Hamish Crawshaw Wins The Star Sydney Champs Main Event (A$352,800)

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Hamish Crawshaw Wins The Star Sydney Champs Main Event (A$352,800)

The 2019 The Star Sydney Champs has concluded after more than three weeks of poker action at The Star Sydney. The A$3,000 Main Event ended with the victory of Hamish Crawshaw. Crawshaw came out on top of a record-breaking field of 600 entries to claim the trophy and a payday of A$352,800.

One year ago, the Kiwis Brian Lam and Charlie Hawes finished in second and third place respectively, and this time the trophy will finally be heading to New Zealand as Crawshaw defeated Mark Lassau heads-up to claim the lion's share of the A$1,680,000 prize pool.

Crawshaw already cashed in The Sydney Champs Main Event in 2018 and had his breakthrough result on the live circuit earlier this year in another record-setting event on Australian soil. Out of a field of 822 entries in the 2019 Aussie Millions Main Event, he finished 7th for A$242,000. He topped that result here in Sydney.

The Star Sydney regular Joe Antar finished in third place and the final table also featured Crawshaw's countryman Wenjian “William” Qiu, Bernie Stang, and Corey Kempson.

2019 The Star Sydney Champs A$3,000 Main Event Final Table Result

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (in AUD)Prize (in USD)
1Hamish CrawshawNew ZealandA$352,800$244,348
2Mark LassauAustraliaA$218,215$151,135
3Joe AntarAustraliaA$159,566$110,515
4Tu LeAustraliaA$118,406$82,008
5Peter RobertsonAustraliaA$89,090$61,703
6Wenjian “William” QiuNew ZealandA$67,956$47,066
7Bernie StangAustraliaA$52,550$36,396
8Corey KempsonAustraliaA$41,194$28,531
9Nickolas OibermanAustraliaA$32,726$22,666
Hamish Crawshaw - 2019 The Star Sydney Champs Main Event Winner
Hamish Crawshaw - 2019 The Star Sydney Champs Main Event Winner

Early Eliminations and a Roller Coaster Final Table

All eyes were set on Corey Kempson when the final thirteen players returned to their seats, as he held a commanding lead over the remaining finalists. It took just half an hour to set up the nine-handed final table as Peter Dykes, Collin Tran, Joseph Hayek, and Kumar K.A departed in the first level of the day.

Crawshaw had started in the middle of the pack, but his rise began with a double elimination on the outer table as his pocket deuces held up against the king-six of Tran and the ace-queen of Hayek. A few minutes later, K.A failed to get there with ace-queen against the ace-king of Mark Lassau.

Kempson still held a narrow lead, but it was Bernie Stang that dominated the action with his big bet poker. Described by casino regulars as “one that can bring the pain,” Stang jumped into the lead in a pivotal hand of the final table when he got check-raised with king-jack on a jack-high flop. Kempson jammed with pocket queens for the overpair, and a king on the turn brought the upset.

Kempson won a flip with ace-king suited against the dreadful pocket queens of Nickolas Oiberman right after but would have to settle for eighth place when his ace-ten suited ended up second-best against the ace-king of Tu Le.

Corey Kempson
Corey Kempson started the final day as chipleader but ended up finishing 8th (A$41,194/$28,531)

Crawshaw Assumes Control

The chip lead changed just one more time for the remainder of the tournament. Stang dropped back into the middle of the pack and four-bet shoved for more than thirty big blinds with pocket nines, which Crawshaw snap-called holding pocket kings. A jack-high board brought no upset and Crawshaw was in the driver's seat.

With a sizable chip lead, Crawshaw increased the aggression and his stack while the remaining five hopefuls' stacks were going back and forth. Wenjian Qiu would be the first to succumb when his three-bet jam with seven-four suited was called by fellow countryman Crawshaw with pocket nines.

Joe Antar was the shortest stack with five players remaining and scored a vital double through Crawshaw, who also doubled Lassau. But the Kiwi made up for the hiccups by sending both Peter Robertson and Tu Le to the rail. After another Lassau double, Crawshaw claimed the stack of Antar and entered heads-up play with a commanding lead.

Lassau nearly closed the gap at one point in the hour-long duel for the title, but the name at the top of the leaderboard remained the same. Eventually, they got it in after a three-bet pot on a jack-high flop, and Lassau was at risk with kings for the overpair as Crawshaw held king-jack suited for top pair and the flush draw. Another club on the turn instantly sealed the victory for the New Zealander.

Mark Lassau - Hamish Crawshaw Heads Up
Mark Lassau and Hamish Crawshaw Heads Up

A Record-Breaking Main Event

Back in 2013, the buy-in of the Main Event was increased to A$3,000, and the attendance has gone up every year. Former champions featured some of the brightest talent and well-known names in Aussie poker such as Daniel Laidlaw, Martin Kozlov, and Kahle Burns, who have all earned their merits on the international poker tables as well.

The first of two starting days saw a total of 280 entries and the guaranteed prize pool was already surpassed as soon as the cards for Day 1b went in the air. Another 320 entries boosted the field to 600 entries in total, up from 522 entries in the previous edition in 2018.

The Sydney Champs Main Event Since 2013

YearEntriesPrize PoolWinnerTop Prize (in AUD)
2019600A$1,680,000Hamish CrawshawA$352,800
2018522A$1,461,000Nebojsa BlanusaA$314,265
2017496A$1,388,800Henry TranA$300,000
2016428A$1,198,400Kahle BurnsA$297,203
2015281A$786,800Ben JeeA$200,634
2014235A$658,000Martin KozlovA$171,080
2013227A$635,461Daniel LaidlawA$165,000

Numbers Up Across the Board

The poker room was buzzing during the entire festival, and all events attracted fields well above the expectations with almost all well-known faces of the local poker scene in action at the cash game and tournament tables.

Adam Dundovic topped a massive field of 983 entries in the A$500 Cup, and David Hirst claimed the trophy in the A$1,100 Monster Stack. Aussie Poker Hall of Fame member Jason Gray triumphed for the second time after 2017 in the $5k Challenge, while Qiang Fu topped a field of 356 entries in the 6-Max Event.

Last but not least, the A$20,000 High Roller ended with a three-way deal. Sean Ragozzini claimed the trophy and second-biggest prize of the entire festival.

Other Highlights of the 2019 The Star Sydney Champs at a Glance

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerTop Prize (in AUD)
Monster StackA$1,100382A$382,000David HirstA$84,039
CupA$500983A$442,350Adam DundovicA$84,057
TeamsA$500131A$58,950Chester Swords & Yita ChoongA$16,508
5k ChallengeA$5,000129A$612,750Jason GrayA$171,572
6-MaxA$1,100356A$356,000Qiang FuA$89,003
High RollerA$20,00037A$703,000Sean RagozziniA$223,361

While the annual showdown in Sydney is coming to an end, the preparations for the next big festival are already underway as the World Series of Poker Circuit Event will return to Sydney from November 14th to December 9th, 2019.

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