[user67765]
The first significant action of the final table came on the third hand of play in a blind battle between David Griffiths and Steve Bouya. The action folded around to Griffiths who completed from the small blind and Bouya checked his option in the big blind.
The took a flop of and Griffiths fired 25,000. Bouya made the call. The turn was the and Griffiths fired a second barrel worth 75,000. Bouya deliberated before announcing a raise to 175,000. Griffiths contemplated his options and gulped hard before making the call as a huge pot developed.
The river was a and Griffiths checked to Bouya who reached deep before sliding out 160,000. Griffiths quickly called but Bouya slammed down on the table for the nut straight as Griffiths sighed and flashed the for the ten-high straight.
Griffiths slips to 290,000 with Bouya now out to a clear lead with 1.1 million chips!
[user67765]
With stomachs satisfied the ten final players have returned to the felt to battle it out for the first title of the 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championship and first place prize of AU$150,000.
The clock will be rewound one level for the start of this final table, leaving a little over nine minutes to play in level 18 with blinds at 8,000/16,000 with a 1,000 chip ante. The button will start with Dean Blatt in seat 4.
The media commitments and introductions are done, and the cards are now in the air!
[user75032]
With ten players remaining in today's event, the tournament staff have elected to collapse them all to a single final table rather than play hand for hand at two five-handed tables. The players have redrawn their seats, with the results as follows:
Seat 1: Scott Peters (134,000)
Seat 2: Christian Heich (596,000)
Seat 3: Steve Topakas (446,000)
Seat 4: Dean Blatt (113,000)
Seat 5: Sam Khouiss (176,000)
Seat 6: Clint Jordanou (204,000)
Seat 7: David Griffiths (674,000)
Seat 8: Steve Bouya (750,000)
Seat 9: Ismail Ismail (80,000)
Seat 10: Paul Rochford (490,000)
The clock is being rewound one full level to allow the final table participants to have a little more depth to their chip stacks. The players are also being sent on a one-hour dinner break before the final table begins.
[user67765]
Naz Sibaei - 11th Place
The table folded around to David Griffiths on the button who popped it up to 60,000. The small blind folded before Naz Sibaei moved all in from the big blind for his last 151,000. Griffiths made the call.
Griffiths:
Sibaei:
The board fell and the king high of Griffiths is good as Sibaei becomes our final-table bubble boy as he is eliminated in 11th place.
The final ten players will now redraw for the final table. We'll have details of the redraw and updated chip counts for you shortly.
[user67765]
Mark Handmer - 12th Place
The action folded around to Mark Handmer in the small blind who moved all in for his last 55,000. Chip leader Steve Bouya made the call in the big blind.
Handmer:
Bouya:
Handmer flopped an open-ended straight draw on the flop but didn't get there as the turn and river bricked , .
Handmer exits in 12th place with Bouya now out to 680,000 chips.
[user75032]
Nir Peer - 13th Place
Nir Peer wasn't able to hang on. He called all in for 55,000 after David Griffiths opened the pot to 60,000. Steve Topakas also called. When the flop came down , Topakas bet Griffiths out of the pot. Topakas opened for his second pair of jacks in the last ten minutes. This one flopped a set against Peer's . The turn and river were running threes, prompting an exasperated Griffiths to claim that he folded pocket threes. Regardless of whether or not that was true, Topakas dragged the pot to climb to 450,000 and send Peer to the rail in 13th place.
[user75032]
The dust barely settled on Steve Topakas' unfortunate two pair versus two pair hand before he was mixing it up again. Nir Peer open-shoved from late position for 190,000. Topakas was in the small blind with and called all in for about 150,000 total. Peer showed a suited ace, , but couldn't catch up. A board of ensured that the pot would be shipped to Topakas.
Topakas now has 275,000 chips while Peer is left with 40,000.
[user67765]
Steve Topakas raised it up to 60,000 and David Griffiths made the call. In a rare flop, it certainly brought action as it landed , with both players quickly moving the rest of their chips in the middle.
Topakas tabled for two pair but Griffiths held for a bigger two pair!
The turn and river bricked , as Griffiths doubles to 520,000 with Topakas falling to 170,000.
[user75032]
Michael Harrison-Ford - 14th Place
It was a clear and present danger for Michael Harrison-Ford when Nir Peer open-shoved from middle position for 78,000. Harrison-Ford made the call out of the big blind anyway, showing down . Imagine his surprise when Peer turned over . Harrison-Ford was not able to pull out the suck-out. That hand left him crippled with a mere 33,000 chips.
He moved all in from the small blind the very next hand after everyone else had folded. Dean Blatt called from the big blind with , a hand that was ahead of Harrison-Ford's "hammer," . Blatt hit a queen right away, winning the hand with a board of .
Harrison-Ford fell just short of the final table, but can console himself with AU$6,579 in prize money.
![[user67765]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and Griffiths fired 25,000. Bouya made the call. The turn was the 
and Griffiths fired a second barrel worth 75,000. Bouya deliberated before announcing a raise to 175,000. Griffiths contemplated his options and gulped hard before making the call as a huge pot developed.
and Griffiths checked to Bouya who reached deep before sliding out 160,000. Griffiths quickly called but Bouya slammed 
down on the table for the nut straight as Griffiths sighed and flashed the 
for the ten-high straight.
and the king high of Griffiths is good as Sibaei becomes our final-table bubble boy as he is eliminated in 11th place.
flop but didn't get there as the turn and river bricked 
, 
.
, but couldn't catch up. A board of 
as Griffiths doubles to 520,000 with Topakas falling to 170,000.
. Imagine his surprise when Peer turned over 
, a hand that was ahead of Harrison-Ford's "hammer," 
. Blatt hit a queen right away, winning the hand with a board of 