WSOP Circuit at the Star: Abdine wins the 5K Challenge; Smith wins Classic and Singh takes Monster Stack

The 2019 WSOP may have ended over in Rozvadov, but circuit events continue to roll on, with Australia being the latest nation to play host to the series. In what is a great build up to the Aussie Millions in one month, players have been battling it out to get their hands on a WSOP Circuit ring at Star Casino in Sydney.

AU$5K Challenge – Winner: Shivan Abdine

The AU$5,000 (US$3,380) Challenge tournament was one of the biggest events listed on the schedule and always looked like creating a hefty prize pool. The 203 entries ultimately sent the final figure soaring to AU$1,000,000 (US$676,000) with AU$260,000 (US$175,980) set aside for the winner.

The first day’s action saw the starting field cut to just 15, as players were felled across the tournament floor throughout the day. Jonathan Karamalikis, Alex Lynskey and defending champion Matthew Wakeman all fell during the first day, but the final day still had some interesting names in contention. The biggest of them was undoubtedly James Obst, who carrie the second largest stack of 534,000 into the final day. Leading the way was George Mitri with 709,000.

With 21 players having made the money, the final 15 wasted no time in going to war with each other. Survivors began to fall almost as son as the cards were in the air, and the field had been thinned to a final table of 9 before the first level of the day had been completed. Mitri’s dream day 1 turned into a day 2 nightmare as he dropped like a stone during the early stages before busting in 9^th. He was followed by New Zealanders Charlie Hawes and Honglin Jiang, before James Obst’s day finally came to an end shortly after with a 6^th place finish. Before long, the action had got down to three-handed, with Germany’s Marc Camphausen quickly following Michael Doumani to the rail shortly after to bring the action heads-up. The two players then immediately agreed a deal for the money before pushing all-in blind to determine a champion.

The final payouts are as follows:
1^st – Shivan Abdine (Australia) – AU$260,000 (US$175,980)
2^nd – Adrian Attenborough – AU$160,610
3^rd – Marc Camphausen – AU$115,970
4^th – Michael Doumani – AU$85,170
5^th – Ehsan Amiri – AU$63,630
6^th – James Obst – AU$48,350
7^th – Honglin Jiang – AU$37,350
8^th – Charlie Hawes – AU$29,330
9^th – George Mitri – AU$23,400

AU$450 NLH Classic – Winner: Curtis Smith

The AU$450 (US$304) Classic may not be a big buy in event, but the crowds flocked to take their shot at the event, with 1,132 entries having been registered by the time late registration had closed. This generated a prize pool of AU$509,400 (US$344,354) with almost AU$100,000 set aside up top.

The latter stages of the event saw a comparatively small number of 117 players picking up a payout. By the time the final table was in full swing, the likes of Yan Shuranov, Robert Callol and Curtis Smith were beginning to claw their way up the chip counts. As the challengers fell away, the action finally reached three-handed play, with Curtis, Callol and Shuranov left to battle for the title. Callol eventually busted out in 3^rd, and the final two players were heads up. Smith soon established control over the match, and despite Shuranov’s efforts to fight his way back into contention, it was not to be his day. Smith was able to finish the job and pick up the top prize and the title.

The final payouts are as follows:
1^st – Curtis Smith (Australia) – $92,964 (US$62,844)
2^nd – Yan Shurunov – $57,420
3^rd – Robert Callol – $42,667
4^th – Peco Stojanovski – $32,092
5^th – Nebojsa Blanusa – $24,436
6^th – Emmanuel Derecho – $18,827
7^th – Twizz Google – $14,676
8^th – David Padovan – $11,568
9^th – Paul Smith – $9,220

AU$1,000 NLH Monster Stack – Winner: Pravishil Singh

The AU$1,000 (US$676) buy in Monster Stack was always going to be one of the highlights of the WSOP Circuit series, and with 441 players opting to get involved, it certainly lived up to that billing, producing a prize pool of AU$450,000 (US$304,200).

The event saw 45 players go on to get paid a minimum of AU$2,034, with the amount of money on the line having risen significantly by the time the final table was set. John Cho was first of the final 9 to fall, picking up just under five figures for his efforts. Players continued to crash out over the following levels until just Josh Mitchell and Pravishil Singh were left standing. The players continued to trade pots for a while before Singh took command of the match. Mitchell tried to force his way back into it but could not regain a foothold on the contest. Singh soon finished the job and was crowned champion.

Here are the final table results:
1^st – Pravishil Singh (Australia) – $98,996 (US$66,921)
2^nd – Josh Mitchell – $61,178
3^rd – Hassib Younan – $44,703
4^th – William Undy – $33,192
5^th – Cezary Klimczak – $25,029
6^th – Andrew White – $19,157
7^th – Sheldon Mayer – $14,877
8^th – Malcolm Trayner – $11,718
9^th – John Cho – $9,360

Other results

AU$450 (US$304) NLH Turbo
Entries: 301
Prize Pool: AU$135,450 (US$91,564)
Winner: Hunter Song – AU$31,829 (US$21,516)

AU$550 (US$372) Short Deck
Entries: 101
Prize Pool: AU$80,000 (US$54,080)
Winner: Nebojsa Blanusa – AU$24,000 (US$16,224)

AU$1,000 (US$676) NLH 6-Max
Entries: 242
Prize Pool: AU$250,000 (US$169,000)
Winner: Nathan Susnig – AU$66,245 (US$44,782)

AU$450 (US$304) NLH Masters
Entries: 167
Prize Pool: AU$80,000 (US$54,080)
Winner: Ali Ghezelbash – AU$21,600 (US$14,602)

AU$500 (US$338) NLH Teams
Entries: 183
Prize Pool: AU$100,000 (US$67,600)
Winners: Daniel Embleton/Rehman Kassam – AU$26,000 (US$17,576)

AU$300 (US$203) NLH Ladies
Entries: 101
Prize Pool: AU$30,300 (US$20,483)
Winner: Michelle Psarras – AU$9,089 (US$6,144)

Article by Craig Bradshaw