2018 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney

AU$500 Opening Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2018 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
77
Prize
112,171 AUD
Event Info
Buy-in
500 AUD
Entries
1,444
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
40,000

Alex Falon Eliminated in 7th Place ($17,694)

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Alex Falon
Alex Falon

Jun Wang raised to 225,000 from the button and was called by Alex Falon in the small blind.

The flop came {4-Spades}{6-Clubs}{8-Spades} and Falon checked. Wang bet 300,000. Falon raised to 600,000. Wang called.

The turn brought the {6-Hearts} and Falon moved all in and was quickly called.

Jun Wang: {k-Spades}{6-Spades}
Alex Falon: {j-Clubs}{2-Spades}

Falon had made a move and was caught by Wang. He was live to the river but the {a-Spades} only improved Wang's hand to a flush resulting in Falon being eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jun Wang au
Jun Wang
7,500,000
2,075,000
2,075,000
Profile photo of Alex Falon au
Alex Falon
Busted

Tags: Alex FalonJun Wang

Ong Gets Cautioned

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante

Chu Ong raised to 250,000 from the hijack and was called by Zhi Ma in the small blind.

The flop came {2-Spades}{9-Hearts}{j-Diamonds} and Ma checked. Ong bet 225,000. Ma then moved all in for 1,150,000 in chips.

Ma thought for a moment then moved his cards forward, which looked like a fold, before dragging them back.

The table spoke up about the angle-shoot as Ong still kept his option.

"Is that not cool?" asked Ong.

The dealer and tournament director had a word to Ong before he finally opted to fold.

"That was not an angle-shoot," pleaded Ong after the hand. He apologized to Ma and the rest of the table before receiving a caution moving forward.

Tags: Chu OngZhi Ma

Chad Awerbuch Eliminated in 8th Place ($13,994)

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Chad Awerbuch
Chad Awerbuch

Johnathan Hargrave raised to 225,000 from under the gun before Chad Awerbuch moved all in for 1,120,000 from middle position. Shan Jiang was in the cutoff and he re-raised all in for around 2,000,000 in chips. Hargrave folded his hand when the action fell back on him.

Shan Jiang: {j-Diamonds}{j-Clubs}
Chad Awerbuch: {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}

Awerbuch was in the lead until the board ran out {k-Clubs}{2-Spades}{5-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}{8-Clubs} to see Jiang spike a jack on the turn giving him a set of jacks and the winning and sending Awerbuch to the rail in 8th place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Shan Jiang au
Shan Jiang
3,600,000
2,115,000
2,115,000
Profile photo of Chad Awerbuch au
Chad Awerbuch
Busted

George Mitri Eliminated in 9th Place ($11,118)

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
George Mitri
George Mitri

George Mitri moved all in for 1,300,000 from middle position before Malcolm Trayner came over the top announcing all in from the hijack. The button and blinds folded before the cards were tabled.

Malcolm Trayner: {a-Spades}{q-Diamonds}
George Mitri: {a-Diamonds}{j-Diamonds}

The board ran out {k-Spades}{q-Hearts}{j-Spades}{2-Spades}{3-Diamonds} to see Trayner extend his lead to a pair on the flop resulting in him winning the pot and taking out his second opponent of the day.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Malcolm Trayner au
Malcolm Trayner
4,850,000
2,640,000
2,640,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of George Mitri au
George Mitri
Busted

Tags: George MitriMalcolm Trayner

Ma Doubles Through Trayner on the First Hand

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Zhi Ma
Zhi Ma

Zhi Ma moved all in on the first hand for 1,015,000 from under the gun plus one. The action folded around to Malcolm Trayner in the small blind who raised to 2,050,000 forcing a fold from Chad Awerbuch in the big blind.

Zhi Ma: {a-Spades}{k-Hearts}
Malcolm Trayner: {q-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}

The flop fell {a-Hearts}{8-Clubs}{q-Hearts} giving Trayner the lead with a set of queens and putting Ma at risk.

Ma then watched as the board ran out the {10-Spades} then {j-Spades} to give him a straight on the river to double up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Zhi Ma au
Zhi Ma
2,220,000
1,195,000
1,195,000
Profile photo of Malcolm Trayner au
Malcolm Trayner
2,210,000
-2,325,000
-2,325,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Chad AwerbuchMalcolm TraynerZhi Ma

Level: 27

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 10,000

Who Will be Crowned Champion in the WSOP International Circuit Sydney Opening Event?

Who Will Walk Away Champion?
Who Will Walk Away Champion?

The final nine players in the Opening Event will be returning today at 4pm to play for not only the $112,171 first prize but also the prestigious WSOP gold circuit ring.

The first event of the WSOP International Circuit series here at The Star in Sydney will be giving a minimum of $11,118 to the final table and a pay jumps will be happening after every elimination, with the top three getting a $50,000+ payday.

The final table has two recognizable names in Zhi Ma and Chad Awerbuch, who both have a wealth of tournament experience and results to show. Even as two of the three shortest stacks, they will be hard to beat. Ma has over $320,000 in tournament earnings with his best result coming this year at the Sydney Championships where he finished in second place in the $5k challenge for $120,000. Awerbuch has a dozen five-figure scores to his name, his best coming when he finished fourth in the $5,000 NLHE Main Event during the Star Poker Series in Sydney in 2012 collecting $54,506. A top-two finish today will see him top that.

But everyone will be chasing one man, chip leader Jun Wang. The relatively unknown Wang had a dominant Day 2 eventually bagging the chip lead after taking out 10th place finisher Stan L. in the final hand of the evening.

Final Table Seat Draw

SeatPlayerChip CountBig Blinds
1Malcolm Trayner4,535,00045
2Johnathan Hargrave1,945,00019
3Chad Awerbuch1,350,00014
4Zhi Ma1,025,00010
5Jun Wang5,425,00054
6Shan Jiang1,485,00015
7Alex Falon3,340,00033
8George Mitri1,190,00012
9Chu Ong1,490,00015

Final Table Payouts

PlacePrize (AUD)
1$112,171
2$69,528
3$50,950
4$38,734
5$29,487
6$22,710
7$17,694
8$13,944
9$11,118

The PokerNews team will be covering this and every other event of the WSOP series. So get ready for some rail fun today.

AU$500 Opening Event

Day 3 Started