WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast 2021 underway; Idris Hassan, Ehsan Amiri, Vannasone Sotsavanh early winners

The World Poker Tour is back in Queensland, Australia with the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast 2021 in full swing at host venue The Star Gold Coast. Games opened on May 21 with WPT Anchor Lynn Gilmartin welcoming in the players. The festival will run through May 31. Just before kick off day, good news shined down with the event now allowed to seat up to 10 players per table. It was previously 7 handed due to Covid-19 restrictions, however as much as possible, the tables will be kept 9 handed.

Lined up for this series are ten events with buy-ins from AU$ 330 to AU$ 5,000. The festival highlight is just a couple of days away, the AU$ 1,500 Main Event, which takes place from May 27 to 31. All the lucky winners will receive a very cool WPT surfboard trophy, specifically designed for this occasion. At the time of writing, three events have already been completed with impressive turnouts each day. Emerging victorious were Idris Hassan, Ehsan Amiri, and Vannasone Sotsavanh. Brief recaps and final table results are provided below.

Event #1 Opening Event $750: IDRIS HASSAN – AU$ 65,270

The $750 Opening Event was a three-day affair that brought in 492 entries across two fully charged starting days. Day 1A saw 221 entries and Day 1B drew a larger 271 entries for a handsome kick off prize pool of AU$ 332,100 (~US$ 257,600). Among the players out hunting was WPT Australia champion Hari Varma, however, he failed to cash. Overall starting day chip leader Matt Yarham finished in 13th place while second ranked Jack Mardanbeigi reached the final table, exiting in 5th place. Taking it to the limit was Idris Hassan who overcame a deficit at heads-up against Peter Apostolou to earn his first ever WPT win and a career high payout of AU$ 65,270 (~US$ 50,628).

Buy-in: AU$ 750
Entries: 492
Day 2: 77 players
Prize pool: AU$ 332,100 (~US$ 257,600)
ITM: 62 places

Final table payouts

1st Idris Hassan – AU$ 65,270
2nd Peter Apostolou – AU$ 45,743
3rd Mike Maddocks – AU$ 29,414
4th Nicole Lewis – AU$ 20,305
5th Jack Mardanbeigi – AU$ 15,585
6th Christopher Zenonos – AU$ 12,992
7th Joshua Stone – AU$ 10,826
8th Matt Baitieri – AU$ 8,668
9th Sean Ragozzini – AU$ 6,526

Event #2: $2K One Day Event – EHSAN AMIRI – AU$ 68,988

The second event of the festival was the $2K One Day Event which drew a very healthy field of 132 entrants. This built a sizable prize pool of AU$ 244,200 (~US$ 189,420). Of the 17 players paid, it was Ehsan Amiri claiming the lion’s cut of AU$ 68,988 (~US$ 53,512) which was larger than the opening event’s winner payout. Amiri is no stranger to victory having won a couple of live events in the past however this will certainly be the one to remember as it was his first ever WPT win.

Buy-in: AU$ 2,000
Entries: 132
Prize pool: AU$ 244,200 (~US$ 189,420)
ITM: 17 places

Final table payouts

1st Ehsan Amiri – AU$ 68,988
2nd Ron Bean – AU$ 43,651
3rd Daniel Gabriel – AU$ 25,885
4th Wan Gan – AU$ 15,873
5th John Perry – AU$ 12,088
6th Vasco Zapantzis – AU$ 10,256
7th Chris Savelle – AU$ 8,913
8th Michael Ho – AU$ 7,814
9th Tu Le – AU$ 6,899

Event #3: $330 NLH Freezeout – VANNASONE SOTSAVANH – AU$ 19,839

The first of three freezeout format events was tabled on Day 3, and with 301 players pulling up seats, it was another jam packed house. Turning the AU$ 330 buy in into a huge AU$ 19,389 payout was Vannasone Sotsavanh for a first ever win and a career high payout.

Buy-in: AU$ 330
Entries: 301
Prize pool: US$ 90,300
ITM: 38 places

Final table payouts

1st Vannasone Sotsavanh – AU$ 19,389
2nd Marc Brown – AU$ 13,919
3rd Philip Nguyen – AU$ 8,949
4th Aaron Matheson – AU$ 5,617
5th Andrew Slan – AU$ 4,334
6th Musang Kim – AU$ 3,589
7th Henry Kilpatrick – AU$ 3,016
8th Mitchell Bognar – AU$ 2,479
9th Peter Anasta – AU$ 1,984

Upcoming Events

Event #6: $1,500 Main Event

The featured AU$ 1,500 Main Event is coming up fast. It runs from May 27 to 31. Three starting days are offered. For a buy-in of AU$ 1,500, players begin with a 30,000 stack which is 300x the opening blinds of 100 – 100 ante 100. All Day 1 heats will see blinds increase every 40 minutes then on Day 2 and the Final Day blinds will increase every 60 minutes. Once it is heads up, it decreases to 30 minute intervals. Reigning champion Hari Varma has already been seen at the tables and will undoubtedly be attending to try to secure a back to back.

Date: May 27 to 31
Buy-in: AU$ 1,500
Day 1A: Thursday, May 27
Day 1B: Friday, May 28
Day 1C: Saturday, May 29
Day 2: Sunday, May 30
Final Day: Monday, May 31

Also on the menu are two Mega Stack Freezeout events, Pot Limit Omaha events, Big Bounty, and for heavy hitters, the $5K Challenge which is a two day event running from May 30 to 31.

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for the latest updates and results of the ongoing WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast 2021.