Check out CardPlayer.com every Friday for a weekly wrap-up of the news from the live poker tournament trail.
Card Player Player of the Year Update
1: Poorya Nazari — 3,000
2: Anthony Gregg — 2,500
3: Benjamin Spindler — 2,000
4: Allen Casrter — 1,680
5: Alexandre Gomes — 1,500
6: Bobby Suer — 1,400
7: Peter Eastgate — 1,296
8: Pieter Tielen — 1,250
9: Florian Langmann — 1,164
10: Soheil Shamseddin — 1,120
POY Movement
All of the movement in the top 10 this week was thanks to the first World Poker Tour event of the year. The WPT Southern Poker Championship final table took place on Jan. 17, and Allen Carter emerged with the win. He took home $1,000,000 in prize money and 1,680 POY points to grab fourth place on the leader board. The runner-up at the event, Bobby Suer, gained 1,400 points to jump into sixth place, and third-place finisher Soheil Shammseddin grabbed 1,120 points and grabbed the final spot in the top 10.
This Week in Poker
Card Player Live Coverage Event — Aussie Millions Poker Championships
David Steicke Wins the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Challenge
David Steicke won the $100,000 AUD no-limit hold’em challenge at the 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championships hosted at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, late Sunday night. He survived a minefield of the world’s best on the first day of the tournament, as the impressive field shrank from 23 players down to the final six. He outlasted everyone at the final table, including J.C. Tran, who had become his nemesis. Tran fell in third place, leaving Steicke to do battle with Tony Bloom heads up for the championship.
Things did not last too long between the final two, Steicke held a chip lead that was too dominant to overcome. Steicke walked away with $1.2 million AUD to add to the high-roller event success he found at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour $25,000 event in Macau where he finished in fifth place. Steicke now has $1,207,950 USD in career tournament winnings.
Final Results:
David Steicke: $1,200,000 AUD
Tony Bloom: $700,000 AUD
J.C. Tran: $300,000 AUD
Dan Shak: $200,000 AUD
Full Final-Table Recap
Main Event Final Table Set
At press time the final eight players were resting up for the final table after a long day 4 came to a close. Here are the chip counts heading into the final table:
Seat 1: Zach Gruneberg — 1,355,000
Seat 2: Barny Boatman — 349,000
Seat 3: Elliot Smith — 1,120,000
Seat 4: Richard Ashby — 658,000
Seat 5: Stewart Scott — 4,520,000
Seat 6: Peter Rho — 2,420,000
Seat 7: Rajkumar Ramakrishnan — 2,050,000
Seat 8: Sam Capra — 1,161,00
These final eight players will take their seats at 12:30 p.m. AEDT (5:30 p.m. PST) to play down to one champion who will walk away with $2 million AUD and the Aussie Millions main event title. CardPlayer.com will bring you all of the action in live updates, chip counts, and photos.
Here is a look at the tournament statistic and final-table payouts:
Buy-in: $10,500 AUD
Number of Entries: 681
Total Prize Pool: $6,810,000 AUD
First-Place Prize: $2,000,000 AUD
Places Paid: 64
Final-Table Payout
1: $2,000,000 AUD
2: $1,000,000 AUD
3: $700,000 AUD
4: $400,000 AUD
5: $300,000 AUD
6: $210,000 AUD
7: $150,000 AUD
8: $100,000 AUD
Day 4 Recap
Aussie Millions Preliminary Event Winners:
Note: All payouts in Australian dollars (AUD).
Event No. 1 ($1,100 no-limit hold'em): Christian Heich -- $150,000
Event No. 2 ($1,050 PokerPro no-limit hold'em): Mark Carle -- $25,000
Event No. 3 ($1,100 Omaha eight-or-better): Mel Judah -- $30,600
Event No. 4 ($1,100 limit hold'em): Zach Gruneberg -- $35,000
Event No. 5 ($1,100 H.O.R.S.E.): Jarred Solomon -- $30,380
Event No. 6 ($1,150 no-limit hold'em w/rebuys): Mark Kassis -- $160,326
Event No. 7 ($1,650 bounty feature event): Saidal Wardak -- $151,200
Event No. 8 ($100,000 no-limit hold'em challenge): David Steicke -- $1,200,000
Event No. 10 ($5,300 heads-up championship): John Tabatabai -- $100,000
Event No. 11 ($1,100 pot-limit Omaha): Lee Nelson -- $32,400
Event No. 12 ($3,250 pot-limit Omaha w/rebuys): Michael Binger -- $123,840
Event No. 13 ($1,100 mixed hold'em): Adam Peck -- $25,000
Card Player Live Coverage Event — PokerStars EPT Deauville
Author's Note: Tournament Report at press time courtesy of Rebecca McAdam
Final Table Set
Day 3 was a bit of a whirlwind as 47 players became eight. It started with numerous bustouts as players made their exits rapidly one after another, but then it slowed down mid-session, only to pick back up rapidly again late in the day.
Official chip counts have yet to be released, but those taking their seat at the final table tomorrow are:
Mortiz Kranich
Tristan Clemence
Andrea Benelli
Jorn Walthaus
Bruno Launais
Johnathan Azoulay
Arnaud Esquevin
Thomas Delattre
They will fight for the top prize of €851,400 when day 4 of Pokerstars.net EPT Deauville begins at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. EST) tomorrow, so join the CardPlayer live reporting team then to see what happens next.
The final table players will receive:
First — €851,400
Second — €495,400
Third — €284,800
Fourth — €219,800
Fifth — €182,700
Sixth — €142,400
Seventh — €108,300
Eighth — €77,400
World Poker Tour Southern Poker Championships
Author's Note: Tournament report courtesy of Julio Rodriguez
Allen Carter Wins the WPT Southern Poker Championships
It took 93 hands for the first player to bust at the World Poker Tour Southern Championship final table, and during that time Chuck Kim went from short stack to chip leader and back again, eventually going home when his A-K fell to Soheil Shamseddin's A-9. Kim earned $105,490 for his first ever WPT cash.
Young gun Tyler Smith took a bad beat earlier in the tournament and fought hard to come back and make the final table. He was rewarded with $134,500 for his fifth-place finish after losing a race to Allen Carter.
Hilbert Shirey was next to go on the short stack when his J-10 suited failed to catch up to Bobby Suer's A-8. He earned $184,607 for his finish.
After a few double-ups, Shamseddin made an ill-timed bluff attempt on the river into Carter's trip tens. Shamseddin, who was the most experienced player at the table, pocketed $263,725 for third place.
When heads-up play began, Carter enjoyed a slight chip lead on Suer. Over the next 30 hands, Carter opened up his lead and claimed the title when his A-4 made the wheel against A-K. Suer took home $501,028 for his runner-up performance, and Carter claimed the $1 million first-place prize along with a $25,000 seat into the WPT Championship next April.
Full Final-Table Recap
Selected Tournament Results:
Latin American Poker Tour — Vina del Mar, Chile
Buy-in: $2,500
Number of Entries: 215
Total Prize Pool: $523,800
First-Place Prize: $141,426
Places Paid: 27
Final-Table Results:
1: Fabian Ortiz — $141,426
2: Vincenzo Gianelli — $78,570
3: Damian Sala — $52,380
4: Laendro Balotin — $39,285
5: Hernan Villa — $28,809
6: Fabio Escobar — $23,571
7: Jyries Saba — $18,330
8: Eduardo Camia — $13,095
9: Jamie Ateneloff — $10,476
Euro Finals of Poker – Diamond Championship
Buy-in: $7,025
Number of Entries: 102
Total Prize Pool: $626,115
First-Place Prize: $199,022
Places Paid: 18
Final-Table Results:
1: David “DevilFish” Ulliot — $199,022
2: Roger Hairabedian — $106,446
3: Laurent Santos — $75,121
4: Antonie Arnault — $50,077
5: Alain Layani — $37,561
6: Paul Testud — $31,286
7: Didier Pitcho — $25,038
8: Theo Jorgensen — $18,777
9: Frank Fellous — $12,525
Looking Ahead
L.A. Poker Classic
Tournament Series Preview
Event Schedule
Borgata Winter Open
Championship Event Preview
Event Schedule
World Series of Poker Circuit Event — Tunica
Event Schedule
Asian Poker Tour — Manila, Phlippines
Event Schedule
Dom Classics — Amsterdam
Event Schedule
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