For the third consecutive year, the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup is displayed in all its grandeur at The Star Gold Coast as it awaits the newest champion down under to be forever immortalized on the iconic trophy. That moment is only a few days away with the World Poker Tour – WPT Australia Championship Event now set to enter Day 2.
Running from September 20 to 25, 2024, at this prime coastal destination in Gold Coast, Queensland, the past two days attracted 396 entries with buy in of AUD 8,000 (~$5,440) each. This generated a prize pool of AUD 2,930,040 (~US$ 1,995,016).
Day 1A: 189 entries / 65 players advanced
Day 1B: 207 entries / 84 players advanced
On Sunday, September 22, 149 players will be returning and will face another challenging day as only the top 50 are guaranteed a share of the prize pool. For those that reach the money round, the minimum payout is AUD 15,091 (~US$ 10,274) while the champion’s purse is slated at AUD 585,359 (~US$ 398,512). In addition, the champion will receive a WPT World Championship ticket valued at AUD 16,000 (US$ 10,400).
Among the players vying for the coveted title is last year’s runner-up Martin Kozlov with a healthy stack bagged at Day 1B. Also in the list is WPT Player of the Festival front runner, Hamish Crawshaw, who is on fire with two deep runs – champion of the Outback Survivor Bounty and runner-up of the Super High Roller.
Another notable in contention is the 2022 WPT Prime Championshp winner, Stephen Song, who recently took down the EPT Barcelona Main Event. Several notches up are heat leaders Campbell Ashton and Amin Riyazati. WSOP Paradise Main Event finalist Daniel Neilson is in the upper tier, as well as the highly decorated two-time WSOP bracelet winner James Obst.
Unlike last year, the Asian turnout this year was lighter than expected. Taiwan’s Justin Chu, China’s Quan Zhou, and Malaysia’s Sean Ooi were among the handful that made the Day 2 cut however Eric Tsai and Shan Huang were among the fallen.
You can track the action via the WPT Live Updates. On September 25, the final table will be livestreamed by Sharehand.