AU$5,000 Challenge
Day 1 Completed
2019 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
AU$5,000 Challenge
Day: 1
George Mitri Leads the $5K Challenge into Day 2
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
After fifteen 45-minute levels were played out in the first day of the $5,000 Challenge Event, George Mitri will return as the Day 2 chip leader after he bagged an impressive 709,000.
A field of 203 players came together, and 15 of them will return on Friday, November 29, at 2:15 p.m. local time. The field narrowly missed the needed 211 to pass the $1,000,000 guarantee resulting in a slight overlay.
Trailing Mitri are James Obst (534,000) and Honglin Jiang (455,000) who round out the top three. Shivan Abdine (435,000), Adrian Attenborough (333,000), Marc Camphausen (326,000) and Sosia Jiang (138,000) all progressed through.
Big names to depart throughout the day and miss out on the top 21 and a payday included; defending champion of this event Matthew Wakeman, 2011 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Andrew Hinrichsen, last year’s WSOP Circuit Main Event Sydney champion Alex Lynskey, 2017 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Shurane Vijayaram, 2019 WPT Gold Coast Main Event champion Hari Varma, and WSOP bracelet winner Jarred Graham.
Gary Benson and Emmanuel Seal would both be eliminated at the same time on separate tables and ultimately bubble the money. Both would be holding ace-king and find themselves unable to improve against their opponents pocket pairs. Their eliminations would guarantee the remaining 21 players an $11,080 return.
Those to make the money but miss Day 2 include Dean Blatt, Jonathan Karamalikis, David Hanlon, Josh Mitchell and Robert Spano.
When play resumes the blinds will begin at 5,000/10,000/10,000 big blind ante. PokerNews will be back with all the $5K Challenge Day 2 action as the remaining 15 players battle for a place at the final table before playing down to an eventual champion.
Day 2 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 1 | Ryan Bownds | Australia | 284000 | 28 |
| 32 | 2 | Empty | - | - | - |
| 32 | 3 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | 327000 | 33 |
| 32 | 4 | Chao Duan | China | 294000 | 29 |
| 32 | 5 | George Mitri | Australia | 709000 | 71 |
| 32 | 6 | Charlie Hawe | Australia | 447000 | 45 |
| 32 | 7 | Adrian Attenborough | Australia | 333000 | 33 |
| 32 | 8 | Michael Doumani | Australia | 165000 | 17 |
| 31 | 1 | Empty | - | - | - |
| 31 | 2 | Vincent Huang | Australia | 339000 | 34 |
| 31 | 3 | Honglin Jiang | New Zealand | 455000 | 46 |
| 31 | 4 | James Obst | Australia | 534000 | 53 |
| 31 | 5 | Tam Truong | Australia | 285000 | 29 |
| 31 | 6 | Sosia Jiang | New Zealand | 138000 | 14 |
| 31 | 7 | Marc Camphausen | Germany | 326000 | 33 |
| 31 | 8 | Shivan Abdine | Australia | 435000 | 44 |
| 31 | 9 | Partick Laoyont | Australia | 10000 | 1 |
End of Day 1 Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
709,000 | 159,000 |
|
534,000 | |
|
455,000 | 334,500 |
|
447,000 | 282,000 |
|
435,000 | -35,000 |
|
339,000 | 63,000 |
|
333,000 | -127,000 |
|
327,000 | -73,000 |
|
326,000 | 88,000 |
|
294,000 | 222,000 |
|
285,000 | -20,000 |
|
284,000 | 54,000 |
|
165,000 | -5,000 |
|
138,000 | -237,000 |
|
10,000 |
Obst Doubles Through Laoyont in the Final Hand of the Night
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
James Obst raised to 18,000 from the button before Patrick Laoyont re-raised to 55,000 from the big blind. Obst called.
The flop came 
and Laoyont checked. Obst bet out 40,000. Laoyont then moved all-in for 206,000. Obst deliberated for over a minute before making the call with 196,000 behind.
Obst: 
Laoyont: 
Laoyont had the lead with trip queens against Obst who had a flush draw.
The turn brought the 
sending Obst to the lead with a flush.
The 
on the river changed nothing and Obst secured the double up to rocket into the second-largest stack.
Laoyont will return tomorrow with one big blind.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
534,000 | 439,000 |
|
|
10,000 | -158,000 |
Ljudevit Marinic Eliminated in 16th Place for AU$13,060/US$8,840
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Ljudevit Marinic's tournament is over with Charlie Hawe the man to send him packing. It was Hawe the man in the driving seat, opening the action with a raise to 16,000 from mid position with Shivan Abdine making the call from the hijack and Marinic calling from the big blind.
The 
flop was where the fireworks went off, with Marinic moving all-in for 122,000 in total, giving Hawe a tough decision and he asked Abdine how much more he had behind (450k) before hitting the think tank for a few seconds. Hawe eventually chose to move all-in to isolate for ~330,000 and Abdine immediately folded.
Ljudevit Marinic:
Charlie Hawe: 
Marinic held a slender lead with top pair, but Hawe was drawing extremely live with the nut flush draw and an overcard. The turn improved Marinic's holdings before disaster struck on the 
river, giving Hawe the flush and sending Marinic out in 16th for AU$13,060.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
450,000 | -20,000 |
|
|
447,000 | 282,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Robert Spano Eliminated in 17th Place for AU$13,060/US$8,840
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Action relayed after the fact by Ryan Bownds. It was Patrick Laoyont the man driving the initial action with an early position open to 13,000 and Robert Spano moved all-in over the top from one seat over for 35,000 and was called.
Patrick Laoyont: 
Robert Spano: 
The case five came in on the 
flop and Spano was drawing dead on the 
turn to bring the field down to the last 16.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Three More Hands
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The remaining 16 players in today's field will play three more hands before bagging up for the night.
Josh Mitchell Eliminated in 19th Place for AU$11,080/US$7,500
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
At The Star Sydney when it comes to simultaneous bustouts in tournaments, the house rules are the player with the shortest stack busts first. That means as the following hand took place at the same time as the previous double bustout involving Jonathan Karamalikis and David Hanlon, Josh Mitchell managed to squeeze right between the two with a 19th place finish - good for AU$11,080.
Mitchell moved all-in from middle position for his last 72,000 and was looked up by big blind Michael Doumani and the players revealed their hole cards.
Josh Mitchell: 
Michael Doumani: 
Mitchell looked primed for a double with a dominating hand, but the poker gods are fickle and had other plans. The 
flop saw Mitchell stay in front, but the 
turn was a sweaty one, giving Doumani additional backdoor flush outs.
The 
river proved to be a disastrous one for Mitchell, who headed for the rail with a grimace while Doumani stacked up to 170,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
170,000 | 170,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Huang Takes Out Karamalikis and Hanlon
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
David Hanlon moved all in from the button and was quickly followed by Jonathan Karamalikis in the small blind who had less. Vincent Huang looked down at his hand and snap-called having both opponents covered.
Huang: 
Hanlon: 
Karamalikis:
The board ran out 
, awarding Huang the pot and the double elimination, after his pocket pair held.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
276,000 | 141,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Last Level of the Day
Level 15
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The 21 remaining players are just 45 minutes away from finding a bag for the day with the last level now underway. There is a slight issue on one of the three remaining tables and the clock has been paused until this is resolved. More to follow.