September 2008 Archives

The weekly round 2 event was rocked last weekend with its first Armenian winner, at least since I can remember. Artak1974 was the victor, finishing first in a field of thousands, claiming $287.60 ahead of 702 players who received real money prizes for playing.

Whilst Sunday saw an even bigger field, paying out 801 places, top of which was Shakaje from Brazil, the land of Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari and Alexander Gomes. Shakaje took $276 for first place.

Congratulations to everyone who cashed. Here’s a look at those final tables...

Weekly Round 2 results (Saturday 20 September)

1. artak1974 (Armenia) $287.60
2. ToroTrainer (Canada) $166.00
3. STL Mike1950 (United States) $100.00
4. ladyo11 (United States) $80.00
5. Dr Deth (United States) $62.00
6. matrix1241 (Canada) $50.00
7. RailBirb (United States) $39.00
8. CPT.TRIPPPS (Australia) $30.00
9. wtw53 (United States) $22.20

702nd IGOTTHIS09 (United States) $0.80

Weekly round 2 results (Sunday 21 September)

1. Shakaje (Brazil) $276.00
2. DFitz06 (United States) $164.00
3. tomhow1975 (Canada) $100.00
4. haugberg (Norway) $80.00
5. xlostagainx (United States) $62.00
6. fure-eus (Ireland) $50.00
7. allright79 (France) $39.00
8. framis41 (United States) $30.00
9. BJDavey (United States) $22.20

801st Herzblatt76 (Germany) $0.60

As we say every week, qualifying for one of the two weekly events is easy. All it takes is for you to play in one of the Astronomer freerolls in the PokerStars.net lobby and finish within the top number of tables specified in the event details. That wins you a place in the Weekly round 2 event at the weekend.

The astronomer freerolls run several times a day so there’s always another coming along should you not be successful first time.

It’s none stop. As soon as one tour ends another begins, and the one that ends starts preparing for its next season. That goes in the case of the Latin American Poker Tour which is close to starting its second year after a rip-roaring opener earlier in 2008.

The Latin America Poker Tour has announced the dates for the first LAPT stop of the second season. This year, in a slight change from season one, the LAPT will kick off in San Jose, Costa Rica and will run from November 3-5, 2008 at the Ramada Herradura.

It was only back in May when the man from Hungary Valdemar Kwaysser won the first San Jose event, winning $274,103 along the way. This year, the event promises to be even bigger and better.

While the LAPT full schedule hasn't been released yet, we've had an advance look at it and if all remains the same we're in for some great stops at several new exotic locations over the next several months. We'll bring you more on that when we have the information confirmed.

If you can get there we'll see you in Costa Rica, otherwise we’ll bring you all the details of the event as it takes place here, on the PokerStars.net blog.

A double, bumper post of weekly round two results this week owing to the break last week to make room for a flood of results from the Asia Pacific Poker Tour in Macau (plus a high roller event), and the drama that unfolded at the European Poker Tour event in Barcelona.

The same huge fields took part over both of the last two weekends making for four new winners each receiving well over $250 for their efforts and all for the price of, well, nothing.

Two weeks ago it was a Dutch one-two with jackdempseyy and VanLaakus battling out heads-up for the $276 first prize. Then on the Sunday things returned stateside with mtcpf taking honours.

A week later the Saturday event was taken down by German player toenchen666 who picked up the same amount, whilst on the Sunday spyderlj did the same.

Here are full details of the results. Congratulations to everyone who cashed.

Weekly round 2 results (Saturday 6 September)

1. jackdempseyy (Netherlands) $276.00
2. VanLaakus (Netherlands) $164.00
3. doeybug (United States) $100.00
4. mao50 (Germany) $80.00
5. tartine46 (France) $62.00
6. cabemon (United States) $50.00
7. ianroy (United Kingdom) $39.00
8. xxlizardking (United States) $30.00
9. leox88 (Italy) $22.20

801st punkath (United States) $0.60

Weekly round 2 results (Sunday 7 September)

1. mtcpf( United States) $276.00
2. Jings II (Germany) $164.00
3. Sojobo (United States) $100.00
4. Greenbay (Sweden) $80.00
5. birddawg3 (United States) $62.00
6. troublenorth (Canada) $50.00
7. Jay-Bee-son (Canada) $39.00
8. igotnutsbaby (United Kingdom) $30.00
9. BigJohnnyGee (United States) $22.20

801st farul69 (Canada) $0.60

Weekly round 2 results (Saturday 13 September)

1. toenchen666 (Germany) $276.00
2. fortaner (Canada) $164.00
3. JustA_Hottie (United States) $100.00
4. mateiac (United States) $80.00
5. jewsack (United States) $62.00
6. polash (United States) $50.00
7. codfish (Canada) $39.00
8. sljack (United States) $30.00
9. xtrangekid (Portugal) $22.20

801st sonyhpsony (Philippines) $0.60

Weekly round 2 results (Sunday 14 September)

1. spyderlj (United States) $276.00
2. tripco (United States) $164.00
3. NEBalon (Canada) $100.00
4. rulban (France) $80.00
5. Turambar0815 (Germany) $62.00
6. John La Cat (United States) $50.00
7. leverman69 (United States) $39.00
8. 1sizeFitzall (Sweden) $30.00
9. sheriff1283 (India) $22.20

801st malims07 (Canada) $0.60

Qualifying for one of the two weekly events is straight forward, fun and easy. All that’s required is that you play in one of the Astronomer freerolls in the PokerStars.net lobby and finish within the top number of tables specified in the details. That wins you a place in the Weekly round 2 event at the weekend.

The astronomer freerolls run several times a day so there’s never long to wait, and if you’re successful your ticket could see you win a cash prize.

It’s been a busy few weeks on planet PokerStars, with world class tournaments on two continents forging new reputations and enhancing those that already carry a bright trademark of talent. The fireworks may already have faded after their victory celebrations but it’s never too late to catch up on what happened.

Below you’ll find all the details form the Asia Pacific Poker Tour event in Macau, not the mention the high-roller event that immediately followed. You’ll also find updates on all the news from last week’s European Poker Tour kick-off event in Barcelona which heralded the start of season five.

It’s all here to enjoy...

APPT Macau

Wagner in tune on day 1
Day 1b concludes in Macau
Play wraps up on day 1c in Macau
Edging closer to the prize in the APPT Macau
Big prize in sight for finalists
The story of Typhoon Sabat

APPT Macau High Roller

Steicke takes the lead into day two
An historic final table
High rollers find their champion

EPT Barcelona

Day 1a of a new season complete
Day 1b all about survival
Cliches rising to the top
Final table ready in Barcelona
Ruthenberg takes prize in Barcelona

Howard Swains and Stephen Bartley wrap up the coverage from the EPT Barcelona final table...

Sebastian Ruthenberg is the newest champion on the European Poker Tour after a thrilling finale to the season opener in the Gran Casino, Barcelona. The self-styled “luck box” proved to be anything but, starting second in chips this afternoon and navigating a steady and skilful course through a day where the blinds threatened to swallow even the largest stacks.

PokerStars Shooting Star, World Series bracelet winner, and now EPT Barcelona champion, Sebastian Ruthenberg

Ruthenberg was at times the dominant bully; at others he was under threat himself. But showing consummate versatility he made the most from each situation to claim the winner's cheque of €1,361,000, plus a seat into the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

The PokerStars Shooting Star basked in what has been some electric form this year. This title follows his great form displayed at the World Series in July where he overcame Chris Ferguson heads-up to win the seven card stud hi/lo bracelet in Las Vegas. Flash forward two months, and his performance today displayed ample evidence of how it takes far more than just cards, with some great reads on his heads-up opponent and PokerStars qualifier Fintan Gavin to amass the huge stack with which he delivered that last crushing blow.

It all started at 4pm on day five of this tournament. Already the blinds were beginning to bite thanks in part to more than three hours of tense play late last night when nine-handed. The blinds would always be a factor but meant players had to adapt or fail. An hour and a half passed before the first elimination. The unlucky player was Denmark’s Martin Nielsen, whose late charge yesterday earned him the chip lead coming into today. But he fell victim to the tournament’s history-seeking PokerStars player Jason Mercier, who was aiming to become the first ever EPT double champion.

Martin Nielsen: from chip leader to first out

Five minutes later the Canadian Samuel Chartier met with the same fate, this time busted by the amiable PokerStars player from Ireland, named Gavin. He accounted for Chartier and then turned the knife into Mercier, ending that particular chapter in EPT history.

Jason Mercier started with the chance to be the first double EPT winner

Mercier had doubled through Gavin, but ultimately the Irishman took his revenge a full two hours later, ending Mercier’s chances in sixth place for €227,000, sevens against Gavin’s pocket tens. An eye-opening performance regardless from the Floridian, who continues to light up the EPT.

It wasn’t until after the dinner break that play would be reduced to four players and it was the German PokerStars player Dren Ukella out next for 290,000, another casualty of Gavin’s ferocious campaign. Gavin's pair held up against Ukella’s busted nut flush draw.

In fifth spot was the Italian Daniele Mazzia. His €351,000 was probably the hardest earned of all, and only came after he had dodged countless bullets and had a good case to have the river card renamed after him, surviving three all-ins on fifth street. Alas it was a crippling hand before his eventual exit that cost him dearly. A pot of more than two million against the Belgian Davidi Kitai’s pocket tens to his own pocket nines. He’d been there before, but the miracle could be repeated yet again. Then, with just 101,000 left, it was a matter of the sharks circling to finish him off.

Kitai went next. The Belgian’s day was not unlike the Italian’s, one that seemed full of rigorous defence and agonising decision-making, watching his fortunes rise and fall in rapid swoops.

Davidi Kittai, feeling the strain of four long days

It came in the kind of massive hand that can only really take place after five full days of play, starting when the then-chip-leading Ruthenberg moved all-in pre-flop. Kitai called for his tournament life but not until a good deal of anguish. Gavin folded, showing his A-Q, which was like a knife in the heart for the Belgian who turned over the same hand. Ruthenberg showed pocket fours.

With two of his outs gone, Kitai found small mercy in an inside flush draw on the flop but it was not to be and Kittai, who himself was extending his World Series bracelet success form from this year, busted in third place, earning €455,000.

By now the tournament had taken a distinctly lop-sided appearance with Ruthenberg sitting with nearly five times the stack of Gavin.

The PokerStars player Fintan Gavin, in raising mood

Few people were therefore surprised when it all ended just a few minutes later. With all the chips in the middle, Ruthenberg holding Kc-9c to Gavin’s 7c-4h, the flop looks set to extend the night a little longer, 2h-Ac-7h for middle pair and a backdoor flush draw. The turn changed all that, though, bringing a Kh to match Ruthenberg’s for top pair. Fintan's flush never got there, instead sending a first EPT crown Ruthenberg’s way.

Fintan Gavin was gracious in defeat, collecting €792,000 for a hard day at the table. But the new champion collects €1,361,000 and a ticket to the Monte Carlo Grand Final next spring.

“My plan was to play tight to begin and then loosen up” said Ruthenberg, before quipping, “It’s more money than the World Series and money means a lot to me, not the title. So I’m more happy.”

Ruthenberg had overcome violent swings a period of being card dead but brought his natural ability to the table securing him an EPT title after coming close twice before. “I know I’m just running good” he said. “Nothing more.”

Congratulations to Ruthenberg, one of the PokerStars family on the German side. On now to the EPT London and the high-roller event.

Stephen Bartley reports from the EPT Barcelona on the eve of the final table that could see an historic record being set...

We have our final. After four days of play, 619 competitors and 56 of 64 places paid so far, just eight players remain. It was a day of heroic effort and tragic defeat and at the end of play there exists the possibility of a remarkable record being broken, in what has been the biggest EPT Barcelona so far.

If there was an underlying theme to this tournament's third day it would be the unfinished business of the EPT in San Remo several months ago. Back then several players showed the world ability most learned to respect and fear. The likes of Randall Flowers, Jonas Klausen and PokerStars player Jason Mercier rocked the Italian stage on partisan surroundings and two EPT events later have done the same in Spain. Whilst Flowers and Klausen fell short of the final in Italy, finishing in 10th and 12th respectively, Mercier remained in the field tonight, and is within sight of becoming the first player ever to win two EPT titles.

Looking for an historic double, PokerStars player Jason Mercier

All that will come tomorrow, but for now there is a day of poker to look back on, one that started in quick fashion when the short stack on the day Andrey Chesnakov busted soon after play resumed. A steady trickle of eliminations would follow, including the likes of the last remaining Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown, out in 34th place.

Brown had started in good shape, found jacks twice but lost with them both times, the second time badly enough to send him to the rail and a pay-out of €17,300.

Sebastian Ruthenberg also continued his quest to light up the poker scene, bringing his world class form to Spain. It follows the German's success at the World Series this summer that culminated in a bracelet in the seven card stud hi/lo event. Still playing dynamite poker, Ruthenberg starts tomorrow second in chips with 1,204,000 and is looking to top his third place finish in Dortmund in season three.

Chip leader Martin Nielsen of Denmark

But for all the talk of records being broken the man standing in the way of that is Denmark's Martin Nielsen, the overnight chip leader with 1,229,000, who started as one of the short stacks when the last nine sat around one table. Ironically that was the same for Sebastian Ruthenberg who finished just as strong. If Mercier is to achieve the impossible he’ll need to beat them both, five others with the same intentions, and a whole load of precedent.

PokerStars sponsored player Sebastian Ruthenberg

Brandon Schaeffer came close to the record in season one, winning his first in Deauville and coming second in the next in Monte Carlo. Mark Teltscher did something similar; winning the EPT London in season two before finishing runner-up here in Barcelona twelve months ago. Now Jason has chance to better both of them.

It proved to be a long day, with the gap between nine players and eight lasting three and a half hours with the chip counts often being evenly matched. But we now have a great final table to look forward to. Here’s how it will look.

1. Martin Nielsen, Denmark, 1,229,000
2. Davidi Kitai, Belgium, 600,000
3. Dren Ukala, Germany, 734,000
4. Jason Mercier, PokerStars player, United States, 526,000
5. Samuel Chartier, PokerStars player, Canada, 879,000
6. Daniele Mazzia, Italy, 359,000
7. Fintan Gavin, PokerStars player, Ireland, 701,000
8. Sebastian Ruthenberg, PokerStars sponsored player, 1,204,000

Players get an extra hour of rest tonight with the final resuming tomorrow at the later time of 4pm local time. With the long night tonight that may be a good thing. See you then.

Howard Swains reports on the third day of the EPT Barcelona, packing in a few cliches along the way...

By the end of day two in any major tournament we have usually separated the men from the boys. We have watched the cream rise to the top, others depart into the sunset; survivors battle back from just a chip and a chair, other self implode under the strain. Yes, we've usually swallowed a big book of cliches and are reduced to belching them onto the page.

But they're cliches because they're true, and when the dust settled on a chaotic day (cliche count: 4) of EPT Barcelona, the survivors knew they might have climbed one of the highest mountains, but that it is still uphill from here (5, 6). There were 36 left from the starting field of 203, all in the money and all well worthy of the profit they've already made from their excursion to Catalunya. But the charge tomorrow is for the final table, where the really big bucks await.

Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown will know all about this, having been in a similar position on countless previous occasions. The former Player of the Year in the American rankings has one of the best tournament records in poker today, and now he's right near the summit of the overnight EPT chip count.

Brown bagged up just more than 250,000 chips tonight, which puts him in the top ten.

Also on that leaderboard will be the German trio of Michael Keiner, Dren Ukella and the PokerStars Shooting Star Sebastian Ruthenberg. Ruthenberg was the chip leader starting today but coped well with what is often an albatross around many a player's neck (cliche: 7) and stayed there or thereabouts for the entire time, eventually bagging up more than 320,000. Davidi Kitai, from Belgium, is the gatecrasher in the German party. He flew to the overall chip lead, broke through the half-million mark, and is up to 544,000.

The PokerStars player Jason Mercier is still on for an historic double EPT crown (8? Yeah, 8), while the Italian Daniele Mazzia is up there too.

But everyone still in this tournament still has a chance. They can still either prosper or be punished by the poker gods (9) when they return tomorrow. They'll play all the way down to a final table when they reconvene. Join us here.

Howard Swains reports on day 1b of the PokerStars EPT in Barcelona...

Day 1B has now wrapped in Barcelona. What can we tell you about it? Well, we'll start at the top, where there's a familiar face riding very high indeed. As long as you're a fan of Swedish reality TV, that is. Mikael Lundell became a household name in the living rooms of Stockholm when he featured on an early series of Swedish Survivor*. Now he's the probable chip leader at the end of the second first day on the EPT. He has more than 100,000 chips, which should keep him company on his desert island overnight.

Mikael Lundell

But breathing down Lundell's neck is a real EPT heavyweight: Sebastian Ruthenberg, who has been a PokerStars sponsored player for years and then became a PokerStars "Shooting Star" during a promotion to unearth the talents in central Europe. Ruthenberg was an obvious choice and paid back the faith with a bracelet in Vegas this year and a huge pile of chips in Barcelona. He also has more than 100,000.

PokerStars sponsored player Sebastian Ruthenberg

Frenchman Brice Cournut, who had 70,000-odd for about seven hours, is also right up there. He added an extra 20,000 to his stack in the final couple of levels and has about 95,000.

You'll notice that this is probably the first time in an EPT end-of-day wrap that we've got three paragraphs in without mentioning Team PokerStars Pro. Well, after some terrific performances throughout the past few years, this day has been a shocker. Nine started, nine perished. It was goodbye to Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Griffin, Isabelle Mercier, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Dario Minieri, Luca Pagano, Raymond Rahme, Katja Thater and William Thorson. Mercier went out first; Minieri went out last, but Thorson has the worst story. He got one-outered mid-way through the day, which is kind of tough, if you'll forgive the understatement.

The last of Team PokerStars Pro to fall, Dario Minieri

But tomorrow the field from both day ones converge, when we'll be welcoming back Chad Brown and Andre Akkari, who'll be attempting to slog it out to a final 32 or so. About 110 finished tonight, about 110 finished yesterday, thinning a field of 619 original starters. The full figures will all be known later, once someone calculates it all overnight. But the main statistic is this one: the first prize in Barcelona will be €1,361,000. Try sleeping and forgetting about that.

*They invented it, by the way. And you can thank Holland for Big Brother.

Howard Swains and Stephen Bartley report on the first event of Season five of the European Poker Tour, starting in Barcelona, Spain.

It was a fitting mark of respect that on the day the European Poker Tour celebrated its fourth birthday and the start of its fifth season, the Casino Barcelona would be wall-to-wall with expectant poker players and the scene didn’t change even after eight levels of play.

Testament to the extraordinary and ever-increasing popularity of the EPT, this year's Barcelona event looks likely to beat all previous records with 292 players finding their seats, signing waivers and fondling the new-look chips at a little after 3pm this afternoon.

The day began in buoyant mood, among the starting field nine members of Team PokerStars Pro ready to make an indelible mark on this most popular of EPT hotspots. With the beach and sunshine on the other side of the casino door the prospect of high stakes tournament poker was too much to ignore for the likes of Andre Akkari, new boy Alex Gomes, Greg Raymer, Chad Brown, Vanessa Rousso, Noah Boeken, Vicky Coren and Greg Raymer.

Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes

Their fortunes varied. Whilst Brown, Rousso and Akkari set an early pace to settle among the leaders and leave themselves healthy and wealthy for a return on day two, the same could not be said for Boeken, Gomes, Coren, Rousso and Raymer, each of whom busted out at various stages.

One of the highlights of the day, though, was the welcomed table of death/doom/excitement that featured not only former EPT winners Mike McDonald and Jason Mercier but also a mix of some of the game's most exciting talents, including Johannes Strassmann, Erica Schoenberg, Illari Sahamies, Christian Grundtvig and Mika Paasonen. There were always going to be costly collisions between them; McDonald was soon seen off after a big hand against old rival Strassmann, and after switching tables eventually Sahamies would fade.

EPT San Remo winner Jason Mercier

That fate would strike all but 102 players who navigated their way through to a day off tomorrow when another eager crowd will make their claim on EPT glory.

Although we lost the likes of Million Dollar Man David “Chino” Rheem, Annette Obrestad, Michael Mizrachi and David Williams, at the close of play it was Chad Brown among the leaders on more than 60,000. But according to our last sweep of the room, it was either the Swede Nichlas Mattsson, or Germany's Michael Murra at the very top. They both had something like 85,000.

Million Dollar Man David "Chino" Rheem

That takes us to tomorrow. Among the big names expected for day 1B are Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Griffin, Isabelle Mercier, Dario Minieri, ElkY, Raymond Rahme, Katja Thater, William Thorson and recently crowned Player of the Year Luca Pagano.

That’s all to come, the tide sweeping away the old and bringing in the new for a 3pm start on day 1b. After four years the EPT has grown bigger and more popular, remaining the richest and most prestigious poker tour anywhere.

Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown

PokerStars reporter Sean Callander brings coverage of the high roller event at the PokerStars.net APPT Macau event to a close...

It takes time to build tradition in any sporting event. Imagine if The Masters suddenly appeared on the PGA circuit a few years ago and the organisers started handing out green jackets to the winners. It would hardly be a big hit.

But having established more than 80 years of history and stories of triumph and heartbreak, The Masters stands the test of time as an event as relevant today as ever.

In poker, the World Series of Poker built on a tradition established by a core of former Texas road gamblers and is today recognised as the pinnacle of success in tournament poker.

It will take time for similar traditions and legends to be established in Asia with tournament poker in its formative stages, but the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour High Roller event has stolen a march on any challenger that may one day claim the title as most prestigious poker event on the continent.

The APPT High Roller final table

For the second year in a row, the HKD $150,000 buy-in APPT High Roller event (already one of the world’s highest buy-in regularly scheduled tournaments and guaranteeing a prize pool of HKD $10,000,000) attracted a list of the world’s best players – 61 in all.

There were established tournament pros like WSOP main event winners Johnny Chan, Mansour Matloubi and Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem.

There were WSOP bracelet winners including Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, J.C. Tran, Quinn Do, Dan Schreiber, John Phan, John Juanda and David Chiu.

There were some of the young stars from the poker world like Mike timex McDonald, Will cutiepie314 Ma, Tony bond18 Dunst, Shaun shaundeeb Deeb and Team PokerStars Hevad RaiNKhaN Khan.

And there were scores of accomplished tournament players including Team PokerStars Pros Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier, Lee “Final Table” Nelson and Bertrand “ElkY Grospellier; last year’s APPT High Roller champion Eric Assadourian, fellow PokerStars Sponsored players Emad Tahtouh, Van Marcus, Terrence Chan, Ivan Tan and Celina Lin; Harry Demetriou and Nam Le.

Also making a re-appearance just hours after finishing runner-up in the APPT Macau main event was Charles Chua – albeit two hours late.

Any great event needs intrigue, drama and surprises. The 2008 APPT Macau High Roller did not disappoint in this regard.

Early in the first level, players had barely had a chance to put a dent in their start stack of 20,000 when Celina Lin found herself on the rail, her aces cracked by Russian young gun Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

In contrast, David Steicke (the third placed finisher in this event last year), picked up where he left off after finishing 10th in the APPT Macau main event.

By day’s end, Steicke was the talk of the room as he’d charged to 160,000 and a big chip lead over Mike McDonald (95,400) and defending champion Eric Assadourian (90,500). Other players in the 28 to progress included Quinn Do, Nam Le, Van Marcus, Terrence Chan, Johnny Chan, Charles Chua, Ivan Tan and two Team PokerStars Pros – Barry Greenstein and Joe Hachem.

But there was no clue of the drama to come on day two. In last year’s APPT High Roller event in Macau, it took five hours to eliminate the last six players before the final table line-up was decided.

Play gradually slowed once the field was split between two tables but, curiously, all 10 players agreed to converge to a single table with the field one short of the TV and money bubble of nine.

David Steicke celebrated successive final tables at the the APPT High Roller

Those 10 players – Eric Assadourian, Van Marcus, Ivan Tan, still chip leader David Steicke, Andrew Scott, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Will Ma and Charles Chua – turned on an enthralling session that lasted four hours until Nam Le claimed the scalp of Assadourian, who was gutted to fall short of successive APPT High Roller final tables.

The final table started with Marcus, Chan, Chua and Tan all short-stacked and under pressure – only Chua had the answers and clawed his way back as the other three became the first victims at the final table.

Will Ma, a 20-year-old from the same small Canadian town as Team PokerStars Pro Steve-Paul Ambrose and Mike timex McDonald, bowed out in sixth while Steicke’s remarkable run ended in fifth; the fearlessness that saw him lead for most of the event proved his undoing.

It would be more than two and a half hours before Charles Chua was KOed by Nam Le, ending a remarkable week for the Malaysian-based Australian in which he finished second in the main event and fourth in the High Roller.

Scott was always going to find it tough against the combination in seats one and two but progressed to the heads-up duel when he took out Quinn Do. He entered the contest against Nam Le trailing 2:1 but the final table experience of a player whose won more than USD $4 million in tournament poker proved telling.

Steadily chipped away, Scott made his final shove with J-10, but Nam Le’s K-2 connected on the board to secure the HKD $3.7 million first prize.

APPT High Roller champion Nam Le

Assadourian, Le – already an impressive list, but one sure to include more of the game’s brightest stars as the tradition continues.

PokerStars.net APPT Macau High Roller event

1 Nam Le (USA) HKD $3,700,000
2 Andrew Scott (Australia) HKD $2,100,000
3 Quinn Do (USA) HKD $1,200,000
4 Charles Chua (Malaysia) HKD $900,000
5 David Steicke (Hong Kong) HKD $700,000
6 Will Ma (Canada) HKD $500,000
7 Johnny Chan (USA) HKD $400,000
8 Ivan Tan (Singapore) HKD $300,000
9 Van Marcus (Australia) HKD $200,000

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI

Sean Callander is PokerStars’ man on the ground at the APPT Macau and posted this report on the eve of the high-roller final table.

The final 10 finally became nine after a dramatic day two in the APPT High Roller

It’s a day that will go down in the annals of PokerStars.net APPT history. A day that the APPT came of age, and the APPT Macau High Roller carved out a reputation as the region’s premier poker event.

More than 11 hours ago, 28 players took their seats for day two of the event (including Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Barry Greenstein), but the drama didn’t really begin until the clock ticked past 9pm when, inexplicably, the remaining 10 players all agreed to condense the two five-handed tables into one 10-handed table.

However, that decision resulted in the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse between the 10 combatants: PokerStars Sponsored players Eric Assadourian, Van Marcus and Ivan Tan; chip leader David Steicke, Andrew Scott, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Will Ma and Charles Chua.

After four hours, in which the short stacks of Johnny Chan, Ivan Tan and Van Marcus all came under threat, it was last year’s winner Eric Assadourian who was finally felted.

Assadourian's gallant run comes to an end

He moved in for his last 17,500 but Nam Le’s re-raise to 31,000 sounded a warning to Assadourian, and the other players who folded. The Aussie showed As-5s, while Nam Le revealed kings. The board ran out 9d-6c-9s-Jd-2h, and it was over. The final table comprises:

Nam Le

Seat 1: Nam Le, Los Angeles, CA, USA (107,000 in chips): One of the most successful tournament poker players of the past four years, the cousin of dual WPT main event winner Tuan Le has won more than $4.3 million. Underlining his consistency is the fact that he’s won only one major title in the time – the 2006 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars event, worth almost USD $1.2 million. He’s cashed 15 times at the WSOP including third in a $1500 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 WSOP. The 25-year-old also won the 2006 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge II and most recently finished fourth at the 2008 WPT LA Poker Classic adding a further $411,770 to his burgeoning bank balance.

Quinn Do

Seat 2: Quinn Do, El Monte, CA, USA (105,000 in chips): Born in Vietnam and raised in Seattle, Washington, this 33-year-old studied criminology at the University of Washington and once considered making a career as an investigator. Also a former restaurant owner, he turned his focus to poker in 2004 and within 12 months had won a WSOP bracelet (in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em event). Other notable finishes on his tournament CV include second at the Bellagio Challenge Cup Championship in 2005 and most recently, a runner-up finish to Phil Ivey at the 2008 LA Poker Classic WPT Championship, worth just over USD $900,000. He is a good friend of Nam Le, who has also reached the final table of this event.

David Steicke

Seat 3: David Steicke, Hong Kong (391,500 in chips): A player who has made an indelible mark on the PokerStars.net APPT, he hadn’t played in a major poker tournament until last year’s APPT Seoul main event. Just weeks later, he charged through the field to finish third in the APPT Macau High Roller Event, winning more than USD $110,000. Since then, the 46-year-old trader has shown that he’s no one trick pony. He finished fourth in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2008 WSOP, winning USD $166,333. Originally from the South Australian town of Murray Bridge, Steicke went within a whisker of another final table when he took 10th in the APPT Macau main event that just concluded, taking home USD $16,209.

Will Ma

Seat 4: Will Ma, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (186,000 in chips): What is it with Waterloo in Ontario, Canada? The city of barely 100,000 residents continues to turn out world class players like Team PokerStars Pro Steve-Paul Ambrose, PokerStars EPT Dortmund winner Mike timex McDonald, Matt ch0ppy Kay (who made day two of this event) and now 20-year-old Will Ma. His online name cutiepi314 is a play that only a maths student would make (from pi = 3.14). His live CV is highlighted by victory in the 2007 €10,000 Grand Prix De Paris main event, worth €422,560 or more than USD $570,000.

Ivan Tan

Seat 5: Zhong Wei ‘Ivan’ Tan, Singapore (60,500 in chips): Last year, Ivan Tan decided to coincide a holiday with his wife with the inaugural APPT Macau tournament, and won a seat into the main event in a mega satellite. After three days, he’d outlasted all but one player to finish runner-up and pocket USD $129,536. Prior to last year’s event, he’d enjoyed the occasional cash game but had little tournament experience. Despite making his home in the emerging poker market of Singapore, the 27-year-old has developed a real affinity with Macau. He placed third in the recent HKD $9600 Red Dragon Tournament at PokerStars Macau.

With the PokerStars.net APPT Macau finished there was still the high roller event to deal with, a record setting jaboree of poker over in China. Sean Callander had all the news...

"If I'm lucky that angel will fall on him": Barry Greenstein experienced the joy of David Saab's incessant chatter

There may not have been an abundance of big-name pros at the final table of the APPT Macau main event but that shouldn’t be a problem when the final nine players are decided for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau High Roller tomorrow.

A total of 61 players paid the HKD $150,000 buy-in (approximately USD $19,200) but after six 75-minute levels, the field had been reduced to 30.

Mike timex McDonald impressed on day one of the APPT High Roller

After the dour nature of the final table, the big characters were back in force and light-hearted banter was the order of the day. And there are some familiar names at the pointy end of the chip count after day one, including Mike timex McDonald (winner of the PokerStars EPT Dortmund earlier this year) on 100,000, Danny Wong (80,000), last year’s APPT Macau main event runner-up and PokerStars Sponsored player Ivan Tan (55,000).

Xuan Nguyen underlined his status as a player to be respected

But not for the first time on the APPT, the story of the day has been the run of David Steicke, who took out several well-known pros including Team PokerStars Pro Lee “Final Table” Nelson, to snare the chip lead on 160,000.

David Steicke: Either the pros can't work him out, or he's just better

Steicke finished third in this event last year, and is determined to improve on that result, especially after finishing 10th in the APPT Macau main event that finished earlier today.

As Van Marcus said to Steicke just before play ended for the day, “You don’t run like God; God runs like you!”

Joe Hachem leads the Team PokerStars Pro charge into day two

Those still in contention include Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Barry Greenstein, PokerStars Sponsored players Marcus, Eric Assadourian (last year’s winner of this event and a big improver to 90,000 late in the day) and Terrence Chan. Other big names set to return tomorrow are dual WSOP main event winner Johnny Chan, Nam Le, Andrew Scott, Quinn Do and two players who featured at yesterday’s APPT Macau main event final table: Charles Chua and Javed Abrahams.

The list of casualties features Team PokerStars Pros Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Isabelle Mercier and Hevad Khan, PokerStars Sponsored players Emad Tahtouh, Dan Schreiber and Celina Lin, David Chiu, J.C. Tran, Shaun Deeb, Liz Lieu, Harry Demetriou, John Juanda, Kofi Farkye, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, John Phan and Tony bond18 Dunst.

Play will recommence tomorrow at 2pm, and will continue until the final nine has been decided. The winner will take home HKD $3.7 million; second HKD $2.1 million; third HKD $1.2 million; fourth HKD $900,000; fifth HKD $700,000; sixth HKD $500,000; seventh HKD $400,000; eighth HKD $300,000 and ninth HKD $200,000.

Sean Callander reports for PokerStars on the last day of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau...

APPT Macau main event champion Eddie Sabat

Macau is considered the hottest gaming destination on the planet, and with good reason. Since the opening of the Sands in 2002, the big Vegas operators have been clawing over each other to grab a slice of this exclusive but lucrative pie.

The pressure to keep up is immense. New Vegas-style hotels and casinos are popping up at an astounding rate as the eyes of the gaming world turn to the east for the first time since gambling was legalised in the former Portuguese colony more than 150 years ago.

So it was only natural that poker, the game that has taken the world by storm, should eventually sweep into the Special Administrative Region of Macau like a typhoon from the South China Sea.

Less than 12 months ago, the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Macau (the first one-stop hotel and entertainment resort to open here) hosted the first no-limit hold’em tournament ever played in the People’s Republic of China. The champion was a player with heritage that, like Macau, bridged East and West – Vietnamese-born Dinh Le, who now resides in the UK.

The APPT returned to Macau in 2008 and set a standard for poker comparable to the image and success of Macau as the world’s premier gaming market.

Preceding the 2008 APPT Macau main event was the opening of PokerStars Macau, the first live poker room to open in a Macanese casino. Then over the past six days, the APPT rewrote every record in Asian tournament poker history with the biggest field (538 entrants) and biggest prize pool (HKD $12,643,000 or USD $1,620,897) ever offered on the continent.

Players came from the across the world to experience Macau and the APPT – from world champions like Johnny Chan to Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Lee Nelson, Isabelle Mercier, Chad Brown, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Vanessa Rousso to many of the world’s most accomplished pros – all representing a total of 73 different nations.

Importantly, more than 15 per cent of the field was made of players from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, representing the future of the game in this fledgling poker market.

The eventual winner bore an eerie resemblance to the player who took out the first event of the tour in 2007. Like APPT Manila champion Brett Parise, Eddie Sabat is a young college graduate from the USA. But unlike Parise, Sabat brought some solid experience to Macau despite his relative youth.

The youngest player at the final table, the PokerStars player had compiled some impressive results over the previous 12 months, including third in the WSOP Circuit Series event at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego, worth $70,680, back in February.

He also cashed in the PokerStars.net LAPT event in Brazil last month, and finished in the money twice at the 2008 WSOP. The 22-year-old recently completed his accountancy studies at USC but his poker education continues in the card clubs of LA.

Sabat’s road to victory took more twists and turns than the Great Wall of China: “It was such an up and down day for me. I bled chips early and got aggressive when I need to. I suppose it was meant to be in the end. It’s such an unreal feeling, and it was great to share it with my friends, who were great supporters all day,” Sabat said.

After three day one flights that featured a who’s who of poker, the field of 538 was slashed to 208 for day two with Germany’s Andre Wagner (109,700) leading the field from PokerStars qualifier Mark Walsh (95,000) and Australian (now living in Hong Kong) David Steicke (87,700).

Day two was a remarkable day of poker with the rate of eliminations not letting up all day with just 39 plays still standing amid the ruins. The man on top of the pile was 22-year-old Eddie Sabat, a PokerStars player from California with 379,5000. He led Charles Chua, a Malaysian-based Aussie (369,500) and another PokerStars player, Canadian Keith Wintermans (358,000).

The pace continued unabated on day three with the 39 players whittled down to the final nine in less than six levels.

The final table line-up was a fitting tribute to the APPT Macau main event and the development of tournament poker in Asia, featuring a Macau resident (Will Cheong), a Beijing local (Tian Chen), a Singaporean (Diwei “Bryan” Huang) and a Korean (So Myung Sim), plus Chua, Sabat, a pair of Scandinavians (Mikael Rosen and Jeppe Drivsholm) plus Englishman Javed Abrahams.

Huang and Sabat held the only stacks of more than one million – Sabat’s chips coming mainly thanks to a massive pot late on day three when his pocket aces took out two opponents.

After two days of chaos, the final table provided a dramatic contrast with players carefully picking their mark until the short stacks began to tumble.

The chip lead was swapped among Sabat, Chua, Huang and Drivsholm until Chua (who’d been down to just 245,000 earlier in the day) went on a charge late in the evening to take the lead into the heads-up battle against Sabat.

Eddie Sabat and Charles Chua go heads-up

The end came after the pair had swapped the lead on three occasions, with Chua opening for 150,000. Sabat called and the flop came 6c-Qd-6d. He checked, Chua bet 275,000, Sabat check-raised to 550,000, Chua pushed in and Sabat called.

Sabat showed Kd-Jd for a flush draw, while Chua’s Qs-3c gave him two-pair. The turn (Ac) brought more outs, but the 2d on the river sent Sabat into the arms of the poker buddies who’d railed him all day. He collected HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851) for the win.

Less than a month after the world’s athletes farewelled China after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, it’s appropriate that the PokerStars.net APPT Macau main event followed so soon after. So it’s gold to Eddie Sabat (USA), silver to Charles Chua (Malaysia) and bronze to Bryan Huang (Singapore).

PokerStars.net APPT Macau main event

1 Eddie Sabat (USA) HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851.28)
2 Charles Chua (Malaysia) HKD $2,275,740 (USD $291,761.54)
3 Bryan Huang (Singapore) HKD $1,201,080 (USD $153,984.62)
4 Mikael Rosen (Sweden) HKD $847,080 (USD $108,600.00)
5 Jeppe Drivsholm (Denmark) HKD $632,150 (USD $81,044.87)
6 Will Cheong (Macau) HKD $442,500 (USD $56,730.77)
7 Tian Chen (China) HKD $328,720 (USD $42,143.59)
8 Javed Abrahams (UK) HKD $240,220 (USD $30,797.44)
9 So Myung Sim (South Korea) HKD $177,000 (USD $22,692.31)

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI

Sean Callander in Macau reports on the making of the PokerStars.net APPT final table...

The final table for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau main event has been decided, with a Macanese local set to take on players from around Asia, Europe and the US in the final chase for the HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851.28) first prize.

The big story is Kuok Wai “Will” Cheong’s qualification for the final table in the biggest poker tournament ever played on Asian soil.

“I’m still pinching myself, it’s a miracle,” he said as the reality began to sink in for the 28-year-old, who works in the local casino industry.

Despite having plenty of chips and a generous structure, players continued to commit their chips with gusto, and the 39 players who started day three were whittled down to the final nine in less than six levels.

The three ‘notable’ players who started day three were all eliminated – 2008 WPT Championship winner David Chiu lasted the longest, finishing 11th, while Quinn Do (the short stack entering the day) and John Juanda finished 25th and 26th respectively.

Three of the four chip leaders at the start of day three – Eddie Sabat, Charles Chua and Javed Abrahams – all reached the final nine, but PokerStars player Keith Wintermans (third at the start of play) and David Steicke (who’d led at numerous stages of the tournament) both fell short. Steicke was the final-table bubble finisher, after being eliminated by Tian Chen on the final hand of the day.

PokerStars.net APPT Macau final table

Eddie Sabat, 1,001,000 in chips

Seat 1: Eddie Sabat, Lancaster, CA, USA (1,001,000 in chips): The youngest player at the APPT Macau final table brings arguably the best resume to the line-up. PokerStars player Sabat has enjoyed a successful year on the live circuit, with a best finish of third in the WSOP Circuit Series event at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego, worth $70,680, back in February. He also cashed in the PokerStars.net LAPT event in Brazil last month, and finished in the money twice at the 2008 WSOP. The 22-year-old recently completed his accountancy studies at USC but considers his new classroom the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles where he is a regular in the cash games.

So Myung Sim, 118,000 in chips

Seat 2: So Myung Sim, Seoul, South Korea (118,000 in chips): The connection between the electronic game Starcraft and poker is firmly established in Korea thanks to ex-pats like Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. But when it comes to Starcraft celebs, there are few bigger in Korea than So Myung Sim, who shocked the gaming community when he announced his retirement last year at the ripe old age of 23. He has now turned his full-time focus to poker and in just his second major tournament start, So Myung Sim has reached the final table. He will start as the short stack.

Tian Chen, 768,000 in chips

Seat 3: Tian Chen, Beijing, China (768,000 in chips): Players like this 31-year-old have played a pivotal role in establishing a poker culture in Asia. Two or three times a week over the past four years, he has played a “home” game in a Beijing coffee shop with some friends. They then travelled to Macau together for this event, with three making the money. A software engineer, he spent 10 years in the US and started playing in cardrooms around Seattle, Washington before returning to China in 2004. One of the short stacks when play reached the final three tables, he rebounded to take the fourth biggest stack to the final table.

Will Cheong, 334,000 in chips

Seat 4: Kuok Wai Will Cheong, Macau (334,000 in chips): What a story for the growth of poker in Asia to have a Macanese local at the final table of the biggest tournament ever played in Asia. What’s more, he was down to less than 15,000 in chips on day two before clawing his way back into contention? Having honed his skills in live games at PokerStars Macau in recent months, this 28-year-old who works in casino administration has been playing poker for about two years but has never scaled such heights prior to this event. So how does he feel about representing the world’s biggest gaming destination in the continent’s biggest ever poker tournament? “It’s a miracle!”

Jeppe Drivsholm, 863,000 in chips

Seat 5: Jeppe Drivsholm, Aalborg, Denmark (863,000 in chips): Don’t let the gentle façade and quietly-spoken nature of this 24-year-old student deceive you – he brings a fierce determination to the game as shown by his third-place finish in the charity event played at the Macau Cup here back in May. A specialist live cash-game player, he has already sampled big fields in Asia and was part of poker history at last year’s inaugural APPT event in Manila. With more than three years’ experience, expect the young Scandinavian to make his mark at the APPT Macau final table when he starts from third chip position.

Mikael Rosen, 361,000 in chips

Seat 6: Mikael Rosen, Karlskrona, Sweden (361,000 in chips): Karlskrona is home to the Swedish navy but might have a more notable claim to fame if this man follows the rich tradition of poker-playing Swedes (like Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson) when the APPT Macau main event final table kicks-off. This 31-year-old software engineer (he actually earned a Masters in software engineering) didn’t create many waves during the APPT Macau main event, steadily picking his way through the field and taking down a big pot when required to secure his first major live tournament final table.

Javed Abrahams, 215,000 in chips

Seat 7: Javed Abrahams, London, UK (215,000 in chips): fresh from an eighth place finish in the 2008 WPT Bellagio Cup (worth more than USD $100,000, this polished 23-year-old from London has also cashed in three PokerStars EPT events over the past three years, including 19th in the 2007 EPT Barcelona main event. He entered day three of the APPT Macau main event in fourth chip position but faces a tough challenge as the second shortest stack at the final table. Away from the poker table, he’s preparing to commence studies for a Masters in Latin American Studies. So having experienced EPT and APPT events, look out LAPT!

Bryan Huang, 1,046,000 in chips

Seat 8: Diwei “Bryan” Huang, Singapore (1,046,000 in chips): This accountancy student (scheduled to graduate later this year) has already lived out one of his poker dreams after freerolling onto a poker cruise in 2006, where he won almost USD $80,000 in a preliminary event. Since then, poker has been a “serious hobby” for this 23-year-old – from home games to regular online sessions. No player experienced such wild swings of fortune on day three – he lost a big pot on the first hand of the day to be down to just 40,000 in chips but less than three hours later, his stack was above 800,000 and he finished the day in the box seat as chip leader heading into the final table.

Charles Chua, 617,000 in chips

Seat 9: Charles Chua, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (617,000 in chips): One of the crowd favourites after his amazing run on day two, this 31-year-old’s tournament record might be modest but he’s one of the better known players in Melbourne, Australia where he lived before returning home to Malaysia recently. “Chucky” might play the clown at the table, but it’s all for show – this law graduate brings plenty of smarts to the table as shown by his ability to stay out of too many big pots on day three after building a big stack on day two. He enters the final table in fifth chip position.

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI

Sean Callander brings us the latest from the APPT in Macau...

After four days of competition, the 538 entrants in the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau main event have been reduced to just 39.

In a dramatic day on the tournament floor at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, the field was slashed from 208 to less than 40 after just seven one-hour levels, including one of the most exciting bubble periods ever played in a tournament of this stature and size.

The day started with five Team PokerStars Pros still in contention – 2005 WSOP main event winner Joe Hachem, Chad Brown, Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier, Lee “Final Table” Nelson and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – but all were eliminated over the course of the day. PokerStars Sponsored players Emad Tahtouh, Elton Tsang, Dan Schreiber, Terrence Chan and Men "The Master" Nguyen were also sent to the rail.

Play was fast and furious – in the first one-hour level, 47 players were eliminated (at a rate of one elimination every 90 seconds).

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem doubled-up twice in the opening minutes of the day but was eliminated when Daisy Wain’s A-Q held up on a 10-high board against Hachem’s A-J. Wain has since been confirmed as the highest placed female player in the event, and is assured a finish in the money.

The other Team PokerStars Pros also fell by the wayside. Chad Brown was eliminated by day 1A chip leader Andre Wagner; Isabelle Mercier was taken out by Indonesia’s Steve Djingga; Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier was crippled by PokerStars Sponsored player Emad Tahtouh before bowing out two spots short of the money; and Lee “Final Table” Nelson secured his second APPT cash in finishing 42nd.

Javed Abrahams attacked once the bubble had burst

The drama that characterised day 2 continued well into the final level, with Javed Abrahams the big mover – he flopped a set of eights to KO John Dalessandri then took out Aditya Agarwal with a set of sixes to finish firmly inside the top five.

Ed Sabat: The man to chase on day 3

Despite Abrahams move late in the day, it was PokerStars player Edward Sabat who topped the chip count at the end of the day after taking down a big pot against former chip leader Yeongsok Choi with a modest 10-9 on a board of Q-3-10-Q-K.

Charles Chua: skill, but some good cards come in handy

Australia’s Charles Chua rode a wave of cards (he had quads twice, which were duly paid off) is in second chip position followed by Canadian PokerStars qualifier Keith Wintermans, Abrahams and Hong Kong-based Australian David Steicke, who took down a massive pot against former chip leader Kenny Hicks on the bubble.

Canadian Keith Wintermans is ideally placed for a shot at the final table

Chris Grigorian was the APPT Macau main event “bubble boy”, placing 57th. All players finishing 56th or better are assured a payout (see payouts and remaining structure below):

1 HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851.28)
2 HKD $2,275,740 (USD $291,761.54)
3 HKD $1,201,080 (USD $153,984.62)
4 HKD $847,080 (USD $108,600.00)
5 HKD $632,150 (USD $81,044.87)
6 HKD $442,500 (USD $56,730.77)
7 HKD $328,720 (USD $42,143.59)
8 HKD $240,220 (USD $30,797.44)
9 HKD $177,000 (USD $22,692.31)

10-12 HKD $126,430 (USD $16,208.97)
13-16 HKD $101,145 (USD $12,967.31)
17-24 HKD $75,860 (USD $9725.64)
25-32 HKD $63,215 (USD $8104.49)
33-40 HKD $50,570 (USD $6483.33)

40 Xinzheng Xu (China) HKD $50,570
41 Andrew Pantling (Canada) HKD $44,250
42 Lee Nelson (NZ) HKD $44,250
43 Hon Ming Kim Lee (Hong Kong) HKD $44,250
44 Aditya Agarwal (India) HKD $44,250
45 John Dalessandri (Australia) HKD $44,250
46 Marius Bobinas (Lithuania) HKD $44,250
47 David Ewing (Australia) HKD $44,250
48 Matt Lee (Hong Kong) HKD $44,250
49 Frank Bianco (Australia) HKD $37,930
50 Tyrone Kerrigan (UK) HKD $37,930
51 Manlee Wan (Macau) HKD $37,930
52 Elton Tsang (Hong Kong) HKD $37,930
53 Doron Tourgman (Germany) HKD $37,930
54 Emad Tahtouh (Australia) HKD $37,930
55 John Babatsikos (Australia) HKD $37,930
56 Chris Levick (Australia) HKD $37,930

Sean Callandar reports for PokerStars from the APPt in Macau...

An historic day for the emergence of poker in Asia concluded at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino with 88 of the 229 players in day 1C of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour set to return for tomorrow’s day 2 action.

The Grand Waldo is quickly establishing a reputation as the home of Asian poker

With the total entry confirmed at 538, the APPT Macau main event has smashed every record for a poker tournament on Asian soil.

The total prize pool of HKD $12.643 million (approximately USD $1.62 million) and first prize of HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851.28) also represent previously unscaled heights for an event in Asia.

Day 1C was also characterised by one of the most impressive line-ups of poker talent ever assembled on the Asian continent, headlined by Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Lee “Final Table” Nelson, Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier and Hevad Khan.

The field also included PokerStars Sponsored players Tony Hachem, Neil Arce, Franco Mabanta, Terrence Chan, Emad Tahtouh, Ivan Tan and surprise entrant John Phan (fresh from his WPT Legends of Poker win less than a fortnight ago), six-time WSOP bracelet winner Men “The Master” Nguyen and his wife Van, Shaun Deeb, LAPT San Jose final table participants Max Steinberg and Steve Silverman, last year’s APPT Macau main event winner “All-in” Dinh Le and a trio of star players with proud Asian heritage – J.C. Tran, Nam Le and David Chiu.

But emerging from the galaxy of stars was PokerStars player Mark Walsh from Ireland, who finished the day with 95,000.

Irishman Mark Walsh, chip leader on day 1C

He’s followed by 2005 WSOP bracelet winner “Mighty” Quinn Do (83,600), Ole Johan Steinvik (68,900), Tian Chen (62,500) and Kevin MacPhee (61,900).

Notables to made it through to day 2 were Carter Gill (48,400), Men “The Master” Nguyen (39,500), Van Nguyen (27,800), PokerStars Sponsored duo Emad Tahtouh (28,800) and Terrence Chan (22,800), Frank “The Bank” Bianco (20,000), Nam Le (14,500) and David Chiu (13,000).

Van Nguyen and her husband Men "The Master" will both be back in action on day 2

A trio of Team PokerStars Pros survived the day. Lee “Final Table” Nelson is best placed with 29,900 (just above the average) but Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier (8200) and Joe Hachem (5500) face a stern test.

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem faces an uphill battle on day 2

The other Team PokerStars Pro in action today, Hevad Khan, bowed out after Raymond Wu rivered a set of threes on a board of Kc-Js-Ac-6c-3s, then David Chiu made a set of aces against Khan’s set of nines.

Other casualties of day 1C included PokerStars Sponsored players Ivan Tan (who finished second in this event last year), Tony Hachem, Neil Arce and John Phan, plus Shaun Deeb, Steve Joonhee Yea, defending champion Dinh Le, Steve Sung, Jo Berec, J.J. Liu and J.C. Tran.

Day 2 is scheduled to kick-off at 1.30pm local time, with play again scheduled for seven one-hour levels. See you tomorrow as the chase for the money heats-up.

Sean Callander reports on day 1b of the PokerStars.net APPT in Macau...
Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing – the likeable David Steicke has again underlined his status as one of the big improvers on the world poker stage to lead the day 1B field at the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau main event.

Day 1B chip leader David Steicke

Steicke, who reached the final table of last year’s APPT Macau High Roller event, shot to the top of the chip count when he turned a flopped set into a full house against David Saab’s trip jacks, sending the 2008 APT Manila champ to the rail and improving his stack to almost 70,000.

He finished with 87,700, trailing only day 1A chip leader Andre Wagner (109,700) in the overall standings. Celebrated poker writer and PokerStars qualifier Dennis Waterman finished behind Steicke with 75,800.

Day 1B kicked off with a field of 184 players who included a trio of Team PokerStars Pros (Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso), PokerStars Sponsored players Van Marcus (Australia) and Hong Kong’s Elton Tsang.

"Dude, what were you thinking": ElkY's good friend Dan Schreiber isn't sure whether to laugh or cry

‘ElkY’ remained the talk of the room all day as he pulled off a remarkable impersonation of The Joker from The Dark Knight. With his eyes rolling in his head and sweat pouring off his brow, it was scarily accurate.

WSOP main event winners Johnny Chan and Mansour Matloubi

The field also featured two former world champions – Johnny Chan and Mansour Matloubi – plus dual WSOP bracelet winner, Mel Judah; David Saab; 2007 WSOP Europe H.O.R.S.E. winner Thomas Bihl; and 2007 WSOP Heads-up champion Dan Schreiber.

After seven one-hour levels, the field had been whittled down to 82 players, meaning 128 players have qualified for Thursday’s day 2 and taking the overall field to 309. With more than 200 players expected to take their seats for tomorrow’s third day one flight, the final tally is expected to smash every record set for a poker tournament in Asia.

Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown is nicely placed for day 2

Few big names survived day 1A, but the notables fared better on day 1B led by Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown (40,600), PokerStars Sponsored player Elton Tsang (31,200), PokerStars player Chris Grigorian (24,400), world champs Mansour Matloubi (20,900) and Johnny Chan (12,800) and Team PokerStars own clown prince ElkY (15,100).

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso bowed out late on day 1B

Eliminations included Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso (on one of the final hands of the day), recently crowned Victorian champion Jay SEABEAST Kinkade, Mel Judah, Michael Chrisanthopoulos, Patrick Fletcher, PokerStars Sponsored player Van Marcus, Max Veenhuyzen, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Henrik Gwinner, Kasey Castle and Julian Powell.

Day 1C kicks off at 1.30pm local time, with play again scheduled for seven one-hour levels. The line-up is headed by Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Hevad Khan and Isabelle Mercier.

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI

By Brad "Otis" Willis

Go to Sweden. Go to Toronto. Go anywhere where people know about hockey. You'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn't know the name Mats Sundin. Soon, that reputation will carry over from the ice to the PokerStars tables.

Hockey icon and former Toronto Maple Leaf captain Mats Sundin has just joined PokerStars as one of its international celebrity ambassadors. You'll soon see him both online at PokerStars under the name “MatsSundin” and live at PokerStars-sponsored events, including on the European Poker Tour which kicks off next week in Barcelona.

Sundin has played in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs where he served as the longest-running non-North American captain in NHL history. He was also the first Swedish player to score 500 goals. Sundin has played for Sweden in international events, including three Winter Olympics where he won five medals - three of them gold.

A long time card player, Sundin said, “I have always enjoyed playing poker and partnering with PokerStars gives me the opportunity to challenge myself and explore the full potential of my game. I believe the fighting spirit I’ve developed as a hockey pro will really help me at the tables."

Sundin is also an ambassador for the United Nations’ “No More Land Mines” appeal and will be donating his profits earned at the poker tables to charitable and good causes.

“I am very proud to become an ambassador for PokerStars. It means I will be more able to fulfill my personal ambition of working with charities around the world and I will be donating 100 percent of the money I earn from playing poker to charity," he said. "For me, the combination of excitement and challenge in poker, plus
the potential to support good causes is a win-win situation."

The top professional poker players are not known for their healthy respect for money. Few think twice about paying $10,000 or even $50,000 to play a tournament such as the World Series main event or the H.O.R.S.E. event. The goal is to win. The money, well that’s just a good way to keep score.

Players such as Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem will tell you the same thing. Each has won the World Series main event and each will tell you that whilst the money is nice the fact that they are World Champion, a title that can never be taken from them, means more than anything else.

Team PokerStars Pro and 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem

Of course, the leap from novice to World Champion is a big one. Every pro will tell you the same thing - to start with the fundamentals, study the basics and learn as much as you can.

Team PokerStars Pro and 2004 World Champion Greg Raymer

That’s where PokerStars.net comes in and particularly the Weekly Round 2 competition, which allows you to pit your poker skills against fellow players in a realistic online tournament setting, and get yourself a mention on this blog if you win one of the two finals held each weekend.

Last weekend that honour went to ‘2Pat971’ and ‘LAMANCAY’.

After weeks of North American dominance in the Weekly Round 2 last Saturday saw a coup de grace by two French players who finished first and second for $287.60 and $166 respectively, with countryman ‘dnobru31’ taking the runner up spot to ‘2Pat971’.

And on Sunday the world was tipped on its head with a South American taking the first prize of $276. Argentinean player ‘LAMANCAY’ finishing ahead of a New Zealander and 801 other players (from thousands who took part) who were rewarded with real money prizes for their efforts.

Well done to all of those involved. Here’s a full run down of the results...

Weekly Round 2 results (Saturday 30 August)

1. 2Pat971 (France) -- $287.60
2. dnobru31 (France) -- $166.00
3. uu66ii (Finland) -- $100.00
4. Miiickle (Australia) -- $80.00
5. trelo19 (United States) -- $62.00
6. TSpikeOP (Canada) -- $50.00
7. cwspill (United States) -- $39.00
8. lakofka (France) -- $30.00
9. apple37 (Germany) -- $22.20

702nd Thulk530 (United States) -- $0.80

Weekly round 2 results (Sunday 31 August)

1. LAMANCAY (Argentina) --$276.00
2. UMUCKIWINOK (New Zealand) --$164.00
3. 4Bruce (United Kingdom) --$100.00
4. Jessicaplus5 (United States) -- $80.00
5. duckee1 (Canada) --$62.00
6. Luly24 (United States) --$50.00
7. AceOfSura (Sweden) --$39.00
8. Guizmo87 (France) --$30.00
9. EdddieeeD (Greece) -- $22.20

801nd mbaby77 (United States) -- $0.60

Qualifying for one of the two weekly events is easy. All you need to do is play in one of the Astronomer freerolls in the PokerStars.net lobby and finish within the top number of tables specified in the details.

The astronomer freerolls run several times a day so there’s never long to wait and if you’re successful your ticket into the Weekly Round 2 could see you win a cash prize.

September is the start of many things, from the new school year to the National Football League. But of course there's also poker. The new season of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour has begun and our reporter at the scene Sean Callander has all the latest from the first day of play...

Play has wrapped on the opening day of the 2008 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Macau, with 46 of the 125 starters able to cool their heels until Thursday.

APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh prepares to bag up the chips after the opening day of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT

After seven one-hour levels, the chip leader was Germany’s Andre Wagner, who ran deep into the recent PokerStars.net LAPT event in Costa Rica. On the final hand of the evening, Wagner not only ascended the top of the leaderboard, he ended the tournament of 2008 WSOP Mixed Games World Champion Anthony Rivera.

Day 1A chip leader Andre Wagner of Germany

The money went in pre-flop with Wagner’s pocket 10s up against Rivera’s A-K. The board of 10c-8s-6h-Jd-6c only brought heartbreak for Rivera as Wagner improved his 10s to a set. He finished the day on approximately 105,000.

kofi Farkye, second in chips after day 1A

Close behind is US youngster Kofi Farkye. As a 19-year-old, he finished fifth in the 2007 WPT North American Poker Championship in Canada and could well add to that record should he continue the aggressive style that delivered him a stack of 85,000 at day’s end.

On a day that saw big names like Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein (one of the first players to be eliminated), PokerStars Sponsored players Eric Assadourian, Celina Lin and Grant Levy, plus Liz Lieu and Tony Dunst hit the rail, Harry Demetriou is one of the few recognisable faces still in the field.

After a torrid day where he rarely held more than his starting stack of 10,000, the UK pro doubled-up twice late in the evening to finish on 27,000. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda finished not far behind Demetriou on 21,000.

Play starts at 1.30pm local time tomorrow and will again run over seven 60-minute levels, with the line-up highlighted by Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso, Isabelle Mercier, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Chad Brown.

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI