APL Pro Open champion for November 2011, Adam Hudson
By Trevor Hyde
Club Central in Hurstville was filled with 492 hopeful players last Sunday, all vying for the title of NSW Pro Open Champion, plus the $17,000 TeamWSOP package and cash that goes along with the title. After a marathon session, Adam Hudson claimed the prize ahead of perennial Pro Open challenger John Azzi.
Players agreed that the recognition of multiple qualifiers was a major positive, as many players were able to transfer their multiple tickets to friends, having won more than one Pro Series qualifier in the previous calendar month. One player qualified for the event a staggering five times and brought along an entire entourage!
Despite a starting stack of 10,000, the first casualty of flight one came in less than five minutes as Krunoslav Terkes from the Sydney South West region was railed within the first 10 hands! Flight two got off to a slightly more cautious start, yet 10 players were KOed at one table within the first three blind levels. It took just over two hours for each flight to be reduced to 120 players, and after a well-earned dinner break, the top 240 players returned to the stunning function rooms at Club Central.
True to form, the field of 240 was halved within the next four levels of extended blinds, and just 16 tables remained at the next break in play. The remaining players had their eyes firmly set on the top 40 to secure a second chance at glory in the next Pro Open at Penrith Panthers on December 11.
As a disappointed Elise Brown burst the bubble in 41st place, it was game on as the final 40 battled for the cash to be divided among the top 16. Then a round of applause broke out throughout the pit when the 17th-place player was eliminated and the remaining players knew that they would turn a profit!
Adam Hudson staked his claim for the title in tearing through the top 16 and railing four players from one table, including 2011 TeamAPL member Cameron ‘The Ewok’ Shepherd. A fired-up Hudson also received a formal caution for excessive celebration! Those 16 players were quickly reduced to eight. It came as no surprise that another former TeamAPL member and Pro Open specialist John Azzi had once again battled through the field to take his seat on the feature table.
First to bust in eighth place from the South West was Telea Uli, shortly followed by Shmaeil Michael. The final female Angela Ormonde, from the Sydney South region, was railed in sixth position with 2009 TeamAPL member Trevor Allen in tow, bubbling for a ticket to the MAIN EVENT.
The four-way battle was soon reduced to three as City North’s Robert Yang was eliminated. Three way action featured a red-hot, chipped up Adam Hudson from the Sydney City region taking on Mats Anderson and Pro Open final table regular John Azzi. The 4.9 million chips in play moved around the table for a solid 20 minutes, with Hudson never quite losing the chip lead.
However, after Anderson folded 9s pre-flop to another Hudson all-in shove with nothing, his game crumbled and he shoved his stack with Q-To, playing catch up against Hudson’s ace-high. A blank board ensured Hudson would battle John Azzi heads-up at the NSW Pro Open. It was Azzi’s second heads-up appearance in a Pro Open event since he returned from the 2011 WSOP 2011 in July.
The tense heads-up battle featured two key hands, with Hudson striking gold on both occasions. On a Kx Qx 9x flop, Azzi check-called Hudson’s all-in with approximately 100,000 fewer chips, and tabled J-To for the nut straight against Hudson’s Q-Jo. Celebrations were premature in the Azzi camp as a turned Jx meant Hudson caught his gut-shot straight draw, both players taking their chips back.
After another 10 minutes of nail-biting heads-up action Azzi called another all-in from Hudson. Azzi turned over K-Jo while Hudson sheepishly showed Q-3o. The flop fell Kx Ax Jx, leaving Azzi well ahead with a flopped two-pair. Incredibly, the turn and river cards came 3 3, sending Hudson into raucous celebrations.
Anticipation is already building for the next installment of the hugely popular Pro Series Open. We’ll see you all at Penrith Panthers on Sunday, December 11. Make sure you get down to as many Pro Series games during November and earn as many tickets as possible, because now more than ever, every win counts!
APL November 2011 Pro Open results
1 Adam Hudson $1500 + $17,000 TeamWSOP Package
2 John Azzi $975 + MAIN EVENT seat
3 Mats Anderson $650 + MAIN EVENT seat
4 Robert Yang $425 + MAIN EVENT seat
5 Trevor Allen $750 + Pro Open ticket
6 Angela Ormonde $625 + Pro Open ticket
7 Shmaeil Michael $450 + Pro Open ticket
8 Telea Uli $325 + Pro Open ticket
9 Joey Meynink $150 + Pro Open ticket
10 Derrick Hoi $150 + Pro Open ticket
11 Narelle Clarke $150 + Pro Open ticket
12 Zainul Dean $150 + Pro Open ticket
13 Goran Vasiljevic $150 + Pro Open ticket
14 Cameron Shepherd $150 + Pro Open ticket
15 Alfred Frendo $150 + Pro Open ticket
16 Marko Popovic $150 + Pro Open ticket
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