Home / Poker News December 2008 / APPT Sydney final day report
APPT Sydney final day report
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2008-12-08 10:23
9 players bellied up to the tables of the APPT Sydney on the final day of the competition. Although void of big poker names, the field was a pretty colorful one nonetheless. There were a couple of pros, engineers, students and even a race-horse owner. The stakes were high as the player who was the last left standing would walk away from the event a millionaire.
Antonio Fazzolari held the chip lead at the beginning of the final table hostilities, and he intended to make full use of the advantages offered by that circumstance. He bullied the others around and took down several pots early on in the game. It was only a matter of time till an unfortunate short-stack would lock horns with him, and be sent to the rail in earnest. The first one to try to temper the unleashed Fazzolari was Tom Rafferty, not a short-stack by a long shot. He made a raise preflop on a Kc, 5c, and was called by Fazzolari. The flop fell 10d, 2c, Ac and Rafferty’s fate was pretty much sealed. He bet, Fazzolari raised him and Rafferty went all-in. Fazzolari was quick to call as he held A,10 in his pocket. Raffety’s flush draw failed to fill up on the turn and the river, thus he became the first player to head to the rail from the final table.
Hai Bo Chu was the second player to be eliminated. Having started the day on a short-stack, he still managed to survive Rafferty, and finished in 8th.
Daniel Kowalski was the rock of the final table, and the typical fate of rocks befell him when he finally decided to commit on a hand. He went all-in holding a top pair on the flop, but got called by Frank Saffioti with the same pair and a better kicker.
Fazzolari, who had seemed quite unstoppable till then, ran his pair into Mike Rowe’s two pair and lost a big pot to him.
Frank Saffioti busted out in 6th followed by Timothy English in 5th.
4th spot went to Fazzolari who was eliminated after the break, and Tony Basile eventually exited in 3rd.
The heads-up play between Martin Rowe and Jason Gray was a tough 2-hour long slugfest, in which Rowe eventually hammered home his chip-lead and took down the AUD 1 million first prize.
