AU$20,000 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2019 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
AU$20,000 High Roller
Day: 1
Ryan Otto Leads Stacked Final Table in the WSOPC Sydney High Rollers
Level 14
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
In what proved to be an arresting and action-packed Day 1 of the AU$20,000 World Series of Poker International Circuit The Star Sydney High Rollers, some of Australia's finest fought it out at the felt over fourteen 45-minute levels.
With the format offering competitors unlimited re-entry for the first nine levels, the event attracted a total of 53 entries (including re-entries), topping the 50 entries the 2018 edition attracted by three and generating a sizable AU$1,007,000 total prize pool, with the top six places paying out.
The winner will take home a hefty AU$377,625 (~$257,640) top prize, in addition to a coveted WSOP Circuit Ring and accolades for defeating a field that was jam-packed with poker talent.
The man in pole position coming into the second and final day is New Zealand's Ryan Otto, who put on a dominant display of power poker to claim the chip lead, and Otto will be returning with a stack of 630,000 in chips. With the blinds continuing at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante and the level length increasing to 60-minutes, this gives Otto a hefty 105 big blinds with which to make his play for the title.
The kiwi will have his work cut out for him, however, with plenty of star power still left in contention. Otto's closest rival is no stranger to high stakes poker, with Caribbean Poker Party champion Roger Teska bagging up the second-biggest stack of 461,000.
Other big names to cut their way through the star-studded field to make the nine-handed final table include Australia's youngest Poker Hall of Fame inductee Jonathan Karamalikis, Michael Egan, and France's Julien Sitbon, all of whom boast seven-figures in live tournament winnings on their poker resumes, with the final nine stacking up as follows:
WSOPC Sydney High Roller Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 110,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Bernie Stang | Australia | 142,000 | 24 |
| 3 | Qiang Fu | New Zealand | 366,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Jonathan Karamalikis | Australia | 128,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Mladen Vukovic | Australia | 360,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Tom Rafferty | Australia | 258,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Ryan Otto | New Zealand | 630,000 | 105 |
| 8 | Michael Egan | Australia | 204,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Roger Teska | USA | 461,000 | 77 |
Day 1 Action
Day 1 began with 23 early birds, though this increased to 31 by the time the first break rolled around. Otto climbed into an early lead, though with re-entry available for the first nine 45-minute levels, players were not shy about throwing the chips around, and the action increased steadily as the play progressed with New Zealand's Sosia Jiang, 2018 Main Event champion Alex Lynskey and Australia's Vincent Huang and Corey Kempson just a few of those who fired multiple bullets in an attempt to build big stacks.
Of these, all came up short of a final table appearance, though Kempson gave it the best shot, building up to a stack in excess of 150,000 at one point, though it took him his third bullet to do so. However, Kempson then played the largest pot of the day against the similarly stacked Michael Egan, with the duo getting all the chips in pre-flop in pot in excess of 300k, Kempson's ace-king offsuit trailing to Egan's pocket aces.
Kempson's exit shot Egan to the top of the counts, where he would remain until a move to the feature table after the re-entry period had ended saw him drop down the pecking order and saw Otto begin his climb to the top of the counts.
Notables to exit before this included Huss Hassan - whose exit from the feature table provided New Zealand's Qiang Fu enough fuel to reach the final nine - and Luke Edwards, who was unable to get anything going with two bullets. Vincent Huang was another who had a rough day at the tables that saw him fire thrice to no avail.
Both Jiang and Kempson fired multiple times - Jiang five times and Kempson four - when they came back in just before the end of the re-entry period to bring the total field up to 53 entries to make the tournaments' AU$1m guarantee, though by this time there were just 22 players left in contention.
Jiang departed the first level after re-entry closed, falling at the hands of $5k Challenge champion Shivan Abdine, who was taken out by Otto in turn as play got down to the last two tables.
Otto was not alone in his ambitions to climb to the top of the tree, however, with the USA's Roger Teska beginning to make his own moves to send Michael Hahn to the rail and claw his way up the counts.
Other notables to exit empty-handed included Hamish Crawshaw, Robert Spano and Jan Suchanek, with Otto cementing his place at the top of the counts with the double-elimination of Geoff Mooney and Abdine, following this up with the elimination of Kempson after the latter's pocket sevens lost a race to the former's ace-jack suited to bring in the final table bubble and further increase Otto's stock price.
The departure of the short-stacked Jarred Graham over on the live-streamed feature table at the hands of Tom Rafferty concluded play for the day, with action resuming at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, December 5 and running concurrently with Day 1c of the Main Event, which gets underway at 12:15 p.m. local time.
Full coverage for both will be available on PokerNews, with the official live-stream focusing on the Main Event. It should be a thrilling day of poker action, so join us then as we see who has what it takes to become the 2019 WSOPC Sydney High Roller champion.
End of Day 1 Chip Counts
Level 14
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The clock is paused and the final nine players are bagging up their chips. There will be a full end of day wrap to follow, and here's how they seated and are stacking up:
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 110,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Bernie Stang | 142,000 | Australia | 24 |
| 3 | Qiang Fu | New Zealand | 366,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Jonathan Karamalikis | Australia | 128,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Mladen Vukovic | Australia | 360,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Tom Rafferty | Australia | 258,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Ryan Otto | New Zealand | 630,000 | 105 |
| 8 | Michael Egan | Australia | 204,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Roger Teska | USA | 461,000 | 77 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
630,000 | -70,000 |
|
461,000 | 151,000 |
|
366,000 | 143,000 |
|
360,000 | 100,000 |
|
258,000 | 26,000 |
|
204,000 | -75,000 |
|
142,000 | -48,000 |
|
128,000 | 29,500 |
|
110,000 | -68,000 |
Graham Bubbles The Final Table
Level 14
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Michael Egan raised to 16,000 from the button and was called by Tom Rafferty in the small blind. Jarred Graham thought for a minute before moving all in for 44,000 from the big blind.
"I'm scared of that hand," said Egan, referring to Rafferty, before mucking his hand. Rafferty made the quick call.
Rafferty: 
Graham: 
Graham flopped a straight draw, then turned a flush draw, but ultimately couldn't improve on the 
board resulting in him bubbling the final table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level: 14
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
Kempson Falls to Bring In Final Table Bubble
Level 13
: 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
It is looking more and more likely that play will stop at the final nine rather than lasting another two levels, with the departure of Corey Kempson bringing in the final table bubble.
It was Ryan Otto the man wielding the executioner's axe once more, with Kempson the man with his head on the chopping block.
Otto was the initial raiser, making it 12,500 to go from the button, with Kempson moving all-in from the big blind for 120,000 in total.
After asking for a count, Otto slapped down the calling chips and the duo revealed their holdings.
Corey Kempson: 
Ryan Otto:
It was off to the races once more, and unfortunately for Kempson, Otto has proved to be quite the thoroughbred, and that trend continued on the 
run out.
Kempson got to his feet, shook everyone's hand and headed out of the tournament for the fourth and final time, while Otto stacked up to 700,000, which puts him firmly at the top of the podium.
Jonathan Karamalikis was moved from the feature table to balance the tables and is seated in seat nine.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
700,000 | 280,000 |
|
Busted |
Abdine Eliminated by Otto
Level 13
: 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
The action folded around to Shivan Abdine in the small blind who moved all in for 66,500. Ryan Otto called from the big blind shortly after.
Otto: 
Abdine: 
The board ran out 
, resulting in Otto taking down the pot with the higher kicker, sending Abdine to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Mooney Eliminated by Vukovic
Level 13
: 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Geoff Mooney moved all in from under the gun and was called by Mladen Vukovic in the small blind.
Vukovic:
Mooney:
The board ran out 
, improving Vukovic to a set of kings, ending Mooney's night in 13th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Pritchard Fall to Otto
Level 13
: 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Jason Pritchard's High Roller is done, with a rampant Ryan Otto the man to show him the door. All the chips when in pre-flop, with Otto opening the action from middle position with a min-raise and Pritchard moving all-in for 89,500 from the button. After asking for a count, Otto slapped down the calling chips and it was off to the races.
Ryan Otto: 
Jason Pritchard: 
Pritchard's race was run as soon as it started, with the 
in the window and the rest of the board running out 
to thin the field to 13. Otto stacked up to 420,000 after the hand to climb back into the chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
420,000 | 120,000 |
|
Busted |
Post Break Counts (full)
Level 13
: 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
The 14 remaining High Rollers are back from their last break of the day, with just two more 45-minute levels remaining between them and a bag, unless of course, there is a sudden burst of action and the field is reduced to the final nine. Here's how the remaining 14 players are stacking up:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 135,000 |
|
|
300,000 | -10,000 |
|
|
279,000 | 12,000 |
|
|
260,000 | -21,000 |
|
|
232,000 | 142,000 |
|
|
223,000 | 8,000 |
|
|
190,000 | -50,000 |
|
|
178,000 | 36,000 |
|
|
146,000 | -22,000 |
|
|
110,000 | -42,000 |
|
|
98,500 | -16,500 |
|
|
85,000 | 16,000 |
|
|
75,000 | -10,000 |