AU$1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed
Day 1 Completed
2019 WSOP International Circuit The Star Sydney
AU$1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed
Day: 1
Kamyar Ekrami Leads After Day 1 of the WSOPC Sydney Pot-Limit Omaha Event
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
Day 1 of the 6-max WSOPC Sydney Pot-Limit Omaha Event saw 177 entries (including re-entries) ante up the AU$1,650 buy-in and battle it out at the baize at the poker tables of The Star Sydney over eleven 45-minute levels.
With the format offering unlimited re-entry until the end of level 6, by the time registration closed the total prize pool came in at AU$265,500 (~$180,140), with the top 18 places paying and a min-cash good for AU$3,292 (~$2,230).
No one will be playing for that though, and all will have their eye on the AU$74,341 (~$50,440) top prize, which the eventual champion will take home, along with a coveted World Series Circuit Ring.
The man returning for Day 2 in the best of positions to win that all elusive jewellery and cold, hard cash is Australia's Kamyar Ekrami, who will be returning for the second and final day with the chip lead.
Ekrami made his play for the top of the table just past the midway point in the proceedings, clashing in a huge pot against Daniel Cohen. With blinds at 400/800, it was Cohen who was the architect of his own demise after opening the action from under-the-gun, with Ekrami defending his big blind.
The two became embroiled in a raising war on a jack-high double spade flop that saw all the chips go in, Ekrami holding the nut flush and gutshot straight draw, Cohen holding top set and a queen-high flush draw, which came in on the turn to leave the latter crippled and shoot Ekrami to the top of the counts, with Cohen departing shortly afterwards. Ekrami will be returning for Day 2 with a sizable 288,300 in chips.
A total of 41 players were successful in their quest to make Day 2, with Tam Truong (278,200), China's Jia Li Lie (205,500), and 2018 runner-up Ben Thurlow (202,000) the only other players to bag over 200k.
Other returning big stacks include Andrew Hindmarch (184,000), Jun Wang (181,100), Mustafa Haidary (172,500), Con Angelakis (160,000), Huss Hassan (150,800), Luke Edwards (149,000) and Dinh Pham (147,600) who, along with Truong, enjoyed stints near the top of the counts before Ekrami finished strongly to retake the lead at the close of play.
Other notables returning for Day 2 include Daniel Tan (94,600), Ash Gupta (60,700), Australia Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson (42,800), Graeme Putt (24,000), and Jarred Graham (10,900).
Two Australian WSOP bracelet winners in the form of Jeff Lisandro and James Obst were just some of the notables unable to make the cut, with other familiar faces to bust including defending champion Danny Huynh, Hall of Famer Mel Judah, Corey Kempson, Daniel Laidlaw, Billy 'the croc' Argyros, Ryan Bownds, Andrew White, and $5k Challenge finalist Ehsan Amiri to name but a few.
The 41 survivors will return at 2:15pm on Tueday, December 3 where they will reach the hallowed cash spots and play down to a champion. PokerNews will be on hand to bring you all the action as it happens so join us then.
End of Day 1 Chip Counts (full)
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
288,300 | 63,300 |
|
278,200 | 48,200 |
|
205,500 | 205,500 |
|
|
202,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
184,000 | -1,000 |
|
181,100 | |
|
|
172,500 | |
|
160,000 | 112,000 |
|
150,800 | 80,800 |
|
149,000 | 59,000 |
|
147,800 | |
|
147,600 | -37,400 |
|
|
144,300 | 144,300 |
|
|
138,300 | 18,300 |
|
127,900 | 77,200 |
|
127,500 | 17,500 |
|
126,900 | 34,900 |
|
|
122,500 | 9,500 |
|
115,000 | 115,000 |
|
|
94,600 | 1,600 |
|
|
92,700 | -17,300 |
|
|
92,100 | 92,100 |
|
|
85,000 | 85,000 |
|
78,200 | |
|
74,600 |
Day 1 Concludes
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
Players have now bagged and tagged with full end of day counts and write up to follow.
Last Three Hands
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
The tournament clock has been paused with 10-minutes and 43 players remaining and the last three hands have been announced.
Pham Forces a Fold From Hassan
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
The board showed 
and around 17,000 had amassed in the pot.
Huss Hassan bet out from the big blind. Dinh Pham raised from the button. Hassan three-bet to 24,000. Pham called.
The 
completed the board and Hassan checked. Pham slid out 20,000. Hassan folded shortly after.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
185,000 | 36,000 |
|
|
70,000 | -60,000 |
Pham Falling
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
Dinh Pham's stock has dropped over the last level and Ash Gupta is the man to have made the latest dent in his stack. It was Pham who opened the action with a raise to 3,500 from middle position, with Gupta making the call from the cutoff to take the action heads-up to a flop of 
.
Pham checked it over to Gupta, who tossed out a single yellow 5k chip, with Pham making the call to keep the pair in action to the 
turn, which saw no betting. The 
river paired the board and completed the hand and the action again went check, check.
Gupta showed down 
for a boat and Pham mucked, dropping down to 149,000 in the process, while Gupta stacked up to 80,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
149,000 | -61,000 |
|
80,000 | 58,675 |
Tan Doubles Through Lee
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
The board showed 
and 35,000 had accumulated in the pot.
Thomas Lee checked from the small blind before Daniel Tan moved all-in for 29,000 from the button. Lee asked for a count and called.
Tan tabled 
for a full house, and took down the pot, after Lee mucked his hand revealing the .
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
93,000 | 52,000 |
|
|
23,000 | -102,000 |
Suchanek Pressures Caridad
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
The action folded around to John Caridad in the small blind who called. Jan Suchanek raised to 4,600 from the big blind. Caridad called.
The flop came 
and Caridad checked. Suchanek continued for 6,000. Caridad called.
The turn brought the and Caridad check-called another bet totalling 15,000 from Suchanek.
The completed the board and Caridad checked for a third time. Suchanek immediately slid out 25,000. Caridad mucked almost instantly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
92,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
31,000 | -51,500 |
Invisible Man Disqualified
Level 10
: 800/1,600, 0 ante
A player has been missing in action following the breaking of a table prior to the last break and the unpiloted stack has been sitting on table 27 getting blinded out. With no way to verify who the player is should he return, the stack has been removed from play, reducing the number of remaining players to 46.