2024 Australian Poker Open

$1,500 Platinum Player Championships
Day: 1a
Event Info

2024 Australian Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k4
Prize
248,000 AUD
Event Info
Buy-in
1,500 AUD
Prize Pool
1,218,100 AUD
Entries
937
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
148
Players Left
19

Fireworks Fly on Opening Day of $1,500 Platinum Player Championships

Level 15 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Minkyu Jun
Minkyu Jun

An exciting start to the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships at the beautiful Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi saw 148 entrants take their shot at building a stack on Day 1a. It took almost 15 full levels to reach the money, with two players surpassing the million-chip mark. One built up steadily to take a commanding lead at the Australian Poker Open, while the other was the beneficiary of a brutal cooler on the bubble.

Minkyu Jun took control midway through the day and never looked back, bagging an impressive 1,521,000 and a big lead after the first of five opening flights. Greg Davison also crossed 1,000,000 chips, with more than half of them sitting in his stack after the final hand of the night.

That pair lead a group of 19 survivors who will return for Day 2, all in the money having earned at least AUD $2,300.

Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Minkyu JunAustralia1,521,000
2Greg DavisonAustralia1,078,000
3Adrian SalterAustralia627,000
4Gavin OgilvyAustralia541,000
5David BowenAustralia518,000
6Michael SleimanAustralia499,000
7Jesse AlatiAustralia433,000
8Stylianos MakariouAustralia331,000
9Rehman KassamUnited Kingdom321,000
10Khanh LeAustralia288,000

There were fireworks throughout the day in the poker room at Club Marconi, including a flopped royal flush that resulted in a knockout. Lauchlan Swann not only flopped the best hand in poker, but was able to get all of Jarrod Thatcher��s chips after the latter went runner-runner to make a full house.

Day 1a saw a pair of Australian Poker Open Ambassadors hit the felt, each faring quite differently in the opening flight. Bert Perry busted twice after failing to find any momentum, while Rehman Kassam sat down just as late registration closed and amassed a top ten stack with 321,000 chips.

Rehman Kessam
Rehman Kessam

The final hand of the night was also one of the most dramatic, as Davison and Jason Lau got almost identical stacks into the middle with the ultimate preflop cooler �C aces against kings. Davison had the aces and covered Lau by just two big blinds, sending Lau to the rail on the bubble.

Davison finished with the second-largest stack after managing to survive just a short time earlier, turning a flush to triple up and see several opponents at his table hit the rail.

Greg Davison
Greg Davison

The action will continue on Thursday, March 28 as players return for Day 1b at 3 p.m. local time. Another full day of 40-minute levels begins with blinds of 100/200 and a 200 big blind ante, with all players receiving a starting stack of 50,000 chips.

Breaks will again fall after every three levels of play, and late registration will close at the start of Level 10. Several players took full advantage of the unlimited reentry format on Day 1a, and more of the same is expected as the event continues.

Keep it locked to PokerNews for full coverage of this and other events here at the Australian Poker Open.

Tags: Adrian SalterBert PerryDavid BowenGavin OgilvyGreg DavisonJarrod ThatcherJason LauJesse AlatiMinkyu JunKhanh LeLauchlan SwannMichael SleimanRehman KassamStylianos Makariou