2014 WSOP APAC Day 7: Calcagno Is Terminator Champ; Duhamel at $5K PLO Final Table
On Day 7 of the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, the newest bracelet winner was crowned with 29-year-old Australian Scott Calcagno capturing gold in the AU$1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Terminator for AU$61,250. Elsewhere, the AU$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event reached its final six and will be returning for Day 3, and the AU$1,650 8-Game Dealer's Choice event kicked off.
AU$1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Terminator
Although the cards fell Calcagno's way throughout Day 2 and 3, he played smart and aggressive poker on his way to capturing the AU$61,250 first prize along with the 12 terminator buttons (worth AU$6,000) which included his own since he became the the overall terminator of Event 4. Calcagno joins the likes of Jeff Lisandro, Joe Hachem, Gary Benson, Mark Vos and Andrew Hinrichsen as Australian WSOP bracelet winners.
On Monday afternoon, 250 players took a seat to play the unique format of poker very common to Melbourne - The Terminator. It applauded the eliminations of players by rewarding anyone that was able to eliminate a player with a red Terminator chip that was worth $500 each. However the real goal is always to clinch the lion's share of the AU$250,000 prizepool that was on offer.
Day 1 would be a battle on the green felt, and as play reached the expected end-of-day, it was decided that play would continue until the bubble was broke - and unfortunately it would be 2013 World Champion Ryan Riess the one going home as bubble boy when his aces were cracked by a runner-runner straight. Day 2 was all about the money as the final 27 players were whittled down to a final table of nine as the likes of Dylan Hortin (26th), Josh Barrett (23rd), Ismael Bojang (20th), Peter Aristidou (19th), Daniel Neilson (18th), Richard Lyndaker (17th) and Mike Watson (13th) all found themselves on the rail.
Nelson Maccini would be the overwhelming chip leader coming into the final table, but the story lines of the day would consist of Tony Hachem looking to join his brother Joe as a WSOP bracelet winner and Brandon Shack-Harris searching for his second WSOP bracelet of the year while also simultaneously extending his WSOP Player of the Year lead.
Joe Cabret would be the first to go when his aces were cracked by Calcagno's flopped set, as Hachem followed out next when his 10♥10♣ couldn't outdraw Henry Tran's aces. Tran however fell in 7th when he made a move holding Q♣9♥ and couldn't outdraw Nick Piskopos' A♠J♦.
Shack-Harris' quest for a second bracelet would end in 6th place when he was all in holding 9♥9♦ against Calcagno's A♠Q♠. The 3♦10♥K♥10♣K♣ board would see his pair counterfeited to leave just five. As chips circled back-and-forth, it would be Day 1 chip leader Piskopos the next to go when his top two pair ran into Maccini's flopped set. Unlike the entire final table - and we believe everyone that made the money - Duncan McKinnon had not captured a terminator button, and unfortunately it would remain that way when he fell in 4th before Andrew Dales exited in 3rd to leave Calcagno and Maccini almost dead even in chips.
Heads-up play started quite docile, but a big pot saw Calcagno move out to a two-to-one advantage after he got value with his A♠A♦ over Maccini's J♠J♣. Maccini would slowly claw back until Calcagno ran a bluff with queen-high against Maccini's two pair to see Maccini now sitting with a two-to-one advantage. Calcagno then managed to flop a set of fives to get a double on the river against Maccini to once again flip the chip stacks back. From there Calcagno continued to apply the pressure until the final hand saw his flopped two pair improve to a full house to see him capture his first WSOP bracelet.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Scott Calcagno | Australia | AU$61,250 |
| 2nd | Nelson Maccini | Australia | AU$37,845 |
| 3rd | Andrew Dales | Australia | AU$27,343 |
| 4th | Duncan McKinnon | Australia | AU$20,123 |
| 5th | Nick Piskopos | Australia | AU$15,075 |
| 6th | Brandon Shack-Harris | USA | AU$11,488 |
| 7th | Henry Tran | Australia | AU$8,900 |
| 8th | Tony Hachem | Australia | AU$7,008 |
| 9th | Joe Cabret | Australia | AU$5,605 |
AU$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
The halfway tournament of the 2014 WSOP APAC — Event #5: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha — saw seven players take advantage of the late registration heading into Day 2, which along with the 73 players from Day 1 brought the total field to 80 players. That created a prize pool of AU$376,000 that was reserved for the top eight finishers.
With the late entrants, 26 players began Day 2, but after five and a half levels 20 of them had hit the rail. Leading the final table of six with a commanding 667,000 is Sam Higgs, but others with their eyes firmly fixed on the AU$127,843 first-place prize are Jonathan Duhamel, Jeff Rossiter, Mike Watson, Ismael Bojang and Jamie Pickering.
Dan Heimiller began the day on the extreme short stack, so it was no surprise to see him fall on one of the first hands of the day. One level later, an Australian legend joined him on the rail. It happened when Geoffrey Mooney opened the action with a raise to 4,200 and got called by Richard Ashby on the button as well as Billy “The Croc” Argyros in the small blind and John Dalessandri in the big blind. They all checked down the 2♥ 6♦ 9♦ flop and the action was checked to Ashby on the 5♥ turn.
The Brit bet 15,000 into a pot of 16,800 and Argyros eventually called all in for his last 4,900 whereas all other opponents folded.
Argyros: K♣ K♦ A♥ 4♣
Ashby: 4♦ 3♦ 4♠ 3♠
The 2♠ on the river completed the board and Argyros packed his belongings.
As the day wore on he was joined on the rail by the likes of former WSOP Main Event winners Ryan Riess and Greg Merson, who were actually eliminated on the same hand; reigning WSOP APAC champ Daniel Negreanu; 2 Months, 2 Million star Brian Roberts; and Australian Poker Hall of Famer Jason Gray, who exited in 11th place just one day after finishing runner-up to Jeff Lisandro in Event #3 AU$1,650 pot-limit Omaha.
With nine players remaining, the bubble was in full effect, though it didn’t take long to burst. In Level 15 (1,500/3,000) Nathan Pan limped from the hijack and then called when Higgs raised to 10,000 from the cutoff. Both players checked the A♠5♣A♦ flop, and then Pan bet 24,500 on the 7♥ turn. Higgs raised it and Pan called off what little he had left.
Pan: A♣J♣8♠6♣
Higgs: A♥K♠10♠9♣
Both players had flopped trips, but Pan had kicker issues. They didn't get resolved either as the 2♦ blanked on the river. With that, Pan finished as the bubble boy in ninth place while the remaining eight players are guaranteed a minimum AU$15,021 payday.
After the eliminations of Richard Johnston (8th – AU$15,021) and Kahle Burns (7th – AU$17,386), the players bagged and tagged for the night so the final six players could return for the live-streamed final table on Thursday.
Here’s a look at the 2014 WSOP APAC Event #5 final table:
| Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | 145,000 |
| 2 | Ismael Bojang | 44,000 |
| 3 | Sam Higgs | 667,000 |
| 4 | Jeff Rossiter | 63,500 |
| 5 | Jonathan Duhamel | 153,000 |
| 6 | Jamie Pickering | 99,500 |
AU$1,650 8-Game Dealer's Choice
Day 1 of the AU$1,650 8-Game Dealer's Choice came and went on Wednesday. A total of 89 entries were tallied in this one, the sixth event of the series, and at the end of the day, just 19 remained. Finishing atop the pack was Australian Poker Hall of Fame member Gary Benson with 38,025 in chips.
The first day of play in this one proved to be full of fun and lots of different playing styles. Players had the option to pick one of eight games when it was their turn to do so, and everyone was having a good, competitive time on the felt. After Level 8, the prize pool was announced and it was made known that AU$42,720 would be awarded to the winner, plus the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Of those to enter and bust were David Gorr, Jonathan Karamalikis, Mohsin Charania, Ami Barer, Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Lisandro, Scott Clements, Phil Hellmuth, Jackie Glazier, Antonio Esfandiari, and current WSOP Player of the Year leader Brandon Shack-Harris. While Shack-Harris busted from this event, he did retake the Player of the Year lead from George Danzer after finishing sixth in the AU$1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Terminator event earlier in the day. But, Danzer still remains in this one and will be taking 32,275 in chips forward to Day 2 to make a run at jumping back in front of Shack-Harris. That puts Danzer fourth overall.
Some of the notable players remaining are Brian Rast, Jeff Gross, Jeff Madsen, Michael Guzzardi, Frank Kassela, and Jason Gray. They'll be back on Thursday for Day 2 that will begin at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you continued coverage from the 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
