The Star Sydney Championships Start Jul. 11; $1.5M Gtd Main Event Scheduled
PokerNews is heading to The Star Sydney in Australia where our team of live reporters is set to bring you live and exclusive coverage of four major tournaments taking place during the Star Sydney Championships. Some 17 events make up the action-packed schedule of the Star Sydney Championships which run from Jul. 11 through Aug. 5.
First up is Event 10, the $5K Challenge that runs from Jul. 26-27 and, as the name suggests, commands an A$5,000 buy-in. Last year’s tournament saw 152 entrants outlasted by John Thomson who secured the $195,000 first place prize.
Hot on the heels of the $5K Challenge is the A$1,100 buy-in 6-Max event. This year’s 6-Max runs over two days from Jul. 28-29 and should see an ample crowd take to the felt in an attempt to become a poker champion. Hun Lee won this event in 2018, topping a field of 243 players to scoop the $64,408 top prize.
Event 13 of the Star Sydney Championships is the biggest buy-in on the schedule, the A$20,000 High Roller. Again, PokerNews will be on the ground through this two-day tournament. A compact field of 28 entrants competed for the title in this event last year, and three players shared the A$532,000 prize pool. Michel Bouskila fell in third place for A$106,400 before Sosia Jiang got their hands on the A$266,000 top prize after defeating Matthew Wakeman heads-up; the runner-up netted A$159,600.
Finally, the last event on our radar is the A$3,000 buy-in Main Event. Featuring two starting flights, the 2019 Star Sydney Championships Main Event takes place Aug. 2-5 and is sure to be one of the best-attended events this year. Some of Australia’s finest poker players will be in the field, and the organizers hope this year’s Main Event surpasses the 522 entries from 2018, something helped by them placing an A$1.5 million guarantee on the prize pool.
We would expect reigning champion Nebojsa Blanusa to be in Sydney attempting to defend his title. Blanusa locked up a cool A$314,265 for his victory last time around after defeating Brian Lam heads-up for the title.
2019 Star Sydney Championships Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 11 Jul | 5:15 p.m. | Monster Stack Day 1A | $1,100 |
| Fri 12 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Monster Stack Day 1B | $1,100 |
| Sat 13 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Monster Stack Day 2 | |
| Sun 14 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Monster Stack Final Day | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Short Deck Day 1 | $500 | |
| Mon 15 Jul | 5:15 p.m. | Short Deck Final Day | |
| 6:15 p.m. | Pineapple | $330 | |
| Tue 16 Jul | 6:15 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Day 1A | $500 |
| Wed 17 Jul | 6:15 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Day 1B | $500 |
| Thu 18 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Day 1C | $500 |
| Fri 19 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Day 1D | $500 |
| Sat 20 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Day 2 | |
| Sun 21 Jul | 2:15 p.m. | Ladies Event Day 1 | $330 |
| 4:00 p.m. | Sydney Champs NLHE Cup Final Day | ||
| Mon 22 Jul | 5:15 p.m. | Ladies Event Day 2 | |
| 6:15 p.m. | Turbo | $440 | |
| Tue 23 Jul | 6:15 p.m. | Teams NLHE | $500 |
| Wed 24 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Master Tournament 50+ Years Old Day 1 | $440 |
| Thu 25 Jul | 5:15 p.m. | Master Tournament 50+ Years Old Final Day | |
| 6:15 p.m. | Mixed PLO / NLHE Day 1 | $550 | |
| Fri 26 Jul | 2:15 p.m. | $5K Challenge Day 1 | $5,000 |
| 5:15 p.m. | Mixed PLO / NLHE Final Day | ||
| Sat 27 Jul | 2:15 p.m. | $5K Challenge Final Day | |
| Sun 28 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | 6-Max Day 1 | $1,100 |
| Mon 29 Jul | 12:30 p.m. | Omaha Day 1 | $550 |
| 12:30 p.m. | 6-Max Day 2 | ||
| Tue 30 Jul | 5:15 p.m. | Omaha Final Day | |
| Wed 31 Jul | 2:15 p.m. | High Roller Day 1 | $20,000 |
| Thu 1 Aug | 2:15 p.m. | High Roller Final Day | |
| Fri 2 Aug | 12:30 p.m. | Main Event Day 1A | $3,000 |
| Sat 3 Aug | 12:30 p.m. | Main Event Day 1B | $3,000 |
| 8:15 p.m. | Crazy Pineapple Day 1 | $330 | |
| Sun 4 Aug | 12:30 p.m. | Main Event Day 2 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Crazy Pineapple Final Day | ||
| 6:15 p.m. | 6-Max PLO Day 1 | $1,650 | |
| Mon 5 Aug | 12:30 p.m. | Main Event Final Day | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Bounty Event | $550 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | 6-Max PLO Final Day |
More than 50 Main Events seats are guaranteed to be won before and during the Star Sydney Championships. $330 buy-in satellites run every day from Jul. 4-9 before the festival kicks off and there are dozens of satellites taking place while the championships are in full swing.
Perhaps your best chance of qualifying for the Main Event is the $330 buy-in Main Event Super Satellite Final Week Countdown tournaments. Six of these are scheduled between Jul. 30-Aug. 2 and have combined guarantees of 40 seats.
Here’s to PokerNews writing about you turning a $330 satellite victory into the Main Event title!
All monetary amounts are in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated
