Main Event
Day 3 Started
2019 The Star Sydney Champs
Main Event
Day: 3
The Star Sydney Champs Main Event Will Crown a Champion Today
The final day of the The Star Sydney Champs Main Event will bring back 13 players out of the record-breaking 600 entries to the tables at the beautiful buzzing The Star Poker Room. A beautiful trophy and the first-place prize of A$352,800 is on the line and all players will be battling each other until one of them is left. Corey Kempson is ahead of the pack with 3,115,000 in chips after a fast-paced Day 2.
Trailing Kempson is Wenjian Qiu with 2,330,000, and Bernie Stang with 1,755,000. Also bagging an above average stack are Nickolas Oiberman, Peter Robertson, Mark Lassau, and Hamish Crawshaw. The rest of the line-up is filled by Kumar K.A, Tu Le, Joe Antar, Joseph Hayek, Collin Tran, and Peter Dykes.
Final Day Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 2 | Joe Antar | Australia | 960,000 | 24 |
| 31 | 3 | Wenjian Qiu | New Zealand | 2,330,000 | 58 |
| 31 | 4 | Collin Tran | Australia | 360,000 | 9 |
| 31 | 5 | Peter Dykes | Australia | 320,000 | 8 |
| 31 | 6 | Hamish Crawshaw | New Zealand | 1,405,000 | 35 |
| 31 | 7 | Joseph Hayek | Australia | 510,000 | 13 |
| 31 | 8 | Peter Robertson | Australia | 1,595,000 | 40 |
| 32 | 3 | Tu Le | Australia | 1,275,000 | 32 |
| 32 | 4 | Kumar K.A | Australia | 1,375,000 | 34 |
| 32 | 5 | Nickolas Oiberman | Australia | 1,740,000 | 44 |
| 32 | 6 | Bernie Stang | Australia | 1,755,000 | 44 |
| 32 | 7 | Corey Kempson | Australia | 3,115,000 | 78 |
| 32 | 8 | Mark Lassau | Australia | 1,340,000 | 34 |
All thirteen players are guaranteed at least A$21,470 when they return at 12:30 p.m. local time to play Level 23 with a small blind of 20,000, big blind of 40,000, and a traditional ante of 5,000. Levels will still last 60 minutes each with a 10-minute break scheduled after every two levels.
The Run It Up Twitch channel will be live streaming the feature table with a dynamic delay from 3 p.m. local time but the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor, as usual, to bring you all the live updates until a champion has been crowned at the end of the road.
This is what they are all playing for:
| Place | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A$352,800 | $244,348 |
| 2 | A$218,215 | $151,135 |
| 3 | A$159,566 | $110,515 |
| 4 | A$118,406 | $82,008 |
| 5 | A$89,090 | $61,703 |
| 6 | A$67,956 | $47,066 |
| 7 | A$52,550 | $36,396 |
| 8 | A$41,194 | $28,531 |
| 9 | A$32,726 | $22,666 |
| 10-12 | A$26,342 | $18,244 |
| 13 | A$21,470 | $14,870 |
Level: 23
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 5,000
Load Up Your Shoe!
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
The dealers have been instructed to loads up their dealing shoes and to shuffle up and deal with the 13 remaining players welcomed back to the tables.
Peter Dykes Eliminated in 13th Place (A$21,470)
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Wenjian "William" Qiu wanted to raise but only put in 45,000, and it was instead ruled as a limp on the button, Peter Dykes checked his option in the big blind. The flop came 
and Dykes moved all in, Qiu called.
Peter Dykes: 
Wenjian Qiu: 
The 
turn gave Qiu a pair of fives and the 
river further improved him to a flush, sending Dykes to the rail in 13th place for A$21,470.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,700,000 | 370,000 |
|
Busted |
Robertson Wins Four-Bet Pot
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
As the first player to act, Peter Robertson opened to 80,000 and Wenjian Qiu three-bet to 225,000. Joseph Hayek in the big blind reluctantly folded and Robertson four-bet to 590,000, which Qiu called. The flop brought 
and a bet of 300,000 by Robertson forced a fold from Qiu.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,200,000 | 605,000 |
|
|
2,100,000 | -600,000 |
Mainly Raise and Folds on the Feature Table
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Bernie Stang raised to 85,000 from the button and Mark Lassau three-bet to 210,000 in the big blind. Stang contemplated for a bit and then folded.
Mark Lassau raised to 95,000 from the cutoff and Tu Le three-bet to 265,000 on the button and that was enough to get the blinds and Lassau himself to fold.
Kumar K.A raised to 90,000 from the cutoff and got no action.
Lassau limped in from under the gun, K.A raised to 165,000 from the cutoff. Stang three-bet to 430,000 from the small blind. Corey Kempson folded his big blind and the rest folded too.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,000,000 | -115,000 |
|
2,100,000 | 345,000 |
|
1,700,000 | -40,000 |
|
1,300,000 | 25,000 |
|
1,300,000 | -40,000 |
|
1,100,000 | -275,000 |
Collin Tran Eliminated in 12th Place; Joseph Hayek Eliminated in 11th Place (A$26,342)
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Collin Tran jammed his last 175,000 first to act and Hamish Crawshaw called from one seat over in the cutoff. Joseph Hayek reshoved the button for around 300,000 and Crawshaw made the call to put two players at risk.
Collin Tran: 
Joseph Hayek: 
Hamish Crawshaw:
The board came 
and that secured the double knockout. Tran finishes in 12th place and Hayek takes 11th, they both receive A$26,342 for their efforts.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,000,000 | 595,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Kumar K.A Eliminated in 10th Place (A$26,342)
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Corey Kempson raised to 85,000 from under the gun and Mark Lassau three-bet to 215,000 from the cutoff. Kumar K.A four-bet shoved for 1,070,000 in the small blind for the big blind and Kempson to quickly fold. Lassau took some time and then decided to make the call with the slightly bigger stack.
Kumar K.A: 
Mark Lassau: 
The board ran out 
for Lassau to stay ahead throughout the board and even improve to a pair of kings on the river to eliminate K.A in 10th place as the final table bubble for A$26,342.
The nine remaining players will be redrawn for the final table and sent for a short break while the table is being set up. The seat draw is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,400,000 | 1,100,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Redraw of the Final Table
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wenjian Qiu | New Zealand | 2,060,000 | 52 |
| 2 | Nickolas Oiberman | Australia | 1,655,000 | 41 |
| 3 | Joe Antar | Australia | 1,040,000 | 26 |
| 4 | Bernie Stang | Australia | 2,415,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Mark Lassau | Australia | 2,435,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Tu Le | Australia | 1,285,000 | 32 |
| 7 | Corey Kempson | Australia | 2,885,000 | 72 |
| 8 | Hamish Crawshaw | New Zealand | 1,955,000 | 49 |
| 9 | Peter Robertson | Australia | 2,530,000 | 63 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,885,000 | -115,000 |
|
|
2,530,000 | 330,000 |
|
|
2,435,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
2,415,000 | 315,000 |
|
|
1,960,000 | -140,000 |
|
|
1,955,000 | -45,000 |
|
|
1,655,000 | -45,000 |
|
|
1,285,000 | -15,000 |
|
1,040,000 | 80,000 |