Sydney Championships 2018 Main Event Flight 1
POSTED Sat, 19 May 2018 11:26am
Hong your way! Ryan Hong Chip Leader after Flight 1 of the Sydney Championships Main Event!
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 1:52am
232 runners stood up to the plate here in the Star Poker Room to take their shot at the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool on offer in this Sydney Champs Main Event and as we get to the end of the first days play just 62 remain in contention to take down the top prize.
It was an exciting day of poker here as you would expect with many of the games best players descending on the Star to take their shot at the title. For some, things didn't go to plan and we saw players like Jonathan Karamalikis, Billy 'the Croc' Argyros and Najeem Ajez who were sent packing early but still there was a tonne of top quality players who did make it through.
Surviving to make Day 2 from today's flight we have Jarred and Connie Graham, Shivan Abdine, Hannah Lee, Brendon Rubie, Andrew Hinrichsen, Matthew Wakeman and Grant Levy just to name a few. The list goes on and on.
They are all chasing the man of the moment, Ryan Hong, who has put a stranglehold on this tournament amassing a monster stack of 360,900 in chips to put him in the chip lead with more than three times the average stack (112,300). Hong is in fine form so far in this tournament and if he can keep that going over Days 2 and 3 he could really be looking at a massive result coming his way.
Before then though we have Day 1 Flight 2 starting tomorrow at 12:30pm. The Saturday flight is always interesting as we see a lot more casual players take part, especially with the amount of pro players who made it through today's flight there is a real opportunity for a more casual player to amass a massive stack and be a real threat in the tournament.
It all starts again tomorrow from 12:30pm with the coverage kicking off after the 1st break at 2:40pm on the Star Poker Live Reporting Page. Make sure you are here and do not miss a thing as we bring you all the action!
Top 5 Chip Counts
| Name | Chip count | |
| 1 | Ryan Hong | 360,900 |
| 2 | Terence Clee | 309,000 |
| 3 | Dinh Pham | 249,200 |
| 4 | Brett Murtagh | 223,200 |
| 5 | Shivan Abdine | 217,000 |
10 minutes
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 12:33am
With just ten minutes left in today's play the clock has been stopped. Players will play three more hands and then bag and tagSam Ioannou triples!
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 12:31am
We come to the table in the middle of some preflop action. Sam Ioannou in late position had moved all-in for 25,200 and Kahle Burns makes the call, the player in middle position now decides to move over the top for 76,300 total and action is back to Burns who makes the fold.
Ioannou - 
Middle position - 
The board runs out 
for Ioannou to more the triple up and get back in contention
QUAD NINES
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 12:32am
UTG+1 raises to 6,000 and is only called by the big blind Honglin Jiang. The flop drops 
Jiang checks and the initial raiser c-bets 10,000, Jiang makes the call. They both check the turn 
and when the river drops 
Jiang checks once again and gets another check bu the raiser.
Jiang shows 
for flopping quads and the rest is history. Jiang is now on 155,000.
DON'T MESS WITH MENESES
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 12:47am
there is a bet of 6,000 and gets two callers. On the river 
and Rod Meneses puts a bet out of 18,000 and is called by Tam Trung. The other player folds and Meneses shows 
to scoop the pot and move his stack to 160,000.
MURTAGH KEEPS ON CLIMBING
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:59pm
Brett Murtagh raises from mid position to 5,100 and gets a call from the high jack. The flop comes down
, Murtagh bets out 10,100 and gets called. Both players check the turn and river of 
. Murtagh shows 
and claims the pot and now sits on 140,000.
Brett Murtagh
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:56pm
Michael O'Grady UTG raises it up to 5,800 and Brett Murtagh in middle position makes the call, everyone else folds.
The flop comes 
O'Grady checks and Murtagh bets 7,000, O'Grady makes the call and we see a turn card of to which both player check.
The river comes a to which O'Grady bets out 7,000, Murtagh makes the call.
Murtagh - 
O'Grady - 
Murtagh wins the pot and now sits on over 120,000.
BREAK TIME
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:33pm
The remaining 78 players are having their last 10-minute break before they play their last level before the end of the day. Blinds will be 1000/2000 with a 300 ante and an average stack of 89,230.Chop it like its hot!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:26pm
We come to the table with a board of 
Tristan Bain in the small blind checks the player in the big blind bets 27,000, into this big pot, the third player Andy Wang moves all-in for 25,900, this is when Bain springs his trap and moves all-in over the top for 66,900 total. The big blind tanks and decides to make a big fold.
Bain -
Wang -
The river comes an inconsequential 
for both players to chop the pot up.
RYAN HONG OVER 300,000
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:19pm
, Ryan Hong moves all in and is snap called by his opponent. Hong rolled over 
for fives full of sevens, and his opponent mucked as soon as he saw the full house. Hong jumps over 300,000.
Luis Pampliega has the bigger pair!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:05pm
We come to the table with two players all-in. Luis Pampliega from middle position and a short stack from the small blind.
Short stack -
Pampliega - 
The board runs out 
Pampliega eliminates a player and adds some much needed chips to his stack of 60,000.
NATOLI CONTINUES TO GROW
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 1:35am
all four check. The turn is the , our big blind checks, Levy bets out 5,500, Graham folds but Natoli makes the call. The big blind also folds. The river is the 
and Levy checks, Natoli picks up some chips and bets out 7,500. Levy folds and Natoli goes up to 140,000.
CARTER MISSES FLUSH DRAW AND WINS
Posted Thu, 06 Dec 2018 1:33pm
On the flop of Piers Carter and his opposition are all in.
Carter 
Opponent
Carter at risk on the flush draw is looking for a heart to save him the turn comes to put him in the lead as the river falls . Carter misses his flush draw but makes a bigger pair than his opponent and moves to 40,000.
Ashley Sharpe keeps his chances alive!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:40pm
We come to the table with a board of 
the player in the big blind leads for 1,400, and Ashley Sharpe on the button makes the call.
The turn comes the and the big blind this time throws in a bunch of yellow 5,000 chips to put Sharpe all-in. He does decide to make the call for his last 5.300.
Shape -
Big blind -
With one card remaining and needing a lot of help Sharpe stands up but the river falls a to hit one of his outs to win the pot and stay in the game. Now sits on 30,000 in chips.
MICHAEL DOODSON 4-BET ALL IN
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:25pm
Michael Doodson isn't afraid of a little challenge with a raise of 2,500 in front of him he re-raises it to 6,100. The initial player looks and asks Doodson how much he has behind before 3-betting it to 16,100. Doodson quickly 4-bet all in for 40,300 and Doodsons opponent quickly folded. Doodson showed he did not want to be pushed around. Doodson now sits on 58,000.
Haran Paheerathan fires and hits!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:23pm
The player in early position moves all-in for his remaining 19,800, it folds to Haran Paheerathan in middle position who raises it up to 40,000, everyone else decides to get out of the way.
Short stack -
Paheerathan -
The board runs out and we lose another player. Paheerathan now sits on over 100,000.
NINES HOLD THIS TIME
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:15pm
On another table with a raise to 2,500 and a call in front of him, Andrew Michael moves all in 8,800 and the initial raiser moved all in over the top. The other player that called the raise folded and we go heads up.
Michael
Initial raiser
Board:
Michael hitting a set on the turn sealed the deal for a nice double up to 20,000.
Connie "always ahead" Graham doubles up!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:09pm
We come to the table to find two players all-in with Connie Graham at risk vs the player in the big blind.
Graham -
Big blind -
The board runs out and Graham doubles up to 60,000 in chips to be back in the hunt.
NICK NICOLAOU SCORES THE DOUBLE UP
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 10:35pm
Nick Nicolaou goes all in on the button, as the small blind had acted out of turn they moved all in as well.
SB
Nicolaou
Board: 
Nicolaou doubles up to 38,000. It left the small blind with only 300 left and was eliminated the following hand.
TAM TRUNG
Posted Sat, 04 Aug 2018 12:47am
With a limp from mid position, Tam Trung raises it to 3,000 on the button and gets called by the limper. The flop comes the limper checks and Trung bets out 2,500 making it a little cheaper to be called. The opposition folds and Trung adds more chips to his stack and is now on 70,000.
Matthew Wakeman piles on the pressure!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 9:53pm
Matthew Wakeman from UTG+1 raises to 2,500, everyone folds but the big blind who makes the call. We see a flop of 
the big blind checks and Wakeman bets 2,700, the big blind calls.
The turn comes the and both players decide to check.
The river comes the 
and this time the big blind leads into the pot for 13,500, Wakeman decided to put some pressure on the big blind and bumped it to 33,000. The big blind goes deep into the tank, clearly in a little distress and unsure of what to do. He eventually decides to make the fold and Wakeman takes the pot and now sits on over 100,000.
600/1,200
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 9:33pm
Players are back from the break and are now playing 600/1200 with a 200 ante.
104 players remain to start our third last level giving us an average stack of 66,923.
Break Time
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 9:22pm
The Level has ended and players are now on a ten-minute break,
This is our second last break. At the end of this break we will have two more levels, then another break and then come back for one final level.
Miller Sends Casas to the Rail
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 9:23pm
Allan Casas has been eliminated from the tournament at the hands of Andy Miller. The chips went all in preflop and Miller had Cassas crushed.
Miller:
Cassas: 
Board:
Cassas hits the rail whilst Andy Miller moves up to 60,000
DYKES BUSTS OUR HORSE
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 9:19pm
Team Live Reportings Horse Majed Haddad has just been railed. Haddad moves all in and gets called by two other players one who is Lachlan Dykes. On a flop of our first called checks and Dykes moves all in for 44,200. After our first player asked for a count they decided to lay their hand down.
Haddad
Dykes
Haddad runs into bigger pockets, as soon as Dykes shows his hand our first player tells us they folded ace-king as the board finished running out . Dykes rivering a full house to send Majed Haddad home. Dykes is on 72,000 now.
WAKEMAN ACCUMULATING CHIPS
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:58pm
Matthew Wakeman is picking up pots and adding chips to his stack bit by bit. As action folds to him in the CO he raises to 2,000 and is called by Ashely Sharp on the button and the big blind. The flop comes they all check. The turn is the check by the small blind and Wakeman leads out for 2,500 both players fold and Wakeman moves up to 60,000.
Honglin Jiang chipping up!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:53pm
We come to the table with a board of and Honglin Jiang betting 11,000 from the small blind position, the player in late position decides to move all-in for 42,000, Jiang makes the call.
Jiang -
Late position -
The river comes a to eliminate a player and Jiang to be sitting on 120,000 and looking to make another deep run.
Level 8
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:49pm
We are now on Level 8 where the blinds are 500/1,000 with a 100 ante.
There are 111 of our original 233 players and they are all working with an average stack of 62,702.
Otto not Blotto
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:48pm
Ryan Otto has gotten a double up to bring his stack back up to 35,000 here in this Main Event.
He was all in preflop in a 'classic race situation'
Otto:
Other Guy:
Board:
Otto hits the Jack to double up and now has chips to work with!
MICHAEL O'GRADY TO BE NOTICED
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:43pm
. O'Grady is looking to be near the creme del la creme of this Flight 1 sitting on 190,000, let us hope his run continues and we will see Mr O'Grady on day 2.
Karamalikis Has a Sharp Exit
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:39pm
Jonathan Karamalikis has been eliminated in a recent hand.
With an open before him, Sharp raised to 1,700 and Karamalikis moved all-in for his final 10,000. Sharp called and turned over putting him a long way ahead of the Karamalikis was holding.
The board did not improve Karamalikis, he has been eliminated from the tournament and is now on his way back to Adelaide to do whatever the heck people do in that town.
Ashley Sharp is on 55,000
TOOTHPICK LAYS DOWN TO MAY
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:33pm
CASAS MOVING SLOWLY UP
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:25pm
Not much has been happening for Alan Casas one of the locals here at the Star Poker Room. He just won a small pot off Shivan Abdine with queen high. But in a most recent pot, Casas raised to 4,000 after one limper. The limper calls and the flop drops check to Casas who bets out 3,800 and that is enough to get his opponent to fold. He is now sitting on 50,000
Andre Dowling Does it!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:18pm
We come to the table with Marc Liddell limping in from the cut-off, Andre Dowling in the high-jack decided to bump it up and makes it 3,000 to go. The big blind decides to come along but Liddell decides to get out of the way.
The flop comes the big blind checks and Dowling continues by betting 6,000, the big blind decides to put him to the test and puts him all-in. Dowling decides he can't fold for his last 15,000 and makes the call.
Dowling -
Big blind -
The board runs out to give dowling a full double up and has him now sitting on a comfortable 50,000
MATT MCGUIGAN ON 50,000
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 8:04pm
We get to the board on the turn displaying Matt Mcguigan bets out 1,000 and gets raised to 2,700. Mcguigan makes the call and we see the river of Mcguigan check-calls a bet of 5,500. His opponent shows and Mcguigan rolls over to claim the pot. Mcguigan moves up to 50,000 and looks good in the middle stage of the tournament with only 130 players remaining.
PHAM MAKES THE RIGHT CALL
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 7:48pm
On the river, of a board displaying 
and the pot already over 40,000. Daniel Laidlaw announced that he was all in 28,400. Dinh Pham asked for a count and recalled how the hand was played out. The other players were waiting for the hand to finish as their table was about to be broken. Pham made the call after a few minutes thinking about it and it was the right one.
Laidlaw 
Pham
Pham with the bigger two pair collected the pot and eliminates Laidlaw from Flight 1. Pham skyrockets over 200,000.
MENESES MOVES OVER 100,000
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 7:37pm
Play has resumed here in the Star Poker Room, as players have returned from their 30-minute break.
Another "All in, Call" is heard, we get to the table and see Rod Meneses one of Sydney's hard-working poker players with over $150,000 in tournament poker earnings. Scooping a nice pot on a board of . Meneses tabled and eliminated one. He adds the chips to stack and now sits over 110,000.
DINH PHAM LOOKS TO BE CHIP LEADER
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 6:50pm
Dinh Pham raises from UTG to 1,500 and is called by the small and big blind. The flop comes all three check the flop. The turn is the and checked again to Pham who bets out 3,200 only the small blind calls. The river is the and both players check.
SB
Pham
With a pair on the turn, Pham adds more chips to his stack. He is now on 160,000 and looks to be our current chip leader.
Food Glorious Food
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 6:41pm
The team here in the Star Poker Room are constantly on the lookout for ways to surprise and delight the poker community that travels from all over Australia, Oceania and Asia to play poker in Australia's Premier Poker Room.
They are at it again today with a new initiative and the universal feedback from the players here is that this idea was an absolute winner!
The Star Poker Room has organised for an exquisite array of snacks to be provided to the players here to celebrate the Opening Day of the Sydney Champions Main Event.
When we say snacks, we don't mean cheap greasy things but fresh, nutritious food such as Sushi, Crab Salads, Pork Buns and other dishes personally made and delivered by the fantastic Star Events Centre Catering Team.
One of the most interesting things accompanying the snacks was the hush that fell across the Star Poker Room. Possibly for the first time in history, the room fell silent. Players were no longer talking, they were far too busy enjoying the gastronomical delights that were being delivered to them.
The free meal service will be back tomorrow at 6pm for Day 1 Flight 2 of the Sydney Championships Opening Event.
HAYEK GETS A DOUBLE UP
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 6:36pm
Joseph Hayek moves all in for his last 10,675 after a raise from UTG to 1,400. The big blind asks for a count and makes the call, the UTG player folds and we are heads up.
Hayek
BB
Board:
With an ace on the flop Hayek takes the lead, the turn and river are not a ten so Hayek doubles up. Hayek is now back up to 22,000.
LAIDLAW ELIMINATES TOP PAIR
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 6:07pm
On a flop of we hear "All in, Call" and see Daniel Laidlaw calling the all in of the big blind.
BB
Laidlaw
The turn which bricks Laidlaw but the river gets the job done. Laidlaw sends one home and now is sitting on 65,000.
TEAM LIVE REPORTINGS MAIN EVENT HORSE
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:55pm
We have not picked a Team Live Reporting Horse in a few events, but we are back on. So the Horse for Sydney Championships 2018 Main Event Flight 1 will be... Majed Haddad.
We just see Haddad raise to 1,100 and get two callers and we go to the flop of a check to Haddad and the c-bet is 3.000 both players fold. Haddad moves up to 38,000 and best of luck to our Horse on making day 2.
Level 6
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:54pm
We are now onto level 6. The blinds are 300/600 with a 50 ante.
We have lost a few more players and are now down to 167 players remaining which gives us an average stack of 41,856 which is still a massive 70 big blinds!
RUBIE UP TO 70,000
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:38pm
Brendon Rubie raises to 1,000 from UTG and gets called by the small blind. The flop is , small blind checks to Rubie who bets out another 1,000. The small blind calls and we see the on the turn. The small blind leads out for 2,600, Rubie evaluates the situation before making the call. The on the river has both players checking.
Rubie
SB
Rubies pair is good to take the pot and he moves up to 70,000.
Strang(e) Bedfellows
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:32pm
After making her way to the final table of the Masters Event earlier this week, Errolyn Strang was looking forward to a big performance here in the Sydney Championships. To that end, she was probably a little disappointed to find out that she was seated next to Inaugural APPT Sydney Main Event Champion, Grant Levy.
The two have been battling with each other for most of today's play. In a recent hand we saw Levy check-call the bets of Strang on every street as the board ran out including Strang's river bet of 1,700.
Strang: - Pair of Eights
Levy: - Two Pair, Eights and Sevens
Grant Levy wins that pot and scoops his chip stack up to 55,000 whilst Strang is sitting with a little over start stack at 32,000.
SABABOS GETS SOME EASY CHIPS
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:30pm
Robert Sababos gets some value pre, with a raise to 1,000 from mid position and a call from late position Sababos in the small blind makes it 3,600 and both players call. The flop comes Sababos makes it 3,000 and gets both players to fold quickly. Sababos now is on 40,000.
SILAJDZIJA TAKING POTS, OLIVEIRA DOUBLING UP
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:17pm
On a board of there is a bet of 4,800 and is called by two others. The river completes with the Omer Silajdzija calls a bet of 6,500 and the third player folds. The betting player turns over for the straight but is no good against Silajdzija flush with the . Silajdzija now sits on 65,000.
In the next hand, Fernando Oliveira (Picture) moves all in for 10,750 and is called by the big blind.
Oliveira
BB
Board:
Oliveira flops a full house and makes it very slim for the big blind to catch up. The turn and river seal the deal for Oliveira and he now sits on 23,000.
Back in play - 233 runners
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:01pm
We are back in play here at the Star Poker Room.
Blinds are 200/400 with a 50 ante.
We had 233 runners start this event and we now have just 190 of them remaining.
MAY NOT TO BE LEFT OUT
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:42pm
Heidi May the 2017 WSOP Women's champion is playing in today's flight one, she sees a raise of 700 in front of her from the small blind with three callers already. She re-raises it to 4,650 and watches them all fold one by one. The last player in the hand open folded and May bounces back to 30,000.
Registration Closes Shortly
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:39pm
We have now started our second break of the day which means that just 10 minutes of registration are left.
We currently have 230 runners registered in the tournament. Our understanding was that Poker Room Manager, Stephen Ibrahim, was expecting at least 231 runners in today's event. Let's see if at least one more player comes up to make Steve's day!
Gupta Likes The River. Blatt Does Not
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:36pm
We picked up the action in a hand between Dean Blatt and Ash Gupta on the flop with the board reading . After Gupta checked, Blatt made a bet of 2,500 and Gupta made the call.
The turn came down the and this time both players checked. Bringing out the on the river. Gupta checked once more and this time Blatt bet 8,500 which was roughly a pot sized bet. Gupta quickly made the call.
Blatt: - A Pair of Kings
Gupta: - Two Pairs, Kings and Threes
Gupta gets a favourable river and scoops the pot.
"Why didn't you bet the turn?" Another player at the table asked Dean Blatt.
"Because I wanted him to call the bet on the river," a rather bemused Blatt replied.
We assume that was conditional on the river not giving Gupta 2 pairs.
Ash Gupta moves up to around 65,000 in chips whilst Dean Blatt is left with just 12,000
VRLJIC SENSES LIGHT RAISE
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:33pm
With a raise to 700 from UTG+1 and a call from the CO Mijo Vriljic who is seated in the BB felt that it was a light raise so he bumped the action up to 3,700 and left himself with just over 10,000 behind. It was the right spot as both UTG+1 and the CO folded. Vriljic adds much-needed chips to his stack and is on 16,000 just minutes before the players go on a break.Fashionably Late and Packing Heat
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:24pm
Jonathan 'xMONSTERxDONGx' Karamalikis has only recently taken his seat here having chosen to register for this event in the later stages of today's registration period, This is interesting as when we spoke to him last night he said he was going to have an early night and make sure he was here on time for the start of the days play. We are not sure what happened between now and then. Perhaps a late night, but that does seem out of character for the boy from Adelaide.
Either way, Karamalikis has used being fashionably late to his advantage here having already doubled up his stack to 60,000 in chips!
Whilst we were not there for the hand, we have been told that in a five-way limped pot that the flop came out . Karamalikis bet 800 chips and was called by two other players. The turn brings the . Karamalikis once again bets, this time 2,400 only to be raised to 5,900. The third player folds and Karamalikis makes the call.
When the river comes out the Karamalikis checks over to the other player who moves all in for his final 20,000. Karamalikis make the call.
Karamalikis: - Top Two Pair
The guy who overplayed Top and Bottom pair: - Top and Bottom Pair
Karamalakis wins a massive double up early on in today's play and now has some chips to really turn the heat up on his opponents!
TABLE 3 NOT TO BE OUT DONE
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:19pm
With table 10 packed of stars, we see that table 3 should be noted as well.
Table 3s line up includes:
Robert Spano
Shivan Abdine
Vasilios 'The Croc' Argyros
Jarred Graham
Jason Gray
SPANO READY TO GO
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:13pm
Shivan Abdine makes it 750, and gets called by Robert Spano on the button and the big blind defends. The flop comes, big blind checks and Abdine c-bets 1,600 and is called by both players still in the hand. on the turn is checked around and the on the river has the big blind bet out 4,800. Abdine folds but Spano makes it 10,500, the big blind folds and Spano takes the pot and moves up to 38,000.
Tough Table Gets Tougher
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 4:09pm
As if Table 10 couldn't get any tougher, Andrew Hinrichsen has just come in and taken the previously vacant seat 1 to add even more firepower to the table!
We just saw him involved in a hand with Najeem Ajez where on the board Hinrichsen leads out for a bet of 6,000.
We know that Ajez had a serious decision on is hand because possibly for the first time ever, he wasn't talking. He eventually folded and a pot full of chips were scooped over to Hinrichsen.
Tough Table
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:58pm
We spoke about Table 10 earlier and it is certainly quite the tough table .
Here are some of the players sitting around it.
- Charbel 'CB' Boustani
- Najeem 'The Fez' Ajez
Andre '2000' Dowling
Luke 'The Part Time Model' Edwards
Marc 'Chuck' Liddell
Wael 'Monsoon' Salloum
and of course Ken 'The Engineer' Demlakian.
Tough crowd! We are expecting some fireworks from that part of the room!
Antes Please
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:49pm
We have moved on to Level Four.
The blinds are still 150/300 but now for the first time in this tournament, a 25 ante has been introduced.
We currently have 221 players entered and just over an hour left for people to register.
A Well Engineered Hand
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:47pm
We just walked by Table 10 where the players have been talking about one specific hand for the past 20 minutes. Always keen to stop for a chinwag, we asked to get the details to see what all the fuss was about.
In the hand, Ken Demlakian raised to 700 from middle position. The was a call from one player and with the action around to Victorian Prodigy and Part Time Model Luke Edwards, he raised it up to 2,500 from the button. Demlakian and the other player both called and we saw a flop of .
Demlakian and the other player both check to Edwards who fires out a continuation bet of 3,000. Demlakian calls as the other player folds. We go heads up to the turn.
The turn comes down the (pairing the Ace on the board and bringing three clubs). Demlakian checked once more and this time Edwards also checked.
The river came down the putting a fourth club out on the board. This time it was Demlakian's turn to take the betting lead with 5,500 bet. With the action on Edwards, he raised this bet over to 11,900. The action was back on Demlakian. Would he call or fold? It turns out neither, he re-raised to 18,800!
This was too much for Edwards (and too much excitement for Najeem Ajez who went giddy with excitement when retelling this story). Edwards folded his hand without showing** saying that he had for the nut flush draw (and one of the blockers for his opponent's full house).
Demlakian did proudly show his hand though as he tabled or just a pair of sixes and no clubs anywhere in site! The table was absolutely amazed by the hand and the final bet made by Demlakian.
A great play by Ken Demlakian, it was certainly a well-engineered maneuver from the man who is an engineer by trade!
** This may not actually be true, Luke Edwards may have shown his card but he may be afraid that he will be bluffed by every poker player on earth all day, every day for the rest of eternity if they find out he folded such a strong hand. So instead of saying that he actually showed his hand, he has asked us to say that he just announced it in order to at least maintain a little bit of the mystery for Edwards (although perhaps posting this disclaimer has made that redundant... oh well).
BOKODY HITS GIN ON SAAB
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 5:08pm
Majid Saab raises to 900, and gets re-raised by Ebon Bokody to 2,500 Saab makes the call. We see the flop of Saab checks to Bokody who bets out 3,000, Saab makes it 7,500. Saab pushes his remaining chips in front of him to show he will not be going anywhere and Bokody flat calls. When the drops on the turn Saab moves all in and is snapped off by Bokody.
Saab
Bokody
The river is the and Saab is left with 1,550 Bokody moves up to 70,000.
QUICK DOUBLE UPS
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:32pm
There have been some quick double up here early on in the Sydney Championships 2018 Main Event Flight 1. Darren Nguyen is all in 9,975 on the flop and gets called. Nguyen held the and his opponent had on the flop of . The turn and river completed giving Nguyen the double up to over 20,000.
Walking past another table on the board of Ashely Sharp was all in pre holding , and flopping a set and was paid off by the other player in the hand who had . Sharp is now on 45,000.
JOSEPH HAYEK SENDS ONE TO THE RAIL
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:21pm
After a raise, we have an all in for 3025 on the button he is called by two players one of them is Joseph Hayek (Pictured). The flop comes , first player checks to Hayek who bets out 3,000. The player folds and we are heads up.
Hayek
At risk player
The turn brings the which is no help to the player at risk and the river also is a miss. Hayek eliminates one player early and moves to 43,000.
Endersby Takes One Early
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:12pm
, Blight checked and Endersby made it 3,200 to go. Both the button and blight folded and Endersby sits on 40,000.
Who is in the room
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 3:01pm
This field is absolutely jam-packed with some of the best poker talents Australia has to offer.
Here are a few of the players we have seen around the Star Poker Room so far (and once again our patented, fairly unimaginative nicknames).
Deal 'The Splat' Blatt
Rod 'Mensa' Meneses
Steve 'Learn how buying a new property can reduce your tax bill' Pappas
Grant 'Grunter321' Levy
Corey 'Worthington' Kempson
Michael 'Pickle' Tran
Nurulan 'The Boobie Prize' Boobekov
Kahle "Never on the Rail' Burns
Michel 'Boo-yah- Bouskila
Jarrod 'Iron Lady' Thatcher
Sosia 'Kiwi' Jiang
Alan 'Misspelt Italian House' Cassas
Jimmy 'Diggity' Briggs Jr
Shiv 'The Prison Weapon' Abdine
Jarred 'Not as Good as Connie' Graham
Connie 'Better than Jarred' Graham
Brendon 'Brendoor' Rubie
Chad 'Sunday Fresh' Awerbuch
Heidi 'The World Champ' May
Toothpick Tony
Matthew 'MJW06' Wakeman
Craig 'Not so' Blight
Michael 'Mickey O' O'Grady
But I want to play!
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 2:48pm
If you have been living under a rock (or in Melbourne) until now and only just realised that this tournament is going on then fear not! There are still plenty of chances for you to get involved.
Registration is open for today's flight until the end of the second break which should occur around 4:50pm. There is then a second Day 1 flight tomorrow where players can once again register right up to the end of the second break so you have plenty of time to be a part of this fantastic tournament!
The current scene
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 2:46pm
We pick up the action at the start of Level 3 here in the poker room. Players start the day with 30,000 chips in front of them and the blinds are currently 150/300 and there is no ante.
We are playing 11 levels of sixty minutes a piece today so should wrap up play around midnight. There are currently 206 runners registered for today's flight so we could be heading for a big field in this tournament!
The Show has Begun
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 2:44pm
The time for talk is over. The 2018 Sydney Championships Main Event is officially underway here in the Star Poker Room.
With $1,000,000 guaranteed to be in prize pool this is certainly something to get excited about. Last year Henry Tran overcame a massive field of 496 runners to take down the title and bring home a massive $300,000 first prize.
He is one of many pros who will be looking to do the same here this weekend in this event. Will the pros be able to get the job done here or will a new name emerge through the ranks and take down the title and their shot of poker glory.
It is going to be action packed either way so make sure you stay tuned here to the Star Poker Live Reporting Team as we bring you all the action from the Sydney Championships Main Event!
Live Reporting
Posted Fri, 03 Aug 2018 2:10pm
