2014 PokerStars.net ANZPT Melbourne Main Event Day 1a: Anthony Legg Flexes with Chip Lead
The latest stop on Season 6 of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour began at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia on Friday. There were 242 entries on Day 1a of the ANZPT Melbourne Main Event. That field sets the tournament on track to become the largest ANZPT Melbourne in history and what will likely be a seven-figure prize pool.
There were eight 60-minute levels played on the first of two Day 1 flights and 85 ended up surviving. Late into the action it was looking like Akash Mazumdar would finish with the chip lead. He dealt a double elimination holding A♥A♠ against Stevan ‘random_chu’ Chew’s Q♠Q♣ and another player’s A♣K♣. However, in the end it was Anthony 'leggieblufs1' Legg who bagged the chip lead. Legg will start Day 2 with 160,200 in chips, which is just ahead of Mazumdar’s 152,000.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Legg | 160,200 |
| 2 | Akash Mazumdar | 152,000 |
| 3 | Daniel Botta | 134,100 |
| 4 | Michael Christodoulou | 120,200 |
| 5 | Dean Francis | 119,700 |
| 6 | Michael Chrisanthopoulos | 118,800 |
| 7 | Tristan Bain | 110,800 |
| 8 | Phillip Willcocks | 110,100 |
| 9 | Minh Hai Tran | 108,600 |
| 10 | Tom Rafferty | 108,200 |
As usual there were plenty of familiar faces at the felt to begin the day, but not all of them made it through the night. Some of those who were eliminated throughout Day 1a include Ken Demlakian, Tom Grigg, Dale Marsland, Jackson Zheng, Benn Skender and Australian Poker Hall of Famers Leo Boxell, Gary Benson and Billy Argyros.
One player who looked like he was going to make it through Day 1b was last year’s ANZPT Melbourne third-place finisher Michael Guzzardi. But then Guzzardi got all his chips in holding K♣Q♥ and wasn’t able to improve when all in against 8♣8♠.
While the aforementioned players didn't have a good day at the felt, it was a different story for 85 others. Some of the other players who will join Mazumdar and Legg with plenty of chips on Day 2 include Daniel Botta (134,100), Dean Francis (119,700), Tristan Bain (110,800), 2011 APPT Melbourne runner-up Phillip Willcocks (110,000) and Adrian Attenborough (99,600).
Others who survived Day 1a, albeit with smaller stacks than the leaders, include Oliver Gill (48,700), Kahle Burns (43,700), 2011 Aussie Millions champion David Gorr (32,200), Mile Krstanoski (24,800) and Hugh Cohen (13,500), just to name a few. Full end-of-day chip counts can be found in the providing ANZPT Melbourne live reporting blog.
All the 85 survivors from Day 1a will return to the felt from 12:10 p.m. local time on Sunday. Before then, the second and final batch of Day 1 players will hit the felt. Day 1b kicks off at 12:10 p.m. local time and PokerNews will once again be on the tournament floor providing live updates of all the action.
*Lead photo courtesy of Poker Asia Pacific.
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