Matt Rolfe moved all in on the button and Nelson Dong took a moment to check the tournament clock before making the call in the big blind.
Nelson Dong: 10♠10♣
Matt Rolfe: K♥9♥
Dong's pocket tens were unable to hold, as Rolfe caught a king in the window of the K♣5♠7♥4♣3♣ runout. Dong wished the table good luck on his way to the exit.
Mitch Webster moved all in for his last 50,000 from under the gun and was at risk when Ken Demlakian shoved in the small blind.
Mitch Webster: K♠10♠
Ken Demlakian: A♥6♣
Webster got up and prepared to exit on the bubble, but the 10♥2♣3♠7♦2♦ runout left him with the only pair. Demlakian was left with crumbs while Webster doubled up.
Sitting just one elimination away from the money, players watched two all-ins called on adjoining tables.
Table 17
Justin Woo raised from under the gun and made the call after Steffan Thomas moved all in.
Steffan Thomas: A♣K♠
Justin Woo: K♣K♥
Thomas could not find an ace to crack Woo's pocket kings on the 10♦3♠5♦8♣9♦ runout. "You're welcome, everyone," said Woo as players then turned their attention to the other table.
Table 13
Ken Demlakian called an open to 25,000 from early position and called the rest of his short stack when Mitch Webster moved all in on the button.
Ken Demlakian: 6♠5♠
Mitch Webster: 9♣9♥
Webster's nines were never in danger on the K♥4♦4♥8♠2♦ board, ending Demlakian's run on the bubble.
Demlakian and Thomas were eliminated together, and split the $2,300 min cash. The remaining 20 players then bagged up for the night.
The busiest day of the Australian Poker Open thus far saw 164 entries in the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships, bringing the overall tournament total to 455 with two more opening flights to be played.
It was a celebratory mood inside the beautiful Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi, as tournament officials announced that the first three events of the festival all surpassed their advertised guarantees, including the AUD $500,000 on this event. That mark was passed on Level 5, and grew to $591,500 by the time late registration closed.
Leading the way is Justin Woo, who became the fourth member of the 1,000,000 chip club overall in the event when he finished the night on the number exactly.
Another 20 players filled a bag at the end of night, joining 37 from the first two flights of the tournament. All of them have earned a minimum of AUD $2,300, looking for much more when they return on Monday, April 1. That bubble number was originally set at 21, but a pair of knockouts on the bubble left the final cash of the night split between two players.
Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Justin Woo
Australia
1,000,000
2
Shane Pearce
Australia
916,000
3
Matt Rolfe
Australia
773,000
4
Erden Ibrahim
Australia
757,000
5
Nicholas Wright
Australia
715,000
6
Alex Lynskey
Australia
697,000
7
Amin Riyazati
Australia
525,000
8
Andreas Vasiliou
Australia
509,000
9
Liam Murray
Australia
377,000
10
Wei Chin Huang
Taiwan
339,000
Woo was no the only player to hit the million-chip mark on Friday. Shane Pearce held the chip lead with a seven-figure stack, but lost a bit of ground to sit in second spot. Erden Ibrahimbuilt a stack with kings after the final break of the night, also giving back some of those chips before finishing inside the top five.
Another notable name with a big stack in Alex Lynskey, who finished seventh in the 2018 WSOP Main Event. Lynskey also captured a WSOP Circuit Main Event title that year, one of several wins he has registered in Australia. The veteran sits sixth after Day 1c, looking to make another deep run in his home country.
The real fireworks came on the very last action of the night, as both Ken Demlakian and Steffan Thomasbusted during hand-for-hand play on the direct money bubble. Woo was responsible for one of those knockouts, finding pocket kings to finish off Thomas while Demlakian was the shortest stack remaining at that point. The two split the minimum cash of $2,300 as the rest of the players bagged for the night.
There are just two more starting flights to be played, beginning with Day 1d on Saturday, March 30 at 11 a.m. local time. The tournament prize pool will grow even further as players return with a starting stack of 50,000 chips, with unlimited reentries still in play.
Blind levels continue to be 40 minutes length, starting with blinds of 100/200 and a 200 big blind ante. Scheduled breaks will occur after every three levels, and the field will play down to the top 12.5% remaining. Late registration is open until end of Level 9.
Don’t miss any of the action, as the PokerNews team has you covered with live reporting from the floor here in Sydney.