The very last tournament of the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship got underway at lunch time and an unexpected big field of 78 entries generated a juicy prize pool of AU$366,600 in the AU$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event #24 at the poker room of the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne.
Among those to take a shot at more glory were the 2016 LK Boutique championship ring winners Jarryd Godena, Chance Kornuth, Paul Hoefer and Joshua Budin as well as Aussie legends Billy "The Croc" Argyros and Graeme Putt, but they all failed to reach the money. The remaining participants are guaranteed AU$14,665 at least whereas the winner can look forward to a payday of AU$98,980.
Martin Finger bubbled after his shove on the short stack was called by two players and the German was unable to beat their flushes on the board . Just shy of the unofficial nine-handed final table but in the money was Nikolaos Solomos and he took home AU$11,000. Action recommences with blinds of 2,000-4,000 and the event will play down to a winner tonight.
Konstantin Buecherl raised the pot and had 2,500 chips behind before the action reached Fabian Geisel. He announced a pot-sized raise from the button and got the other players to fold, Buecherl called it off.
Buecherl:
Geisel:
The board ran out gave Geisel a flush and Buecherl a payday of AU$14,665.
Michael Tomeny raised to 15,000 and Stephen Chidwick defended his big blind to see a flop of . Chidwick fired a bet of the 32,500 and Tomeny waved with his hand to ask for the stack behind of the Brit, then moved all in. Chidwick called it off for another 15,000 and they tabled their cards.
Chidwick:
Tomeny:
It was all over on the turn for the 8-Game Mix winner and Chidwick officially headed to the rail in 8th place once the had completed the board.
Gareth Pepper got his stack in preflop and was hoping not to see an ace on the board in order to double up his remaining 60,000 chips. Out of the big blind, Daniel Demicki looked him up for the following showdown:
Pepper:
Demicki:
It was all good on the flop and the turn, but Demicki had a ton of outs to improve. The river was one of them and that sent Pepper to the rail in 7th place.
On the flop , Daniel Demecki check-raised the pot from 26,000 to 145,000 and Douglas Corning shoved all in from under the gun to see Demecki snap-call.
Corning:
Demecki:
Neither the turn nor the river improved Corning and he was sent to the rail in 5th place for a payday of AU$29,330.
Once again Sam Higgs has cashed, but the big score escaped the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific bracelet winner. He faced a limp and a raise by Fabian Geisel before jamming with pocket kings, Geisel called it off with nines and six-eight double suit to hit a nine in the window.
An up-and-down straight draw on the turn blanked and no king showed up on the river either to bust Higgs in fourth place.
Daniel Demicki limped in from the small blind and Fabian Geisel checked his option. On the flop , Demicki bet 12,000 and Geisel called before Demicki then check-raised the turn. Geisel had committed a pot-sized bet and called off to put himself at risk.
Geisel:
Demicki:
The river was a blank and that sent the pot to Demicki, busting Geisel as a result in third place.
Just before the end of the previous level, Daniel Sequenzia asked for a possible deal again but it quickly fell through when Daniel Demicki asked for slightly more money. The Pole then pulled away again by sheer aggression before Demicki squeezed to 60,000. Sequenzia three-bet to 180,000 and was called to see a flop of .
Demicki continued for the size of the pot and Sequenzia eventually gave in, shoving to put himself at risk.
Sequenzia:
Demicki:
Both the turn and the river blanked and Demicki was crowned champion, Sequenzia had to settle for a payday of AU$65,990.
The final event of the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, a AU$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, exceeded all expectations and attracted a field of 78 entries. Only the top 10 spots were guaranteed a portion of the AU$366,600 prize pool and previous LK Boutique championship winners such as Jarryd Godena, Chance Kornuth, Paul Hoefer and Joshua Budin as well as Aussie legends Billy "The Croc" Argyros and Graeme Putt all fell before the money, Martin Finger bubbled.
Nikolaos Solomos fell before the unofficial final table of the last nine was found and Konstantin Buecherl bowed out in 9th place after having previously lost most of his chips in a three-way all in. Fabian Geisel's kings with ace-six double suit then made the nut flush and sent the German to the rail.
8-Game Mixed Event winner Stephen Chidwick followed next after defending his big blind with an ace and flopping top pair, Michael Tomeny made two pair and turned a flush to bust the dangerous Brit. Kiwi Gareth Pepper's pocket kings were cracked by Daniel Demiki, who had plenty of outs with a gutshot and wheel draw before spiking an ace on the river.
Tomeny's jacks were no good against the kings of Douglas Corning to bust in 6th place. Corning's joy didn't last long, he got it in with pocket aces on a four-high flop and Demiki's flopped full house held up. Pocket kings were no good for 2014 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific bracelet winner Sam Higgs either, Geisel made a set with pocket nines to bust the Aussie.
Geisel followed next after turning top pair, a gutshot and the nut flush draw only to see Demicki's set of sevens hold strong. The heads up battle between Demicki and Sequenzia was dominated by the Pole but Sequenzia staged a comeback with two double ups in a row before flipping it in with an open-ended straight draw. Demicki's flopped two pair claimed the victory for a payday of AU$98,980.