Who Will Stop Karmazinas?
At 14:00 the $25,000 Semi-Shootout will recommence with Dominykas Karmazinas as the big favorite. Just six players remain, who will be playing for the A$200,000 first place prize. The final table is stacked and everyone will have a shot at winning this thing, because the structure leaves plenty of play for even the shorter stacks.
Tony G is the short stack with 70,400 chips (35 big blinds) and he will be chasing after his first Aussie Millions victory today. This is the case for almost all the remaining finalist, but as a local favorite this would probably mean a lot to The G who has amassed over $4,5 million in live tournament earnings over the last ten years. Yesterday we witnessed some good banter at Tony G's table and hopefully he will once again get the party started at this final table.
Dan Kelly is the second short stack with 127,700 (63 big blinds) and he's looking to add another great cash to his Aussie Million resume. Kelly won Event #2, the $1,100 Pot Limit Omaha for $33,400 and also placed third in the $1,100 No Limit Hold'em Rebuy tournament for $57,105. Kelly is known as djk123 online and got his biggest cash during the 2010 WSOP when he beat 190 players to capture the $25,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed title good for $1,315,518.
Elliot Smith is currently in fourth place with 157,100 chips (78 big blinds) which would be the min cash position in this tournament. During the 2009 Aussie Millions Elliot Smith got his biggest result finishing in third place cashing A$700,000. Smith is gunning for his sixth cash in Australia in just three years, and you could say he knows how to beat the fields here!
Daniel Alaei is in third place with 158,200 chips (79 big blinds) and he is one of the best all round poker players in the world. In December 2009 Alaei secured his biggest victory when he won the Five Diamond WPT for $1,4 million. He's got WSOP Bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha hi/lo and 2-7 No Limit Single Draw, and this could be his first Aussie Millions victory.
JC Tran is one of the big No Limit Hold'em tournament players who has been around since 2003. Tran is currently in second place with 165,400 chips (82 big blinds) and this could be his second Aussie Millions cash after finishing third in the $100,000 No Limit Hold'em Challenge in 2009 for $300,000. Tran has a massive $8 million in live tournament earnings putting him in 26th place on the all-time money leaderboard.
Our chipleader today is Lithuanian Dominykas Karmainzas who has a massive 293,500 chip stack (146 big blinds). Karmazinas is a fearless high stakes online cash game player who is looking for his first Aussie Millions cash. In 2010 Karmazinas got his biggest live result finishing in third place during the EPT Grand Final for €700,000. Karmazinas is the man to beat today, but will they have a chance against the agressive youngster?