Aussie Briefs: WPTDeepStacks Sydney starts today; Australian Poker Tour Sydney pays out over A$1.26M, festival results and highlights inside

Nonstop poker action in Sydney, Australia with the Australian Poker Tour having just wrapped up its seven day series and the World Poker Tour kicking off its inaugural WPTDeepStacks Sydney today March 30 until April 11. We’ve got those stories just below. 

WPTDeepStacks in Sydney March 30 to April 11

Back in 2019, the World Poker Tour planted its flag at the Gold Coast in Australia then returned two years later, during the pandemic, in 2021. Both events were incredibly successful, each one producing over A$ 3 Million in prizes. For the first time, the tour brings its WPTDeepStacks series to Sydney, and it kicks off today! 

Thirteen days of games are scheduled at The Star Casino from March 30 to April 11 with a total of 11 tournaments in tow. Buy ins range from A$ 330 to A$ 5,000. Headlining the festival is the A$ 1,500 Main Event. Last year, the Main Event amassed a WPT Asia Pacific record turnout of 1,113 entries for a prize pool of A$ 1.5 Million. Will Davies topped the competition for a payout of A$ 252,729 (~US$ 183,240). 

Other games lined up are the Opening Event, 5K Challenge, Freezeouts, Bounty Tournaments, and Pot Limit Omaha. Recently announced, the WPTDS Sydney Player of the Festival winner will be awarded a WPT Australia Main Event ticket valued at over A$ 5K. Here are a few of the festival’s key events: 

Main Event

Dates: April 7 to 11
Buy in: A$ 1,500
Day 1A: Thursday, April 7
Day 1B: Friday, April 8
Day 1C: Saturday, April 9
Day 2: Sunday, April 10
Final Day: Monday, April 11

Opening Event

Dates: March 30 to April 3
Buy in: A$ 750
Day 1A: Wednesday, March 30
Day 1B: Thursday, March 31
Day 1C: Friday, April 1
Day 2: Saturday, April 2
Final Day: Sunday, April 3

5K Challenge

Dates: April 10 to 11
Buy in: A$ 5,000

WPTDS Sydney schedule

Australian Poker Tour Season V Sydney

After a highly successful kickoff event in Brisbane, the Australian Poker Tour made its way to Sydney for the second festival of Season V. Games ran from March 21 to 27 at The Cube Entertainment Center. Over 3,300+ entered, generating a grand prize pool in excess of A$ 1.26 Million across 30 events. Here are the highlights. 

Following this event, the APT travels to the Gold Coast for another exciting festival running from April 26 to May 1 at Southport Sharks. The last time the tour was in this part of the country was during the height of the pandemic in March 2021. Despite the challenges, its popularity was met with jam packed days and a whopping grand prize pool of ~A$ 2,100,000. So make sure to save those dates. 

*All photos credited to APTLive facebook

Festival wrap up

Festival prize pool: A$ 1,260,000 (estimate)
Total entries: 3,312+
Multiple event winner: Dylan Warnke
Biggest earner: Darren Moves – A$ 76,000+
Player of the Series: Noman Mirza (Diamond)
Player of the Series: Dylan Warnke (Sapphire)
Most final tables: Noman Mirza and Luke Hanna – 4 each

NURLAN BOOBEKOV wins the Main Event for A$ 65,000

In a dominating heads up performance, Sydney’s Nurlan Boobekov denied hot running Darren Moves to clinch the Main Event and the A$ 65,000 first prize. This was Boobekov’s first ever APT victory which he added to his honorable portfolio of career wins and cashes. Based on The Hendon Mob, Boobekov’s biggest score was at the 2017 Sydney Championships Opening Event where he scooped up A$ 84,735. Later that year, he shipped The Championships High Roller Event for A$ 42,510. With this win, he boasts over US$ 378K in live earnings. 

The Main Event drew 558 entries across two starting flights, and with each one ponying up the A$ 600 buy in, it built a handsome prize pool of A$ 288,100. The top 84 places claimed a piece. Among the players running deep was Luke Hanna who would have earned the title of most final tables however he missed his fifth by two spots in 11th place. At the fall of Shem Goltz in 10th place, the final table was formed with Saliendra Sha in command. Other players in the lineup were The Goliath runner up Darren Moves and APT Brisbane’s Sapphire Tier Player of the Series winner Jonathan Levy. 

The title chase lasted over three hours. Moves zoomed to the top after delivering a double knockout with set on the river ousting Alan Janjke’s and Matt Russell’s . Sha lost his earlier momentum and busted to Boobekov. From there, it was Moves and Boobekov cleaning out the rest to face off at heads up. Moves was up in the count but Boobekov quickly evened up. Ten minutes in, the biggest pot landed with Moves losing on a costly bluff. The hand saw Moves initiate the heavy betting action while Boobekov check called at every stage. At the runout, Boobekov’s trips exposed Moves’ bluff on a board to soar to nearly 100 BB. Moves’ dropped down to roughly 20 BB. The battle continued for another hour, during that time Moves made no significant dents to Boobekov’s towers. Moves struggle finally ended in another runner up finish with outdrawn by Boobekov’s flush on board . 

Buy in: A$ 600
Entries: 558
Prize pool: A$ 288,100
ITM: 84 places

Final table payouts

1st Nurlan Boobekov – A$ 65,000
2nd Darren Moves – A$ 40,000
3rd Jonathan Levy – A$ 27,000
4th Stephen Grant – A$ 19,000
5th Bella Huang – A$ 14,000
6th Travis Malone – A$ 10,000
7th Saliendra Sha – A$ 7,800
8th Alan Janjke – A$ 6,200
9th Matt Russell – A$ 4,800

STEPHEN TOPAKAS takes down The Goliath for A$ 58,900

The Goliath was the most expensive event of the series with buy in at A$ 2,500 a pop. This interested 92 punters to create the second largest festival prize pool of A$ 201,900. Only 14 monied with Stephen Topakas grabbing the biggest cut of A$ 58,900 for his first ever APT victory. Topakas is a well known player in the Melbourne circuit. His long list of achievements date back to 2007. In 2010, he placed 12th at the Aussie Millions Main Event to pocket a career high A$ 100,000. Another sizable score was at the 2021 APT Gold Coast Player Championships where he placed 4th for A$ 18,000. To date, he has accrued US$ 500K in live earnings. 

The event attracted some of Australia’s biggest names however only Brendon Rubie and Craig Blight reached the money round. For Asia, well known Singaporean pro Norbert Koh made his debut felt as he carried the biggest pile into the final table. However, midway through, Koh’s stack suffered multiple beatings to depart in 4th place. At three handed, most of the action was between Stephen Topakas and Darren Moves. Mitchell Frost put up a valiant effort but ultimately couldn’t catch up with all his chips going to Topakas. Later, Frost would reach the final table of The Grind and finish in 2nd place. 

Heads up kicked off with Topakas up 80 BB to Moves’ 35 BB. On the second hand, Topakas shaved off half of Moves’ stack. The hand saw Moves raise 4x with preflop, Topakas limp-called with . The flop came , Moves c-bet his top pair, Topakas called. On the turn , Moves fired fast again and this time Topakas jammed. Moves folded. It was all over on the next hand with Topakas outkicking to seize the big win. 

Buy in: A$ 2,500
Entries: 92
Prize pool: A$ 201,900
ITM: 14 places 

Final table payouts

1st Stephen Topakas – A$ 58,900
2nd Darren Moves – A$ 36,000
3rd Mitchell Frost – A$ 25,000
4th Norbert Koh – A$ 18,000
5th Billy Bremner – A$ 13,300
6th George Kanan – A$ 10,000
7th Tu Chris Tran – A$ 8,000
8th Craig Blight – A$ 6,500
9th Brendon Rubie – A$ 5,200

The Grind – GREG HOY – A$ 45,500

Melbourne’s Greg Hoy outlasted the 179 runners of The Grind to collect a sweet payout of A$ 45,500. This was Hoy’s largest career takedown and first ever APT win. One of Hoy’s turning point hands was at five handed. On a flop , chip leader Mitchell Frost shoved , Hoy had that held to the end to catapult out front. Hoy kept his lead intact, Frost clawed back up, and both went head to head for the title. It took a grueling two hours for the champion to emerge. Hoy shipped it with nut flush dominating on a board . For Frost, this  was another fantastic result having placed 3rd at The Goliath. 

Buy in: A$ 1,200
Entries: 179
Prize pool: A$ 181,750
ITM: 27 places

Final table payouts

1st Greg Hoy – A$ 45,500
2nd Mitchell Frost – A$ 28,350
3rd Shaun Zammit – A$ 19,500
4th Corey Van Jaarsveldt – A$ 14,500
5th Jigs Reyes – A$ 10,500
6th Billy Bremner – A$ 7,800
7th Theo Dharmasaputra – A$ 6,000
8th Gino Portolesi – A$ 4,600
9th Terry Johnson – A$ 3,800

APT Players Championships – ROBERT HILL – A$ 19,785

The APT Players Championships rounded up 123 runners for a six figure prize pool of A$ 100,825. Numerous decorated pros were in attendance with Brendon Rubie cashing in 9th place and Mike Maddocks doing better in 6th place. Down to the final four, the players opted on an ICM deal that eventually saw Robert Hill claim the trophy and the largest payout. This was Hill’s maiden victory and career high score of A$ 19,785. 

Buy in: A$ 1,000
Entries: 123
Prize pool: A$ 100,825
ITM: 19 places

Final table payouts

1st Robert Hill – A$ 19,785*
2nd Jacob Fulop – A$ 12,950*
3rd Vito Montalto – A$ 14,050*
4th Damon Musgrave – A$ 16,315*
5th Al Josue – A$ 6,300
6th Mike Maddocks – A$ 4,800
7th Shane Pearce – A$ 3,725
8th Jason Habash – A$ 3,100
9th Brendon Rubie – A$ 2,500
*Four way deal

NICK WOODHAMS – The Beast – A$ 22,850

One of the final day events on tap was The Beast which dragged in 253 entries for a substantial prize pool of A$ 97,570. The top 38 places got paid with UK’s Nick Woodhams banking a career high A$22,500 and his first ever title on Aussie soil. 

Buy in: A$450
Entries: 253
Prize pool: A$ 97,570
ITM:  38 places

Final table payouts

1st Nick Woodhams – A$ 22,500
2nd Ryan Nichols – A$ 14,400
3rd John Caridad – A$ 10,000
4th Andres Vasquez – A$ 7,500
5th Jae Choi – A$ 5,200
6th Cajan Kulen – A$ 4,000
7th Theo Dharmasaputra – A$ 3,000
8th Shing Yiu – A$ 2,200
9th Todd Aguila – A$ 1,800

NOMAN MIRZA – Diamond Tier Player of Series

Multiple cashes and four final tables was good enough for Noman Mirza to win the Diamond Tier Player of the Series title. He accrued 1,775 points to win the A$ 6,000 first prize. Other finishers were:

John Caridad – 1,750 points – A$ 3,750
Darren Moves – 1,600 points – A$ 2,250
Mitchell Frost – 1,500 points – A$ 1,800
Brendon Rubie – 1,300 points – A$ 1,200

DYLAN WARNKE bags two events and Sapphire Tier Player of the Series

Over at the Sapphire Tier, Dylan Warnke was awarded Player of the Series with 1,710 points. Warnke’s numerous cashes included two victories. He bested a field of 69 at The Accelerator for A$ 2,150 and topped the 128 entries of the Pokershop 200 for a larger payout of A$ 5,750. In addition, Warnke reached the final table of Event #22: Bounty Event and finished 9th. 

Most Final Tables

Noman Mirza

1st – Event #4: The Big Bounty
3rd – Event #1: Opening Event
4th – Event #12: 6-Max Championship
5th Event #10: 6-Max Shot Clock

Luke Hanna

2nd – Event #6: Heads Up Challenge
2nd – Event #13: Mini Main Event
5th – Event #25: Pokershop 200
6th – Event #9: Super Turbo Bounty 

All winners

Main Event – A$ 288,100 – Nurlan Boobekov – A$ 65,350

Event #1: Opening Event – A$ 25,015 – Nhut Nguyen – A$ 5,850 –
Event #2: The Kroesen Invitational High Roller – A$ 20,750 – Marc Seymour – A$ 9,000
Event #3: 8-Max Freezeout – A$ 2,830 – Jonathan Levy – A$ 1,000
Event #4: The Big Bounty – A$ 38,800 – Noman Mirza – A$ 8,100
Event #5: Monday Madness Freeroll – A$ 11,990 – Michael Taylor – A$ 1,500
Event #6: Heads Up Challenge – A$ 11,500 – Anthony Chan – A$ 5,850
Event #7: The Goliath – A$ 201,900 – Stephen Topakas – A$ 59,250
Event #8: Mix Max 8-6-2 – A$ 6,595 – Kodee Tucker – A$ 2,450
Event #9: Super Turbo Bounty – A$ 3,695 – Jason Ford – A$ 1,150
Event #10: 6-Max Shot Clock – A$ 37,850 – Jason Dunkley – A$ 10,100* HEADS UP DEAL
Event #11: Pineapple – A$ 4,950 – Russell Fogarty – A$ 1,250* HEADS UP DEAL
Event #12: 6-Max Championship – A$ 42,050 – Romain Morvan – A$ 11,550
Event #13: Mini Main Event – A$ 25,210 – Nathan Bartley – A$ 6,650
Event #16: Six Max Shootout – A$ 7,850 – Belinda Denzel – A$ 2,350
Event #17: APT Players Championship – A$ 100,825 – Robert Hill – A$ 20,135
Event #18: The Accelerator – A$ 6,100 – Dylan Warnke – A$ 2,150
Event #19: Megastack – A$ 9,185 – Yu Li – A$ 2,550
Event #20: The Grind – A$ 181,750 – Greg Hoy – A$ 45,500
Event #21: NLH Rebuy – A$ 5,000 – Alfred Coppini – A$ 1,900
Event #22: Bounty Event – A$ 6,000 + A$ 10,444 bounty pool – Graeme Bennett – A$ 2,195
Event #23: National Teams Event (Freezeout) – A$ 5,060 – Robert Huskinson (ind.) A$ 950 – Donkeys to the Max – A$ 1,600
Event #24: The BIG PLO – A$ 31,000 – Brendon Rubie – A$ 11,100
Event #25: Pokershop 200 – A$ 21,135 – Dylan Warnke – A$ 5,750
Event #26: Tag Team Event – A$ 6,980 – Team PK Ali/Mahmud – A$ 2,100 – 8/33 teams
Event #27: The Beast – A$ 97,570 – Nick Woodhams – A$ 22,850
Event #29: PLO/NLH Rotation – A$ 27,925 – Victor Jaucian – A$ 9,350
Event #30: PLO Frenzy – A$ 2,530 – David Haskew – A$ 975