Joel Feldman crowned Star Poker Summer Series Champion ($176,344)!!
After four long days and a massive 16-hour session to play down from the final 18 to our winner, Joel Feldman has taken out the 2012 Star Poker Summer Series main event and its $176,344 first prize.
Showing tremendous stamina and well-timed aggression, Feldman overcame a tough start to the day to roar back from the brink to claim the most significant victory of his burgeoning poker career.
Coming into the day’s play with a healthy 401,600 in chips, it took five hours for us to reach our official final table and by that stage Feldman had dropped down to just 175,000 and was one of the short stacks.
It didn’t seem to faze him though and he quickly went to work re-building as his opponents gradually fell by the wayside. The final table itself lasting a whopping 11 hours and only finished at 6am after Feldman and heads-up rival Daniel Neilson made a deal (perhaps partly due to sheer exhaustion).
But Lady Luck shone on Feldman at the right time – when he and Neilson decided to go all-in blind to decide the victor, Neilson could only show J-4 while Feldman woke up with Q-Q to cement a memorable victory.
It has been quite a week here at The Star with 135 players taking their place in this year’s main event including WSOP bracelet winner Andy Hinrichsen, young guns Jonathan Karamalikis, Brendon Rubie, Dave Allan and Jay Kinkade, veterans Billy Argyros and Leo Boxell, former Aussie Millions champions David Gorr and Tyron Krost, The Star poker ambassadors Grant Levy and Aaron Benton and Sydney Swans captain Adam Goodes who busted in 19th place on the very final hand of Day 2.
However, it is Feldman’s name that goes down in the record books – joining APPT Sydney champions Levy, Martin Rowe, Benton and Karamalikis and inaugural Summer Series main event winner Andy Lee in The Star poker room’s hall of fame.
Congratulations to Joel Feldman – 2012 Star Poker Summer Series Main Event champion!
Final table placings:
1 Joel Feldman – $176,344
2 Daniel Neilson – $112,219
3 Tam Truong – $65,728
4 Chad Awerbuch – $54,506
5 Luke Edwards – $44,887
6 Matt Rolfe – $36,872
7 Ivan Zalac – $30,459
8 Edgar Montenegro – $24,047
9 Chris Ayoub – $19,238
6am: Daniel Neilson eliminated in 2nd ($112,219)
With the chip stacks almost identical and play extremely deep, heads-up opponents Daniel Neilson and Joel Feldman immediately did a deal that saw both players go home with around $145,000 to their name.
And despite the significance of being names Star Poker Summer Series champion, they also decided to go all-in blind next hand. Cruelly for Neilson, he was in terrible shape with J-4 against the Q-Q that Feldman woke up with.
The board ran out 7-8-2-5-4 and Neilson was cut down to just 200,000 in chips.
Next hand the chips went in again and it was Feldman’s J-10 of spades against Neilson’s Q-9.
Neilson flopped a Queen but Feldman held the spade draw and when another spade landed on the turn the trophy was his. Neilson was eliminated in second spot after what must be said was a commanding final table performance.
5.40am: Tam Truong eliminated in 3rd ($65,728)
And just like that we’re down to two! Tam Truong had been chipped away at – primarily by Daniel Neilson – for a good hour before he tangled with Joel Feldman.
On a 7-10-3 flop, Feldman check-raised Truong’s 45,000 bet to 125,000. Truong 3-bet to 250,000 and Feldman announced that he was all-in. Truong called and showed A-A but was in trouble against the 10-7 of Feldman. Another 10 on the turn filled Feldman up and when the river bricked a 4, Truong’s great run was over.
We are now heads-up!
5.15am: Blind rise
Blinds are up to 12,000/24,000 with a 3000 ante.
5.10am: Neilson knows best
Daniel Neilson has really upped the ante since play went three-handed and is the first player to reach 2 million in chips after taking down significant pots against both Tam Truong and Joel Feldman.
The first saw Truong open the button to 40 with Neilson 3-betting out of the blinds to 95,000. Truong called.
The dealer spread a 6-3-4 flop with Neilson continuing for 150,000. Truong responded with a raise to 250,000 but Neilson came over the top for 440,000, eventually forcing Truong to fold.
A few hands later and it was Feldman 3-betting Neilson’s button raise as they saw a Q-4-6-7-5 board. Feldman bet both the flop and turn with Neilson calling both before they checked down the river. Neilson showed A-Q, having out-flopped Feldman’s A-K to scoop in another nice pot.
Daniel Neilson – 2,000,000
Tam Truong – 1,200,000
Joel Feldman – 800,000
4.50am: Chip counts
Daniel Neilson – 1,400,000
Tam Truong – 1,300,000
Joel Feldman – 1,300,000
4.20am: Chad Awerbuch eliminated in 4th ($54,506)
More than three hours since our last player departed, we’ve lost another with Chad Awerbuch 4-bet shoving his last 450,000 with K-Q and finding a call from Daniel Neilson who held 9-9.
The board ran out 4-2-3-2-A and Neilson’s 9s held – sending Awerbuch home in fourth after a tremendous Summer Series.
3.40am: New level
Blinds are up to 10,000/20,000 with a 2000 ante.
3.20am: Neilson forces the issue
An interesting pot has just played out between Daniel Neilson and Tam Truong with the former eventually forcing a fold from his rival.
Truong opened the button to 35,000 and called Neilson’s 95,000 3-bet. The flop came 2-8-9 and Neilson continued for 76,000. Truong called.
The turn brought a repeat 2 and this time Neilson bet 175,000. Truong again called.
On the river 6, Neilson announce he was all-in for another 575,000 and after a length deliberation Truong finally folded. Neilson creeps back over a million with that pot.
3am: Back and forth
Other than one false dawn when Chad Awerbuch and Daniel Neilson got it all in pre-flop only to find that they both held A-K, very little of note has taken place here over the past hour. So here are the current chip counts:
Tam Truong – 1,200,000
Joel Feldman – 1,100,000
Daniel Neilson – 900,000
Chad Awerbuch – 800,000
2.15am: Awerbuch slipping
Chad Awerbuch continues to have a frustrating time of it as he slips behind the pack. Just a few moments ago, Tam Truong opened UTG to 35,000 and found a caller in Daniel Neilson.
Awerbuch then 3-bet to 92,000 but Truong wasn’t slowing down and re-popped it to 175,000.
Both Neilson and Awerbuch folded. There is now little separating Neilson, Truong and Feldman while Awerbuch needs to arrest his slide ASAP.
Daniel Neilson – 1,200,000
Tam Truong – 1,100,000
Joel Feldman – 1,100,000
Chad Awerbuch – 650,000
1.45am: Break time
Players are on another 10-minute refresher break. When they return blinds will be 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante.
1.35am: High Rollers run and won
We’ve still got some way to go before we crown a winner in the main event but on a nearby table the High Rollers event has just come to an end with Geoff Mooney taking down the title and the $70,000 first prize.
Ali Ghezelbash was the other player to be paid – earning $30,000 for his runner-up finish.
1.25am: Feldman flying
Joel Feldman continues to mount a challenge for the title after scoring a handy pot at the expense of Daniel Neilson.
Action began with a raise to 24,000 from Chad Awerbuch with Feldman on the button and Neilson in the big blind calling.
The three saw a flop of K-Q-J all diamonds. Neilson checked to Awerbuch who fired out 26,000, Feldman thought for about 30 seconds before making it 62,000 to go, Neilson called and Awerbuch folded.
The turn fell a meaningless 7s which both players checked. The river brought the 7d to which Neilson fired 175,000. Feldman gathered the chips after some thought and made the call, Neilson announced “straight” and tabled A-10 but it was no good against his opponent’s Kc-10d for the flush. Feldman raked in the over 350,000 chip pot and now sits above 1,100,000 in chips.
1.15am: Luke Edwards eliminated in 5th ($44,887)
Luke Edwards had shoved a number of times without finding a caller and the first time he did it didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped. Chad Awerbuch opened the button to 25,000 and Edwards again shoved over the top.
This time Awerbuch called and it was his A-Q racing against Edwards’ 7-7.
The dealer spread a harmless K-8-3 flop but the turned Q left Edwards drawing to just two outs and when the 10 arrived on the river he became our latest casualty.
Awerbuch is now back over a million.
1am: Neilson surges again
Daniel Neilson continues to lead the way at this final table thanks to his relentless aggression while Tam Truong and Joel Feldman have now pulled alongside Chad Awerbuch who has had a tough time of it over the past hour or so. Luke Edwards continues to grind the short stack.
Daniel Neilson – 1.3 million
Chad Awersbuch – 900,000
Joel Feldman – 800,000
Tam Truong – 800,000
Luke Edwards – 250,000
12.20am: Blinds are up
Players are just returning from a quick five minute break with blinds now at 6,000/12,000 with a 1,000 ante.
12.10am: Matt Rolfe eliminated in 6th ($36,872)
Matt Rolfe enjoyed a few doubles to stay in the race at this final table but his deep run has finally come to an end thanks to a brutal beat at the hands of Daniel Neilson.
Rolfe opened the action to 20,000 and received calls from Chad Awerbuch and Daniel Neilson.
The flop came down K-K-Q and Neilson, first to act, checked to Rolfe who bet 30,000. Awerbuch folded but Neilson thought only briefly before raising to 80,000. Rolfe wasted no time announcing “all-in” and Neilson called just as fast.
Rolfe tabled A-K to be dominating Neilson’s K-J. A harmless 4 landed on the turn but the river was a J and several ‘Ooooohs’ broke out across the table as Rolfe stood up, shook hands and exited the tournament area.
12am: Feldman firing
Joel Feldman continues to surge up the leaderboard and is taking the challenge to the big stacks. Most recently, Tam Truong opened UTG to 20,000 with Daniel Neilson bumping it up to 50,000. It was folded around to Feldman in the big blind who 4-bet to 165,000.
Both players folded and Feldman is now at 900,000.
11.30pm: Rolfe doubles … we could be here a while
Action folded to Daniel Neilson in the small blind who moved all-in to put the short stacked Matt Rolfe to the test for his tournament life. But Rolfe snap-called, tabling A-Q to lead the 9-10 of Neilson. The board ran out 5-K-2-5-7 to give Rolfe a much-needed double-up. He now sits on just over 210,000 in chips with blinds at 5000/10,000 and a 1000 ante.
10.50pm: Ivan Zalac eliminated in 7th ($30,459)
We are a step closer to crowning the Star Poker Summer Series Main Event champion with the elimination of Ivan Zalac in seventh. The short-stacked Zalac shoved his remaining 110,000 into the middle holding A-6 and was met with a call from Joel Feldman holding pocket 10s. The board ran out 2-3-7-5-5 to end Zalac’s tournament. Six players now remain with Chad Awerbuch still holding a strong chip lead.
10.25pm: Latest chip counts
With players taking a short five-minute break and the blinds about to increase to 5000/10,000 with an ante of 1000, the chip counts are:
Chad Awerbuch 1,400,000
Daniel Neilson 1,200,000
Tam Truong 520,000
Joel Feldman 500,000
Luke Edwards 250,000
Matt Rolfe 165,000
Ivan Zalac 120,000
10.15pm: Rolfe doubles
Short stack Matt Rolfe has just doubled through Chad Awerbuch after shoving with K-Q and being called by A-J. The board ran out J-10-K-A-3 and Rolfe is up to 180,000.
9.55pm: Truong on song
Tam Truong has just won a sizeable pot from Daniel Neilson after making a tough river call that could have left him crippled. Truong opened UTG to16,000 and was immediately 3-bet by Neilson to 38,500. He called and they took a J-6-2 flop.
Truong check-called 32,000 before they both checked the repeat J on the turn. The river brought a third jack and this time Neilson bet 112,000 when it was checked to him. Truong tanked for a good five minutes before eventually calling to find that his pocker fours were good against Neilson’s A-K. He moved up to 550,000 after that hand.
9.40pm: Edgar Montenegro eliminated in 8th ($24,047)
It took more than two hours to eliminate our second player from the final table but we’re now down to seven following the departure of Edgar Montenegro (pictured below).
He had lost a decent chunk of chips to Joel Feldman just a few hands earlier and the two clashed again with the chips going in pre-flop. It was Montenegro’s pocket jacks v A-K for Feldman and yet again the river was a brutal one for the eliminated player as the board ran out 6-4-8-4-A. Feldman is making a move as he chips up to 400,000.
9.30pm: Short stack dilemma
Early night? Unlikely – the regular visits to our media desk to check out the payout structure indicate that the short stacks are well and truly aware that the difference between the third- and eighth-place prizes is more than $40,000. With the big stacks of Chad Awerbuch and Daniel Neilson casting a shadow over the rest of the table, it looms as an intriguing evening.
9pm: You bananas!
Luke Edwards, Joel Feldman and a whole heap of their mates sat down on day one of this event with strict instructions – if any of them reached the final table they had to wear special shirts they had made up featuring two oranges, a strawberry and a banana in the shape of a smiley face.
True to their word, both Edwards and Feldman have returned from the dinner break in their new attire proudly pointing at and proclaiming “we’re bananas” although they have promised to shout drinks for any of their mates on the rail who are willing to don the shirt as well.
8.30pm: Meal time
The remaining eight players in the Star Poker Summer Series Main Event have headed off for their dinner break late on day three of the $5000 buy-in championship. Chad Awerbuch has edged into the chip lead after scooping the final pot of the level from Edgar Montenegro, but it’s still Awerbuch-Neilson-daylight at the head of the count. Play will resume at 9pm local time.
Chad Awerbuch 1,400,000
Daniel Neilson 1,320,000
Tam Truong 350,000
Ivan Zalac 290,000
Joel Feldman 210,000
Luke Edwards 165,000
Edgar Montenegro 130,000
Matt Rolfe 120,000
8.15pm: Beware the big stacks
A clear pattern has emerged at the final table over the past hour – either Daniel Neilson or Chad Awerbuch raises, the other calls and everyone else folds as the two chip leaders fight it out between one another. Oh, and every now and then Tam Truong comes along for the ride. Blinds will soon be up to 4000/8000 with an ante of 500, while the average stack is just over 500,000.
7.35pm: Two horse race?
With eight players remaining it looks like Daniel Neilson and Chad Awerbuch will fight it out for the title. There are exactly 4,050,000 chips in play with Neilson (1.3m) and Awurbach (1.2m) easily holding more than half of those. It will take some effort for any of their rivals to catch them. Tam Truong sits third in chips with around 320,000.
7.15pm: Chris Ayoub eliminated in 9th ($19,238)
Chris Ayoub (pictured below) made a dramatically late exit today – arriving three hours late after attending a Christening and finding his chip stack had been blinded down to around half its starting size.
Nevertheless, he quickly got in on the action with an early double-up and managed to make it all the way to the final table before making the mistake of flipping with Daniel Neilson!
It was Ayoub’s A-J against Neilson’s 7-7 and the lead switched back and forth with Neilson flopping a set, Ayoub turning a straight and Neilson rivering a boat on the 10-9-7-8-9 board.
7.05pm: Final table chip count/seat draw
Seat 1: Edgar Montenegro 300,000
Seat 2: Chris Ayoub 50,000
Seat 3: Chad Awerbuch 1,100,000
Seat 4: Ivan Zalac 250,000
Seat 5: Luke Edwards 200,000
Seat 6: Joel Feldman 175,000
Seat 7: Tam Truong 345,000
Seat 8: Daniel Neilson 1,300,000
Seat 9: Matt Rolfe 150,000
7pm: Joel Cohen eliminated in 10th ($14,428)
Joel Cohen has enjoyed a wonderful Star Poker Summer Series after finishing runner-up in the PMA $1k Special last week but he has fallen just shy of another final table after losing a race to Daniel Neilson.
.jpg)
Cohen woke up with pocket nines and was quick to push for his last 110,000 with Neilson happy to call with A-Q. Cohen was looking good for the much-needed double-up on K-2-7-8 board but the river A sent him to the rail. With Cohen’s exit, our final table is set!
6.45pm: Brian Brannigan eliminated in 12th; Andrew Scarf eliminated in 11th ($14,428 each)
After a money bubble that lasted two-and-a-half hours, we’ve seen a spate of eliminations since it finally burst including a double elimination just now to bring us to our final table bubble.
Short stack Andrew Scarf shoved from the button holding K-8 with Brian Brannigan – who was even shorter – forced to do the same with 9-3. Joel Feldman made an easy call with A-5 and held on as all three missed the board of Q-6-7-7-J completely. Both Brannigan and Scarf collect $14,428 for their efforts.
6.40pm: Billy Argyros eliminated in 13th ($11,222)
Billy “The Croc” Argyros (pictured below) was left short after running A-Q into the kings of Luke Edwards in a blind v blind battle a few minutes earlier and his tournament soon came to an end when he shoved for his last 100,000 with A-J and ran into the A-K of Chad Awerbuch. Not one to do things by halves, Awerbuch promptly made quads as the board ran out 9-K-6-K-K.
6.35pm: Ray Gebrael eliminated in 14th ($11,222)
Ray Gebrael is the latest player to hit the rail thanks to Chad Awerbuch. It was a standard race with Awerbuch opening in early position and Gebrael shoving with J-J for his last 120,000 from the blinds. Awerbuch called with A-K and struck gold as the board ran out A-K-3-10-A. He joins Daniel Neilson with around 1.1 million in chips.
6.30pm: Rich getting’ richer
With blinds at 2500/5000 and an ante of 500, Andrew Scarf raised to 12,000 pre-flop from Andrew Scarf with calls coming from Chad Awerbuch and Luke Edwards.
The three saw a flop of Qh-3h-8c, Scarf bet 17,000, which Awerbuch called. Edwards made it 40,000 to go, Scarf folded and Awerbuch called. The turn came the 6s and Awerbuch checked to Edwards, who fired out a bet of 55,000.
Awerbuch thought briefly before making the call. The river was the 9h, the board now reading Qh-3h-8c-6s-9h. Awerbuch asked for an approximate count of Edwards stack, to which he replied “around 280k.” Awerbuch then slid out a bet of 142,000.
Edwards went into the tank, thinking for a good two minutes before making the call. Awerbuch showed 5h-7h for a flush and Edwards mucked, sending the 300k+ pot to Awerbuch.
6.15pm: Neilson cracks a million
Daniel Neilson has become the first player to pass the one million chip mark and is now a dominant chip leader after making a huge river call against Joel Feldman.
With the board showing A-K-10-3-8 and 100,000 in the middle, Neilson checked to Feldman who put him to the test as he pushed out a full stack of yellows (100,000).
Neilson went deep into the tank before announcing “call” and showing K-Q which was enough to best Feldman’s Q-8. Feldman drops down to 225,000 after that hand.
6.05pm: Sayed Jabbour eliminated in 15th ($11,222)
With the bubble now burst, Sayed Jabbour was quick to shove for his last 80,000 from the big blind after Ivan Zalac had opened from the button. Zalac called with A-Q and was in good shape against Jabbour’s K-J.
The board ran out 9-2-3-2-8 and Jabbour can add just over $11,000 to the $26,000 he won for taking out last week’s PokerMedia Australia $1k Special.
5.55pm: Joe Cabret is our bubble boy!
They held on for as long as they could but in the end it was Joe Cabret that fell one shy of the money.
His final hand began with Joel Cohen raising to 10,000 with Cabret calling on the button. Joel Feldman then raised enough to put both players all-in. Cohen quickly folded but Cabret pondered for a good 30 second before calling.
It was Cabret’s A-K needing to improve against Feldman’s Jacks and when the window card gave Feldman a set, Cabret was in deep trouble. The board ran out J-Q-7-8-6 and we’re down to our final 15 with all players now guaranteed at least $11,222.
5.35pm: Ayoub arrives
Chris Ayoub has finally taken his seat just a touch over three hours after play began. In that time his stack was blinded down from 147,600 to around 80,000.
Amazingly, he picked up pocket kings with his very first hand – although he didn’t get much action – and then won another small but handy pot next hand to move back over 100,000.
5.30pm: Blinds are up
Players have returned from a 15 minute break with blinds now at 2500/5000 and a 500 ante.
5pm: Bubble building to Hindenburg proportions
One of the longest bubble periods we can remember continues with little sign of resolution, with the clock having ticked over an hour! Blinds are about to increase to 2500/5000 with an ante of 500. Meanwhile the $10,500 High Rollers No Limit Hold’em event is underway, with the field of eight runners including Jonathan Karamalikis, Andrew Hinrichsen, Tony Kambouroglou and Mike Ivin.
4.55pm: Latest chip counts
Daniel Neilson 855,000
Chad Awerbuch 690,000
Luke Edwards 350,000
Tam Truong 300,000
Ivan Zalac 280,000
Joel Feldman 230,000
Edgar Montenegro 200,000
Matt Rolfe 175,000
Billy Argyros 170,000
Joel Cohen 150,000
Sayed Jabbour 140,000
Ray Gebrael 115,000
Chris Ayoub 100,000
Brian Brannigan 100,000
Andrew Scarf 95,000
Joe Cabret 50,000
4.50pm: Setting up for the KO
It’s quite a surreal atmosphere here at The Star this afternoon – there’s a huge crowd in the Sports Bar baying for blood as Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Márquez belt the living suitcase out of each other.
Meanwhile, a nice rail is packed around the two tables in the Star Poker room awaiting the bustout that will deliver the top 15 a slice of the $634,500 prizepool. We’re well into the third orbit of hand-for-hand play with Daniel Neilson still the chip leader on 855,000.
4.25pm: Waiting, waiting …
There are currently five players sitting on short stacks but with just one more elimination until we’re in the money, none of them are too eager to get it in. Sayed Jabbour is the one player that has shoved, scoring a crucial double-up holding A-K against Tam Truong’s K-10 to ease the pressure.
However, Joe Cabret, Brian Brannigan, Andrew Scarf and overnight chip leader Ray Gebrael are all still in danger of missing the money. Notably, the absent player Chris Ayoub has also had his stack blinded away to less than 100,000. Players have already completed more than 15 hands on the bubble.
4.05pm: Awerbuch top of the pops
Chad Awerbuch (pictured below) and Ray Gebrael have clashed in a monster pot ending with Awerbuch as the new chip leader. Awerbuch raised pre-flop and checked a flop of Q-9-10 then called Gebrael’s bet of 12,000 and they saw the turn fall a King. Awerbuch checked once again – this time Gebrael fired out 28,500 and Awerbuch called.
The river brought a 7 and again Awerbuch checked. Gebrael gathered a stack of yellow (5000) chips and slid them into the middle and the dealer gave a count of “105,000”. Awerbuch tanked for roughly 30 seconds, gathered the chips and called. Gebrael turned over K-Q for top two-pair only to be bested by Awerbuch’s J-J for the K-high straight. Gebrael disgustedly mucked his cards.
Gebrael is on just under 150,000 after entering day three as the chip leader on 550,000. Awerbuch now sits at the top of the count with more than 680,000. Close behind are Daniel Nielsen and Tam Truong and with 520,000 and 450,000 respectively as hand-for-hand play continues.
3.50pm: Boobekov bumped, and we’re on the bubble
Nurlan Boobekov has just fallen by the wayside after clashing with Daniel Neilson. Neilson had opened the action in the hijack and was called by Boobekov on the button.
The flop came 3-J-6 and Neilson continued fort 10,500. Boobekov responded with a raise to 21,300 but Neilson wasn’t done yet, throwing in four blue 25,000 chips to put Boobekov’s tournament life on the line.
He made the call and turned over Q-J but was trailing the A-J of Neilson. A king on the turn and 7 on the river didn’t bring any miracles, Neilson jumps to more than 500,000 and Boobekov falls just shy of the money in 17th place. We’re on the bubble!
3.40pm: Croc’s aces cracked
We caught the action on the river with the board reading 6-2-4-K-7 and the pot at just over 25,000. Billy “The Croc” Argyros had checked to Chad Awerbuch who put out a bet of 27,500, with a snap-call from Argyros.
Awerbuch turned over 6d-7d for a rivered two pair, a disgusted look came over “The Croc”’s face as he turned over A-A. The 60,000+ pot was pushed to Awerbuch leaving Argyros on just under 140,000. Blinds are up to 2000/4000 with a 400 ante.
3.20pm: No sign of Ayoub
With play approaching the end of the first level of the day, Chris Ayoub remains notable for his absence. Ayoub, who began the day with 147,600, had a Christening to attend this morning and said last night that he wouldn’t be able to make it in time for the revised 2pm start because his wife would kill him!
Personally, we think he would be in her good books if he came home $176,000 richer but horses for courses. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for his arrival.
3.10pm: Antonios eliminated in 18th
Alexander ‘AJ’ Antonios is our first player eliminated today after failing to gain any early traction with his short stack. Down to 32,000, he open shoved UTG with 8-9 suited and was called by Matt Rolfe who held A-K. The board ran out 10-5-A-J-Q giving both players a straight but Rolfe the nuts with Broadway. Rolfe is up to 240,000.
3pm: Andy’s more than handy
When it comes to consistency in major Australian tournament poker, it’s hard to go past the record of Andrew Scarf. Since collecting his first tournament cash in late 2008, Scarf has amassed a long list of impressive results including a runner-up finish in the 2010 ANZPT Adelaide Main Event and numerous final tables on preliminary schedules.
However, the one thing missing from Scarf’s record is a big win – he may be among the short stacks here but no-one should have greater motivation than the respected Sydneysider.
2.40pm: Brannigan beaming
Our short stack, Brian Brannigan, has just doubled to haul himself back into contention after picking up Aces in one of the first hands of the day.
Brannigan limped for 3000 UTG and it was folded around to Billy Argyros in the small blind, who completed. However Andrew Scarf in the big blind bumped it all the way up to 29,000, with Brannigan instantly shipping over the top for 22,800 more.
Argyros folded while Scarf called only to find his A-6 dominated. He managed to bink a 6 on the flop but couldn’t find trips and Brannigan is back in the hunt with 100,000 and change.
2.30pm: Turbo underway, High Rollers to come
There’s a great buzz around The Star today – in addition to the fans in the house to watch the boxing and UFC, a field of 40 players are battling for the penultimate title on the Star Poker Summer Series schedule, the $440 Turbo No Limit Hold’em. Then at 4pm, the big guns will again be out in force for the $10,500 High Rollers No Limit Hold’em, featuring 20,000 starting stack and 45-minute levels.
2.20pm: What’s in store today
Level 14: 1500/3000 (ante 300)
Level 15: 2000/4000 (ante 400)
Level 16: 2500/5000 (ante 500)
Level 17: 3000/6000 (ante 500)
Level 18: 4000/8000 (ante 500)
Level 19: 5000/10,000 (ante 1000)
Level 20: 6000/12,000 (ante 1000)
Level 21: 8000/16,000 (ante 2000)
Level 22: 10,000/20,000 (ante 2000)
Level 23: 12,000/24,000 (ante 3000)
Level 24: 15,000/30,000 (ante 3000)
Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (ante 4000)
Payouts
1 $176,344
2 $112,219
3 $65,728
4 $54,506
5 $44,887
6 $36,872
7 $30,459
8 $24,047
9 $19,238
10-12 $14,428
13-15 $11,222
2pm: Seconds out … let’s get ready to rumble!
Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia and our coverage of the final day of this year’s Star Poker Summer Series main event live from Sydney’s The Star.
After three long days here in The Star poker room, just 18 of the original 135 starters have returned today as we prepare to play down to our winner. There is a long way to go before we get to that point, however, with the first milestone for players being the money bubble with 15 set to be paid a minimum of $11,222.
Following that we’ll work our way towards our official final table of nine before the action really heats up as players eye the $176,344 top prize.
It is a high quality final two tables in front of us today with the likes of Daniel Neilson, Tam Truong, Chad Awerbuch, Alexander Antonios, Joel Feldman, Luke Edwards and Andrew Scarf all still in contention although they trail our Day 3 chip leader Ray Gebrael who sits behind a monster stack of 549,500.
It’s gonna be an interesting start to the final day ohere at The Star! The gale-force winds outside have blown several hundred mixed martial arts and boxing fans into the Sports Bar this afternoon.
Not only does the UFC on Fox 5 schedule include Rory McDonald v BJ Penn and Benson Henderson v Nate Diaz, there’s a massive boxing event coming up this afternoon when Manny Pacquiao faces Juan Manuel Márquez for the fourth time.
Join PMA’s very own edition of the Buffer brothers – Ben Blaschke and Chris Murphy – along with our pint-sized version of Dana White – Sean Callander – for this championship battle at Sydney poker’s own “house of stoush”, The Star!
Final 18 chip counts:
Ray Gebrael – 549,100
Tam Truong – 434,900
Joel Feldman – 401,600
Daniel Neilson – 354,200
Luke Edwards – 306,400
Chad Awerbuch – 286,500
Ivan Zalac – 216,400
Matt Rolfe – 210,000
Nurlan Boobekov – 192,600
Billy Argyros – 191,000
Joel Cohen – 185,900
Edgar Montenegro – 173,800
Chris Ayoub – 147,600
Andrew Scarf – 103,200
Joe Cabret – 100,600
Sayed Jabbour – 101,100
Alexander Antonios – 69,200
Brian Brannigan – 55,300
Be the first to comment