2008 PokerNews Cup Championships - Australia

Day 1 completed

Posted 10-17-2008 00:30 GMT+11

Congratulations to Martin Cardno, Event 6 Champion! ($25,347)

Today's event began with a field of 213 hopefuls fighting it out short-handed style. After just under 12 hours of play, that number has been whittled all the way down to one.

Along the way, a plethora of notable names came and went, including Tony Dunst, Jamie Pickering, Roy Vandersluis, James Honeybone, Maurie Pears, Emad Tahtouh, Grant Levy, James Obst, and Tony Hachem, along with PokerNews staff members Heath Chick, Tim Duckworth, and Phi Cao. Play progressed rather quickly, and that trend continued right on through the final table, which lasted less than an hour and a half.

After the dust settled, all of the chips were stacked in front of one man. Martin Cardno picked his way through the field with diligence today, and he is the last man standing tonight. For his work today, he will cash a check for more than AUD $25,000, along with a beautiful glass trophy.

Congratulations once again to Martin Cardno, 2008 PokerNews Cup 6-Handed Champion!

Tags: Champion, Martin Cardno.

Farhad Kia Eliminated in 2nd Place ($17,573)

Martin Cardno had the button and raised to 60,000. Farhad Kia made the call. The flop came down and Kia immediately moved all in for 235,000. Cardno quickly called.

Showdown:
Cardno:
Kia:

With top two pair, Cardno was on the verge of winning the event, but needed to fend off the straight draw from Kia. The turn brought the , bringing Cardno one card closer. With the river falling the , that was it. Cardno is champion of the event, with Kia coming in as the runner-up -- earning AUD $17,573 for his efforts.

Tags: Farhad Kia, Martin Cardno.

Kent Hunter Eliminated in 3rd Place ($12,141)

Kent Hunter got it all in preflop holding , and he was in trouble, at risk of being knocked out by Farhad Kia's .

The board ran down , and Kia's ace-queen played. He raked in the rest of Kent Hunter's chips, sending him to the exit in third place. Kia, meanwhile, is up very close to 600,000.

Tags: Farhad Kia, Kent Hunter.

Level 20 started

Posted 10-16-2008 23:06 GMT+11

The Final 3 Remaining

Martin Cardno - 578,000
Farhad Kia - 317,000
Kent Hunter - 170,000

Kia All In and Trailing

Kent Hunter moved all in from the small blind, and Farhad Kia made the call from the big, sliding his last 120,000 chips into the middle and putting his tournament life in the balance. Hunter flipped over , while Kia's was behind but drawing live.

The flop added a few more outs for the all-in Kia, coming down . The turn was a timely , vaulting him into the lead and putting him one step away from a double up. When the hit the river, he locked up the pot, increasing his stack twofold to 240,000. Hunter is back on 206,000.

Steve Goldwater Eliminated in 4th Place ($8,520)

Kent Hunter attacked from the button and moved all in for 141,000. Steve Goldwater called out of the big blind and was all in.

Showdown:
Hunter:
Goldwater:

The board ran out to take all the glimmer away from Goldwater. He finished in third place and will take home AUD $8,520.

Tags: Kent Hunter, Steve Goldwater.

Updated Chip Counts

Martin Cardno - 511,000
Kent Hunter - 392,000
Farhad Kia - 160,000
Steve Goldwater - 88,000

Hunter's Turn to Double Back

There have been plenty of preflop all ins during this final table. On this hand, Kent Hunter shoved for 194,000 from the small blind and got a call from Farhad Kia in the big.

Hunter's was pitted against Kia's .

The board ran out and Hunter's king high was the best hand in the end. He is now up to 392,000 with Kia dropping to 160,000.

Tags: Farhad Kia, Kent Hunter.