The Sydney Championships 2018 Opening Event

Johan Lees is the 2017 WSOP Sydney Opening Event Champion! - $105,416

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 8:23pm

As a live reporter, we talk to a lot of players in the Star Poker Room throughout the course of a tournament. One thing that we kept hearing this week over and over again was that Johan Lees was due for a big score.

He got that score today, where after six days, and a record field of 1,357 entrants in the Star Poker Room he would outlast them all winning the 2017 WSOP Sydney Opening Event, a Gold Ring and $105,416 in the process.

Players have constantly been telling us about the amount of work Lees has been putting into his game and how good he is getting. To his peers this result was a foregone conclusion. However, Lees is very modest.

“Nah, I just ran really well,” Lees told the Star Poker Live Reporting Team when asked about how well he has been playing.

“I just try to do my best in every situation. I got some good cards at the right time and was lucky to be able to take advantage of that.”

We agree with his peers though, Lees is modest, this was skill, not luck. Johan Lees plays a quality brand of poker. He came into the final table with a commanding chip lead after a very solid Day 2 of this tournament yesterday. He held more than half the chips in play by the time the cards went in the air this afternoon, this tournament was his to lose.

 This takes nothing away from Velcic who came in with a completely different task in front of him. He came to the table with a relative short stack and worked his way through the field using well timed aggression to eliminate several key players from this final table and to actually hold the chip lead by the time we went heads up.

The heads up battle was a different affair though, with Lees chipping away at Velcic every single hand. He was like a bull at the gates, 3-betting and 4-betting with impunity until he not only reduced the chip lead Velcic had built but overcame it. The final hand was a beautifully played one where Lees was able to get Velcic to commit his entire stack on the river when Lees held  for a rivered straight. It was a fitting end to a comprehensive heads up performance.

It also got Lees a new nickname. “We are gonna call you Mr Three-Five offsuit from now on,” Good friend and fellow player Jesse Mason yelled out to Lees.

“You know what, I am pretty happy with that.” Lees replied.

For $105,416 and a highly sought after WSOP Circuit Gold Ring, why wouldn’t you be.

Matthew Velcic Eliminated in 2nd Place - $65,539

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 7:36pm

Lees called the 350,000 raise of Velcic preflop and we saw a board of . 

He then called Velcic's bet of 450,000 which brought out the  turn. Both players checked the turn and when the  hit the river Lees checked over to Velcic who bet 950,000.

Lees then moved all in, putting Velcic all in. He made the call and Lees snapped down for a rivered straight which Velcic could not beat making him our final player to hit the rail.

Johan Lees is our new champion!

This is what they are playing for

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 7:25pm

The Hurt Locker

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 7:24pm

Johan Lees is putting the hurt on Matthew Velcic over the last 15 minutes of this heads up clash.

He has constantly been chipping away at his stack with well timed three bets and raises.

Velcic just tried to play back by 3-betting a raise to 350,000 by Lees to 825,000. However, Lees was having none of it and moved all in, putting Velcic all in. He folded and Lees started building new towers on his side of the table.

Lees edges in front

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 7:11pm

Johan Lees is starting to get the upper hand in this battle of attrition.

After starting the heads up battle at a slight disadvantage he has now edged approximately 1 million chips in front!

In the trenches

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:54pm

With effective 40 big blind stacks we are looking at some intense trench warfare so far in this heads up battle.

Many hands have gone raise before the flop, raise or re-raise on the flop and fold.

A recent example of this was Velcic raising to 350,000 preflop with Lees making the call.

Lees checked to Velcic on the  flop which saw a continuation bet of 400,000. Lees raised to 1,225,000 and Velcic folded.

The battle continues.

Next Level

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:49pm

Heads up Chip Counts

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:43pm

Carlos Youssef Eliminated in 3rd Place - $47,881

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:41pm

After a valiant effort, Carlos Youssef has been eliminated in 3^rd place.

The chips went all in preflop against Matthew Velcic and Youssef was in trouble.

Youssef: 

Velcic: 

Board: 

We are now heads up for the first bracelet of the 2017 WSOP Sydney!

Not going quietly

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:34pm

Carlos Youssef is the short stack here but it is clear he is not planning on dying wondering.

He has been looking for spots to get his chips into the middle to keep building.

On a recent hand, Johan Lees raised from the button to 260,000. The action was in Youssef who moved all in for 1,500,000. The other players got out of his way and he moved up to 2,000,000.

Final Three Chip Counts

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:21pm

David '2 Card FuFu' Dai Eliminated in 4th Place - $36,400

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:19pm

Matthew Velcic has build a commanding chip lead over this final table by eliminating David ‘2 Card FuFu’ Dai on the last hand.

Velcic raised to 325,000 from the button and Dai made the call.

On the  Flop Dai check-called the 350,000 bet of Velcic. Then on the  turn with the Action on Dai he sprung to life and moved all in.

Velcic snap-called and had Dai crushed.

Dai: 

Velcic:

The on the river just added salt to the wound. Dai left the tournament and Velcic now has a commanding 3 handed chip lead with just under 7 million in chips!

All Quiet on the Western Front

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:12pm

The early post break hands have all been taken down by a singular raise. Players have not been playing back on each other and appear to be expecting each others raisers.

The table is quiet… a little too quiet.

Back in action

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 6:03pm

Players are back from the break.

The blinds are now 60,000/120,000 with a 10,000 ante.

After a few quick bust outs the average stack is 3,392,500 giving our players some breathing space.

Chip Counts at the break

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:57pm

Break

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:54pm

Youssef wins battle of the blinds

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:53pm

It folded around to Johan Lees in the small blind and he made it 285,000 to go. Carlos Youssef made the call.

Lees then continuation bet the  flop to the tune of 300,000 and was called by Youssef.

He then slowed down on the  turn by checking. Youssef followed suit.

Lees then checked again on the  river and as soon as he did Youssef tabled .

That was good enough for Lees who folded.

Daniel Franks Eliminated in 5th Place - $27,711

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:48pm

Daniel Franks heads to the rail as our 5^th place finisher.

He move all in for his final 1,000,000 and was called by Matthew Velcic.

Franks: 

Velcic: 

Board: 

With Franks receiving no help from the board he is on his way home $27,711 richer.

Velcic is now very close to our chip leader with around 4,500,000!

"The cash tables were closed"

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:40pm

Everyone has different ways of approaching tournament series.

Some people plan them out in their calendar and know exactly what events they are going to lay at all times. Others will come along and have a look at the field and who is playing before making a decision about what they want to do.

Then there is David ‘2 Card FuFu’ Dai who has a fairly pragmatic approach as to why he is playing in this poker tournament at the moment.

“I came on Tuesday to play cash games and they were all closed for the tournament,” Dai told the Star Poker Live Reporting Team. “So I figured I would give this a go.”

This strategy seems to be working for Dai so far, he is guaranteed a payout of $27,711 and could be walking home $105,416 richer if he goes all the way!

Nathan Kiely Eliminated in 6th Place - $21,342

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:39pm

Matthew Velcic raised to 225,000 and it folded to Nathan Kiely in the big blind who raised to 515,000.

The action was back on Velcic and he moved all in for 1,600,000. Kiely made the call for his final 1,400,000.

Kiely: 

Velcic: 

Board: 

After a great performance this week Nathan Kiely is sent to the rail and there are just five players remaining.

"It must be this side of the table"

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:28pm

With three players knocked out from this final table Matthew Velcic has noticed a worrying trend.

Seat 1, Seat 2 and Seat 3 have all been eliminated so far and Velcic is residing in seat 4.

“It must be this side of the table,” he mused.

For his sake we hope he is wrong!

Unensaikhan 'Uno Yuka' Bolovson Eliminated in 7th Place - $16,627

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:26pm

Uno Yuka has been eliminated from the tournament in 7^th place!

Yuka moved all in for his final 1,035,000 from UTG +2 and it folded around to Johan Lees on the button.

He thought for a while before moving all in over the top for 3,500,000. All other players quickly folded and the cards were on their backs.

Yuka: 

Lees: 

Lees hit the lead on the  flop and stayed there for the  turn and river.

His commanding chip lead has been restored with about 5,000,000 chips and Uno Yuka is off to the cage to collect his $16,627 prize money!

Easy come easy go

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:16pm

No sooner had Nathan Kiely finished stacking up his newly acquired chips did he end up handing them over to Carlos Youssef.

Kiely raised to 250,000 from middle position. Youssef made the call.

The flop came out  and with the action back on Kiely he bet 175,000.

This time it was Youssef who jumped to life, immediately raised to 415,000.

Kiely waited a moment or two to avoid embarrassment before quickly mucking his hand.

Youssef, being the good sport he is, showed the to vindicate Kiely’s fold.

Blinds Up

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:13pm

Kiely plays a master stroke

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:10pm

Nathan Kiely has been quiet so far on this final table. He just sprung to life on a recent hand.

He raised to 160,000 from middle position only to have Johan Lees to his immediate left re-raise to 375,000.

It folded back to Kiely who made the call and we saw a flop of .

Kiely paused for a while, looked at his cards and then thought some more. He then checked and the action was on Lees.

Lees bet 300,000 at which point Kiely immediately moved all in.

It became apparent to Lees that he had been hoodwinked by Kiely so he quickly mucked his hand.

Youssef takes from Franks

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 5:02pm

Carlos Youssef has just picked up a decent pot preflop to push him past the 1,600,000 mark.

Daniel Franks raised to 210,000 from UTG+1, it folded around to Youssef in the big blind who moved all in for 1,305,000.

Franks thought long and hard before releasing his hand and putting himself down to around 1,200,000 in chips.

Toby Bentall is Eliminated in 8th Place - $13,104

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:58pm

Never underestimate the ability of the Star Poker Live Reporting Team to mock someone. Toby Bentall was eliminated the very next hand.

He moved all in for his final 900,000 and was called by Matthew Velcic seated to his immediate left.

This time, unfortunately for him, Bentall did not have the goods.

Bentall: 

Velcic:

Board:

Bentall is done for the day but does have $13,104 to comfort him!

After a quick flurry of action  Velcic is about 2,000,000 in chips!

Toby Bentall is a card magnet!

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:52pm

Toby Bentall has been all in several times and so far he has shown he has the ammunition to back it up.

His last three all ins haven't been called but he has shown Ace King, Pocket Nines and Pocket Tens so far!

His message is clear to other players - don't call unless you have the goods!

He is wearing a shirt from the TV show 'Survivor' (which I love) today. He is very much living up the the 'Outwit, Outplay, Outlast' mantra so far today!

Chip Counts

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:47pm

Halfway through Level 26 here are some approximate final table chip counts

You Beauty!

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:42pm

Carlos Youssef has just gotten a much needed double up at the expense of our chip leader, Johan Lees.

It folded around to Lees in the small blind and he bet 595,000 - the size of Youssef's remaining stack.

Youssef looked at his cards and quickly called.

Youssef:

Lees: 

Board: 

Carlos Youssef is now sitting on around 1,300,000 and we have just seen the first small chink in our chip leader's armour!

And Again

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:37pm

The very next hand Uno Yuka made it 130,000 to go from the cutoff. 

Toby Bentall once again moved all in, for 450,000. Yuka thought long and hard before finally folding.

Bentall showed him  to prove that he wasn't fooling around.

After coming in very short stacked Bentall is now up to 740,000

Blinds

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:34pm

The blinds have gone up and our remaining 8 players are now playing 40,000/80,000 with a 5,000 ante.

The average stack is 1,696,250

Uno Push

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:32pm

The last few hands Uno Yuka has played he has had people play back at him.

In a recent small blind vs big blind battle Toby Bentall moved all in from the big blind after Yuka tried to complete from the small blind. Then the hand after Yuka made it 135,000 from the button and Matthew Velcic made it 310,000 to go and Yuka once again folded.

If he keeps doing this players may start to see his chip stack as an easy mark... or he could be setting the perfect trap.

Declan Russel Eliminated in 9th Place - $10,448

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:24pm

Declan Russel is our 9^th place finisher.

The very next hand he moved all in and was called by chip leader Johan Lees.

Russel: 

Lees: 

Board: 

Russel heads to the rail to collect his $10,448 and Lees extends his chip stack to more than 5,000,000!  

Double Declan!

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:21pm

Declan Russel came in as a short stack today and just received a much needed double up!

He moved all in from the button and was called by Nathan Kiely in the big blind.

Russel: 

Kiely: 

Things looked good but sweaty on the  flop.

The turn  helped a little but Russel still needed to fade a club.

A club did hit the river bit it was the  giving Russel a full house.

He moves up to 600,000!

Frankly he is doing well

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:17pm

Daniel Franks has gotten a great start at this final table. He has won two of the first three hands.

He just showed a set with  on a board of in a recent hand against Matthew Velcic.

That helped him pick up a tidy 400,000 pot!

And they're off!

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 4:07pm

The Final Nine Begin Battling It Out for the Gold Ring and $105,416 First Prize!

Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2017 2:16pm

The cards are in the air and we are underway!

We are starting the clock with 25 minutes to go on Level 25. The blinds are currently 30,000/60,000 with an ante of 5,000. The average stack is 1,507,777.

Here are the nine players who make up our final table and their seat draw.