Blaze of glory: Blaze Scott-Hutchinson wins PMA $1k Special ($29,400)!
After a 12 hour opening day and a final table that ebbed and flowed more than Sydney Harbour, Blaze Scott-Hutchinson has outlasted a strong 98-man field to be crowned champion of the inaugural Poker Media Australia $1k Special and pocket a tidy $29,400 first prize.
The 20-year-old from Ballina on the NSW far north coast is still new to bigger buy-in tournaments – spending most of his time back home playing pub poker and studying up on the tricks of the trade – but although his methods are far from orthodox they certainly proved effective against a high quality final table line-up.
Scott-Hutchinson came into today’s final table as one of only three players above the 200,000 chip mark and quickly set about building a monster stack as he busted Michael Tran and Haibo Chu early before very nearly levelling himself as he looked for the early finish.
As it turned out, finishing off the short stacks was much easier said than done today with a remarkable number of doubly-ups that kept us from dipping below five players for the best part of four hours. At one stage Scott-Hutchinson found himself crippled with just over 100,000 in front with four players remaining, but two quick double-ups that were quickly followed up by a huge pot to bust Zac Boustani saw him regain his composure and go on to take the title.
Entering heads-up play with James Tai facing a 400,000 chip deficit, he scored a huge double-up on the first hand, gave some back on the second, levelled the playing field on the third and then busted his rival on the fourth when he rivered a King holding K-J to Tai’s A-10.
Incredibly, he has now cashed for $8,000 and $29,400 in his only two bigger buy-in tournaments. And it wasn’t easy going here at The Star with the 98 that saw down at the tables yesterday including the likes of Daniel Neilson, Jason Gray, Grant Levy, Tom Rafferty, Peter Aristidou and Tony Hachem.
Congratulations to Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – champion of ANZPT Sydney Event 2: Poker Media Australia $1k Special! The final standings were as follows:
1 Blaze Scott-Hutchinson $29,400
2 James Tai $19,600
3 John Shin $14,210
4 Zac Boustani $9310
5 Honglin Jiang $6860
6 Jim Pizanias $5145
7 Chris Lee $4410
8 Haibo Chu $3675
9 Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran $2940
10 Jackson Zheng $2450
9.15pm: James Tai eliminated in 2nd ($19,600)
Just 20,000 chips separated Blaze Scott-Hutchinson and James Tai as the final hand of the Poker Media Australia $1k Special unfolded with a series of raised and re-raises seeing Tai shove with A-10 and Scott-Hutchinson snap-call with K-J. We were racing for the title and, quite literally, it was decided with the turn of a card.
Tai was on the verge of celebrating as the board ran out 8-3-4-3 but instead it would be Scott-Hutchinson pumping his fist as the dealer burned and turned a K on the river. The youngster survived a marathon opening day and made a stunning comeback at the final table after being down to just over 100,000 with four players remaining to claim the biggest win of his career.
9pm: Heads-up action
Two hands into heads-up play and the players have swapped consecutive double-ups. In the first, Scott-Hutchinson shoved the turn on a 6-7-9-10 board and was called by Tai, who wasn’t happy to see his A-9 beaten by J-10. A 3 on the river changed nothing other than the chip leader with Scott-Hutchinson taking control.
But next hand the roles were reversed with Scott-Hutchinson again shoving the turn and Tai calling. This time Scott-Hutchinson was behind with Q-7 v Tai’s 10-8 on a 10-7-6-3 board. The river 9 only strengthened Tai’s hand and he is back in front.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 667,000
James Tai – 803,000
8.50pm: John Shin eliminated in 3rd ($14,210)
John Shin has just been eliminated in third spot after losing consecutive pots to James Tai. However, it was the first that really left him crippled after he bet all three streets on a 7-7-2-6-3 board. Tai re-raised all-in on the river and Shin tanked for a good two minutes before eventually making the call. Tai showed 7-8 for flopped trips and Shin mucked.
Down to just 77,000, Shin then shoved on the very next hand with A-9 but ran into the A-Q of Tai. The board ran out A-6-3-2-Q and that was all she wrote for Shin. Just like that, we’re heads-up!!
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 520,000
James Tai – 950,000
8.30pm: Up in smoke
An interesting hand just played out between James Tai and Blaze Scott-Hutchinson after all three players saw a 8c-9h-4c flop. It was checked around to Tai on the button who led out for 100,000 only for Scott-Hutchinson to check-raise to 200,000. Tai called.
The turn brought the 10c and Scott-Hutchinson instantly announced all-in. Tai agonised over the decision before folding with Scott-Hutchinson showing the Ad-3h for complete air! It will be interesting to see how Tai responds.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 790,000
James Tai – 415,000
John Shin – 265,000
8.25pm: Level up
The three remaining players have just returned from a short 10-minute break to blinds of 10,000/20,000 with a 2,000 ante. The average stack is around 20 big blinds.
8.15pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 536,000 | 381000 | ||
| John Shin | 494,000 | 164000 | ||
| James Tai | 440,000 | -270000 | ||
| 4th | Zac Boustani | $9,310 | 0 | |
| 5th | Honglin Jiang | $6,860 | 0 | |
| 6th | Jim Pizanias | $5,145 | 0 | |
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
8.15pm: Zac Boustani eliminated in 4th ($9310)
There have been some stunning suck-outs, rivered straights and miracle boats at this final table but Zac Boustani will be shaking his head at how his good fortune turned to misfortune in the space of a few seconds. Admittedly, he did get it in way behind when he shoved the button with 7-7 and was called by Blake Scott-Hutchinson’s 10-10.
A seven on the flop had Boustani pumping his fist but his scream of ‘Yes’ was quickly followed by a ‘Noooo’ when a 10 landed on the turn. Boustani exits in fourth after putting up a tremendous fight today. Scott-Hutchinson, meanwhile, has gone from just over 100,000 to 536,000 in the space of 15 minutes.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 536,000
Zac Boustani – Busted
8.05pm: Blaze no longer firing
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson had been sitting behind a massive stack for much of today’s play but some bad luck and a few questionable calls have now left him as the table short-stack with just over 100,000.
Most recently he called Zac Boustani’s shove holding just J-10 and was in deep trouble against Boustani’s J-J. The J-10-5 flop didn’t help matters and he is now fighting for his tournament life.
Zac Boustani – 200,000
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 110,000
7.55pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| James Tai | 710,000 | 377000 | ||
| John Shin | 330,000 | 180000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 275,000 | 120000 | ||
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 155,000 | -553000 | ||
| 5th | Honglin Jiang | $6,860 | 0 | |
| 6th | Jim Pizanias | $5,145 | 0 | |
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’l Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
7.40pm: Honglin Jiang eliminated in 5th ($6860)
Honglin Jiang has endured a roller-coaster ride today but the luck simply wasn’t with him when it mattered most. After losing a series of flips – often on the river – he put the last of his chips in holding K-Q but was dominated by the K-K of John Shin. The board blanked and Jiang will have to settle for a near $7,000 payday.
John Shin – 390,000
Honglin Jiang – Busted
7.35pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 708,000 | 68000 | ||
| James Tai | 333,000 | 173000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 155,000 | 25000 | ||
| John Shin | 150,000 | 85000 | ||
| Honglin Jiang | 124,000 | -351000 | ||
| 6th | Jim Pizanias | $5,145 | 0 | |
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
7.35pm: Livin’ on the edge
Jim Pizanias’ recent bust-out sparked a flurry of action but it seems the luck is with the short-stacks tonight with a remarkable series of river cards saving players from elimination. However, the latest had to be seen to be believed.
The chips were all in pre-flop with the short-stacked James Tai holding A-Q against the Qh-Jh of Honglin Jiang. The Ah-9c-10h flop was huge for Jiang, giving him straight and flush draws and he hit his flush when the 9h arrived on the turn.
But the river would again come to the rescue with a repeat Ace giving Tai the full house. He chips up to well over 300,000 with Jiang now in some trouble.
James Tai – 333,000
Honglin Jiang – 124,000
7.10pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 640,000 | 300000 | ||
| Honglin Jiang | 475,000 | -55000 | ||
| James Tai | 160,000 | 13000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 130,000 | 9000 | ||
| John Shin | 65,000 | -75000 | ||
| 6th | Jim Pizanias | $5,145 | 0 | |
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
7.10pm: Jim Pizanias eliminated in 6th ($5145)
Jim Pizanias is the unlucky man to break the bust-out drought after having his A-K cracked by the A-Q of Blaze Scott-Hutchinson. The chips were all in the middle pre-flop after Pizanias called Scott-Hutchinson’s 3-bet shove, but a Q on the flop wasn’t what he wanted to see as the board ran out J-Q-6-3-8. He takes home a touch over $5,000 for his efforts.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 640,000
Jim Pizanias – Busted
6.55pm: Blinding away
Blinds are up to 6000/12,000 with a 1000 ante.
6.45pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Honglin Jiang | 530,000 | 120000 | ||
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 340,000 | -50000 | ||
| Jim Pizanias | 192,000 | -10000 | ||
| James Tai | 147,000 | -148000 | ||
| John Shin | 140,000 | 47000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 121,000 | 41000 | ||
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
6.45pm: Fun and games
It’s now been well over an hour since our last player busted but at least the players are keeping themselves entertained while they wait to see who falls next. James Tai and John Shin have been particularly jovial while Zac Boustani is still smiling despite having clearly struggled to find a hand all day. Meanwhile, Honglin Jiang has been quietly building his stack and now sits with a dominant 530,000.
6.30pm: Shin digs in
It’s been a while now since we’ve lost a player with the short stacks doing a good job of clinging to survival. The latest to double-up was John Shin who shoved with 9-9 and was in great shape against James Tai’s 8-8. Another 9 on the flop ensured he sticks around for a while longer!
James Tai – 145,000
John Shin – 170,000
6.15pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Honglin Jiang | 410,000 | 50000 | ||
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 390,000 | -25000 | ||
| James Tai | 295,000 | 131000 | ||
| Jim Pizanias | 202,000 | -3000 | ||
| John Shin | 93,000 | -158000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 80,000 | 5000 | ||
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
6.05pm: Players on a short break
Players will return in 10 minutes to start Level 19 with blinds 5000/10,000 (500 ante).
6pm: Suck, re-suck
A big pot just played out between John Shin and James Tai with the latter winning a war of the mind games. On a J-J-4 flop, Shin asked Tai how many chips he had left behind.
“Just over 100 (thousand),” he replied.
“60,000,” was Shin’s bet with Tai immediately announcing he was all-in. Shin looked disgusted but made the crying call to find his pocket 5s behind Tai’s K-J. The turn and river bricked with Tai hauling in the 280,000 pot, leaving Shin with just 65,000 and a mountain to climb.
James Tai – 280,000
John Shin – 65,000
5.50pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 415,000 | -161000 | ||
| Honglin Jiang | 360,000 | 16000 | ||
| John Shin | 251,000 | 11000 | ||
| Jim Pizanias | 205,000 | 100000 | ||
| James Tai | 164,000 | 74000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 75,000 | -40000 | ||
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
5.45pm: Suck, re-suck
Jim Pizanias had one foot out the door after after he was out-flopped in a big hand against Blaze Scott-Hutchinson. Pizanias shoved the button with 10-10 and found himself racing against Scott-Hutchinson’s A-Q. When a Q spiked on the flop, Pizanias’ days were numbered but he found his one time with a 10 on the turn giving him a set before he filled up on the river. He is back in business with a touch over 200,000.
Jim Pizanias – 220,000
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 480,000
5.30pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 576,000 | 91000 | ||
| Honglin Jiang | 344,000 | -59000 | ||
| John Shin | 240,000 | 50000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 115,000 | 31000 | ||
| Jim Pizanias | 105,000 | 56000 | ||
| James Tai | 90,000 | 22000 | ||
| 7th | Chris Lee | $4,410 | 0 | |
| 8th | Haibo Chu | $3,675 | 0 | |
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
5.25pm: Chris Lee eliminated in 7th ($4410)
Haibo Chu had barely left his seat when Chris Lee followed him out the door. The short-stacked Lee had been looking for an opportunity to get his chips in and when he peered down at A-10 his decision was easy. Unfortunately Honglin Jiang woke up with A-Q and the 2-2-Q-K-4 board was enough to end Lee’s stay in seventh.
Honglin Jiang – 385,000
Chris Lee – Busted
5.25pm: Haibo Chu eliminated in 8th ($3675)
And just like that Haibo Chu – one of our overnight big stacks – is outta here. Not much has gone right for Chu today and after his stack was chipped away at early he was crippled in a big hand against John Shin. Blaze Scott-Hutchinson opened to 16,000 and was called on the button by Shin. Chu then shoved for 126,000 and after tanking briefly Shin called.
Chu sheepishly showed 2-2 and was well behind Shin’s 10-10 with the board running out 8-Q-7-5-9. Left with under 20,000, Chu shoved K-10 a few hands later only to run into Scott-Hutchinson’s Q-Q. When no King arrived he became our latest casualty.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 576,000
Haibo Chu – Busted
5.10pm: Pizanias doubles
Jim Pizanias has just doubled-up through John Shin. Pizanias opened to 16,000 and was 3-bet to 33,000 by Shin. Pizanias instantly shoved for another 37,000 on top with Shin asking for a count before calling. It was another race with Shin showing 8-8 and Pizanias K-Q. The board ran out 6-A-7-Q-J with the turned Q keeping Pinazias’ hopes alive.
Jim Pizanias – 140,000
John Shin – 120,000
5.05pm: UPDATED CHIP COUNTS AND PAYOUTS:
| Place | NAME | PAYOUT | CHIPS | CHANGE |
| Blaze Scott-Hutchinson | 485,000 | 233000 | ||
| Honglin Jiang | 403,000 | 133000 | ||
| John Shin | 190,000 | 45000 | ||
| Haibo Chu | 150,000 | -15000 | ||
| Zac Boustani | 84,000 | -4000 | ||
| James Tai | 68,000 | -104000 | ||
| Jim Pizanias | 49,000 | -72000 | ||
| Chris Lee | 41,000 | -11000 | ||
| 9th | Michael ‘Pokerlife’ Tran | $2,940 | 0 | |
| 10th | Jackson Zheng | $2,450 | 0 |
5pm: Michael Tran eliminated in 9th ($2940)
Michael Tran (pictured above) has just busted after missing a big draw against current chip leader Blaze Scott-Hutchinson. Tran called Scott-Hutchinson’s open out of the big blind and then announced ‘all-in’ on a Ks-2c-4c flop. Scott-Hutshinson thought for only a few seconds before calling and turning over Kc-Qs.
Tran held Ac-Jc for the nut flush draw and an overcard but the 4h-2s turn and river didn’t help him and he is the second man of the day to walk out the door. Scott-Hutchinson meanwhile is now sitting behind a massive stack and looking ominous.
Blaze Scott-Hutchinson – 485,000
Michael Tran – Busted
Blinds are up!
We’ve just begun Level 17 with blinds now at 3000/6000 (500 ante).
4.40pm: Jackson Zheng eliminated in 10th ($2450)
Jackson Zheng is the first player eliminated from today’s final table after losing a race against John Shin. Zheng shoved his last 43,000 from the button holding Q-10 and was called by Shin’s pocket 6s. After the flop came 7-8-2, a 10 on the turn gave Zheng the lead and he needed only to avoid a 9 or a 6 to score a double-up. Cruelly, a 9 spiked on the river to give Shin a straight and send Zheng to the cage.
John Shin – 190,000
Jackson Zheng – Busted
Tran doubles
Michael Tran just scored a crucial double-up at the expense of Haibo Chu to put himself right back in the mix. After flatting Chu’s open to 8,500, Tran then re-raised the flop of 6-2-4. Chu came back over the top to put Tran, who called instantly, all-in. Chu showed A-2 for bottom pair but Tran held 7-7 for the over-pair. The turn and river bricked and Tran jumps up a few notches on the leaderboard.
Michael Tran – 180,000
Haibo Chu – 120,000
Aggression on show early
It looks like there will be no easy pots today with a number of 3-bets and 4-bets already. In the most recent hand, John Shin opened to 8500 from the cut-off and was 3-bet to 22,000 out of the big blind by Haibo Chu. Shin then 4-bet to 55,000 which was enough to commit himself but Chu quickly folded to hand Shin a nice early score.
Good laydown from Tran
On the very first hand of the day, with blinds at 2000/4000, Michael ‘Poker Life’ Tran opened to 10,000 from the hijack and was 3-bet to 22,000 on the button by James Tai. Tran tanked before open-folding pocket 7s before Tai obliged by flashing 10-10 to take down the first pot. Tran staged a massive recovery yesterday after being down to just 4,000 in chips midway through the day’s play and did well to stay out of trouble again just now.
Final table set to begin!
Welcome back to the Oasis Lounge at The Star and our coverage of Event 2 of ANZPT Sydney 2012 – the inaugural Poker Media Australia $1k Special.
From a starting field of 98 players a little over 24 hours ago, just 10 return for today’s final table and a shot at the $29,400 first prize. Leading the way is Honglin Jiang, who cut a swathe through the field late in the day yesterday to sit behind a massive 283,500 stack. No stranger to success at star, Jiang enjoyed a tremendous run through the Sydney Championships at this very venue two years ago with $70,000 in cashes across those two weeks alone.
He is closely followed in the chip counts by tough tournament pro Haibo Chu with 263,500 while Jackson Zheng brings up the rear with just 58,000. Players will be seated as follows when play gets underway shortly:
Seat 1: Blaze Scott-Hutchinson 214,500
Seat 2: Jackson Zheng 58,000
Seat 3: John Shin 140,000
Seat 4: Zac Boustani 133,500
Seat 5: Haibo Chu 263,500
Seat 6: Michael Tran 93,500
Seat 7: Chris Lee 64,500
Seat 8: James Tai 134,000
Seat 9: Honglin Jiang 283,500
Seat 10: Jim Pizanias 87,500
Poker Media Australia will be here all afternoon to bring you every big hand, every bust-out and every call of ‘one time’ as we play down to our very first PMA $1K NLHE Special champion.
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