Those bright young stars in question are Aaron Lim and Brendon Rubie, who are neck-and-neck for the chip lead with just seven players left at the "unofficial" final table.
Lim, who finished third at last year's Partouche Poker Main Event and is just shy of the $1m mark in career live earnings, is the overall leader at 600,000.
Sydney's Rubie, a runner-up for a bracelet at the WSOP in Vegas last year and also close to a $1m winner in live tournaments, is just behind at 577,000.
Both tough and talented players with experience going deep, it sets up to be yet another epic battle and riveting final table at WSOP APAC.
Lee, Gray Stand in the Way
While the Six-Max final lacks in big-name power it makes up for it in spirited local rivalries with virtually all of the final table made up of home-country hopes.
Another talented Aussie young gun in Andy Lee, who ran over the field for much of the day and held the chip lead at one point, will line up fourth overall with 412,000.
Jason Gray, a British pro now based in Australia with over $1m in career earnings, will start off sixth at 159,000.
Sam Higgs (168,000) and Melbourne's own Billy Seri (145,000) make it a very Aussie-heavy final seven with just Kiwi Jan Suchanek (463,000) the only outlier.
The final seven and chip counts:
1. Aaron Lim 600,000 2. Brendon Rubie 577,000 3. Jan Suchanek 463,000 4. Andy Lee 412,000 5. Sam Higgs 168,000 6. Jason Gray 159,000 7. Billy Seri 145,000Check our live updates for a rundown of all the day's action.
Play resumes tomorrow at 12:30 pm local time (10:30 pm ET) with live updates and live streaming available right here on PokerListings.com. The eventual champion will take home AUD$233,800 and a prestigious WSOP APAC bracelet.
Also on tap tomorrow? The start of the $10,000 Main Event, which is sure to draw a massive crowd. Check for live updates starting at 4 am ET tomorrow right here.
In case you missed it, a guy named Phil Ivey also won a bracelet at WSOP APAC today. Check our daily video for more below:
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