Kumar A Wins the Sydney Championships Monster Stack (A$77,093)
Kumar A outlasted a field of 328 entrants to win the 2018 Sydney Championships Event #5: A$1,100 No Limit Hold'em Monster Stack at the Star Poker Room for A$77,093 ($57,054).
Kumar A shared the Monster Stack was a great tournament testing multiple ranges of skills due to its structure.
"This was a really good tournament," Kumar told the Star Poker Live Reporting Team, "A great structure. Day 1 is excellent because you have such a big stack and can play a lot of post flop poker. Then on Day 2, the event starts to feel more like a turbo. It is really good as it tests a whole range of poker skills."
Sydney Championships Event #5: A$1,100 No Limit Hold'em Monster Stack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | Prize in US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kumar A | A$77,093 | $57,054 |
| 2 | Timothy Stamoulis | A$47,658 | $35,259 |
| 3 | Angelo Gougousis | A$34,613 | $25,612 |
| 4 | Ian Burchell | A$25,567 | $18,922 |
| 5 | Steve Wittaker | A$19,194 | $14,210 |
| 6 | Kye Mclean | A$14,638 | $10,835 |
| 7 | Lior Segre | A$11,338 | $8,392 |
| 8 | Sam Vakili | A$8,915 | $16,151 |
| 9 | John Parker | A$7,114 | $6,599 |
The second and final day began with 128 players vying for the title with Matthew Howearth in the lead and Kumar A in the middle of the pack. After a few hours of play, the bubble broke with the remaining 33 players guaranteed at least a min-cash of A$1,958 ($1,450).
According to the Star Poker Blog, the final table began after Ian Burchell eliminated Matt Simms in 10th place. Steve Wittaker kicked off the action with the chip lead and Kumar A was still in the middle of the pack in sixth place. Howearth was unable to parlay his early chip lead into a final table appearance.
John Parker, who entered the final table with the shortest stack, was the first to be ousted at the final table on a bad beat. He three-bet jammed with pocket queens and was called by Timothy Stamoulis with pocket fours. A four spiked the flop and Parker hit the rail in ninth place for A$7,114 ($5,267).
Stamoulis wasn't done bringing on the pain to his short-stacked opponents. Very soon after, Sam Vakili was all-in with ace-queen against Stamoulis' ten-nine suited. Vakili appeared to be in good shape after an ace paired his hand on the flop. However, Stamoulis rivered a straight and Vakali was eliminated in eighth place for A$8,915 ($6,599).
Lior Segre was the next to go in seventh place for A$11,338 ($8,392) after his eight-seven couldn't hold against the seven-five suited held by Ian Burchell.
Shortly after, Kye Mclean was ousted in sixth place for A$14,638 ($10,835) after his ace-five proved to be no match against the pocket jacks held by Angelo Gougousis.
Wittaker followed Mclean to the rail not too much later in fifth place for A$19,194 ($14,210) after his ace-nine didn't get there against the ace-ten held by Stamoulis.
Stamoulis then eliminated Burchell in fourth place for A$25,567 ($18,922). Burchell moved all-in with king-jack on after a king appeared on the turn to give him top pair. Stamoulis called with pocket aces and Burchell was unable to get the save he needed on the river.
Gougousis hit the showers in third place for A$34,613 ($25,612) after his queen-three suited didn't hold against the jack-seven held by Kumar A.
Kumar A held a substantial chip lead during heads-up play against Stamoulis. It was over quickly with Stamoulis jamming jack-ten suited and not getting there against the king-queen held by Kumar A. Although Stamoulis didn't walk away with the trophy, he did bank a healthy runner-up prize of A$47,658 ($35,259).
"Today was all about aggression," Kumar said to the Star Poker Live Reporting Team. "It was about finding the right spots to be aggressive in order to reap the benefits."
