donpeters
The 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Final is down to its final nine players from the starting field of 396. It look nearly 14 hours to grind to the final table yesterday with play finally wrapping up a couple hours past midnight.
Heading the final table will be PokerStars online qualifier Ernst Hermans. Hailing from the Netherlands, Hermans will come in as the only player over two million chips. Right on his heels though is Tom Grigg. Grigg has been towards the top of the leaderboard throughout most of the tournament.
Here's how the table will look.
Seat 1: David Formosa - 956,000
Seat 2: Thomas Slifka - 758,000 PokerStars online qualifier
Seat 3: Wayne Carlson - 1,114,000
Seat 4: Andrew Hiscox - 848,000
Seat 5: Leo Boxell - 1,236,000 PokerStars online qualifier
Seat 6: Barry Forrester - 1,087,000
Seat 7: Aaron Benton - 1,790,000 PokerStars online qualifier
Seat 8: Tom Grigg - 1,950,000
Seat 9: Ernst Hermans - 2,048,000 PokerStars online qualifier
Play will begin at 2:00 p.m. local time and first place is worth nearly AUD $600,000. In a matter of hours, we'll have crowned a new APPT Grand Final champion. Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for updates coming shortly!
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David Formosa
David Formosa, a 41-year-old father of two, satellited into the Sydney Grand Final main event via Star City Casino and has been playing poker for six years. “I played a couple of the $1500 events in the WSOP, but this will be my biggest tournament cash – I’ve really enjoyed it,” Formosa said.
The Sydneysider remained under the radar for the first two days of the tournament until catapulting to the top of the leaderboard midway through Day 3. Formosa enters the final table 7th place in chips with 956,000.
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Thomas Slifka
Thomas Slifka, a former criminal justice student turned full-time poker player, has already enjoyed some considerable live tournament results in his young poker-playing career. Before qualifying for this year’s APPT Grand Final in a $22 rebuy satellite at PokerStars, Slifka had already won more than USD $60,000 in live tournaments, including a first place finish in a $500 No Limit Hold’em Event in this year’s Deep Stack Extravaganza Series II in Las Vegas, worth $37,000.
The 25-year-old will certainly have his hands full against the seven Aussies at the final table, starting with just 758,000 in chips – the smallest stack at the table.
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Wayne Carlson
Wayne Carlson, an operations manager at a local electrical company, is a father of three and calls Sydney’s leafy inner-north home. After scoring two runner-up finishes for $2,000 each playing multi-table PokerStars tournaments, Carlson decided to make up the difference and enter the APPT Grand Final for the third year in a row. His poker experience is mainly limited to pub/club and home games over the past four years, though he remains quietly confident of his chances here today. Carlson said he has “no aspirations, but it would be nice to pay off the mortgage.”
The local Sydneysider will begin the day with 1,014,000 in chips.
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Andrew Hiscox
Andrew Hiscox, a 50-year-old casual poker player who works in the IT industry, was born and raised in South Africa before moving to Australia later in life. A father-of-two and former professional blackjack player, Hiscox took up poker about a year ago and says he enjoys the challenges the game brings. He bought in directly to the APPT Grand Final and said a victory in this event would mean a “change in lifestyle, for the better”.
Hiscox enters the final table as one of its shorter stacks with 848,000 in chips.
(Bios courtesy of PokerStars)
Leo Boxell is the patriarch of one of Australia’s great poker families. His record is one of the most extensive in this part of the world , boasting victories in the 2000 Australasian and 2001 NZ Championships. In 2003, he came within a whisker of becoming the first local to win the Aussie Millions, but ultimately finished runner-up to Peter Costa. A mechanic by trade, his rugged appearance hides a gentle soul but fiercely competitive spirit. He’ll be assured plenty of support at the final table from wife Bev, who rarely misses a hand that Leo plays.
Boxell will begin the final table with 1,236,000 in chips.
(Bios courtesy of Pokerstars)
Lynn Gilmartin caught up with Boxell on Day 1B about a 100k+ pot that set him up for the Main Event:
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Barry Forrester
Barry Forrester quietly picked his way through the day three field to earn a slot at the final table where he’ll begin the day sixth in chips with 1,087,000. This 63-year-old from Mooroopna, NSW is a retired father-of-one, whose son watches dad’s progress from a photo in his card protector. Forrester is a former professional blackjack player and only started playing poker two years ago. Most recently, he final-tabled the $2,700 High Stakes event at the Joe Hachem Deep Stack Series in March 2009.
“I’ve been a gambler all my life and I’ll gamble some more if I win this tournament,” he said.
Aaron Benton has qualified for every event on Season 3 of the APPT playing on PokerStars. The 32 year-old recruitment consultant is known online as ‘azzabentonaces’ and ‘DaLuckBox’ and was working in Singapore when he finished runner-up in a major online tournament worth USD $262,500.
“I used to play more for the entertainment in pub games, but I’m loving my poker and I want to take it to the next level,” he said. Benton also plans to buy himself a house if he takes this tournament down. He’ll bring 1,785,000 in chips to the table as its third largest stack.
(Bios courtesy of PokerStars)
Lynn Gilmartin spoke with Benton on yesterday's dinner break:
It’s been a breakout week for 24-year-old Tom Grigg. The youngster recovered from a 10:1 chip deficit in last week’s APPT Sydney $1650 Semi-Shootout/Bounty event to capture the trophy and more than $33,000. The Sydney manager for his parents’ New Zealand liqueur company, Grigg has been one of the more dominant players of the APPT Grand Final, holding the chip lead numerous times over the three days. Grigg enters the final table as its second largest stack with 1,950,000 in chips.
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Ernst Hermans
One of only two non-Australians at the final table, this 28-year-old marketing student considers himself a full-time poker player. Hermans satellited into the APPT Grand Final via a $22 rebuy event on PokerStars and is already assured a career-high tournament cash. Hermans bubbled the final table of a $1,500 NLHE event at the 2009 WSOP and finished in the top 40 at the PokerStars EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo two years ago. He is the narrow chip leader heading into the final table, sporting 2,048,000 in chips.
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