Tom Grigg Leads The Final Nine at APPT Melbourne
The day was rough, tough and most of all not easy. But nine players managed to secure a seat at the most important table in the Crown Casino. The chip leader at tomorrow's final table will be Tom Grigg, and he will have strong competition from experienced players like Brendon Rubie and Sam Razavi.
The day started with 44 hopefuls, but within the hour, ten had left the room. Wayne Bentley was hurting players left and right, and quickly he managed to grab hold of the chip lead. Grant Levy was among the early knockouts as he lost his final chips with 
against Keith Walker's 
. Another familiar face left in the field, Oliver Gill, trusted his read but ran into Karan Punjabi's flopped full house. Gill left empty handed as well.
Tony Hachem looked to be making a comeback after starting the day short stacked, but that didn't work out. First he doubled through PokerStars Team Online Roy Bhasin, only to bust to James Bills a few hands later. Hachem ran into aces and his day was done.
With the money within reach, most players decided to take it easy, but not Brendon Rubie. The Aussie Millions side event winner doubled on the bubble and got himself in serious contention from that point on. While Rubie survived, it was Dale Marsland who got knocked out in 29th place, just one spot short of the money. Marsland five-bet all in with 
and ran into Bentley's kings. The board brought mere blanks, and the money bubble burst.
Benn Skender busted shortly after the money, as did Mishel Anunu, but he didn't have too much to complain about, with his cash in this securing himself the ANZ Player of the Year award. Anunu had a small sweat, but when Liam O'Rourke busted in 17th place, it was all his. For his prize, Anunu is able to play three APPT Main Events next season, his travel expenses covered, and also a seat into the $10,000 Aussie Millions Main Event.
The final player represented by PokerStars in this event, Roy Bhasin, was eliminated in 25th place worth a $8,455 min cash. Bhasin got his money in on the turn against Bills who had flopped top-two pair. Bhasin was looking for a club to fill up his flush draw, but the river was the three of diamonds.
Halfway through the day there was still a chance for a back-to-back winner, but unfortunately Leo Boxell didn't manage to survive the day. Boxell took a big hit when he ran his queens into kings, and eventually he ran into pocket aces with his flopped flush draw. In the end, Boxell was sent home in 19th place, giving him a $12,080 cash.
The aforementioned O'Rourke busted in 17th place, moments after he lost a memorable hand. Tom Grigg, who started the day with just 15 big blinds, had built his stack up considerably when the following hand occurred. Grigg raised under the gun to 20,000 after which Tam Truong three-bet to 50,000. O'Rourke was in the big blind and opted to four-bet to 120,000. This put pressure on Grigg, who didn't flinch as he moved all in for right around 600,000 chips. Truong folded, and O'Rourke made the call. Grigg showed 
and doubled through O'Rourke into the chip lead.
With just 16 players remaining, everyone went on a one-hour dinner break. Following dinner, play slowed down considerably, but Sam Razavi's play didn't. In a massive pot he woke up with pocket-kings against Michael Guttman's pocket-nines. Gunther Hornung was short, and also committed himself, holding 
. Both players were eliminated and Razavi took the lead.
The final table was within reach with just 14 players remaining, but everyone seemed to realize that. Even the deck seemed to be aware of it, since the short stacks kept doubling up. Billy Argyros, who's better known as "The Croc", was eliminated in 14th place followed about an hour later by Vineet Jindal. Ismail Ismail was the eventual player to be eliminated one spot off a final table berth. This is how the final nine are looking heading into the final day of play.
APPT Melbourne Final Table
| Place | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Bentley | 610,000 |
| 2 | Brendon Rubie | 1,002,000 |
| 3 | Kristian Lunardi | 352,000 |
| 4 | James Bills | 322,000 |
| 5 | Nigel Andrews | 138,000 |
| 6 | Tom Grigg | 2,271,000 |
| 7 | Gary Benson | 631,000 |
| 8 | Sam Razavi | 1,318,000 |
| 9 | Keith Walker | 1,048,000 |
As you can see, it is Grigg who is best pressed to make a run at the $326,125 first-place prize. Here is what the remaining nine are playing for tomorrow.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $326,125 |
| 2 | $205,345 |
| 3 | $114,750 |
| 4 | $87,575 |
| 5 | $72,475 |
| 6 | $57,375 |
| 7 | $45,300 |
| 8 | $36,240 |
| 9 | $27,175 |
The final table will be in the Crown Poker Room in Melbourne, Australia from 1400 AEST Monday (21000 PST), so make sure to follow the PokerNews Live Reporting Page as we continue to bring you all the action from the 2012 APPT Melbourne Main Event!