Main Event
Day 2a Completed
2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau
Main Event
Day: 2a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau
Buy-in
6,600 HKD
Entries
221
Level
28
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
75,000
Wai Kiat Lee in Pole Position After Day 2A of the 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
So far the 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau has attracted 575 unique entries and generated an additional 85 re-entries to bring the total number of runners up to 660.
This combined with the 172 runners from the four previous legs in Juju, Korea (24-30 Sept), Manila (13-16 Oct), Taipei (3-5 Nov) and Incheon, Korea (10-12 Nov) brings the total number of entries up to an impressive 832.
Day 2A of the 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau saw 69 survivors from the eight starting flights assembled for the first time and a further 36 players coughed up the HK$38,000 direct Day 2 entry fee to bring the total number of entrants up to 105 and the total number of 2017 Suncity Cup entries up to an impressive 868, with Day 2B still left to play out.
Any players who joined the Day 2A action directly began with a 100,000 starting stack, though some of the players who had qualified via the other starting flights and four other prior legs began with a great deal more – notably Japan’s Sahashi Hideki.
Hideki qualified from the Taipei leg and began play with a commanding lead of 374,200 (374 big blinds) – more than 100,000 more in chips than next closest rival, China’s Weizhou Zha, who began the day with 270,200.
However, by the end of the nine 60-minute levels there was a new sheriff in town – Wai Kiat Lee. The Malaysian player qualified during Day 1C and began play with a stack of 150,000 but spun this up to 400,000 by the end of level four.
The hand that saw him climb to the top was a big one between Lee and China’s Dong Luo, whom Lee pushed off a massive hand to win without showdown and shoot to the top of the leaderboard while Luo was left crippled and departed shortly afterward.
Lee’s fellow countryman Michael Soyza also enjoyed a great day at the tables, briefly flirting with the chip lead himself after winning a race with ace-king against the pocket tens of Yang Zhang to send the Chinese player to the rail.
However, Lee did not want to have his thunder stolen and busted the unfortunate Atanas Kavrakov shortly afterward, moving all-in from the small blind to isolate after the Bulgarian got the last of his chips in from the cutoff and Hong Kong’s Ben Lai smooth-called the button.
Lai folded ace-queen, meaning Lee’s pocket tens were enough to beat Kavrakov’s king-nine offsuit and push Lee back in front, though it could well have been a different story had Lai called as the flop came down ace-high. Both Soyza (834,000) and Lai (377,000) managed to make it through to Day 3 with the rest of the field stacking up as follows:
2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau Day 2A Survivors
| Position | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wai Kiat Lee | Malaysia | 840,000 |
| 2 | Michael Soyza | Malaysia | 834,000 |
| 3 | Chien Jenyen | Taiwan | 580,000 |
| 4 | Victor Chong | Malaysia | 561,000 |
| 5 | Renjun Yang | China | 522,000 |
| 6 | JC Alvarado | Mexico | 510,000 |
| 7 | Cheng Dong | China | 509,000 |
| 8 | Lim Chin Wei | Malaysia | 490,000 |
| 9 | Karol Janiszewski | Poland | 379,000 |
| 10 | Ben Lai | Hong Kong | 377,000 |
| 11 | Lin Kun Si | China | 376,000 |
| 12 | Tuck Wai Foo | Malaysia | 371,000 |
| 13 | Guo Dong | China | 367,000 |
| 14 | Song Liang | China | 300,000 |
| 15 | Zheng Xiao Shang | China | 294,000 |
| 16 | Martijn Gerrits | Netherlands | 262,000 |
| 17 | Chen Xiao Jie | China | 257,000 |
| 18 | Chow Hing Yaung | Malaysia | 256,000 |
| 19 | Jacky Wong | Hong Kong | 252,000 |
| 20 | Weizhou Zha | China | 238,000 |
| 21 | Sahashi Hideki | Japan | 229,000 |
| 22 | Vincent Li | Hong Kong | 208,000 |
| 23 | Tang Wei Cong | China | 186,000 |
| 24 | Hon Cheong Lee | Hong Kong | 184,000 |
| 25 | Zhang Chung Guang | China | 163,000 |
| 26 | Yong Bin Wang | China | 156,000 |
| 27 | Rongshan Li | China | 136,000 |
| 28 | Kui Huan Soh | Malaysia | 134,000 |
| 29 | Andrew An | USA | 99,000 |
| 30 | Zhou Qiang Bo | China | 98,000 |
| 31 | Bobby Zhang | Australia | 91,000 |
| 32 | Ye Wang | China | 90,000 |
Notables who were unable to make the Day 3 cut included two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion and ten-time bracelet winnerJohnny Chan, who was the last player to bust as the end of the day after running top two pair into the flopped nut flush draw of Taiwan’s Chien Jenyen. Canada’s Linh Tran and Bulgaria’s Atanas Kavrakov were two more who could not go the distance, but with the format allowing players to enter on Day 2B, any player who has been eliminated can still try their luck one final time.
Day 2B begins at 1pm local time (GMT+8) on Thursday, 30 November and with 55 players already qualified and late registration open until the end of level two at 3:10pm we are expecting another big day at the baize so join us then.
End of Day 2A Chip Counts (full)
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
840,000 | 10,000 |
|
834,000 | 74,000 |
|
580,000 | |
|
561,000 | 298,000 |
|
522,000 | 47,000 |
|
510,000 | 10,000 |
|
509,000 | 34,000 |
|
490,000 | 135,000 |
|
379,000 | -1,000 |
|
377,000 | 177,000 |
|
|
376,000 | 106,000 |
|
|
371,000 | |
|
367,000 | -18,000 |
|
|
300,000 | -75,000 |
|
|
294,000 | |
|
262,000 | -55,000 |
|
|
257,000 | |
|
256,000 | |
|
252,000 | -58,500 |
|
|
238,000 | -122,000 |
|
229,000 | 73,000 |
|
208,000 | 73,000 |
|
|
186,000 | 33,600 |
|
184,000 | 114,000 |
|
|
163,000 |
Day 2A of the 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau Done and Dusted
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Play has now concluded on all four tables and the 32 remaining Day 2A players are in the midst of bagging up their chips. Unofficially it looks as though Wai Kiat Lee is the Day 2A chip leader with a stack of 840,000 closely followed by fellow countryman Michael Soyza who finished just a whisker behind with 834,000.
Liang Wins Final Hand
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
The last hand on JC Alvarado and Song Liang’s table was fittingly another battle between the two and gives us a winner between the two, though both bagged up chips and made Day 3.
We picked up the action on the river with 50,000 in the pot with the community cards spread 
and Alvarado (big blind) checked the action over to Liang (button). The Chinese player thought it over and decided the right amount to bet was 30,000 and Alvarado gave him ‘the stare’ before cracking a grin.
“I’ll let you bluff me this time,” said a smiling Alvarado as he pitched his cards into the muck.
“No bluff.” Insisted Liang, but we notice he did not show his hand as he mucked it to rake in the pot and bring the final PokerNews fight score up to 2-1 with 1 tie. And all that action brings Day 2A to a close. Full wrap and chip counts to follow shortly.
Blogger’s Curse Hits Chan
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
As is often the case, no sooner have we written about how well a player is doing and then they bust. The man to have been hit by the blogger’s curse this time around is none other than the Orient Express himself, Johnny Chan.
While Chan had a stack of 280,000 just minutes ago his seat is now empty and we got the story of his demise from the mouth of the very man who busted him –Taiwan’s Chien Jenyen.
According to Jenyen, Chen laid the foundations for his own exit after opening from early position with 
and Jenyen defended from the big blind with .
The flop came down a monochrome 
to give Jenyen the nut flush and Chan top pair and the action went check, bet, call. Chan’s doom was sealed when a came off on the turn to give him top two and this is when all the chips went in. Chan is now out and Jenyen has 580,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
580,000 | 512,200 |
|
Busted |
Janiszewski Takes From Hideki
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
We caught up with the action over on Johnny Chan’s table and the Orient Express is chipping up quietly and has spun his stack up to 280,000. By contrast, Chan’s latest tablemate and former frontrunner Sahashi Hideki’s stack is moving in the opposite direction and he has dropped down to around 190,000 - though he now has a little less courtesy of Karol Janiszewski.
Action folded around to Hideki in the small blind and he just completed – the first time today we have seen him do so – before Janiszewski popped it up to 17,000 to go from the big blind.
The Japanese player made the call and the 
flop came down, which brought a check from Hideki and a bet of 10,000 from Janiszewski.
Hideki made a quick call and the 
hit the turn and the action went check, check, with the 
river completing the hand and the betting as both players checked again. Hideki rolled over 
but could not beat Janiszewski’s 
and the Pole took a bite out of Hideki’s stack, climbing to 380,000 while the former frontrunner dropped down to 156,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
380,000 | 235,000 |
|
|
156,000 | -354,000 |
Last Four Hands
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Michael Soyza has just drawn for the last number of hands to be played and the magic number is four with play halting for the day after this.
Round Three’s a Tie
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
We caught the third round of the Alvarado versus Liang battle and it was the Mexican who was in the big blind this time with Liang in the cutoff, for a pleasant change of pace.
There was already 80,000 in the pot with the community cards spread [
when we arrived and Alvarado had just led out for a bet of 25,000. The standard stare off competition began between the two and we’re not sure who won that round as Liang eventually slid in the call and it was off to the river.
Alvarado thought it over and checked it over to Liang, who also had a little think, before plonking down a bet of roughly 60,000 and Alvarado instantly threw in a single pink 25k chip to represent the call.
Liang turned over 
for a straight and Alvarado flipped over 
for an anti-climatic chop so the score is currently Liang 1, Alvarado 1 with 1 draw.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
500,000 | 364,000 |
|
|
375,000 | 53,000 |
Lee Busts Kavrakov to Re-take Lead
Level 9
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Despite the fact that Wai Kiat Lee and Michael Soyza are sitting at opposite ends of the card room there seems to be some sort of one-upmanship competition between the pair. Play had not long resumed after the break before Lee went one better than Soyza to re-take the lead once more.
It was Bulgaria’s Atanas Kavrakov who was the instigator of his own demise, moving all-in from the cutoff for 67,000. Hong Kong’s Ben Lai asked for a count and then smooth-called the button before the deep-stacked Lee dropped down eight bright pink 25,000-chips for a re-raise of 200,000, effectively putting Lai all-in.
“Mmmmm, smells like jacks to me,” said Lai, trying to get a read of Lee, who sat there with a cheeky grin on his face.
“Ok, I’ll give you some respect.” Said Lai as he tossed his hand into the muck. Lai was pretty close with his guesswork, and Lee rolled over 
, which was leading Kavrakov’s 
.
The 
flop brought a groan from Lai.
“Ace-queen?” queried Victor Chong. Lai nodded his head sadly. The [ turn saw the Hong Kong player sink further down in his chair and the 
river brought KAvrakov’s tournament to a close while Lee stacked up to 830,000 in chips and while Lai has close to 200,000 he is ruing the fact he missed a juicy double up there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
830,000 | 115,000 |
|
|
200,000 | -70,000 |
|
Busted |