$6300 APPT Sydney Main Event | 2007 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) - Sydney

12-16-2007 13:21 UTC+10

2007 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Final - The Final Table

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Welcome back to the Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia where the 2007 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Final is just moments away from kicking off its championship final table.

It took four grueling days of poker to narrow the field from 561 to the final nine and one of our finalists is guaranteed a cool million dollars. The production staff is currently making their final preparations and we expect the players to be arriving momentarily.

Stay with us!

12-16-2007 13:33 UTC+10

The Final Table

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The following is a list of our nine finalists along with their seat assignments and chip counts.

Seat 1.) Lei He – 2,623,000
Seat 2.) Grant Levy – 1,052,000
Seat 3.) Larry Wright – 376,000
Seat 4.) Jeremiah Vinsant – 1,649,000
Seat 5.) Vijayan Nagarajan – 641,000
Seat 6.) John Matwey – 498,000
Seat 7.) Jai Kemp – 461,000
Seat 8.) Sol Bergren – 2,601,000
Seat 9.) Barry Kohlhoff – 647,000

Stay tuned for player profiles and photos.

12-16-2007 13:35 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Lei He - Sydney, Australia

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Seat 1: Lei He (oshapimasian on PokerStars, 2,623,000 in chips):

Born in China but now living in Sydney’s northern suburbs, this 19-year-old is so serious about his poker that he considers it a full-time occupation. He’s been a keen poker aficionado for the past three years and won his seat to the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final via a live satellite at Star City Casino.

Mainly a cash-game player, Lei enjoys playing poker with his friends and he enters the final table as its chip leader.

Tags: Lei He

12-16-2007 13:40 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Grant Levy - Sydney, Australia

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Seat 2: Grant Levy (known as 'grunter' on pokernetwork.com, 1,052,000 in chips):

A teacher from Sydney’s outer-west (Penrith), this 28-year-old father of two became a teacher after graduating with a Bachelor of Heath Science and a Diploma of Education (some of his students have been keenly following his progress through the tournament on the PokerStars Blog). He’s also coached rugby league at state schoolboys level.

He burst onto the poker scene earlier this year when he finished third at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne, outlasting a field of 428 players to finish third (winning $131,800).

Tags: Grant Levy

12-16-2007 13:40 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Larry Wright - Montgomery, Alabama

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Seat 3: Larry Wright (ldw1971 on PokerStars, 376,000 in chips):

This roof contractor qualified for his once-in-a-lifetime APPT Grand Final trip via a $22 direct qualifying satellite on PokerStars. He initially had little interest in poker until a friend (who happened to be a professional poker player) moved in with 36-year-old and shared the secrets of the gamed with him. Work does not allow him much time to play, but he keeps a toe in the water playing small and medium buy-in tournaments online.

Tags: Larry Wright

12-16-2007 13:41 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Jeremiah "John" Vinsant - Murfreesboro, Tennessee

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Seat 4: Jeremiah ‘John’ Vinsant (Believer82 on PokerStars, 1,649,000 in chips):

He may not have made much of a splash on the live scene (he placed 482nd in the 2005 WSOP main event), but he’s an emerging star online with more than $600,000 in winnings to his name. The 25-year-old has been playing professionally for two years (and five years in total) and is ranked in the world’s top 35 online players by PocketFives. His online CV includes victory in the 25k Guaranteed event on PokerStars.

Tags: Jeremiah Vinsant

12-16-2007 13:42 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Vijayan Nagarajan - Malaysia

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Seat 5: Vijayan Nagarajan (the_rotter77 on PokerStars, 641,000 in chips):

One of the more polished players at the final table, this 44-year-old will be representing Asia at the final table of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

The sales manager for a software company from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpar has cashed in some of the world’s biggest tournaments. He was 22nd in the 2007 PokerStars EPT European Poker Championships in London and cashed in five events (including three final tables) at the 2006 Festa Al Lago V at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He also final-tabled in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 WSOP.

Tags: Vijayan Nagarajan

12-16-2007 13:43 UTC+10

Player Profiles: John Matwey - New York, New York

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Seat 6: John Matwey (wymat on PokerStars, 498,000 in chips):

A former risk manager in the finance industry, this 45-year-old qualified for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final just last week. He flew in directly from the Doyle Brunson Five-Diamond Classic where he’d picked up a 10th in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event.

His tournament record also includes a sixth in the $500 No Limit Hold’em tournament at the 2007 Borgata Poker Open, and he cashed (268th) in the 2007 WSOP main event.

Tags: John Matwey

12-16-2007 13:43 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Jai Kemp - Sydney, Australia

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Seat 7: Jai Kemp (Sydney St@r on PokerStars, 461,000 in chips):

What a dream debut for this business owner from Sydney’s south, who set up his own importing company seven years ago. The father of four (who first started watching poker on TV two years ago) is playing in his first poker tournament and will be one of the three Australian players hoping to become the first to win a $1 million tournament poker prize on home soil.

Kemp is assured plenty of support from his family, especially his 11-year-old son who is a massive poker fan and can’t get enough of the pics being sent from the Star City poker room via dad’s mobile phone.

Tags: Jai Kemp

12-16-2007 13:44 UTC+10

Player Profiles: Sol Bergren - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

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Seat 8: Sol Bergren (shahmat on PokerStars, 2,601,000 in chips):

This 27-year-old, who runs a web-based business (he formerly taught computer science), has cashed in two World Series of Poker main events – 252nd in 2005 and 562nd in 2006. He also placed 25th in the $6000 No Limit Hold’em event at the Caribbean Poker Classic in St Kitts last month.

A poker player for the past four years, he’s planning to spend the next six months travelling around Australia, and has earmarked surf lessons in Byron Bay as his first stop.

He qualified via Steps tournaments on PokerStars.

Tags: Sol Bergren