Holz and Rossiter Highlight Final Table, Vijayaram Leads
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After six days of exciting action in the Crown Poker Room, the 2017 Aussie Millions Main Event final table is set. 36 poker hopefuls returned this afternoon but now, after 12 hours of play, only seven remain.
Leading the way when play recommences on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. local time will be Shurane Vijayaram who steamrolled his competitors to finish with 7,470,000 in chips – more than twice the next biggest stack of Ben Heath on 3,270,000. Vijayaram won a ticket into this Main Event through a $130 rebuy satellite and with no live cashes to his name according to Hendon Mob, he has found himself in a fantastic position to make his first score a huge one.
Joining Vijayaram on the final table will be German superstar Fedor Holz. An instantly recognizable name to any poker fan, Holz has amassed over $20 million in live earnings and has a chance to add another seven-figure score to that tally here this week. Holz will begin the final table as the short stack with 1,165,000.
Also making an appearance on this final table will be prominent Australian pro Jeff Rossiter who finished third in this event back in 2011 for AUD$700,000. Rossiter will be looking to go two places better this time around, starting this final table third in chips with 1,305,000.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Rossiter | Australia | 3,105,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Tobias Hausen | Germany | 2,955,000 | 59 |
| 3 | Luke Roberts | Australia | 1,305,000 | 26 |
| 4 | David Olson | United States | 2,350,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 3,270,000 | 65 |
| 6 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 1,165,000 | 23 |
| 7 | Shurane Vijayaram | Australia | 7,470,000 | 149 |
Before the lucky seven locked up their seats, though, it was a day of heartbreak for others as 29 fell by the wayside. Crowd favorite Jennifer Tilly was among that group after she took a tough beat from Nino Marotta to finish in 29th place. Tilly got it in good holding jack-four against six-four on a board of four-eight-five-four but Marotta ran her down when the seven arrived on the river to complete his straight.
Mustapha Kanit was another who couldn’t survive the day – finishing painfully shy of the final table with 11th place for AUD$115,000. After holding the chip lead for quite some time, Kanit eventually found himself short, and ultimately ran queen-jack into David Olson’s king-jack but couldn’t improve.
The final elimination of the day was final table bubble boy Peter Aristidou. He was sent hurtling to the rail in brutal fashion after a preflop flip with Vijayaram saw Aristidou's ace-jack take the lead against Vijayaram’s pocket fours on a flop spotting a jack. And while the six turn card was safe, the four on the river would see the two-outer take the tournament to seven players and conclude play.
Now, for those six out of those seven, it’s a day of rest before they return on Sunday to battle it out. They’ve all locked up AUD$210,000 but will undoubtedly have their eyes on the AUD$1.6 million 1st place prize and the prestigious gold bracelet. Fedor Holz, though, having made final table in the AU$100,000 event as well, he'll be back in the Crown Poker Room for another day of poker.
While our final tablists take a break tomorrow, we’ll be providing coverage of the $100,000 Challenge final table. Be sure to tune in here at PokerNews for the play-by-play direct from the tournament floor!