2014 PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event Day 3: Paul Murray Leads Final Table
The penultimate day of the second stop on Season 6 of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) took place on Saturday. After around eight hours of play, the 48 returning players were whittled down to just nine as the final table of the ANZPT Perth Main Event was set.
Western Australia local Paul Murrary will lead the final table with 1,206,000 in chips, while tough competitors from the USA Scott Davies and Patrick Mahoney, along with Australians Sal Fazzino, Vesko Zmukic, Dean Blatt, Justin Walch, Matthew Rolfe, and Brian Mcallister all returning on Sunday to play down to a winner. The eventual champion is set to pocket AU$131,900.
Final Table Lineup
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Murray | 1,206,000 |
| 2 | Scott Davies | 767,000 |
| 3 | Sal Fazzino | 495,000 |
| 4 | Patrick Mahoney | 891,000 |
| 5 | Justin Walch | 202,000 |
| 6 | Vesko Zmukic | 253,000 |
| 7 | Brian McAllister | 616,000 |
| 8 | Dean Blatt | 219,000 |
| 9 | Matthew Rolfe | 249,000 |
When Day 3 began, 48 players had their eyes on the six-figure top prize, but they first had to focus on making it into the money as only the top 27 players would be paid out. Nicholas Embury was the first player eliminated, while Bobby Tang, Tristan Bain, Eddie Mascardi, and Scott Buchanan also fell short of making the money.
It took around three hours to get to the money bubble and just a few minutes of hand-for-hand play for prominent Aussie pro Dylan "WhiteRabbito" Honeyman to finish in a disappointing 28th place.
Honeyman��s final hand was during Level 15 with blinds at 2,000/4,000. Honeyman three-bet jammed for 60,000 from the button after Davies had opened to 8,000. Davies quickly called and tabled the J?J?, which was ahead of Honeyman��s 6?6?. No help came for Honeyman, and the 27 surviving players were in the money for a minimum payday of AU$4,100.
Following the bursting of the bubble, Anthony Morenko (27th - AU$4,100), Luke Spano (25th - AU$4,100), Andrew Hullah (24th AU$4,600), ANZPT Auckland champion David Lim (21st - AU$5,100,) and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Aaron Lim (20th - AU$5,100) were some of the early in-the-money eliminations. From there, the eliminations continued at a steady pace throughout the afternoon, with Aaron Wilson (17th - AU$6,100), John Aufdemkampe (16th - AU$6,100), Markus Garberg (15th - AU$7,200), Richard Larkin (14th - AU$7,200), Stev Lackovic (13th - AU$7,200), Tamara Volkoff (12th - AU$8,200) and Ricky Kroesen (11th - AU$8,200) all getting very close to the final nine, but ultimately falling short of glory.
The final hand of Day 3 would be see Stephen Woodhead eliminated in 10th place (AU$8,200) at the hands of Murray, and it was this hand which would ultimately secure Murrary the final-table chip lead.
There was 250,000 already in the middle when Woodhead moved all in on a board of 2?6?8?9?10?. His lone opponent, Murray, sat in the tank for several minutes considering his decision. It was a scary board, but Murray eventually committed to the call with the A?7? for a ten-high straight. Woodhead sighed and flipped over the J?K? for just king-high.
The final table is set to take place from 2:10 p.m. local time on Sunday and the PokerNews will once again be on the floor of the Crown Perth Poker Room providing all the ANZPT Perth live updates. By Sunday evening, the latest ANZPT champion will be crowned, so be sure to check out all the action and stay tuned right here for a complete recap following the conclusion of the event.
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