2012 ANZPT Sydney – $2200 ANZPT Main Event / Day 3 / Final Table

FINAL STANDINGS AND PAYOUTS:

1st	Gordon Huntly	$226,812
2nd	Liam O’Rourke	$144,754
3rd	Anthony Aston	$80,214
4th	Stewart Ballard	$62,696
5th	Jason O’Brien	$48,405
6th	Oliver Speidel	$39,185
7th	Craig Blight	$29,965
8th	Bradley Lancken	$23,511
9th	Martin Rowe	$17,518
10th	Alec Smith	$11,525
11th	Erich Stadler	$11,525
12th	Nicholas Heather	$11,525
13th	Mishel Anunu	$9,220
14th	Stephen Lindeblad	$9,220
15th	Kristina Griffiths	$9,220
16th	Sam Capra	$7,837
17th	Tobin Ryall	$7,837
18th	Jason Pritchard	$7,837
19th	James Collopy	$6,454
20th	Laurence Hall	$6,454
21st	Luke Downers	$6,454
22nd	Damien Walsh	$5,532
23rd	Peco Stonjanovski	$5,532
24th	John Parker	$5,532
25th	Luke Brabin	$5,071
26th	Luke Edwards	$5,071
27th	Bill Kennedy	$5,071
28th	Nicholas Polias	$4,610
29th	Jim Sachinidis	$4,610
30th	Andy Lee	$4,610
31st	Wei Zhu	$4,610
32nd	Daniel Ibrahim	$4,610
33rd	Didier Guerin	$4,610
34th	Shaun Elliot	$4,610
35th	Zhixin Yao	$4,610
36th	Jason Hamilton	$4,610
37th	Dean Yuen	$4,149
38th	Suzy Khoueis	$4,149
39th	Toan Nguyen	$4,149
40th	Paul Raseta	$4,149
41st	Ronnie Shabtay	$4,149
42nd	Nabil Edgtton	$4,149
43rd	Adam Bevis	$4,149
44th	Edgar Florez	$4,149
45th	Chad Awerbuch	$4,149
46th	Tony Kondevski	$3,688
47th	Omer Silatozija	$3,688
48th	Michael O’Grady	$3,688
49th	Nicholas Lamport	$3,688
50th	Guy Delahaye	$3,688
51st	Rhys Gould	$3,688
52nd	Andrew Mellado	$3,688
53rd	Dean McIver	$3,688
54th	Gerhard Niess	$3,688

2.15am: Gordon Huntly wins ANZPT Sydney ($226,812)

To Australia via Scotland and Thailand, Gordon Huntly has been crowned the champion of ANZPT Sydney 2012. After an epic final table battle that lasted a little over seven hours, Huntly overcame a roller-coaster of emotions, a current Aussie Millions champion and the relentless aggression of his much younger heads-up opponent to take down the title and its $226,812 top prize.

Nobody could deny Huntly his deserved rewards today. Starting the day with 380,500 in chips and the daunting task of having to outlast the 26 other players remaining, he quietly went about the business of building his stack and as the field was cut down to the final four he suddenly found himself emerging as the surprise chip leader. And while he entered heads-up play facing a slight chip deficit against Liam O’Rourke, it wasn’t long before he had taken back the lead and soon enough the title.

On the final hand of the night, O’Rourke continued his aggressive line by shoving over the top of Huntly’s raise holding K-9 but ran smack bang into pocket Js. And by the time the dealer had dealt the final card on the 4-3-Q-7-4 board, Huntly was pumping his fist as he celebrated a memorable win.

From start to finish, it took 12 hours to work our way through the 27 players that returned today including a marathon seven hour final table. Among those to fall short were Sam Capra, Peco Stojanovski, Jason Pritchard  and Alec Smith while both 2008 APPT Sydney champion Martin Rowe and 2012 Aussie Millions winner Oliver Speidel made the final table but fell short of their ultimate goal.

While Huntly will be celebrating for some time, it has also been a hugely successful week for the ANZPT and our hosts here at The Star with the 461 players that took their seats on Day 1 entering the record books as the second biggest ANZPT field of all time behind only the inaugural ANZPT Sydney back in 2009 (493 runners).

We thank Stephen Ibrahim and his poker crew here at The Star for all their hard work in making this tournament such a success and look forward to returning in August for the Sydney Championships and November for the Star Summer Series. However, most of all we congratulate Gordon Huntly on his remarkable achievement in becoming ANZPT Sydney main event champion for 2012!

ANZPT Sydney 2012 final table placings

1 Gordon Huntly – $226,812
2 Liam O’Rourke – $144,754
3 Anthony Aston – $80,214
4 Stewart Ballard – $62,696
5 Jason O’Brien – $48,405
6 Oliver Speidel – $39,185
7 Craig Blight – $29,965
8 Bradley Lancken – $23,511
9 Martin Rowe – $17,518

2.10am: Liam O’Rourke eliminated in second ($144,754)

Liam O’Rourke had 2 million in front when he got into a raising war with Gordon Huntly and shoved holding K-9. Huntly was quick to call and was in great shape to take down the title with his pocket Js. The board ran out Q-7-3-7-4 and Huntly is crowned 2012 ANZPT Sydney champion!

Gordon Huntly – Champion
Liam O’Rourke – Busted

1.50am: Heads-up

So it is Liam O’Rourke (pictured left) v Gordon Huntly for the title. Their styles couldn’t be more different: O’Rourke the relentlessly aggressive internet kid and Huntly the measured elder statesman. Still, both deserve to be there for this battle and with stacks not too far apart it will be fascinating to see who prevails as out ANZPT Sydney champion for 2012.

1.50am: Anthony Aston eliminated in third ($80,214)

The moment had to come eventually. Anthony Aston (pictured above) proved to be a tough customer and he picked up a perfect hand to shive with when he looked down at A-J in the small blind. Unfortunately for Aston, O’Rourke held A-K and when the board ran out 3-3-2-5-10 Aston’s day was finally done. He takes home a cool $80,214 for his fine performance.

Liam O’Rourke – 4.84 million
Anthony Aston – Busted

1.30am: Another break

Players are on a 10-minute break and will return for Level 28 with blinds climbing to 50,000/100,000 with a 10,000 ante.

1.15am: Stewart Ballard eliminated in fourth ($62,696)

It has been two-and-a-half hours since Jason O’Brien was eliminated but finally we’re down to three following the departure of Stewart Ballard. It was a classic cooler for Ballard who shoved his last 1 million into the middle holding 8-8 only to run into Gordon Huntly’s 10s. The board ran out 4-A-2-3-6 and Ballard departs after a wonderful show of patience today.

Gordon Huntly – 4.125 million
Stewart Ballard – Busted

1.10am: O’Rourke wins monster

Liam O’Rourke has roared back into the chip lead after a huge four-way pot was just played out. O’Rourke opened from UTG to 200,000 and all three opponents called to see a 9d-8s-Qd flop. He fired again for 150,000 and again all three players called.

The turn brought the 10h and nobody was going anywhere as we waited for the river: 5d. This time O’Rourke bet 400,000 with Ballard calling and both Huntly and Aston looking pained to have to fold. O’Rourke showed Kd-10d for the flush which bested Ballard’s nut-straight (K-J) and handed him the massive 2.2 million pot.

12.40: Huntly taking control

On a K-J-K flop, both players checked the flop before Gordon Huntly (pictured above) check-called a 160,000 bet from Anthony Ashton on the 5 turn. Huntly then led for 500,000 when a 7 came on the river. Aston tanked for about 30 seconds before mucking his cards.

On the very next hand Huntly came along for the ride again, this time against Liam O’Rourke. Check-calling the flop and turn on a 2-2-7-2 board with almost 1 million in the middle, both players checked down the Ace on the river. Huntly turned over K-J, O’Rourke wincing in displeasure before mucking his cards.

Gordon Huntly – 4 million
Anthony Aston – 1.2 million
Liam O’Rourke – 2.075 million

12.20: Huntly in the lead

Gordon Huntly has been quite the mover of late, gradually building his stack up to become our new chip leader with 3.2 million. Stewart Ballard, on the other hand, is headed south with just over 1.2 million in front. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

12.05: Slim pickings

There really isn’t much happening here on the final table now that the field has been reduced to four. There was talk of a deal earlier but Liam O’Rourke recognises the edge he has over the field and was reluctant to agree. Since then there have been very few significant hands to speak of. Most recently Anthony Aston fired away on all three streets of a 6h-7d-10-d-3h-As board before eventually forcing a fold from Gordon Huntly.

11.25pm: Take a break

Players are on a 10-minute break – when they return blinds will be at 30,000/60,000 with a 5000 ante.

11pm: Aston doubles back

Anthony Aston and Liam O’Rourke just got it all in with Aston’s tournament life on the line. He held pocket 2s to O’Rourke’s Kh-10h and lives to fight another day after the board came 9s-4s-As-8h-5h.

Liam O’Rourke – 2.9 million
Anthony Ashton – 1.6 million

10.45pm: Jason O’Brien eliminated in fifth ($48,405)

We were starting to wonder if we would see another elimination anytime soon, but in a flash Jason O’Brien’s (pictured above) tremendous run has come to an end. O’Rourke raised the button to 125,000 and was 3-bet by O’Brien in the small blind.

O’Rourke then pushed all-in and was called by O’Brien for a monster race. It was O’Rourke’s 2-2 versus O’Brien’s A-K – the 2-3-6 flop a tremendous one for O’Rourke with the A and Q on the turn and river not enough to save O’Brien.

Liam O’Rourke – 4.13 million
Jason O’Brien – Busted

10.45pm: Gordon hunts ‘em down

Gordon Huntly has just taken a big chunk out of Anthony Aston’s stack. Huntly raised from the small blind and was called by Aston in the big as they saw an Ac-Jh-8c flop. Huntly bet out again on the flop as the 2c hit. This time he bet 160,000 with Ashton again making the call.

On the river Qh Huntly fired a third bullet, for 350,000, and after tanking for some time Ashton made the call but mucked when Huntly showed Ac-5c for the nuts.

Gordon Huntly – 1.88 million
Anthony Aston – 540,000

10.20pm: Blinds are up

We’ve moved into Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 5000 ante.

9.50pm: O’Brien O’flyin’

Jason O’Brien has just doubled through Liam O’Rourke thanks to a lucky break on the river. The chips went into the middle on an A-9-10 flop with O’Brien holding A-8 but trailing the 9-10 of O’Rourke. The turned 3 didn’t change anything but an 8 on the river gave O’Brien a better two pair and shot him back past the 1 million mark.

Jason O’Brien – 1.47 million
Liam O’Rourke – 2.9 million

9.35pm: Oliver Speidel eliminated in sixth ($39,185)

Craig Blight had barely departed the arena before Oliver Speidel (pictured above) was also sent packing. Anthony Aston was the assassin this time around, happily testing his pocket 4s against the 7-10 of a desperately short Speidel. The board bricked and our Aussie Millions champion is no more.

Anthony Aston – 1.1 million
Oliver Speidel – Busted

9.30pm: Craig Blight eliminated in seventh ($29,965)

Craig Blight (pictured above) has departed just a few hands after the dinner break after shoving for his last 250,000 and being called by our chip leader Liam O’Rourke. Blight was racing for his tournament life with A-Q against O’Rourke’s 5-5. O’Rourke flopped a set to all but seal Blight’s fate and even the Q and A that came on the river wasn’t enough to save him as the board ran out 3-5-6-Q-A.

Liam O’Rourke – 3.5 million
Craig Blight – Busted

9.20pm: We’re back

Players have just returned from their dinner break. We are now playing Level 24 with blinds at 20,000/40,000 with a 4000 ante.

8.45pm: Dinner break

Players are on a 40-minute dinner break.

8.45pm: Oliver twisted

Not a lot has gone right for Aussie Millions champion Oliver Speidel since the final table started and he now finds himself crippled with just over 100,000 after losing a flip with Jason O’Brien in one of the final hands before dinner.

8.45pm: O’Rourke chips up before dinner

Liam O’Rourke (pictured above) has just won a big pot right on the cusp of the dinner break from Anthony Aston. On a J-9-5 flop, O’Rourke check-raised to 200,000 and got a call from Aston on the button. The turn brought a 7 and O’Rourke fired 235,000 with Aston calling again.

When a 2 landed, O’Rourke announced 480,000 and received another call only for Aston to muck at the sight of O’Rourke’s set of 5s. The youngster is back in control after taking a few hits recently.

Liam O’Rourke – 3.2 million
Anthony Aston – 1.15 million

7.55pm: O’Brien cracked

Jason O’Brien has just lost a massive chunk of chips in a huge hand against Stewart Ballard (pictured above). O’Brien raised it up to 65,000 from the small blind and Ballard came along for the ride to see a 5-7-J. O’Brien followed up with a bet of 100,000 which Ballard called. When the 7 repeated on the turn, O’Brien bet 250,000 and and Ballard bumped it up to 500,000. O’Brien called.

The river brought the Ace and O’Brien check-called a 400,000 bet from Ballard. It proved costly though with O’Brien turning over A-7 for the boat to crack O’Brien’s K-K.

Stewart Ballard – 2.2 million
Jason O’Brien – 345,000

7.55pm: Ballard belligerent

Stewart Ballard has been the short stack for much of the day and if not for a rivered 2 on the final table bubble he wouldn’t be with us right now. But his patience has started to pay off and he just scored another big double to move towards the 1 million chip mark.

The money was all-in pre-flop with his Q-Q dominating Liam O’Rourke’s 10s. The interesting Q-10-5 flop gave both players a laugh but only served to strengthen Ballard’s stranglehold on the hand.

Stewart Ballard – 950,000
Liam O’Rourke – 2.95 million

7.45pm: Aston keeps climbing

Oliver Speidel is wavering in the danger zone after a recent clash with Anthony Aston (pictured above). Aston raised from the small blind to 65,000 and was called by Speidel in the big. The flop came Kc-5c-5d. Aston fired again for 100,000 and Speidel called. When the 2c came on the river, Aston check-called a bet of 180,000. Another 5 landed on the river and it was checked down – Aston showing K-3 and Speidel mucking.

Anthony Aston – 2.1 million
Oliver Speidel – 500,000

7.20pm: Bradley Lancken eliminated in eighth ($23,511)

Just moments after Rowe’s elimination, Brad Lancken (pictured above) was all-in and in good shape to double holding K-K against the 7s of Oliver Speidel. But it seems the Aussie Millions champ is on a golden run in 2012 with a 7 on the flop enough to send Lancken home in eighth.

Oliver Speidel – 940,000
Bradley Lancken – Busted

7.10pm: Martin Rowe eliminated in ninth ($17,518)

Martin Rowe has just been eliminated at the hands of Anthony Aston. After Rowe opened in early position, Aston 3-bet out of the blinds. Rowe then shipped over the top for another 236,000 with Aston making the call.

It was Rowe’s A-K v Aston’s 9-9. The flop of J-J-10 gave Rowe plenty of outs and he spiked one on the turned K. Alas, a 9 came on the river to give Aston a boat and send the 2008 APPT Sydney champion home.

Anthony Aston – 2.1 million
Martin Rowe – Busted

6.40pm: Bellard doubles

Stewart Bellard has just scored a crucial double-up through Oliver Speidel. Speidel opened to 55,000 and found a caller in Jason O’Brien before Bellard shoved for 320,000. Speidel came over the top to force O’Brien to fold but his A-Q was well behind Bellard’s Q-Q. The board ran out 3-4-J-10-Q and Bellard moves to 700,000.

Stewart Bellard – 700,000
Oliver Speidel – 690,000

6.40pm: Final table set

And so we’ve reached our final table, with Liam O’Rourke the monster chip leader ahead of Anthony Aston, with Stuart Bellard bringing up the rear with just 320,000.

It has taken just under five hours of play to cut the field from 27 down to nine but now we’re at the business end of the tournament and on our way to crowning our ANZPT Sydney champion.

The final table seating plan and chip counts are as follows:

Seat 1: Anthony Aston – 1,700,000
Seat 2: Oliver Speidel – 700,000
Seat 3: Liam O’Rourke – 3,000,000
Seat 4: Jason O’Brien – 850,000
Seat 5: Martin Rowe – 400,000
Seat 6: Stewart Ballard – 320,000
Seat 7: Craig Blight – 440,000
Seat 8: Brad Lancken – 350,000
Seat 9: Gordon Huntly – 650,000

6.40pm: Alec Smith eliminated in 10th (11,525)

Alec Smith has just become the latest victim of Liam O’Rourke. After opening to 55,000, Smith was 3-bet to 125,000 by O’Rourke. That sent Smith into the tank before he announced he was all-in for 650,000.

O’Rourke snap-called with A-Q against Smith’s 5-5 and we were off to the races. The 7-3-7 flop was a good start for Smith but the Q on the turn changed all that and when the river bricked he was on his way as our final table bubble boy.

Liam O’Rourke – 3 million
Alec Smith – Busted

6.25pm: Break time

Players are now on a 10-minute break. Right now we’re on the final table bubble so there is a $6000 pay jump for all players once the next person busts. The 10 remaining players will return to blinds of 12,000/24,000 with a 3000 ante.

5.55pm: Erich Stadler eliminated in 11th ($11,525)

It’s been a crazy half hour with the small stacks being killed off left, right and centre. Erich Stadler (pictured above) has just become the seventh player eliminated in Level 22 alone after getting it in with 8-8 against Liam O’Rourke’s A-Q. Stadler was still in front with one card to come on a 5-3-J-10 board but the river Queen ended his tournament in 11th. With that, O’Rourke becomes our first 2 million dollar man of the tournament.

Liam O’Rourke – 2.4 million
Erich Stadler – Busted

5.55pm: Nick Heather eliminated in 12th ($11,525)

Nick Heather (pictured above) came into today’s play as the dominant chip leader but after cracking the million chip mark early he went on a downward spiral. And that spiral just went out of control when he Jason O’Brien flopped top two holding K-10 against Heather’s 7-7 to send the youngster home in 12th place.

Jason O’Brien – 750,000
Nick Heather – Busted

5.50pm: Mishel Anunu eliminated in 13th ($9220)

Mishel Anunu (pictured above) lost a stack of chips a while back when he made an ill-time call of Anthony Aston’s turn shove and he just departed the scene after committing the last of his chips holding 9-9. He was up against the A-Q of Martin Rowe and when an Ace landed on the flop it was time for Anunu to pack his bags.

Martin Rowe – 470,000
Mishel Anunu – Busted

5.45pm: Stephen Lindeblad eliminated in 14th ($9220)

Stephen Lindeblad (pictured above) picked up pocket 10s which was good enough to commit his last 200,000. Unfortunately he ran into the K-K of Anthony Aston, who is on quite the rush at the moment. No 10 arrived and Lindeblad becomes our latest casualty.

Anthony Aston – 1.7 million
Stephen Lindeblad – Busted

5.40pm: Kristina Griffiths eliminated in 15^th ($9,220)

Kristina Griffiths (pictured above) held on for a long time today as she waited for an opportunity to double but her luck eventually ran out when she committed her last 100,000 with K-Q and ran into Liam O’Rourke’s A-Q. No King arrived and she exits in 15th.

Liam O’Rourke – 1.7 million
Kristina Griffiths – Busted

5.30pm: Sam Capra eliminated in 16th ($7837)

Sam Capra (pictured above) put his last 190,000 into the middle with A-K and we were off to the races against Anthony Aston’s Q-Q.  Capra needed some help but couldn’t find it as the board ran out 9-10-8-2-9.

Anthony Aston – 1.25 million
Sam Capra – Busted

5.25pm: Level up

We’ve just rolled into Level 22 with blinds at 10000/20000 and a 2000 ante.

5.20pm: Aston drives over Anunu

Anthony Aston has just won a massive pot at the expense of Mishel Anunu to rocket past the 1 million chip mark. On a board of As-10h-9h and with 200,000 already in the middle, Anunu led out for 65,000 and was re-raised to 130,000. Anunu called.

On the 3s turn Anunu checked and Aston shoved for 500,000. Anunu tanked for about a minute before calling with the Ah-5h. Aston showed A-9 for two pair and needed to avoid a heart – which he did when the 6c arrived – to haul in the monster.

Mishel Anunu – 235,000
Anthony Aston – 1.1 million

5.10pm: Tobin Ryall eliminated in 17th ($7837)

It was a classic cooler for Ryall (pictured above) as he shoved over the top of Mishel Anunu’s open for 280,000 with Q-Q only to find he was in big trouble against Anunu’s K-K. The board ran out 8-4-6-K-4 and our Day 1 chip leader has been eliminated.

Mishel Anunu – 850,000
Tobin Ryall – Busted

4.50pm: Jason Pritchard eliminated in 18th ($7837)

It’s been a rough day for Pritchard (pictured above), who could have been sitting with over 1 million in chips if his Aces hadn’t been cracked. This time it was Aces that would be his undoing again when he shoved for just over 200,000 with K-J and ran into Huntly’s monster. The board ran 2-Q-A-7-5 and Pritchard’s day is done.

Gordon Huntly – 575,000
Jason Pritchard – Busted

4.40pm: Collopy c-lipped

James Collopy (pictured above) sat behind a stack of over 700,000 just a few hours back but he has been bleeding chips since and just busted at the hands of Jason O’Brien. Collopy raised with Kings and was called by O’Brien with 3c-4c. The flop fell 2-3-10 and O’Brien check-called a bet from Collopy.

The turn repeated the 3 and this time O’Brien led out. Collopy re-raised all-in and was disgusted to see O’Brien insta-call and show his turned three-of-a-kind. The river 10 filled O’Brien up and sent Collopy to the rail.

Jason O’Brien – 750,000
James Collopy – Busted

4.35pm: Pritchard clinging to life

After copping a brutal beat against Alec Smith a while back, Jason Pritchard just got one back on the youngster after shoving for his last 110,000 holding Ks-10s. Smith called with K-Q with the flop providing a real sweat as it fell 8s-Qh-2s. The 8c left Pritchard drawing to nine outs and he managed to hit one of them with the 7s completing his flush.

He is still struggling at 240,000 but has at least bought himself some time.

Jason Pritchard – 240,000
Alec Smith – 920,000

4.25pm: Jumping blinds

As we head into Level 21, blinds have jumped to 8000/16000 with a 2000 ante.

4.25pm: Rolling high

While we play down to our ANZPT Sydney champion here in the Oasis Lounge, the $5k High Rollers event has just kicked off in the main poker room. There are currently 15 players registered including Dan djk123 Kelly, Brendon Rubie, Daniel Neilson, Grant Levy and Andrew Hinrichsen.

4pm: Break time

Two levels are down and we’ve reached our first 10-minute break of the day with 20 players remaining.

Play has slowed considerably since our whirlwind start to the day but that hasn’t stopped a good crowd from building around the three remaining tables. Among the interested observers are Aaron Benton, Grant Levy, Brendon Rubie, Dennis Huntly, Mark Iskander and Angelo Hamataj who won this event two years ago.

Floor staff have just erected a small barrier around Table 1 to give the players some space.

3.50pm: Smith soars

Alec Smith (pictured above) has just won a huge pot after cracking the Aces of Jason Pritchard. After Mishel Anunu opened, Smith 3-bet to 60,000 only to have Pritchard shove all-in for 550,000. Smith snap-called holding Q-Q and was in serious trouble until the board ran out 8-8-9-J-10 to give him an unlikely straight. Pritchard is now in some trouble with 210,000 in front.

Alec Smith – 750,000
Jason Pritchard – 210,000

3.45pm: Walsh eliminated in 22nd ($5532)

Damien Walsh (pictured above) has just departed the arena after copping a brutal one-outer at the worst possible time. Walsh managed to get it all-in pre-flop with Ad-Ah against the 10s of Laurence Hall. The board of 7d-Kh-3d-Qd meant that Hall had only the 10h left in the deck to avoid being crippled and send Walsh packing. Of course, the dealer burned and turned that very card and Walsh was left shaking his head in disbelief. He is our 22nd-place finisher.

Laurence Hall – 380,000
Damien Walsh – Busted

3.40pm: O’Brien doubles

Jason O’Brien is ssteadily building his stack and just scored a big double-up courtesy of James Collopy. O’ Brien shoved pre-flop for his last 192,000 with A-K and was called by Collopy who showed A-J. When a K landed on the flop it proved enough to see O’Brien move to around 400,000.

Jason O’Brien – 400,000
James Collopy – 350,000

3.25pm: Rawkz squawks

Liam rawkz O’Rourke (pictured above) has clearly stepped it up a notch today and has been the table bully over the first 80 minutes of play. The young gun has built his stack up to around 1.2 million on Table 1 while overnight chip leader Nick Heather has slipped back a bit although he still boasts 700,000.

Both Kristina Griffits and Stewart Ballard are in trouble on that same table with around 10 big blinds each.

3.05pm: Blinds are up

We’ve lost five players in the first hour of play with 22 remaining. Blinds are now at 6000/12000 with a 1000 ante.

2.45pm: Peco plucked

We caught up with the action in a hand between Peco Stojanovski (pictured above) and Erich Stadler with all the chips going into the middle on a board of A-2-3-5-A. Stadler turned over A-K, stating “If he’s got the boat, he’s got the boat.”

Stojanovski simply mucked his cards and replied “You had me out-kicked by one.” It doesn’t look like the 2010 APPT Sydney fourth-place finisher will be adding another final table to his resume today.

Erich Stadler – 480,000
Peco Stojanovski – Busted

2.35pm: It’s all happening!

The action has bene fast and furious in the Oasis Lounge today with chips flying left , right and centre. One beneficiary on Table 1 has been Stephen Lindeblad who recently doubled through Laurence Hall.

The chips went in pre-flop with Lindeblad’s A-K dominating Hall’s A-Q. The flop gave Lindeblad some nervous moments when it fell 10-Q-6 but a Jack on the turn gave him Broadway and the meaningless 4 on the river saw him rocket up to 300,000 after starting the day with just 110,000.

Hall, however, doubled back up to 300,000 just two hands later when he flopped a set of 10s against John Parker’s A-Q. Parker was left with just 50,000 after than and was sent to the rail when he ran into the K-K of Nick Heather.

Stephen Lindeblad – 300,000
Laurence Hall – 300,000
John Parker – Busted

2.15pm: Kennedy KOed

Bill Kennedy (pictured above) headed into today’s play as the short stack and it didn’t take long for him to exit the arena. The 83-year-old shoved his last 90,000 into the middle holding A-K and was in good shape to double when Liam O’Rourke called with A-J. The board wasn’t too kind, however, running out 4-10-8-J-10 and Kennedy is our first player to be eliminated on Day 3. He collects $5,071 for his efforts.

Liam O’Rourke – 600,000
Bill Kennedy – Busted

Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia and our coverage of the final day of ANZPT Sydney for 2012.

It has taken three long days for us to get to this point with a massive field of 461 players – the second biggest ANZPT field of all time after the inaugural Sydney event back in 2009 – now down to just 26 hopefuls all aiming for the $226,812 first prize.

The size of the field even caught tournament officials off guard and we still have some work to do before we reach our final nine and begin the final table, but one thing is for sure – by the end of the day we will have crowned a new ANZPT Sydney champion.

Our chip leader heading into Day 3 is Nick Heather, who won an enormous pot late in the day to eliminate Zhi Yao and stack up a whopping 953,500.

However, all eyes will be on the man hot on his tail – 2012 Aussie Millions champion Oliver Speidel who sits second in the chip counts with 797,000. Speidel has proven that he knows how to go all the way in big events and he will be tough to shake this afternoon.

Also in contention are young guns Liam O’Rourke and Alec Smith, while 2009 Aussie Millions final tablist Sam Capra, 2010 APPT Sydney fourth-place finisher Peco Stojanovski and 2008 APPT Sydney champion Martin Rowe will all be eyeing the top prize.

Stick around as the crew here at PokerMedia Australia bring you all the live action on the final day of ANZPT Sydney at The Star.

Starting chip counts

Name	Chips
Nicholas Heather	953,500
Oliver Speidel	797,000
James Collopy	638,500
Alec Smith	572,000
Liam O’Rourke	495,000
Sam Capra	440,000
Mishel Anunu	434,500
Jason Pritchard	381,000
Gordon Huntly	380,500
Laurence Hall	358,000
Craig Blight	353,500
Damien Walsh	343,000
Martin Rowe	294,000
Luke Downers	283,500
Stewart Ballard	275,000
Bradley Lancken	240,000
John Parker	203,500
Tobin Ryall	197,000
Peco Stonjanovski	193,500
Anthony Aston	188,000
Kristina Griffiths	186,500
Luke Edwards	180,000
Jason O’Brien	166,500
Erich Stadler	163,500
Luke Brabin	149,500
Stephen Lindeblad	110,000
William Kennedy	91,000

Seating assignments for today’s play

Table 1

1. Nicholas Heather  953,500
2. Damien Walsh 343,000
3. William Kennedy 91,000
4. John Parker 203,500
5. Kristina Griffiths 186,500
6. Laurence Hall 358,000
7. Liam O’Rourke 495,000
8. Stewart Ballard 275,000
9. Stephen Lindeblad 110,000

Table 2

1. Sam Capra 440,000
2. Anthony Aston 188,000
3. Martin Rowe 294,000
4. Gordon Huntly 380,500
5. Peco Stonjanovski 193,500
6. Jason O’Brien 166,500
7. Luke Brabin 149,500
8. Erich Stadler 163,500
9. James Collopy 638,500

Table 3

1. Luke Downers 283,500
2. Luke Edwards 180,000
3. Craig Blight 353,500
4. Tobin Ryall 197,000
5. Alec Smith 572,000
6. Mishel Anunu 434,500
7. Oliver Speidel 797,000
8. Bradley Lancken 240,000
9. Jason Pritchard 381,000