Steve Swalling bags chip lead after Day 2 of APL Million Centurion; that’s a wrap!
With the chip-lead swapping around between Didier Guerin and Luke McCredie for the majority of the day, Steve Swalling flew predominately under the radar, but after having amassed a stack of 2,748,000, the Brisbanite is now feeling more confident in potentially winning his first major title.
Swalling was one of the 24 players to have bagged for the third and final day, with other notables including Angel Guillen and Joe Antar, as well as Guerin and McCredie all follow shortly behind in the counts in the chase for the $151,760 first prize.
PokerMedia Australia will be back on deck for our continued coverage of this tournament from 12pm AEST and until we reach the final table, which will be live streamed over at PlayAPL.tv.
We’ll then be bringing you live updates from Day 1 of the Jackstar Super High Roller, which kicks off at 3pm AEST, and of course, keep following the APL Facebook Page for all our updates, images and results from all 43 events and right up until the final river falls.
From all of us at Southport Sharks, thanks again for tuning in, get home safe and we’ll see you soon. ‘Bye for now!
Meredith meets his maker
Toby Meredith had been running on fumes throughout most of the final stanza, but despite picking up a couple of doubles, he finally bowed out after being sent to the rail by David Luong.
Didier Guerin came out with a 40,000 raise from under the gun and Luong called before Meredity shoved for 222,000; Guerin let his hand go and Luong called.
Luong: A♦Q♠
Meredith: 10♥8♠
Board: J♦Q♦6♥A♣2♦
| David Luong | 1,267,000 |
| Toby Meredith | BUSTED! |
And with the last three hands all done and dusted, we’re just about ready to wrap things up – stay with us!
Kirkham crushed
After copping a devastating blow at the hands of Qais Shanasa, Ben Kirkham was unable to recover and surrendered the last of his stack to Dan O’Shea.
Kirkham got the last of his money in A♣7♦ and found himself in a fair fight against O’Shea’s K♥10♥, but was pummelled after ‘DOS’ spiked top pair, despite picking up a gut-shot wheel draw on the K♣2♣4♠5♦4♦ board.
Kirkham collects $4,475 for his 28th place finish.
| Dan O’Shea | 933,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | BUSTED! |
Morbeck mauled
Alex Morbeck has just cashed out in 29th place after being eliminated by Didier Guerin.
Action folded around Morbeck who raised to 42,000 from the cutoff; Guerin defended his big blind, then checked his option after the flop of J♠4♠10♥.
Morbeck opened for 45,000, however Guerin check-raised to 195,000. Morbeck jammed for his last 700,000 and Guerin called, turning over J♥4♥ for two pair against Morbeck, who had made top-top with A♦J♣.
Nothing changed after the turn and river ran out 2♠, 6♦, and Morbeck collected his $4,475 payout before departing the room.
| Didier Guerin | 1,940,000 |
| Alex Morbeck | BUSTED! |
Gabriel goneski
No sooner than the bubble had burst, the action picked up swiftly, with Daniel amongst those to collect from the cage after also being taken out by Luke McCredie.
Gabriel got the last of his money in before the flop with A♣10♥, but ran smack-bang into McCredie’s K♠K♥.
The board of 3♣8♠Q♣4♣3♥ was clean for McCredie, and Gabriel collected $4,475 for his 31st place finish.
| Luke McCredie | 1,850,000 |
| Daniel Gabriel | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Anand annihilated
Jason Anand was confirmed as our soft bubble in The APL Million Centurion, eliminated by Luke McCredie on the outer tables just before the 18th and final level of the night.
Action folded to McCredie who raised to 32,000 from the hijack before Anand three-bet it to 75,000. Aidan Stewart called from the small blind, as did McCredie, to go three ways to a flop of 5♠2♣5♣.
The players then checked through to Anand who ripped in the last of his chips, but McCredie was the only caller.
Anand: K♥K♦
McCredie: 2♥2♦
(Trust McCredie to have ducks at a time like this.)
Neither the turn of the A♥ or the river 7♥ were of either help to Anand, whose run in this even has sadly come to an end.
Spare a thought though for Liam Murray though, who busted out only moments after in the stone bubble position in 33rd place – and with that folks, we are now officially in the money!
| Luke McCredie | 1,630,000 |
| Jason Anand | BUSTED! |
Gabriel turns the tables
Daniel Gabriel is now up to almost half-a-million in chips after scoring a pot off Ben Turner.
Gabriel limped in from under the gun and action then folded around to the player on the button who made the call; Turner also called from the small blind, as did the big blind player to make it four-handed to a flop of [invalid notations].
Turner then check-called Gabriel’s bet of 43,000, before the the action repeated after Gabriel shoved his last 158,000 on the river J♥, but Turner threw his hand into the muck after Gabriel rolled up 8♠7♠ for the flush.
| Daniel Gabriel | 498,000 |
| Ben Turner | 1,100,000 |
APL MILLION NLH SHOT CLOCK TERMINATOR: Welcome to the Brock party!
Time for another quick-fire wrap from our APL Million schedule, and it’s Brock Haslam who joined the winner’s circle after his clutch performance in the $350 buy-in NLH Shot Clock Terminator.
On top of his $8,030 payday after chopping with Alex Johansen heads-up, Haslam also picked up eight bounties for a bonus $800. Well played, sir!
EVENT #7 | APL MILLION NLH SHOT CLOCK TERMINATOR ($350 buy-in, 177 entries, 18 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Brock Haslam | $8,030* |
| 2nd | Alex Johansen | $7,020* |
| 3rd | Jade Brunston | $3,010 |
| 4th | David Leas | $3,330 |
| 5th | George Kabourakis | $2,480 |
| 6th | Elise Depauw | $2,035 |
| 7th | Michael Rowley | $1,690 |
| 8th | Mason Trevanion | $1,325 |
| 9th | Sam Ruha | $975 |
Qais cuts Kirkham back
Qais Shanasa and Ben Kirkham clashed in a huge hand in one of the last hands of the previous level on Table 72.
Before our final 36 exited the Centurion arena, action folded to Kirkham who min-clicked to 26,000 from middle position; Shanasa called out of the small blind, so it was heads-up to a flop of 4♣8♥6♦.
Shanasa check-called Kirkham’s bet of 28,000, then after the dealer peeled off the Q♠ on the turn, Shanasa check-raised all-in after Kirkham opened for 136,000.
Kirkham called and rolled up K♦K♣, but reeled after Shanasa showed 8♠8♣ for a flopped set.
A repeat Q♦ on the river was the cherry on top for Shanasa, who is now on almost 950K after that hand.
| Qais Shanasa | 948,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | 415,000 |
Level 17: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)
Have a stretch
Our 36 remaining players are now on their final 15-minute break.
APL MILLION SINGLE BULLET: All aboard the Zhang train!
As we approach the final break of the night, we’d now like to give a special shout-out to Chu Chu Zhang, who became the first woman to win an APL Million open event this series after taking out the $250 buy-in Single Bullet Freezeout!
Zhang topped a field of 196 entries to take home $9,800 in prize money, defeating APLPT Champion Mena Tawfik heads-up for the title.
EVENT #6 | APL MILLION SINGLE BULLET NLH FREEZEOUT ($250 buy-in, 196 entries, 21 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Chu Chu Zhang | $9,800 |
| 2nd | Mena Tawfik | $6,470 |
| 3rd | Jerry Gao | $4,115 |
| 4th | Malcolm Hady | $3,330 |
| 5th | Eric Mao | $2,645 |
| 6th | Michael Evans | $2,155 |
| 7th | Wendy Horan | $1,770 |
| 8th | Pat Furlong | $1,370 |
| 9th | Alessandro Celetto | $980 |
Kirkham clips Taylor
Clint Taylor, who started Day 2 as one of the short stacks, found some crucial doubles early to keep his Centurion hopes alive, but has just dropped a few chips to Ben Kirkham.
Our reporter picked up the action between the duo on a flop of A♣2♥Q♣; Kirkham checked his option out of the small blind before Taylor opened for 30,000 from the button.
Kirkham called, and then both players checked the A♠ on the turn before Kirkham led out for 55,000 on the river 10♣. Taylor called, but mucked after Kirkham rolled up Q♥10♦ for two pair.
| Ben Kirkham | 965,000 |
| Clint Taylor | 573,000 |
Luong trips up Choong
After a pre-flop UTG raise to 26,000 from Didier Guerin, David Luong flatted from the +1 position before action folded to Yita Choong, who re-raised to 105,000.
Guerin called, only to then see Luong shove over the top. Choong took a little bit of time before making the call, but Guerin got out of the way before the cards were tabled.
Choong: A♦A♣
Luong: A♥K♠
Board: 8♥K♦9♠Q♠K♥
Trips for Luong after than double-up, who now sits almost level with Choong with a million and change each.
| David Luong | 1,036,000 |
| Yita Choong | 1,025,000 |
APL MILLION H.O.R.S.E.: Dykes clinches historic victory
As the bubble in The Centurion approaches, it’s time for another quick-fire wrap of the early side event action, where we’d like to take a moment to congratulate Robert Dykes, who won last Sunday’s H.O.R.S.E. event.
The Queenslander, who first learned how to play stud for matchsticks with his grandmother, told PMA that he felt that winning this event was his destiny – and now he can also lay claim to being the first player to ever win a H.O.R.S.E. tournament at an APL major!
EVENT #5 | APL MILLION H.O.R.S.E. ($600 buy-in, 70 entries, seven players paid)
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Robert Dykes | $12,130 |
| 2nd | Troy McLean | $7,715 |
| 3rd | Jake Connors | $5,145 |
| 4th | Brad Legassick | $4,040 |
| 5th | Brendan Hedger | $2,940 |
| 6th | David Croucher | $2,570 |
| 7th | David Miles | $2,210 |
Level 16: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
A Gross way to go
Having been nursing a short stack up until this point, Alex Lynskey moved his last 147,000 into the middle pre-flop holding 8♠8♦ and found himself in a do-or-die flip against Michael Gross, who called him off with A♠J♦.
Gross then hooked up trips on the flop of J♥J♠3♣ and left Lynskey dead in the water after filling up with the A♣ on the turn before river 8♣ completed the board.
| Michael Gross | 822,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | BUSTED! |
Gabriel paid his dues
Campbell Van Tongeren has just been eliminated by Daniel Gabriel in brutal fashion.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop and our reporter got there just in time to see the combatants go to show-down.
Van Tongeren: K♠K♦
Gabriel: 9♠9♥
“I’m due for a set!” Gabriel laughed.
The dealer did him one better, spreading a flop of 9♣9♦4♠ to give Gabriel quads, but despite the K♥ coming down on the turn, the river bricked out in the form of the 2♦. Game over, man.
| Daniel Gabriel | 838,000 |
| Campbell Van Tongeren | BUSTED! |
Ward gored
Martin Ward has just been felted at the hands of Yita Choong, who now sits behind a stack worth almost 900,000 in chips.
Action folded to Choong who min-clicked to 20,000 from the cutoff before Ward jammed his remaining 226,000 from the big blind.
Choong quickly called, showing down A♠Q♣ against Ward’s A♦5♦, and soared further ahead after the flop of 7♥3♦Q♥.
A glimmer of hope appeared for Ward with the 6♦ on the turn, but the repeat river 6♣ ended the Queensland poker veteran’s run.
| Yita Choong | 891,000 |
| Martin Ward | BUSTED! |
Assorted counts
Presenting our unofficial top 20 from the outer tables … be sure to keep your browsers refreshed and up alongside the PlayAPL.tv feature table stream so you can keep up with all the Centurion action you can handle!
| Jason Anand | 1,150,000 |
| Didier Guerin | 1,110,000 |
| Scott Wilson | 1,060,000 |
| Steve Swalling | 950,000 |
| Will Wong | 907,000 |
| Ben Kirkham | 722,000 |
| Jigs Reyes | 718,000 |
| Michael Gross | 684,000 |
| Tam Truong | 673,000 |
| David Luong | 620,000 |
| Alex Lee | 620,000 |
| Ashneel Sharma | 600,000 |
| Joshua Schwellnus | 550,000 |
| Yita Choong | 530,000 |
| Qais Shanasa | 500,000 |
| Dan O’Shea | 470,000 |
| Octavian Voegele | 461,000 |
| Luke Jackson | 399,000 |
| Mike Rowley | 365,000 |
| William Lim | 348,000 |
Level 15: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Break it down
Time for another 15-minute break. Back soon with a fresh round of counts!
Hoy, vey!
Greg Hoy’s run in The Centurion has come to an end, taken out by Ashneel Sharma in one of the last hands before the break.
Hoy got the last of his short stack in with A♣3♣ and action folded around to Sharma, who iso-shoved with A♠K♣ to force the rest of the table out of the way.
Both players then made two pair on the board of J♣A♦8♣8♠7♣, but Sharma’s Big Slick had Hoy outkicked.
| Ashneel Sharma | 625,000 |
| Greg Hoy | BUSTED! |
Jackson back from the dead
Luke Jackson has managed to find a crucial double, getting his last 193,000 into the middle out of the big blind position after a pre-flop raise from Daniel Gabriel.
Gabriel called and showed down 8♠8♥ and found himself flipping against Jackson’s Q♦9♦, however Jackson spiked a Nine on the flop and went on to river two pair on the board of 6♥9♣3♦4♠6♣.
| Luke Jackson | 390,000 |
| Daniel Gabriel | 359,000 |
Lim lifts
William Lim has found himself another pile of chips, taking out another player in the process.
Lim woke up with A♥K♦ after his opponent had moved all-in for the last of their very short stack holding 10♠7♠, which hit top-top on the flop of J♣8♣K♠ before improving to two pair after the turn repeated 5♥, 5♦.
| William Lim | 384,000 |
Tawfik takes a hit
2020 APL Ville 600 Main Even Champion Will Wong has managed to score a big double-up through Mena Tawfik as The Centurion marches on.
It was a classic all-in-pre-flop-Über-cooler, with Wong holding A♥A♣ against Tawfik’s K♥K♦.
Flop: 10♥4♠J♣
“Queen for a sweat!” cried Tawfik.
Turn: Q♣
River: an un-sweaty 8♦, and Wong’s run in this event continues.
| Will Wong | 966,000 |
| Mena Tawfik | 456,000 |
Level 14: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Young done
Jackson Young has just been felled at the hands of Didier Guerin as we head into the 14th level of the night.
Action folded to Guerin who raised to 17,000 from the cutoff; Young defended his big blind, making it heads-up to the flop of A♥8♠6♥.
Young check-called Guerin’s c-bet of 12,000, and the action repeated after Guerin’s second shell worth 28,500 after the turn of the 5♠ before Young checked again on the river J♦.
Guerin responded with an open-shove, which saw Young retreat into his mind palace.
“This could take a while, bruh.” Young muttered.
After about two-and-a-half minutes of deliberation, Young made a crying call with A♣9♦, but Guerin flipped over A♠J♠ for two pair to seal his fate.
| Didier Guerin | 964,000 |
| Jackson Young | BUSTED! |
Long live The Pineapple King
Team PMA‘s Russell Fogarty was spotted by our reporter heading to the exits, but he was kind enough to stop to recall how he and Jerome Tan were both taken out by Ben Turner.
Fogarty opened to 15,000 before Turner three-bet it to 47,000; Tan then shoved for his last 99,000 and Fogarty came in over the top before Turner tank-called.
Fogarty: Q♥Q♦
Tan: 9♠9♣
Turner: A♣K♠
“I can’t remember the whole board,” Fogarty said, “but there was an Ace on the flop and that was enough. Double KO.”
| Ben Turner | 525,000 |
| Jerome Tan | BUSTED! |
| Russell Fogarty | BUSTED! |
Ilya’s happy, and he knows it
Our reporter caught some heads-up action between Ilya Lansters and Joshua Schwellnus on a board of 6♠2♦10♥9♥, into a pot worth about 180,000.
Lanster opened for 40,000 and Schwellnus called, but after the dealer produced the K♥ on the river, Ilya open-shoved for his last 131,000, which put Schwellnus into the tank for around three minutes before letting his hand go.
Lanster flashed A♣J♦ for nothing but air before scooping the pot.
“Last time I called you, you flashed me a bluff,” Schwellnus quipped. “I thought surely he won’t bluff me again!”
“Ah! The level!” was Lanster’s reply.
“Well played sir,” said Schwellnus.
| Ilya Lanster | 312,000 |
| Joshua Schwellnus | 390,000 |
Assorted chip counts
It’s been a frantic evening session at Southport Sharks, with tonight’s Mega Satellite into the Main Event in full swing, along with the final tables of the NLH 120 and $1,100 6-Max, and the Reduced Deck Hold’em Event now into the closing stages.
APL Major Events Director Joel Williams has also confirmed with PMA that play will be stopping tonight at the end of Level 18, which will see our remaining players bag up at approximately 3:15am local time.
| Scott Wilson | 1,076,000 |
| Steve Swalling | 1,030,000 |
| Mena Tawfik | 850,000 |
| Alex Marbeck | 727,000 |
| Najeem Ajez | 687,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 650,000 |
| Jason Anand | 600,000 |
| William Lim | 590,000 |
| Jigs Reyes | 540,000 |
| Clint Taylor | 539,000 |
| Yita Choong | 475,000 |
| Joshua Schwellnus | 452,000 |
| Elise Depauw | 383,000 |
| Craig Blight | 347,000 |
| Luke McCredie | 340,000 |
| Alex Lee | 232,000 |
Level 13: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Dinner break
Time to refuel and recharge. See you back here in 30 minutes!
Ajez all about the bantz
The PMA team are considering relocating the hot desk, as there’s been a plethora of action (and trash talk) between Yita Choong, Najeem Ajez, Jason Anand, Darren Moves and Russell Fogarty who are all seated side-by-side on Table 6.
Earlier action saw Anand open from UTG+1 to 11,000. Ashneel Sharma called and Ajez then announced a three-bet from the small blind worth 52,000.
Anand was the only caller, so they went heads up to a flop of 9♥5♠4♣. Ajez continued for a bet of 50,000 and sent Anand into the tank before he eventually mucked his holding.
Out of respect, Ajez decided to show Anand the winning hand: J♥3♦.
Anand turned to our reporter and said “The battle is on … stay here! Stay here for this next one!”
Sure enough, the next hand provided more action, although Anand didn’t quite have the hand to get involved.
With an open from the hijack, Fogarty called the 11,000 from the cutoff, Moves called from the button, Ajez called from the small blind and next to act was Choong in the big blind, who made it 70,000 to go.
Action folded back to Fogarty who let his hand go, Moves folded and last to act was Ajez.
Ajez: “I think he’s bluffing.”
Choong: “I don’t have Jack-Three.”
“Can he say that?” asked another player.
“Probably not!” Choong replied with a chuckle.
“I’m not calling, I’m either ripping it or folding.” stated Ajez.
Then all of a sudden – and much to the collective shock of his tablemates – Ajez then reached over, grabbed Choong’s cards and hurled them into the muck, “Yita! You have to protect your hand!”
Choong simply smiled, and Ajez smiled back as he then announced a fold, which resulted in Choong taking the pot down.
Chen spent
Zhihao Chen has had his tournament life ended at the hands of David Luong, reducing the field below 100 runners.
Action folded to Luong who min-clicked to 10,00 from the cutoff before Chen snap-shoved from the button. Luong called, rolling up A♠Q♥ and spiked an Ace on the flop, which was enough against Chen’s J♠J♦ as the board completed A♣10♦5♥2♣3♦.
| David Luong | 750,000 |
| Zhihao Chen | BUSTED! |
Seyed spiralling
Star Sydney Champs Mystery Bounty winner Seyed Nasab has taken a huge hit against Qais Shanasa as action continues in The APL Million Centurion.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop, with Shanasa at risk with J♠J♦, but was well ahead of Nasab who had called with A♣10♣.
A bit of a sweat after the flop and turn of Q♥2♥K♦9♦, but the river was a harmless 5♦ to ensure Shanasa’s double.
Although he was crippled down to 26,500 after that hand, Nasab was able to secure a double for himself in the very next hand before stealing another set of blinds and antes with a cut-off shove right after that.
| Qais Shanasa | 350,000 |
| Seyed Nasab | 72,500 |
Centurion payouts
As reported earlier on the APL Facebook page, the financial figures for this record-breaking tournament have been locked in. 284 total entries, generating a total prize pool of $639,000, with almost $152,000 up top for the eventual champion.
It’s a phenomenal achievement in its own right, and coupled with the already guaranteed $1 million prize kitty for the Main Event and the prize money generated from all the side events to date, sources close to PMA have estimated that the total pool for the APL Million series could be anywhere up to $5 million.
Once again, it’s proof positive as to the strength and resilience of the Australian poker industry, having rebuilt and grown so quickly after the challenges of the last two years.
APL MILLION CENTURION ($2,500 buy-in, 284 entries, 32 players paid)
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $151,760 |
| 2nd | $97,450 |
| 3rd | $62,300 |
| 4th | $49,520 |
| 5th | $37,380 |
| 6th | $30,350 |
| 7th | $23,960 |
| 8th | $19,170 |
| 9th | $15,340 |
| 10th | $12,460 |
| 11th | $10,550 |
| 13th-15th | $8,625 |
| 16th-18th | $7,030 |
| 19th-21st | $6,070 |
| 22nd-24th | $5,430 |
| 25th-27th | $4,790 |
| 28th-32nd | $4,475 |
Level 12: 2,500/5,000 (5,000)
Gerges gutted
Campbell Van Tongeren has claimed a huge scalp in The APL Million Centurion, taking out Mina Gerges just the blinds ticked over into the 12th level.
All the money was in the middle before the flop; it was a classic coin flip, with Gerges at risk holding A♦K♥ against Van Tongeren’s Q♥Q♦.
No change after the flop of 4♠6♥7♦6♥, but although Gerges picked up chopping outs with the 6♥, the river Q♣ set Van Tongeren up and sealed Gerges’ fate.
| Campbell Van Tongeren | 188,000 |
| Mina Gerges | BUSTED! |
O’Keefe KO’ed
Guy O’Keefe’s day at the office has come to an end after being felted by David Luong.
After the player in the +1 position raised to 10,000, action folded around to Luong who called from the small blind before O’Keefe moved all-in for his last 122,000 holding A♦Q♦.
The +1 player mucked and Luong called before turning over 10♥10♦ and clinched the race after flopping a set on the board of 3♠8♠10♣A♥5♣.
| David Luong | 480,000 |
| Guy O’Keefe | BUSTED! |
Wyvill falls
Jason Anand is now cruising after taking out Janet Wyvill before becoming the first player to move past the magical one-million chip mark.
As Anand recalled, action folded around to Wyvill who raised to 12,000 from the button holding Ace-Jack; Anand defended his big blind to see a flop of A-9-T. Anand checked to Wyvill who continued for 16,000, however Anand then check-raised to 40,000. Wyvill flatted.
“The turn was a brick,” Anand said. “I bet 44,000, Janet moved all-in for about 130,000 and I call. I’ve got Ace-Queen!”
That’ll do it.
| Jason Anand | 1,050,000 |
| Janet Wyvill | BUSTED! |
Assorted chip counts
While the clock was paused to reconfigure the feature table and finalise entry numbers, our intrepid reporter went round to get some notable stack sizes.
Play has now resumed, and we can confirm that The APL Million Centurion has been locked out at 284 entries, generating a total prize pool of $639,000! Top 32 players will be paid out, with tomorrow’s winner earning a whopping $151,760 up top.
Say it with us, folks … THAT’S. MASSIVE.
| Scott Wilson | 840,000 |
| Max Chau | 585,000 |
| Joshua Schwellnus | 557,000 |
| Ashneel Sharma | 523,000 |
| Jigs Reyes | 512,000 |
| Jason Anand | 495,000 |
| Josh Mansell | 481,500 |
| James Camilleri | 450,000 |
| Ilya Lanster | 431,000 |
| Luke McCredie | 390,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 320,000 |
| Tom Maguire | 312,000 |
| Didier Guerin | 311,000 |
| Jenny Chhauv | 301,000 |
| Jerome Tan | 244,000 |
| Octavian Voegele | 240,000 |
| Yang Lei | 232,000 |
| Najeem Ajez | 230,000 |
| Stephen Bee | 190,000 |
| Wai Au | 179,000 |
| Seyed Nasab | 170,000 |
| Alex Lee | 147,000 |
| Janet Wyvill | 139,000 |
| Robert Damelian | 107,500 |
| Liam Jehu | 100,000 |
| Romain Morvan | 70,000 |
| Steven Hoek | 32,000 |
Level 11: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Heading into the big time
Our players are now on the first 15-minute break of the afternoon, which has seen a flurry of action before the clock ticked down to zero for this level.
There’s also been a massive switch-up for our feature table broadcast … and if you thought that the first stanza had plenty to offer, wait ’til you get a load of this line-up, which is worth combined USD $3.3 million and change, according to Hendon Mob.
Many thanks to LCAPoker’s Tom Bower for that little nugget of info!
PlayAPL.tv Feature Table
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Taylor Grube | 114,000 |
| 2 | Qing Ye | 15,500 |
| 3 | Joe Antar | 131,000 |
| 4 | Yoon Kang | 125,000 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Ricky Kroesen | 168,000 |
| 7 | Angel Guillen | 310,500 |
| 8 | Troy McLean | 215,500 |
| 9 | Liam Murray | 131,500 |
Hey, Mr Wilson!
“It’s been a good level!”
That was the direct quote from APLPT Melbourne Mini High Roller Champion Scott Wilson, who is now well and truly past the 700K chip mark after decimating Josh McCully’s stack.
In a bit of action we caught just before the break, our reporter caught heads-up action between them on a board that read A♦6♥4♣6♦. McCully opened for 21,500 from the big blind and Wilson flatted from the button before the dealer produced the river 5♠.
McCully then fired out a bet of 65,000, leaving about 60,000 behind, only to send his hand into the muck after Wilson went full send.
“I had pocket fours,” Wilson said as he raked in the pot.
“Mate, with the way you’re running right now, I believe you!” said another player.
| Scott Wilson | 740,000 |
| Josh McCully | 60,000 |
Movin’ up and out
Darren Moves and Najeem Ajez have butted heads twice, with the former hitting the rail as action continues in this record-breaking Centurion tournament.
Earlier, the action folded around to moves who open-shoved from the hijack with K♠Q♠ before Ajez called him out of the big blind with 4♥4♣. Despite the 4♠ appearing in the window, the 8♠ and 6♠ trailed to give Moves the second nut flush, which caused the rest of the table to erupt.
“Pair the board!” Ajez shouted.
No dice – the turn and river ran out Q♦, A♣, which resulted in moves doubling up to 60,800 in chips.
Two hands later, Moves limped in from under the gun holding A♣5♣ before Ajez raised to 13,000 from middle position with A♥K♥. Moves called, then check-called Ajez’s c-bet of 11,000 after the flop of A♣K♠5♠ before check-shoving after Ajez led out for 14,000 after the turn of the 10♦.
Ajez quickly called and showed down the bigger two pair, which held after the 2♣ bricked out on the river to confirm Moves’ elimination.
| Scott Wilson | 267,000 |
| Darren Moves | BUSTED! |
Show me the money!
Having started Day 2 of The Centurion with the chip lead, Tom (not Jerry) Maguire has just had a chunk of change taken from him by Daniel Johnson.
Action folded around to the hijack player who raised to 7,000 pre-flop before Maguire re-raised to 22,000 from the cutoff. Johnson flatted from the button and the original raiser got out of the way to make it head-up to the flop of 7♠6♠Q♠.
Maguire the check-called Johnson’s bet of 23,000 before repeating the action after Johnson shoved for his last 140,000 effective on the turn of the Q♦. Maguire insta-called, but found himself in a world of hurt.
Johnson: A♠9♠
Maguire: Q♣10♣
Needing the board to pair, a Ten or the case Queen, the river J♦ was close, but no cigar.
| Daniel Johnson | 375,000 |
| Tom Maguire | 266,100 |
APL MILLION FRIDAY FREEZEOUT: ‘Allan’ a day’s work
Josh Allan was the very first recipient of a trophy for the 2022 APL Million 2022, tearing through the final table of last week’s Friday Freezeout to win $3,245 in prize money after chopping heads-up with Queenslander Alex Johansen.
His love for the game was evident, telling PMA that he originally worked for APL in the Australian country musical capital of Tamworth. Reckon a big win like this might be worth writing a song about!
EVENT #3 | APL MILLION FRIDAY FREEZEOUT ($120 buy-in, 139 entries, 15 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Amount |
| 1st | Josh Allan | $3,245* |
| 2nd | Alex Johansen | $2,800* |
| 3rd | Ben Leahy | $1,600 |
| 4th | Jayden Butler | $1,250 |
| 5th | Martin Vargas | $970 |
| 6th | Hayden Doughty | $835 |
| 7th | Kat Bowden | $695 |
| 8th | Jeison Berdugo | $555 |
| 9th | Simon Twomey | $415 |
Level 10: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Blessed be Najeem
Khac-Trung Tran has been severely crippled at the hands of APL Million Big Bounty Champion Najeem Ajez in the late stages of Level 9.
Action folded around to Ajez who raised to 5,000 pre-flop before Tran three-bet it to 21,000. Ajez then jammed for 98,000 total and Tran snap-called, showing down 9♥9♣ and found himself dominating Ajez’s 5♦3♦.
“Don’t worry, it’s coming,” Ajez said with a wry smile.
The poker gods responded in kind, as the dealer spread a board of 6♦A♠4♠7♥3♠ to give Ajez a turned straight and the full double, leaving Tran with less than half the starting stack, although he did manage to score a double himself in the very next hand.
| Najeem Ajez | 207,500 |
| Khac-Trung Tran | 79,000 |
Roman returns from the brink
Over on Table 4, Romes Priplotski found a much needed double-up through Trevor Pryce.
Priplotski’s pre-flop raise found two callers in Pryce and Steve Burgess, making it three-handed to a flop of 4♦3♠Q♥. Priplotski then opened for 6,000, Pryce raised to 21,000 and Burgess folded before Priplotski ripped in the remainder.
Burgess called and tabled Q♠J♦ but reeled after Priplotski rolled over A♥A♣. The turn of the A♦ sealed the deal for the South Australian, with the river 5♣ purely for aesthetic.
| Roman Priplotski | 102,000 |
| Trevor Pryce | 94,600 |
Choong back on track
Yita Choong’s stack is looking healthier after he took a chunk out of Ryan Hong over on Table 6.
The PMA crew picked up the action on a board of 4♥6♠8♦8♠; Choong led out for 7,000 into a pot worth about 24,000, only to then see Hong raise to 21,000.
Choong smooth-called, then checked his option on the river 6♥, which prompted Hong to fire out a bet of 25,500.
After a few minutes in the tank, Choong check-raised to 100,000 straight and Hong snap-folded.
| Yita Choong | 274,000 |
| Ryan Hong | 125,000 |
Lei sends one on their way
WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event Champion Yang Lei is off to a great start, almost tripling his stack of 89,800 and picking up an early elimination.
As it was recalled to our reporter, the player in the cutoff raised 3x pre-flop and Lei called from the button to make it heads-up to the flop of 8♠6♣8♠.
The cutoff then check-raised to 9,000 after Lei’s opening bet of 4,500. Lei called, and the dealer peeled of the 7♦ on the turn, which then saw the cutoff fire out another 15,000.
Lei smooth-called, then after the 2♦ on the river, the cutoff opened for 12,000, Lei shoved and the cut-off short-called.
Lei: 7♠7♥
Cutoff: A♥8♣
Flopped trips, turned boat. Suck-re-suck!
| Yang Lei | 226,000 |
Shuffle up and deal!
Cards are now back in the air for The APL Million Centurion!
At present we have 256 total entries, with Dennis Huntly and Angel Guillen amongst those to have jumped in before first pitch, which leaves only another 11 entries before we exceed a total prize pool of $600,000!
According to the structure information, it was anticipated that we would be playing down to the final table tonight, however based on overall numbers, PMA has been advised by tournament officials that this will be subject to change and we’ll update you as soon as those details have been confirmed.
Level 9: 1,200/2,400 (2,400)
All to play for
Good afternoon and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia’s continued Live Reporting coverage of The APL Million Centurion!
Fantastic news out of Southport Sharks already, and we’ve yet to pitch a card – only moments ago, the number of entries has reached 224, which officially puts us past the magical half-million – and the clock is still ticking as the APL crew keep running Step 1 and Step 2 flips on demand.
Official sources have tipped close to 250 total entries, but we have a feeling we should take the overs on this one, as late registration and re-entries are still open until 6:15pm tonight.
And as APL Major Events Director Joel Williams reiterated on this morning’s edition of APL MILLION LIVE, a max-late-reg for this tourney will still have you coming in with 40 BBs: a fact certainly not lost on the nation’s poker elite, with one player commenting on social media that it was “the best innovation for Australian since the introduction of the big blind ante.”
Play will be getting underway very shortly, so stay with us here on the PMA blog and tune into the PlayAPL.tv feature table stream, brought to you by LCAPoker.
Day 2 seat draw
Play will resume at 4pm AEST, with recommencing blinds at 1,200/2,400 (2,400). For those players who are returning after Day 1, please ensure you have your photo ID in order to verify your bags.
Late registration and re-entries for this tournament are still available for the first two levels of play and will close at 6:15pm. Should you have any queries, please approach one of the APL Million crew. Best of luck to all players!
PlayAPL.tv Feature Table
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Michael Gross | 367,100 |
| 3 | Craig Blight | 141,100 |
| 4 | Martin Ward | 131,200 |
| 5 | Samuel Wells | 267,100 |
| 6 | Joe Hachem | 80,900 |
| 7 | Joshua Schwellnus | 347,000 |
| 8 | Jenny Chhauv | 304,000 |
Table 1
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Ashish Gupta | 62,400 |
| 2 | Glen Chadwick | 189,000 |
| 3 | Joe Antar | 228,500 |
| 4 | Yuhao Goau | 90,500 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Dale Jacobsen | 162,400 |
| 7 | Troy McLean | 176,500 |
| 8 | Liam Murray | 194,300 |
Table 2
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Yang Lei | 89,800 |
| 2 | Greg Hoy | 177,100 |
| 3 | Adrian Chin | 49,200 |
| 4 | David Luong | 158,800 |
| 5 | Guy O’Keefe | 135,500 |
| 6 | Christopher Colanteri | 65,800 |
| 7 | Mena Tawfik | 437,600 |
| 8 |
Table 3
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Mehrdad Mustafa | 317,200 |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | Mark Van Dort | 239,000 |
| 4 | Khac-Trung Tran | 97,900 |
| 5 | Jason Luttaens | 140,400 |
| 6 | Najeem Ajez | 200,800 |
| 7 | Didier Guerin | 370,200 |
| 8 | Romain Morvan | 96,200 |
Table 4
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Steve Burgess | 166,100 |
| 2 | Clint Taylor | 54,300 |
| 3 | Clinton Bateman | 185,400 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Filip Pejovic | 176,100 |
| 6 | Roman Priplotski | 85,300 |
| 7 | Josh Norvock | 37,200 |
| 8 | Trevor Pryce | 111,800 |
Table 5
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Evira Rock | 94,300 |
| 2 | Alex Marbeck | 211,400 |
| 3 | Sam Roha | 436,800 |
| 4 | Aroha Ngata | 70,300 |
| 6 | ||
| 6 | Toon Kang | 157,100 |
| 7 | Ilya Lanster | 348,600 |
| 8 | Shane De Clifford | 173,700 |
Table 6
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Qing Ye | 62,600 |
| 2 | Matthew White | 115,100 |
| 3 | Yita Choong | 220,900 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Ryan Hong | 192,700 |
| 6 | Janet Wyvill | 338,300 |
| 7 | Ashneel Sharma | 325,300 |
| 8 | Gary Te Nana | 102,500 |
Table 7
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Corey Kempson | 117,900 |
| 3 | Daniel O’Shea | 256,800 |
| 4 | Quan Dinh | 91,800 |
| 5 | Chris Zenenos | 115,300 |
| 6 | Toby Meredith | 319,100 |
| 7 | Josh Forster | 272,500 |
| 8 | Josh Stanton | 95,100 |
Table 8
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Jigs Reyes | 308,000 |
| 2 | Mishel Anunu | 171,500 |
| 3 | ||
| 4 | Rahim Il-Nasab | 198,400 |
| 5 | Qais Shanasa | 228,000 |
| 6 | Elise Depauw | 353,000 |
| 7 | Brayden Jinks | 45,000 |
| 8 | Mina Gerges | 98,600 |
Table 9
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Dylan Garland | 59,400 |
| 2 | Stewart Ballard | 138,900 |
| 3 | Jason Lee | 185,400 |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Josh Foley | 145,800 |
| 6 | Luke Jackson | 119,600 |
| 7 | Robert Damelian | 252,600 |
| 8 | Mirko Stojkov | 146,300 |
Table 10
| Seat | Name | Chips | |
| 1 | Daniel Smiljanic | 191,200 | |
| 2 | Minh La | 159,500 | |
| 3 | Michael Mavrolakis | 71,300 | |
| 4 | Michael Madden | 48,700 | |
| 5 | Thomas Chong | 319,900 | |
| 6 | Matthew Vekkhcovich | 261,000 | |
| 7 | Will Wong | 183,200 | |
| 8 |
Table 11
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Grant Fullsron | 153,200 |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | Chris Shaw | 199,800 |
| 4 | Matthew Ginn | 161,100 |
| 5 | Simon Chahine | 73,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Gabriel | 80,000 |
| 7 | Jason Anand | 217,400 |
| 8 | Tom Maguire | 520,800 |
Table 12
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | James Camilleri | 355,400 |
| 2 | Duncan McKinnon | 60,900 |
| 3 | Jackson Young | 112,700 |
| 4 | Joseph Vinecombe | 166,000 |
| 5 | John Tilbery | 233,300 |
| 6 | Max Chau | 407,200 |
| 7 | William Lim | 198,900 |
| 8 |
Table 71
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Chi Truong | 235,000 |
| 2 | Rob Bartucio | 87,600 |
| 3 | Joshua Mancell | 228,800 |
| 4 | Jason Chahine | 113,500 |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Octavian Voegele | 420,400 |
| 7 | Lachlan Crilly | 37,800 |
| 8 | Scott Roderick | 87,500 |
Table 72
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Alex Lynskey | 413,900 |
| 2 | Michael Rowley | 194,500 |
| 3 | Milton Trickey | 88,000 |
| 4 | Matt Guilleaume | 73,600 |
| 5 | Ben Kirkham | 256,300 |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Thomas Place | 125,900 |
| 8 | Matthew Russell | 87,600 |
Table 73
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Patrick Barba | 128,800 |
| 2 | Matthew Howearth | 295,700 |
| 3 | Zhi Hao Chen | 126,200 |
| 4 | Zelig Otter | 34,200 |
| 5 | Cam Adams | 302,000 |
| 6 | Steve Swallow | 248,000 |
| 7 | Nuno Da Silva | 110,700 |
| 8 |
Table 74
| Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | Scott Wilson | 245,700 |
| 3 | Wai Au | 190,500 |
| 4 | Dave Chapman | 71,400 |
| 5 | Ong Ding Xang | 23,900 |
| 6 | Ben Turner | 322,900 |
| 7 | Donald Anderson | 520,700 |
| 8 | Win Meng Tan | 253,700 |
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