2012 PokerStars.net ANZPT Season 5 Melbourne

Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2012 PokerStars.net ANZPT Season 5 Melbourne

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q9
Prize
101,275 AUD
Event Info
Buy-in
2,000 AUD
Prize Pool
690,000 AUD
Entries
345
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
10,000

Main Event

Day 2 Completed

Ashley Warner Leads The Final Table After Tough Second Day

Level 22 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Ashley Warner (Photo: Heath Chick, PokerAsiaPacific)
Ashley Warner (Photo: Heath Chick, PokerAsiaPacific)

The second day of the PokerStars.com Australia New Zealand Poker Tour started at 12:30 PM, but it didn't end until 5:30 AM. Nine players showed true stamina, focus and determination as they will get a well deserved 8-hour break heading into the final table. Ashley Warner is the chip leader with Peter Matusik chasin his second ANZPT title in second place.

Day 2 started with 141 of 345 players and right from the start there was plenty of action. Dan Neilson managed to grab a quick double up, but he was eliminated not too long after that. Tony Hachem started the day with very little chips and didn't recover, he ran with pocket sevens into eights. Meanwhile it was Luis Arrilucea who grabbed an early lead.

Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen started the day with little chips, and he failed to improve when his shove was called by pocket jacks. The Mexican pro showed sixes and quickly made his way to the rail. One of the few remaining women in the event was eliminated quickly as well. Sherrie Gelberg hit top pair from the big blind in an un-raised pot, but her opponent had a better kicker.

The most successful players on Day 2 was without a doubt Joe Hachem. The 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion started the day with a big stack, but thing didn't go his way. He played a big pot with the nut-flush draw, and ran into Tristan Baine's set. Hachem turned flush, but Baine's boat filled up on the river. Baine took over the chip lead at that point, but just a few hours later he was eliminated as well short of the money.

Aaron Benton was also among the pre-cash eliminations. The APPT Sydney winner moved all in with two eights and got called by Fabrice Ho who tables ace-jack. The flop brought an ace, and Benton was eliminated. With the money within reach it was Leo Boxell who fell. The Australian Poker Hall of Fame member ran his ace-king into Kyle Cheong's queens. Cheong's hand held up, and he took over the chip lead.

There was hand-for-hand play needed during this event, as we jumped from 43 to 41 players in one hand. All those players were guaranteed at least A$3,450. The 38th place was ultimately the final stop for Pat Dillon. He grinded his short stack for a long time, but a min-cash was all he ended up with. Kristian Lunardi probably felt a lot worse as he managed to get a hold of quite some chips when he clashed with Michael Lo Guidice. Lunardi's ace-king wasn't enough as he ran into pocket kings. He was knocked out in 35th place.

Matthew Wakeman busted out in a three-way clash that also ended up costing Dean Francis most of his chips. Hugh Cohen tripled up and this was the start of his strong run. He will return tomorrow with XXX chips. Being the chip leader has his advantages, but Kyle Cheong couldn't enjoy it too long as Cohen first doubled, and then knocked him out in 29th place.

Billy Jordanou started the day as the chip leader, and remained near the top for most of the day. One big pot against Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang crippled him, and just a few hands later he busted out in 22nd place. Jie Gao showed up when he woke up with pocket kings. Two players had moved all in before him, and Gao busted one of the two by flopping quads. He ended up making the final table with XXX in chips. Moments later it was Minh Nguyen who took a bad beat busting him out in 20th place.

The pot with the biggest impact was played between Ashley Warner and Hugh Cohen. The former flopped a set and the latter had a straight. The money went in, and Warner ended up hitting quads on the turn. He won, and took a commanding lead. Cohen was knocked out in 13th place.

The final Team PokerStars Pro, Bryan Huang, was knocked out in 12th place. He ran ace-ten into ace-queen and just fell short of the final table. The bubble ended up being long, but eventually Tam Truong fell short of the final table. These are the standings of the final nine players when they come back tomorrow.

The Final Table

* SeatNameChip Count
1Paul Hockin801,000
2Michael Lo Giudice1,071,000
3Michael Guzzardi509,000
4Peter Matusik1,058,000
5Anthony Aston680,000
6Igal Augarten173,000
7Karan Punjabi235,000
8Ashley Warner1,565,000
9Ismail Ismail350,000

Make sure to tune back into PokerNews.com as we bring you all the live updates on the final day of this amazing event! The final table will start at 2:00 PM local time, and here's a look at what the remaining players are playing for.

Final Table Payouts:

PlaceNamePayout
1 A$172,500
2 A$109,710
3 A$61,065
4 A$47,610
5 A$37,950
6 A$31,050
7 A$24,150
8 A$18,975
9 A$13,800
10Tam TruongA$9,660
11Jie GaoA$9,660
12Bryan HuangA$9,660
13Hugh CohenA$7,935
14Shane StarkA$7,935
15Aron Della VedovaA$7,935
16Lik LuiA$6,900
17Nicholas PoliasA$6,900
18Dean BlattA$6,900
19Ti TranA$5.865,00
20Minh Hau NguyenA$5.865,00
21Nali KaseliasA$5.865,00
22William JordanouA$5.175,00
23Fabrice HoA$5.175,00
24Petar VujicA$5.175,00
25Gautam DhingraA$4,485
26Christopher WoodA$4,485
27Manny StavropoulosA$4,485
28Luis ArriluceaA$4,140
29Kyle CheongA$4,140
30Omer SilajdzijaA$4,140
31Dean FrancisA$4,140
32Davor DerekA$4,140
33Matthew WakemanA$3,795
34Jeric RocheA$3,795
35Kristian LunardiA$3,795
36Robbie StewartA$3,795
37Amanda De CesareA$3,450
38Patrick DillonA$3,450
39James BillsA$3,450
40Martin WardA$3,450
41Najib MoubayedA$3,450

Tags: Aaron BentonAngel GuillenBryan HuangHugh CohenJames BillsJoe HachemKyle CheongLeo BoxellTony Hachem

Tam Truong Eliminated in 10th Place (A$9,660)

And finally it happened. After hours of final table bubble play it was Tam Truong was missed out on a spot at the final table. Paul Hockin raised pre flop to 40,000 and Truong called all in for 33,000 from the small blind. Anthony Aston called as well from the big blind.

The board ran out {Q-Spades}{2-Clubs}{3-Spades}{J-Hearts}{4-Clubs} as both players checked the hand down. Truong tabled {7-Hearts}{5-Clubs} and was beaten by both Hockin's {K-Spades}{9-Hearts} and Aston's {K-Clubs}{8-Clubs}. Hockin took down the pot, and the final table is set!

The final table seating will follow shortly.

Player Chips Progress
Tam Truong au
Tam Truong
Busted

Tags: Paul HockinTam TruongAnthony Aston

Another Set Up Goes Lo Giudice's Way

On a {J-Diamonds}{5-Diamonds}{7-Clubs} flop it was Michael Lo Guidice who was all in for his tournament life. The total bet was 478,000 and he was up against Ashley Warner.

Ashley Warner{10-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds}
Michael Lo Guidice{K-Spades}{K-Diamonds}

The turn brought out the {5-Clubs}, and the river the {5-Spades} giving Lo Guidice another double up. Still ten players remain!

Player Chips Progress
Ashley Warner au
Ashley Warner
1,500,000 -100,000
Michael Lo Giudice
Michael Lo Giudice
1,000,000 300,000

Tags: Ashley WarnerMichael Lo Guidice

Bubble Time Remains

Level 22 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Still ten players remain and the blinds will no longer go up. We will stay at the current level until the bubble bursts.

Short Stack Survives

Play has been really slow here while it's already 4:30 AM. There are still 10 players remaining, and one more elimination would end the tournament for today. Karan Punjabi just gave himself another chance at making the final table after this triple up.

Ashley Warner raised to 40,000 under the gun after which Punjabi moved all in for 124,000. Igal Augarten called from the big blind, and Warner called as well.

The board ran out {9-Hearts}{Q-Spades}{4-Hearts}{10-Hearts}{Q-Clubs} as both players checked down the hand. Punjabi showed {9-Clubs}{9-Spades} and took down the pot with a full house.

Player Chips Progress
Karan Punjabi au
Karan Punjabi
400,000 100,000

Tags: Ashley WarnerIgal AugartenKaran Punjabi