Jun Wang Wins WSOPC Sydney $500 Opening Event for $112,171 AUD
After nearly five hours of play, Jun Wang won the 2018 WSOP International Circuit $500 Opening Event for $112,171, after coming into the final table as the chip leader, and conquering Malcolm Trayner in a hard-fought heads-up battle.
In total there were 1,444 entries this year, exceeding last years numbers by almost 100. The final nine had a wealth of experience including Zhi Ma and Chad Awerbuch who had both combined for over $700,000 in tournament earnings as well as tournament grinders Chu Ong, Alex Falon and George Mitri.
��It��s great! This is my first final table,�� Wang said when he was asked how he felt. His girlfriend was on the rail and had broken out in tears after Wang became victorious. ��She��s actually won more then me,�� he joked. When asked what was next on the agenda - ��Well, I��ve actually won a ticket to the $5k Challenge event, so I��ll probably play that and maybe the main,�� he added. ��If the $5k doesn't go to plan, I may play the PLO event instead. That��s my preferred game,�� he finished with.
Final Table Results
| *Place | Player | Prize (AUD) |
| 1 | Jun Wang | $112,171 |
| 2 | Malcolm Trayner | $69,528 |
| 3 | Zhi Ma | $50,950 |
| 4 | Shan Jiang | $38,734 |
| 5 | Johnathan Hargrave | $29,487 |
| 6 | Chu Ong | $22,710 |
| 7 | Alex Falon | $17,694 |
| 8 | Chad Awerbuch | $13,944 |
| 9 | George Mitri | $11,118 |
The day started with Zhi Ma committing his whole stack in the very first hand against Malcolm Trayner. He was at risk holding ace-king versus pocket queens and went further behind when Trayner hit a queen on the flop to make trips. The board then ran out perfect for Ma as he hit runner-runner straight cards to survive.
Trayner would get his first victim shortly after when he would dominate once more with ace-queen against George Mitri��s ace-jack to send Mitri home in 9th place. This would start a trend that would see three players fall in the first 40-minute level of the day. Chad Awerbuch followed when he found himself in great shape with pocket queens versus Shan Jiang��s pocket jacks preflop. A jack would fall on the turn sending Awerbuch to the rail. Just before the first break, Alex Falon would bluff off with jack-high against Jun Wang��s king-high after moving all in on the turn. Wang would improve to a flush by the river eliminating Falon in 7th place.
Falon wouldn't be the only one caught bluffing against Wang, as Chu Ong followed suit next. On a three heart board, Ong moved all on the river only to be snap-called. He flipped over his nine-high only for Wang to table his ace-four of hearts which had flopped the nuts.
Johnathan Hargrave went next when his ace-seven was no match for Zhi Ma��s ace-queen. A queen on the flop would be enough to see the New Zealand native and Day 1C chip leader sent to the rail and collecting his first ever cash in a live tournament.
Following the first break of the day (just two hours in) Trayner would eliminate two players in quick succession holding pocket kings both times to take a commanding lead into heads-up play. First, his pocket kings trumped Shan Jiang��s queens and then smashed Zhi Ma��s pocket fours moments later.
Trayner started heads-up play with a 2.5-1 lead and kept the momentum going for a short while until one bluff saw Wang double up. The two then fought it out for an hour-and-a-half with the chip-lead changing multiple times. On the final hand, Wang opened from the button and was met with an open-shove by Trayner. Wang had Trayner covered, and deliberated over his decision for a minute before calling.
Trayner was at risk holding king-seven and was up against Wang��s pocket sevens. No help would come and Trayner would fall agonizingly close to a maiden WSOP circuit victory.
That concludes the Opening Event. The PokerNews team will be back on Wednesday, 5th of December, as it continues it's coverage with the $5,000 Challenge from The Star here in Sydney.
