2014 PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event Day 3: Jazz Mathers Heads Final Table
The latest event on Season 6 of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) reached a final table on Sunday night as the ANZPT Sydney Main Event starting field of 458 landed its final nine players. All of those remaining are eying the AU$225,300 top prize which will be awarded to the eventual champion at The Star Casino on Monday evening.
ANZPT Sydney Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peco Stojanovski | 1,167,000 |
| 2 | Nathan Sawyers | 1,318,000 |
| 3 | Joshua Redhouse | 994,000 |
| 4 | Milan Gurung | 283,000 |
| 5 | Jazz Mathers | 1,837,000 |
| 6 | Steven Zhou | 1,117,000 |
| 7 | Rory Young | 1,124,000 |
| 8 | Oliver Gill | 536,000 |
| 9 | Brent Taunton | 637,000 |
Leading the final table with 1,873,000 in chips is Jazz Mathers, who was the chip leader after Day 1a. The day started just as it would end for Mathers, as he kicked off the action by dealing a double elimination. He then capped off the day by dealing the final elimination of Day 3.
Peco Stojanovski and Nathan Sawyers aren’t too far behind Mathers, while Rory Young, Steven Zhou, Joshua Redhouse, Oliver Gill and Milan Gurung are also in contention and certainly won’t give up without a fight.
When Day 3 began there were 37 players already guaranteed AU$4,100, but all were hoping to secure a place at the final table. However, Mathers would ensure that Phillip Dong (37th) and Michael Frydman (36th) would only last a few minutes of play.
With blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 1,000 ante, Frydman opened to 13,000 from early position. Dong three-bet all in for 42,000 from the hijack, Muhammad Khan called from the cut off and Mathers called from the button. Frydman also called. Dong was at risk and watched on as the three active players committed 35,000 each on the 6♣5♠8♦ flop. The 8♥ turn was checked and the 7♠ completed the board on the river. This time, it was checked to Mathers and he bet 275,000. Khan folded, while Frydman called off his stack of less than 200,000. At showdown, Mathers immediately tabled the 7♥7♦ for a rivered full house, which strong enough to see Dong’s A♣A♥ hit the muck and Frydman quietly exit the tournament without showing his hand.
The double elimination at the start of play would set the tone for the day as there were a steady stream of eliminations throughout a day which would ultimately last six levels. Anthony Aston (33rd), Katie Sekhas (30th), Mel Judah (29th), Jie Gao (27th), Daniel Neilson (22nd), start-of-day chip leader Alex Lee (20th), and Edison Nguyen (19th) were a few of those not table to make it to the final two tables.
Neilson, one of the most experienced players still alive heading into Day 3, was the victim of some extreme misfortune. He got all his chips in holding the A♠Q♠ on a J♠10♠2♠, flop, having the nut flush and a royal flush draw. He was up against JxJx and although the Qx turn was safe, the 2x river paired the board to give Neilson’s opponent a full house, which was enough to send Neilson to the rail.
When just two tables remained, Day 3 was about four hours into play and it would take just another two hours to reach the final table. Sean Knight (18th), Nicholas Polias (17th), and Murray Roach (16th) were quickly eliminated after the redraw, while Peter Baars (15th), Karam Bahl (14th), Robert Spano (13th), Adrian Attenborough (12th) and John Parker (11th) all got so close to making the final nine.
The eventual final hand of the night occurred when blinds were 10,000/20,000. Andrew Michael was the short stack at this stage and moved all in for around 15 big blinds holding the J♣J♥. Mathers was in the small blind and re-shipped his big stack in the middle when he looked down at the K♥K♣. The 10♥9♣K♠ flop gave Mathers a set of kings, while Michael now had straight-draw outs. The 8♦ turn gave Michael a few more outs, but the A♦ river would mean the final table was set and Michael was out in 10th place.
The final nine players will return from 2 p.m. on Monday and play down to winner. The PokerNews team will continue to provide live coverage of the ANZPT Sydney Main Event, so be sure to tune in and find out who is crowned the champion!
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