It only took five levels of play for Day 1e of the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships to become the largest flight of the week. In all, 300 entries were recorded on the day as players rushed to beat the final registration deadline of the tournament at the Australian Poker Open.
That saw the final prize pool grow to AUD $1,218,100, smashing the guarantee and setting the stage for a massive first-place prize on Monday, April 1 at Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi. The registration desk was busy all day long, as players rushed to build a stack and bag for what is sure to be a dramatic Day 2 in Sydney.
By the time the final card had been dealt, it was Chris Moussa leading the was as the only player on the day to hit the magical million-chip mark. He’ll now join the other five players returning with seven-figure stacks, all whom with have more than 100 big blinds to work with.
Day 1e Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moussa | Australia | 1243000 | 124 |
| 2 | Campbell Ashton | Australia | 928000 | 93 |
| 3 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | 754000 | 75 |
| 4 | Alex Lee | Singapore | 642000 | 64 |
| 5 | David Hirst | Australia | 635000 | 64 |
| 6 | Neng Zhao | Australia | 580000 | 58 |
| 7 | Elisa Onay | Australia | 566000 | 57 |
| 8 | Tolly Sakellariou | Australia | 560000 | 56 |
| 9 | Michael Oscuro | Australia | 529000 | 53 |
| 10 | Paris Sitzoukis | Australia | 515000 | 52 |
One of the notable storylines of Day 1e was the resurgence of Ehsan Amiri, who was collecting chips right from the start. He showed timely aggression and won a big pot against Australian Poker Open Ambassador Bert Perry with pocket aces. Amiri finished inside the top five, unlike Day 1b when he was knocked on the direct money bubble. He’ll return with 75 big blinds and a chance to do even more damage on Monday.
Moussa was already one of the bigger stacks in the room by the time hand-for-hand play began, and that stack was padded one last time by taking out Alan Wilson on the bubble. Moussa turned a set against Wilson’s pocket queens, leaving the final 38 players in the money with $2,300 locked up.
Action concluded tonight late in Level 16, and surviving players will now see their stack grow a bit as blinds will be rolled back for the start of Day 2. The opening flight of the week finished with 25:00 remaining on Level 15,action will resume there on Monday at 12 p.m. local time.
Play will be streamed on the Australian Poker Open Twitch channel beginning at 12:30 p.m. local time. PokerNews will provide full coverage as the final 118 return to determine the newest winner at Doltone House.
