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
Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
1 | Malcolm Trayner | 4,535,000 | 45 |
2 | Johnathan Hargrave | 1,945,000 | 19 |
3 | Chad Awerbuch | 1,350,000 | 14 |
4 | Zhi Ma | 1,025,000 | 10 |
5 | Jun Wang | 5,425,000 | 54 |
6 | Shan Jiang | 1,485,000 | 15 |
7 | Alex Falon | 3,340,000 | 33 |
8 | George Mitri | 1,190,000 | 12 |
9 | Chu Ong | 1,490,000 | 15 |
Final Table Payouts
Place | Prize (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.