2014 PokerStars.net ANZPT Melbourne Main Event Day 1b: Largest ANZPT Event Ever
After a massive day at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, a new record has been set on the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour. By the time registration closed on Day 1b of the ANZPT Melbourne Main Event, 274 players had hit the felt, meaning the total field was 516 players and the prize pool weighed in at $1,032,000 — the largest ANZPT ever.
The eventual champion of this event will take home AU$253,000, and at the end of Day 1b, 94 players had kept themselves in contention for that top prize. The player who finished up the night with the biggest smile was Vincent Chua, bagging up the chip lead.
It was the third-to-last hand of the night that saw Chua end up with the only stack over 200,000. Chua eliminated Ben Pockett on a Jx7x5x8x10x board. Pockett had seemingly value bet 10,000 on the river and Chua put him all in, with Pockett having a sizable stack behind. Pockett went into the tank for 15 minutes while all the tables around him finished up for the night. Eventually, the clock was called on Pockett and ultimately he decided to put all his chips in. Pockett had Jx10x for two pair, which went into the muck when Chua tabled 9x8x for the straight.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Chua | 210,100 |
| 2 | Shy Jachimowicz | 177,300 |
| 3 | Fabian Craib | 129,500 |
| 4 | Michael Caruana | 126,100 |
| 5 | Bryan Huang | 123,800 |
| 6 | Adrian Bolzonello | 121,700 |
| 7 | Luke Edwards | 115,300 |
| 8 | Henry Szmelcer | 115,000 |
| 9 | Nicholas Dallimore | 111,400 |
| 10 | Zhao Feng | 109,200 |
Chua will now go into Day 2 with the largest overall stack, well ahead of Day 1b’s Shy Jachimowicz with 177,300. Both Chua and Jachimowic finished with more than the Day 1a chip leader Anthony Legg, who will take 160,200 into Day 2.
Some of the others who finished Day 1b with plenty of chips include Fabian Craib (129,500), Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang (123,800), and Luke Edwards (115,300). Huang had a great day at the felt, first hitting a set and eliminating a player with pocket aces and then slowly building a stack throughout the night. Huang capped off his day by eliminating 2014 Aussie Millions gold ring winner Sam Higgs.
It was a 4♣6♠7♣ flop that would see Higgs get aggressive with the A♣Q♥. Higgs led for 6,500 on the flop, Huang raised to 14,700, and Higgs moved all in for 35,000 total. Huang called it off with the 10♦10♠, and Higgs didn’t improve on the turn or river.
A few of those who also survived Day 1b include Matthew Rolfe (99,200), Steven Zhou (98,800), 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe Hachem (93,800), Anthony Aston (76,900), Luke Sharpe (71,900), Jazz Mathers (67,500), Matt Wakeman (50,300), Jackie Glazier (36,000), and Liam O’Rourke (30,000).
The full end-of-day chip counts and a Day 2 seating draw can be found in the ANZPT Melbourne live reporting blog, and will continued updates from the event.
Unlike all of those players listed in the Day 2 seating draw, there were dozens of players eliminated on Day 1b. Some of those who couldn’t make it through the night include Kiwi [Removed:17], Daniel Neilson, David Steicke, Brendon Rubie, Michael Kanaan, Jesse McKenzie, APPT Queenstown champ Jono Bredin and 2012 ANZ Player of the Year Mishel Anunu, just to name a few.
All of the 94 survivors from Day 1b will now join with those from Day 1a, meaning 179 players will return for Day 2. These players will be back to it from 12:10 p.m. local time on Sunday. Being that this is a three-day event, Day 2 will play well into the money and start working towards a final table. Be sure to stay tuned PokerNews for continued ANZPT Melbourne live updates.
*Lead photo courtesy of Poker Asia Pacific.
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