geoffrey Mooney | 189,900 |
| 10 | Joe Reina | 187,000 |
Hinrichsen got a lot of his chips when he busted Kahle Burns early on in the day. The two saw a queen-high flop in a five-bet pot and Hinrichsen set Burns all in. Burns had pocket kings and quickly called, but Hinrichsen got there on the river with his AxKx, spiking an ace.
Another player hitting the rail on Day 1 was current WSOP Player of the Year frontrunner George Danzer. Danzer was busted by Greg Merson, and that left Shack-Harris with the ball in his court.
Registration for this event will remain open until the start of Level 13. That means the field size could increase, but this has already proven to be a star-studded affair, as expected. Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Rousso, and Ryan Riess all hopped in the event, but unfortunately for them, things didn't go so well and they were eliminated. On the other side of the coin, you've got Phil Hellmuth, Duhamel, Merson, and Mohsin Charania all advancing to Day 2.
For Day 2 on Thursday, the plan is to play down to the final table, and we'll be buckled in for a long day of exciting poker, as should you. Action starts at 2:30 p.m. local time, and we'll see you back here to PokerNews then.
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