Quan Zhou Crowned Champion of the HK$ 206,000 Single-Day High Roller in Macau (HK$ 3,645,000)
The next highlight of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Macau at the City of Dreams saw a total of 50 players pony up the buy-in for the HK$ 206,000 Single-Day High Roller. Another 12 players opted to fire the optional second bullet within the first eight levels to create a 62-entry strong field and total prize pool of HK$ 12,152,000. After just 14 hours, it was local player Quan Zhou who defeated Nick Petrangelo heads-up to claim the title, trophy, and a payday of HK$3,645,000 ($469,090).
Zhou, a well-known 32-year old Chinese High Roller regular, has plenty of final tables at the former Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) to his name and two victories in smaller events, but the big title was missing thus far on his poker resume. His previous best result came from a second place in a HK$100,000 High Roller in Macau back in 2014. Zhou almost tripled that score and will jump into fifth place on the Chinese all-time money list.
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (HK$) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quan Zhou | China | HK$3,645,000 | $469,090 |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | HK$2,639,000 | $339,602 |
| 3 | Jack Salter | United Kingdom | HK$1,700,000 | $218,766 |
| 4 | Davidi Kitai | Belgium | HK$1,290,000 | $166,000 |
| 5 | Zuo Wang | China | HK$995,000 | $128,050 |
| 6 | David Peters | United States | HK$778,000 | $100,124 |
| 7 | Shuo Li | China | HK$620,000 | $79,790 |
| 8 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | HK$485,000 | $62,407 |
The day started on a slight delay with two tables running, which soon increased to four as the players kept pouring in. By then, Petrangelo and Ali Reza Fatehi had already busted their first bullet and bought back in. Fatehi busted a second time as well and was the first player to be officially eliminated from the competition.
Several other big names such as Fedor Holz, Dario Sammartino, Mustapha Kanit, Isaac Haxton, Martin Kozlov and Daniel Neilson all bowed out well before the money. Steve O'Dwyer was short after the registration closed, and despite doubling up once, the HK$ 400,000 Super High Roller champion of the previous night would soon also join the rail. O'Dwyer got it in with pocket jacks for top set against Fabian Quoss who check-raised him all in with jack-nine for top pair and an open-ended straight draw. A queen on the river completed the straight and O'Dwyer left after taking a last bite from his former lucky mango.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy and Zhao Hongjun busted before the dinner break with the latter running into the flopped straight flush of Jack Salter, reducing the field to 16 hopefuls. Davidi Kitai was down to just two big blinds, but tripled up and doubled up in quick succession. JC Alvarado and Rafael Moraes were sent to the rail before the elimination of Dan Smith came in brutal fashion. Smith got it in with pocket queens against the ace-king of Daniel Dvoress and found another queen on the flop, only for Dvoress to complete a runner-runner straight thanks to a ten on the turn and jack on the river.
Oliver Price and Artem Metalidi followed next and then it was Daniel Dvoress, who saw his stack meltdown to fewer than 10 big blinds not much later. Dvoress three-bet squeezed his last chips into a raise by David Peters and a call by Quan Zhou. While Peters folded, Zhou called with pocket jacks and Dvoress found no help with pocket tens.
The remaining nine hopefuls experienced a roller coaster of emotions and stacks. Salter got lucky to double with ace-king against the pocket aces of Mikita Badziakouski, and it was Fabian Quoss who became the bubble boy. He shoved the last five big blinds with ace-five and David Peters reshoved out of the small blind with king-queen. Nick Petrangelo found pocket aces in the big blind and had both opponents drawing dead on the turn of a jack-high board to burst the bubble in spectacular fashion.
This resulted in the following final table constellation in the money:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quan Zhou | China | 1,670,000 | 41 |
| 2 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 355,000 | 9 |
| 3 | Zuo Wang | China | 430,000 | 10 |
| 4 | Shuo Li | China | 255,000 | 6 |
| 5 | Davidi Kitai | Belgium | 165,000 | 4 |
| 6 | David Peters | USA | 1,090,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Nick Petrangelo | USA | 1,085,000 | 27 |
| 8 | Jack Salter | UK | 1,150,000 | 28 |
The elimination of Mikita Badziakouski happened soon after the final eight came back from the break. The Belarussian shoved the small blind with the six-three suited and Zuo Wang called with queen-jack from the big blind. A queen on the flop all but sealed it, and Badziakouski was done on the turn.
Badziakouski was followed by Shuo Li in the same level still, and the circumstances were similar. Short stack Li shoved fewer than four big blinds with ten-seven off suit, and David Peters called with pocket eights to see the board run out king-high.
However, the tides turned quickly and David Peters eventually had to settle for 6th place. On the button, the American pro shoved for 15 big blinds with queen-jack and Jack Salter sweated his cards in the big blind. Salter eventually found pocket eights and Peters found no help on a ten-high board.
Nick Petrangelo then doubled through Zuo Wang with ace-jack versus pocket sixes, and Wang was left with one big blind only when he moved all in from under the gun soon after. Jack Salter in the small blind and Quan Zhou in the big blind checked down an ace-high board and Salter's queen-three for a pair of threes won the pot, as Wang only had nine-eight off suit.
Belgian wizard and short stack ninja Davidi Kitai survived several all ins to ladder up all the way to fourth place, but that would be his final position. Down to less than four big blinds, Kitai moved in first to act with the king-seven and Nick Petrangelo reshoved with the ace-ten on the button. Neither player hit anything on a queen-high board and Kitai was eliminated.
Three-handed play lasted only a few hands before Jack Salter as second-biggest stack shoved the small blind for 15 big blinds with ten-seven suited. Quan Zhou called from the big blind with pocket nines. Despite finding a ten on the river, Salter's hand ended up second best as Zhou had completed a straight.
Setting up the pictures for the heads-up duel took longer than the final battle, as only a single hand was played before a champion was crowned. Quan Zhou limp-called the shove of Nick Petrangelo with ace-seven, holding a more than three-to-one lead. Petrangelo flipped over the better hand with ace-jack. Zhou turned an open-ended straight draw and flush draw, and a jack on the river completed back-to-back straights for the Chinese to let his rail erupt in celebration.
For Petrangelo, it was his second big score of the festival at the PokerStars Live poker room in Macau, as he was already part of a three-way deal with Roman Korenev and Michael Addamo in the initial HK$82,400 High Roller, taking home HK$1,412,949 ($181,875) as second-biggest stack when the deal was struck. This time, the payday was slightly bigger as Petrangelo added another HK$2,639,000 ($339,602) to his bankroll.
This marks the end of the PokerNews live reporting in the Single-Day High Roller, but Day 2 of the Main Event recommences tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time.