2010 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Day 2: Vakili Leads Final 32
After three starting days, 163 players returned to action from the 289 that entered for Day 2 of the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Final. When the longest day of play so far was finally over, only 32 of them remained. All 32 of those players have locked up at least A$12,145, but have their eyes set on capturing that A$459,510 first-place prize. The player that may have the best chance at capturing that prize could be the chip leader Reza Vakili. He wrapped up Day 2 with 775,000 in chips.
Vakili was the beneficiary of a couple big pots that allowed him to take the chip lead into Day 3. First, Vakili eliminated the overall chip leader coming into Day 2 just a handful of spots short of the money. That player was Daniel Neilson. Vakili and Neilson got all of the money in preflop and Neilson had his tournament life on the line. He did hold a dominating position when the cards were turned up with the A♥J♠ versus Vakili’s K♥J♣, but a king on the river finished him off.
About a half an hour later, Vakili sent Aleks Brkovic to the rail with the A♠K♣. Brkovic held the J♦J♥ when all of the money went in on the turn with the board reading 10♠10♥4♦K♦. The river was the 8♥ and ended Brkovic’s tournament, giving Vakili slightly over 700,000 chips at the time. From there, Vakili had things in cruise control until the money bubble burst and play ended for the night.
The bubble belonged to Ali Khalil, who saw his tournament end in the most painful spot, just one outside the money. Khalil moved all in for roughly 140,000 over a raise from young Australian superstar Brendon Rubie. When action got back to Rubie, he snapped off the shove with the A♦A♥. Khalil held the K♦K♣ and was in a world of trouble. Needing a bit of help, Khalil was left with nothing as the board ran out J♠8♠4♥6♠A♣. He was sent to the rail in 33rd place, pockets still empty. Everyone else, on the other hand, had successfully made the money and Day 3.
There may only be 32 players remaining, but the field still packs plenty of firepower. Topping the names in this packed field is Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. He bagged up 293,500 chips and will be joining other notables including Roland de Wolfe (715,500) and Jonathan Karamalikis (733,500) for Day 3.
Also remaining are 2010 Aussie Millions champion Tyron Krost (94,500), 2008 APPT Macau champion Eddy Sabat (60,000) and 2007 APPT Sydney Grand Final champion Grant Levy (81,500). Below is a look at the entire field that remains and how they stack up.
Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reza Vakili | 775,000 |
| 2 | Jonathan Karamalikis | 733,000 |
| 3 | Roland de Wolfe | 715,500 |
| 4 | Brendon Rubie | 690,500 |
| 5 | Antoine Amourette | 515,500 |
| 6 | Tom Rafferty | 441,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Ling | 431,500 |
| 8 | Mitchell Carle | 407,000 |
| 9 | Stefan Streifeneder | 368,500 |
| 10 | Craig Bourke | 350,500 |
| 11 | In Wook Choi | 308,000 |
| 12 | Manuel Hansimikali | 302,000 |
| 13 | Daniel Negreanu | 293,500 |
| 14 | Jarred Graham | 254,500 |
| 15 | Konstantin Bücherl | 242,000 |
| 16 | Vijayan Nagarajan | 215,500 |
| 17 | Jason Brown | 178,500 |
| 18 | Peco Stojanovski | 177,500 |
| 19 | Miray Badaoui | 148,000 |
| 20 | Heinz Kamutzki | 131,500 |
| 21 | Alan Bustany | 121,500 |
| 22 | Giuseppe Scaravilli | 119,000 |
| 23 | Tyron Krost | 94,500 |
| 24 | George Moussa | 92,000 |
| 25 | Benjamin McLean | 90,000 |
| 26 | Joachim Chia | 88,000 |
| 27 | Grant Levy | 81,500 |
| 28 | Omer Silajdzija | 71,000 |
| 29 | Eddy Sabat | 60,000 |
| 30 | Silkin Mong | 58,000 |
| 31 | Con Angelakis | 47,000 |
| 32 | Andrew Stergiotis | 40,000 |
Play resumes on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. local time at the Star City Hotel & Casino in Sydney, Australia for Day 3. The players will whittle down the field of 32 to a final table before ending play.
You can follow all of the action straight from the floor right here on PokerNews as our Live Reporting Team will be on hand to provide all the updates. Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news!
