Alan Wilson moved his stack of just over 600,000 into the middle from under the gun and Louis Luo called form the hijack.
Alan Wilson: 10♦9♦
Louis Luo: 10♥10♠
Wilson wouldn't have liked seeing Luo's and and rightfully so as the 7♣Q♥3♣ flop left him drawing very thin. A 10♣ on the turn sealed the deal for Wilson, and the Q♣ filled up Luo on the river.
Anthony Xu just played aces to perfection and took down a chunky pot against JP Rounce-Sue.
Xu opened from the hijack to 160,000 and Rounce-Sue defended his big blind to see a flop of 7♦2♣7♣. Rounce-Sue checked and Xu continued for 100,000, then Rounce-Sue check-raised to 275,000. Xu called.
A 3♥ dropped on the turn and Rounce-Sue bet again, this time for 325,000, and again Xu called.
When the 7♥ put a third seven on board, Rounce-Sue checked it over to Xu, who fired out 1,100,000, leaving himself around 100,000 behind. Rounce-Sue went into the tank for some time and tinkered with the decision before he finally decided to call.
Xu then revealed the rockets with A♠A♣ and Rounce-Sue mucked.
JP Rounce-Sue opened and was three-bet by his table neighbor Jason Brown, who made it 480,000. When it got back to Rounce-Sue, he shoved for 1,375,000, and Brown eventually put in the chips.
JP Rounce-Sue: A♦A♥
Jason Brown: K♥J♥
Rounce-Sue was in a great spot to double up but his heart probably started racing after the 6♥8♥K♠ flop gave Brown a plethora of outs. One of which hit the turn as Brown made trips when the K♦ rolled off, leaving Rounce-Sue with just two outs. The 10♣ wasn't what he needed, and he was out in 16th.
Shayne Sim made it 275,000 from early position and Reece Bedot called from the button.
The flop came 3♥J♦3♦ and Sim bet 200,000, then Bedot raised, Sim shoved around 1,200,000, and Bedot called.
Shayne Sim: A♦K♥
Reece Bedot: A♣J♥
Sim had been outflopped and needed some help from the dealer in order to survive. Some salvation arrived in the form of a 7♦ on the turn, giving him a flush draw, but the 2♥ river bricked off, sending Sim out in 15th.
Jennifer Cassell opened to 200,000 from under the gun and Louis Luo called in the cutoff.
The flop came 10♣9♣9♦ and Cassell continued with a bet of 150,000. Luo then raised to 450,000, Cassell shoved, and Luo called off his stack of around 1,300,000 total.
Louis Luo: A♣Q♣
Jennifer Cassell: 9♠9♥
Just quads for Cassell as Luo was left needing runner-runner straight flush to survive. This is the APO where magic happens and dreams are realized, but not for Luo on this occasion as the 6♦10♠ runout meant he was out in 14th.
Mitch Webster had his stack of around 1,850,000 in the middle and had been called by Jason Brown from the next seat.
Mitch Webster: A♥Q♣
Jason Brown: A♦K♠
Webster didn't like his situation and found no improvement on the 8♦7♠9♦ flop. A 9♠ on the turn did bring around some chop outs, but the 10♣ river bricked off, and Webster was eliminated.
The action folded around to Hai Kee on the button, who shoved in his own unique style.
"All in! No gamble, no future," shouted Kee, who put his stack of around 2,700,000 in the pot. Short-stacked Ehsan Amiri was in the big blind and with around 450,000 behind, he eventually put himself at risk.
Ehsan Amiri: A♣2♦
Hai Kee: A♠K♣
Amiri had just a few big blinds and needed to find a lot of help to stay alive. No deuce appeared on the 6♦4♣5♥ flop, but he did pick up a gutshot as any three would complete a straight. However, neither the 6♥ turn nor K♦ river could save Amiri, and he was out in 12th.
Daniel Klinger made it 240,000 from the cutoff and Jennifer Cassell defended her big blind.
On the Q♣5♠10♦ flop, Cassell check-called a bet of 150,000 from Klinger and the K♥ dropped on the turn. Again Cassell checked and Klinger kept firing with a size of 600,000. Cassell called.
A 10♣ landed on the river and Cassell lead-shoved, giving Klinger a decision for his remaining 635,000. Eventually, Klinger called.
Cassell then showed J♥10♠ for rivered trips, and Klinger's A♦K♦ went into the bin, ending his run in 11th.
After just losing a chunky pot, Reece Bedot opened the cutoff to 300,000 and Wai Au made it 1,500,000 from the big blind. Bedot shoved, and Au called off his last few chips.
Wai Au: A♠3♥
Reece Bedot: 5♣5♠
Bedot had the chance to end the night with nine players remaining and held onto his lead through the 3♠10♣J♥ flop, though Au did pick up a pair. The 4♣ turn and 9♥ river didn't help Au, and he was out in tenth.
Day 2 of the $1,500 Platinum Players Championship at the 2025 Australian Poker Open has officially spilled into overtime, with the final nine unable to close it out before the clock ran out. The action will now resume tomorrow for an unscheduled Day 3 inside Club Marconi at Doltone House Western Sydney at 3 p.m., where a champion will finally be crowned.
Leading the way is Jennifer Cassell, who bagged an imposing 11,225,000 to take the top spot heading into the finale. Cassell surged during the late stages of play and will return as the player to catch as the race for the Platinum trophy and top prize enters its final stretch.
Final Table Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Jennifer Cassell
Australia
11,225,000
75
2
Daniel Neilson
Australia
10,675,000
71
3
Reece Bedot
Australia
7,000,000
47
4
Dustin Tran
Australia
4,685,000
31
5
Johan Lees
Australia
4,125,000
28
6
Hai Kee
Australia
3,585,000
24
7
Zac Vigar
Australia
3,310,000
22
8
Jason Brown
Australia
2,985,000
20
9
Anthony Xu
Australia
2,325,000
16
A total of 126 players had made it into Day 2 and the money, with a payday of A$2,650 already in the bank, but their targets set on the A$252,300 top prize. Chris Moussa and Justin Woo, who both made it to heads-up in last year's edition of the PPC, failed to make a final table encore and both busted early in the day.
As play got deeper, it was Reece Bedot who was running up a stack and he did so by sending Yuanting Wang, Fabian Gumz, Van Mai, Shayne Sim, and Wai Au—who was the final table bubble boy—to the rail.
Reece Bedot
Daniel Neilson, Dustin Tran, Johan Lees, and Zac Vigar are just a few more names that complete star-studded line and they'll be looking to use their experience to navigate their way up the payouts and contest for the trophy.
Each of the remaining nine players is now guaranteed A$16,600, but all eyes are on the A$252,300 top prize and the Platinum trophy. A runner-up finish will earn A$147,300, while third place will walk away with A$102,300, making the stakes on tomorrow’s unscheduled Day 3 as high as they come.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (A$)
1
$252,300
2
$147,300
3
$102,300
4
$74,300
5
$57,800
6
$42,300
7
$28,300
8
$19,300
9
$16,600
The final table is set, the lights will be back on tomorrow, and PokerNews will be there to capture every card, call, and clash from start to finish.
