2019 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
AU$20,000 High Roller
Day: 2
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
As table neighbours, Jonathan Karamalikis and Mladen Vukovic have tangled in quite a few pots already, but this one was the biggest so far.
It was Karamalikis the initial raiser, making it 17,000 to go from the cutoff, with Vukovic three-betting to 50,000 on the button. After chewing it over for a few seconds, Karamalikis made the call to take the two to a flop of 
.
This saw Karamalikis check, opening the door for Vukovic to take a stab for 35,000, which Karamalikis called. The 
river saw Karamalikis re-take the lead in the hand with a bet of 125,000, which was enough to take it down when Vukovic tapped the table and mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
420,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
369,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Julien Sitbon came in as the shortest stack, and while he was able to outlast two of the final nine players the Frenchman could go no further, falling at the hands of Roger Teska to guarantee all six remaining finalists a payday of at least AU$59,413.
The first 60-minute level played had not long concluded and Sitbon's stack had dropped down to 50,000, which all ended up in the middle following a Roger Teska cutoff open for 12,000.
After the rest of the table got out of the way Teska made the call and the two players turned over their hands.
Roger Teska: 
Julien Sitbon: 
"I know you guys are all praying for the ace," joked Sitbon good-naturedly.
It came straight in as well, with the flop coming down 
to a big sigh from Sitbon. The rest of the run out coming 
and 
respectively to bring Sitbon's time at the final table to an end.
"Good game guys," said Sitbon, shaking everyone's hand and hitting the rail, while Teska stacked up to 466,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
466,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level: 15
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
There have been no significant clashes since the departure of Tom Rafferty as the first 1-hour drew to a close. Karamalikis and the short-stacked Julien Sitbon played a pot that saw Sitbon's stock drop further.
With 51,000 in the pot on the flop of 
Sitbon had bet out 16,000 from the hijack and been raised by Karamalikis from the button to 37,000.
The Frenchman made the call and the came off on the turn, which saw no betting. The river completed a possible heart flush and Sitbon check-folded to Karamalikis' river shove to drop to 80,000, while Karamalikis climbed to 199,000.
There were a few small pots played, only one more of which made it to the river, but again there was no showdown, with Qiang Fu and Karamalikis battling in the blinds in another limped pot that saw Fu take it on the river.
Jonathan Karamalikis and Mladen Vukovic played a limped pot that made it all the way to the river, but not to showdown, with Karamalikis taking down with a pot-sized river bet.
Ryan Otto has been raising a lot of pots in position, none of which have made it past the flop, winning all but one of them.
The one in question saw Otto make it 12,000 to go from the hijack, with Roger Teska (button) and Qiang Fu (big blind) coming along to take action three-way to a flop of 
, which saw no betting. Fu took a stab for 15,000 on the turn and that was enough to win the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
347,000
-13,000
|
-13,000 |
|
|
295,000
167,000
|
167,000 |
|
|
80,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
|
||
Just 30-minutes into the first 1-hour level played and the field was reduced to seven to bring in the money bubble. Once again it was hitman Ryan Otto taking out an opponent, with Tom Rafferty the man is his crosshairs this time around.
The hand started innocuously enough, with Rafferty limping the small blind and Otto checking his option in the big blind to bring in an arid 
flop.
Rafferty fired out a bet of 10,000 and Otto re-raised to 30,000 in total. Rafferty hit the think tank for a few seconds before re-popping to 85,000 in total. Otto mulled it over and slid in the call to bring the pair to the 
river.
This is where all the chips went in, with Rafferty pulling the trigger for the remainder of his stack and Otto making a speedy call.
Tom Rafferty: 
Ryan Otto: 
Rafferty visibly winced when he saw he was trailing to Otto's flopped two pair, and the 
river would be the last card he would see in in the tournament, departing empty-handed in eighth place to bring the remaining seven players to the money bubble. Otto stacked up to 982,000 after the hand to climb further ahead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
982,000
224,000
|
224,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Following Stang's departure, the action continued are more sedate pace. Tom Rafferty and Michael Egan played a pot, with the former raising to 12,000 from the cutoff and Egan defending from the big blind to bring play heads-up to a flop of 
where the action went check, bet 13,000 call to bring the pair to the 
turn. Egan checked for a second time, pitching his cards into the muck when Rafferty fired a 31,000 second barrel.
The next hand saw Qiang Fu the man raising the action to 12,000 from middle position, with Roger Teska defending his big blind to bring the two to a flop of . Teska check called Fu's 12,000 flop bet and the dealer burned and turned the , where the action went check, check.
The 
river was also checked and Teska rolled over 
for the missed nut flush draw and a pair of sixes and Fu won the hand with for a pair of jacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
457,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
|
||
|
385,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
|
265,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
194,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
The action picked up where it left off last night, with the first hand of the day played resulting in the elimination of Bernie Stang. It was Ryan Otto the man driving the action, opening to 12,000 from the hijack with Stang checking his hole cards and mulling over his options before choosing to call.
The 
flop saw Stang riffle his chips in thought before leading for 15,000. Otto responded with a re-raise to 40,000 immediately and Stang shoved before Otto had even got the bet into the middle of the table. Stang was called as quickly as he shoved and both players revealed their holdings.
Bernie Stang: 
Ryan Otto:
Stang had the nut flush draw and Otto held top, top for the lead in the hand, which he maintained when the turn and 
river completed the hand to bring Stang's final table adventure to a close just one hand into the proceedings.
Stang headed for the rail empty-handed, while Otto stacked up to 758,000 to further strengthen his chip lead and bring the final table down to eight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
758,000
128,000
|
128,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Greetings poker fans, and welcome to the PokerNews live coverage of the AU$20,000 World Series of Poker International Circuit The Star Sydney High Rollers.
Just nine players remain of the 53-strong field, all playing for the AU$377,625 (~$257,640) top prize, in addition to a coveted WSOP Circuit Ring and accolades for defeating a field that was jam-packed with poker talent.
Notables in contention include Caribbean Poker Party champion Roger Teska, Michael Egan, Australia's youngest Poker Hall of Fame inductee Jonathan Karamalikis, and France's Julien Sitbon, all of whom boast seven-figures in live tournament winnings on their poker resumes.
However, the man in the best of positions to take the prestigious honour of becoming WSOPC The Star Sydney High Roller champion is New Zealand's Ryan Otto, who will be returning with the chip lead and a stack of 630,000.
With the blinds continuing at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante and the level length increasing to 60-minutes, this gives Otto a hefty 105 big blinds with which to make his play for the title, with the rest of the field stacking up as follows:
WSOPC Sydney High Roller Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 110,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Bernie Stang | Australia | 142,000 | 24 |
| 3 | Qiang Fu | New Zealand | 366,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Jonathan Karamalikis | Australia | 128,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Mladen Vukovic | Australia | 360,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Tom Rafferty | Australia | 258,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Ryan Otto | New Zealand | 630,000 | 105 |
| 8 | Michael Egan | Australia | 204,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Roger Teska | USA | 461,000 | 77 |
A total of six players will cash for a share of the AU$1,007,000 total prize pool, with a min-cash good for AU$59,413 (~$40,535), meaning three of the remaining nine players will be departing empty-handed and competition for the hallowed money spots is expected to be fierce.
The final table gets underway at 2:15 p.m. local time, playing concurrently with Day 1c of the WSOPC The Star Sydney Main Event, with live coverage available via the official live stream, which will be on a two-hour dynamic delay meaning that, unlike the tournament, there will be no breaks with the stream catching up with the live action as play progresses.
PokerNews will be bringing you all the tournament thrills and spills as this exciting event plays out to a scintillating conclusion, though so as not to spoil the live stream, updates will be on a two-hour delay meaning posts should start hitting your browser from 4:15 p.m. onwards so stick with us as we make history and crown the 2019 WSOPC The Star Sydney High Roller Champion.
AU$20,000 High Roller
Day 2 Started