Deaf Poker Australia Championship Crowns a New Champion in Melbourne
Deaf Poker Australia is in its tenth year of celebrating deaf culture and identity through the popular game of poker. Earlier this month, Alisha Wormald (pictured above, center) topped a 114-player field at DPA X, the 2018 Australian Deaf Poker Championship, held at Crown Melbourne.
DPA State of Origin Team Event
The event included not only a $250 buy-in Main Event, but also a special eight-player team event called the DPA State of Origin, in its fifth year running. The team event cost $700 to enter and got a record ten entries, which included the defending champions from Northern Rivers, along with teams from New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria.
Northern Rivers bubbled the event in fourth place, and Victoria went out in the first paid spot in third for $1,000 at the hands of Auckland. New South Wales was facing a 2-1 chip deficit heads up and got the last of their chips in with jack-four on a board reading ten-nine-jack-queen.
Unfortunately for them, Auckland held king-deuce for the straight to capture the title and the $2,500 top prize. It’s the first time that the DPA State of Origin Shield named “Betsy,” would travel out of Australia and over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. New South Wales collected $1,500 for their runner-up finish.
The winning team is picture below and includes team members Chris Blum, Robert Cairns, Ben Clifford, Krista Clifford, Eric Coppage, Michael Granger, Michael Heuberger and Rhian Yates.
DPA X Main Event
Co-branded as the 2018 International Deaf Poker Federation (IDPF) World Championship, the $250 buy-in DPX Main Event drew 114 entries for a prize pool of $22,800 that was divided among the top 15 players.
Once David Thomas of Victoria was eliminated on the bubble in 16th place at the hands of South Australia’s Katie Walker, the remaining players were in the money. Walker would later become the final table bubble, and father of 2017 Australian Deaf Poker Champion Zisimos Jordan, Daryl Jordan went into the final table of nine with the chip lead.
DPA X Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Region | Prize in A$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisha Wormald | Victoria | A$5,930 |
| 2 | Daryl Jordan | New South Wales | A$3,990 |
| 3 | Rino Spadea | Victoria | A$2,620 |
| 4 | Matthew Hayman | New South Wales | A$2,050 |
| 5 | Michael Lockrey | New South Wales | A$1,595 |
| 6 | Mark Theodossiou | New South Wales | A$1,375 |
| 7 | Caleb Thorn | New Zealand | A$1,140 |
| 8 | Rena Muscat | Queensland | A$915 |
| 9 | Chris Blum | New Zealand | A$685 |
2018 DPA X Final Table Action
The final was loaded with notables from the Southern Hemisphere’s deaf poker community, and Chris Blum was the first out, busting in the first hand of the final table. Next out was Rena Muscat, who just last year was the last woman standing in the same event. Young Kiwi Caleb Thorn was in his fourth consecutive final table of the DPA Main Event, but busted in seventh, short of the shield.
The sixth-place finisher was Mark Theodossiou, a founding member of DPA and former Treasurer. It was his second time finishing in the money in the event. He was followed to payouts by Michael Lockrey, who was the captain of the Northern Rivers team that won the 2017 DPA State of Origin.
Early on in the ‘Final Four’ livestream, Jordan increased his chip lead after eliminating fellow New South Wales player Matthew Hayman, who was playing in his fifth DPA Championship final table. Hayman hit the rail in fourth place when his five-six couldn’t overcome Jordan’s ace-jack after they both flopped a pair.
Soon after, Rino Spadea of Victoria moved all in from the button with ace-ten, but ran it into the ace-queen of Wormald. They both found their ace on ace-eight-six, but the two on the turn and the three on the river sealed it for Wormald, who held a better kicker, and Spadea was out in third.
Wormald and Jordan began heads-up nearly even in chips, and the two battled masterfully into the early morning hours, with Wormald beginning to run away with the lead. In the final hand, Wormald, a 33-year-old graphic designer from Melbourne, limped in on the button and Jordan checked his option. On the 6♠7♠3♠ flop, Jordan moved all in and Wormald called, showing 5♦4♦ for a flopped straight.
Holding 4♠2♣, Jordan still had outs, looking for a spade to double through, but he didn’t find it on the 8♣ turn or the 2♦ river. Wormald captured the title of Australian Champion of Deaf Poker, taking home the $5,930 top prize along with it. With the win, Wormald also took over the number one spot on the DPA all-time money list, previously held by Michelle Rowlands for nearly five years.
Looking ahead to the 2020 IDPF World Championship, the hosting rights have been handed over to UK Deaf Poker, while next year’s DPA Championship will be hosted by Crown Perth, in October 2019.
Final four live stream videos and more event information can be found on the DPA Facebook page and comprehensive DPA results can be found here.
