AU$1,150 Monster Stack
Day 1 Completed
2018 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
AU$1,150 Monster Stack
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
Buy-in
1,150 AUD
Entries
469
Level
36
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
50,000
Day 1 of the $1,150 Monster Stack Concludes With Nick Varnavelius as One of the Chip Leaders
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
It was a full house for the $1,150 Monster Stack here at the WSOPC The Star Sydney as the event brought out 469 runners. The event was so popular in fact that over 100 players had to be placed as alternates before they could enter the tournament. In the end, everyone got a seat but not everyone survived the day. Of the 469 runners, 155 will return for Day 2.
Leading the way after the first day of play is Nick Varnavelius. Varnavelius is the former Australasian Sales Manager for Bluff Magazine. These days he's in a different line of work and hasn't played serious tournament poker in what he says must be at least five years. In the end he bagged a stack of 370,500 which was enough to just inch out a pack of players who were nipping at his heels.
Among other notables to make it through the day were the likes of Errolyn Strang (94,000), Daniel Laidlaw (215,000), Sam Khoueis (156,000), John Conomos (206,000), John Lombardo (214,000), Brendon Rubie (250,000), Jarryd Godena (153,000) and Blake Lockwood (300,000) Hannah Lee also had a good day and at one point was the clear chip leader in the room, but by the end of the day she had slipped down to 206,000. She'll return tomorrow to try once again to spin it up.
There were plenty of notables who didn't make it through the day though. Among them were Matt Wakeman, Billy Argyros, Robert Sutherland, Jonathan Karamalikis, Warwick Mirzikinian, Sam Higgs, Chad Awerbuch, Danny Park, Suzy Khoueis, and Sean Dunwoodie just to name a few. The biggest notable to not make it through the day though, was Tim Mitchell, the defending champion of this event.
Mitchell had an exciting day, nearly tripling up to the largest stack in the room very quickly. In the hand, a player moved all in under the gun for 27,000. Mitchell then moved all in over the top on the button. Ken Demlakian was in the big blind and he called it off, creating a three-way monster pot. Demlakian had jacks while the under the gun player was holding six-seven offsuit. Mitchell held ace-eight off suite and would spike an ace to get to nearly 150,000 very early in the day.
But Mitchell would fall before the end of the night. In another monster hand he played, he got most of his chips in with overs and a flush draw against Daniel Laidlaw's pocket nines. Mitchell whiffed both the turn and river and he would be put on a short stack and eliminated not long after. Mitchell's elimination guarantees a new champion for this year and only time will tell who that's going to be.
Players will return at 12:30 p.m. local time on Monday, December 17th and the plan is to play right down to a winner. Action will kick back off in level 17 with blinds of 2,500/5,000 with an ante of 500. Of the 155 remaining, only 54 will cash with a mincash being worth $1,846. The eventual winner of the event will take down $103,359 and a World Series of Poker Circuit ring as well.
PokerNews will be back right at the start of the day with coverage as the next WSOPC ring winner is crowned. So make sure to check back in so you don't miss a thing.
End of Day Notables and Big Stacks
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
370,000 | |
|
|
344,500 | |
|
325,500 | |
|
300,000 | |
|
250,000 | 85,000 |
|
215,000 | 5,000 |
|
214,000 | -11,000 |
|
206,000 | -89,000 |
|
206,000 | -129,000 |
|
156,000 | 109,000 |
|
153,000 | -11,000 |
|
94,000 | -71,000 |
|
Busted |
Play Concludes
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Play has concluded for the night. A full recap of today's action will be posted shortly.
Three Hands To End the Night
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Players will play three more hands before they bag and tag for Day 2.
Godena Gets Lucky to Survive and Double
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Jarryd Godena was on the button and he moved all in for 78,000. Jethro Horowitz in the small blind called and the player in the big blind got away quickly.
Jarryd Godea: 
Jethro Horowitz: 
It was bad new for Godena but he picked up outs when the flop came 
for an open-ended straight draw. The turn was the 
completing the draw and he just needed to fade a chop on the river. The river was the 
and that was it for Godena who doubled to over 150,000 leaving his Horowitz reeling from the bad beat.
"He had about 90% after he got the extra stand-up equity," Horowitz said after the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
164,000 | 44,000 |
Small Pot For Rubie
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Brendon Rubie was facing off against one player in the blinds on a flop of 
and his opponent checked it over to him. Rubie checked back.
The turn was the 
and both players checked for a second time. The river was the 
and this time the small blind led out for 10,000. Rubie called and his opponent showed him 
. Rubie had better though and was holding 
which would allow him to take down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
185,000 |
Updated Counts in the Last Level of the Night
Level 16
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
335,000 | 240,000 |
|
95,000 | 3,000 |
|
|
47,000 | -33,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level: 16
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
Strang Flops a Set to Finish Off Higgs
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Sam Higgs was forced all in from the big blind for 1,500, all he had left. Errolyn Strang opened to 7,500 from under the gun. Action folded to the small blind who called.
"I'll check in the dark," the small blind player announced.
"I'll check in the dark too," Higgs said, jokingly.
The flop was 
and Strang checked behind to see the 
on the turn. There, the small blind led out for 6,000 before Strang made it 16,000. The small blind called and it was on to the river.
The river was the 
and the small blind checked. Strang made it 32,000 and the small blind quickly folded. Higgs showed down his 
but it was no good as Strang flopped a set holding 
to send him to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
165,000 | 58,000 |
|
Busted |