In half an hour from now at 1 p.m. local time, the Final Table of the A$1,150 Pot Limit Omaha Event #4 of the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship gets underway at the poker room of the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne. Only nine players out of a 217-entry strong field made it through Day 1 and Mostafa Haidary holds the lead with 513,500 chips.
Other finalists include Panayotis Florentzou (369,000), 2015 World Series of Poker $ 1,111 No Limit Hold'em Little One for One-Drop (Event #61) winner Paul Hoefer (116,000), Jens Lakemeier (102,000) and 2003 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Peter Costa (41,500).
Action resumes with 27:50 minutes left in level 17 at blinds 3,000 - 6,000 and continues until the winner of the LK Boutique rind and first-place payout of A$54,500 has been determined. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to provide the action until the last river card is dealt, so make sure to tune back in regularly.
Peter Costa potted, making it 21,000 and Panayotis Flourentzou called.
Roger Swolf raised to 50,000 and Costa called all in for less. Flourentzou called creating a 35,000-chip side pot and the flop came down .
Flourentzou check-called another 50,000-chip bet from Swolf. He did the same when Swolf bet 75,000 on the turn, and on the the river, he checked again. Swolf moved in for 62,000 and Flourentzou called.
Flourentzou:
Swolf:
Costa:
Swolf and Costa chopped the main with aces, and Swolf took the side as Flourentzou's kings did not improve.
Swolf had swindled chip leader Mostafa Haidary out of two pots before the hand, and with this pot, he has now taken over top spot on the counts.
Jens Lakemeier raised the pot to 28,000 from under the gun and Mostafa Haidary called. On the flop , Lakemeier announced all in for what looked like 70,000 still and Haidary snapped him off:
Lakemeier:
Haidary:
Lakemeier was virtually drawing dead as the last king in the deck was no good, only running straight cards would keep him in the tournament. It was all over with the turn, making the river a formality.
Paul Hoefer made it 17,000, Mostafa Haidary raised to 61,000 and after it folded to Peter Costa, he jammed in for 95,000.
Both players called and Hoefer jammed the flop. Haidary snap-called.
Hoefer:
Haidary:
Costa:
The board ran out and Costa won the main pot to triple up with aces and sixes. Haidary's tens and sixes with an ace kicker was good for the side and Hoefer was eliminated.
Yuki Ko raised to 42,000 and Andrian Chin called all in for his last 18,000, Mostafa Haidary called in the big blind. On the flop , Haidary bet the pot for 108,000 to isolate successfully.
Chin: for a pair of deuces and open-ended straight draw
Haidary: for a pair of sevens, gutshot and flush draw
The on the turn improved Haidary to a flush, but Chin made a full house with the river to triple up.
One hand later, Chin was all in again and Ko looked him up out of the big blind.
Chin:
Ko:
On the flop , Ko took the lead with a pair of fours. The turn changed nothing for Chin, Ko had even picked up a flush draw as well. A blank river sent Chin to the rail in 6th place and he picked up a payday of A$11,675.
Yuki Ko raised to 40,000 from the cutoff and was called by Peter Costa on the button and Roger Swolf in the small blind. The fireworks started on the flop with Swolf leading for 75,000. Ko asked for the pot size and then raised to 361,000 with Costa quickly folding. Swolf studied his cards and the board for a minute before announcing the call.
Swolf: for a pair of sevens and a wrap
Ko: for a set of threes
The on the turn changed nothing whatsoever and Swolf bricked the river, which gave Ko a full house and the chip lead.
Yuki Ko raised to 42,000 and was called by Peter Costa on the button. On the flop and the turn, both players checked. Ko check-raised the river and Costa forfeited a bet of 70,000. There was some confusion whether Ko had said call or pot, as Costa assumed the former and then showed his before mucking.
One hand later, Mostafa Haidary raised to 55,000 from the cutoff and was called by Ilias Sagias from one seat over. The flop was checked, Haidary then gave up the turn.
Haidary raised the next hand to 55,000 again and Ko reraised the pot out of the small blind. Haidary shoved it in and was snap-called. "It doesn't matter what he has, let's just do this," Haidary said while being at risk for around 230,000 chips.
Haidary:
Ko:
The flop was of no help at all for Haidary and he asked the dealer for running hearts. The start-of-the-day chip leader was drawing dead on the turn and Ko even made a full house on the river. Haidary was still smiling though and headed to the rail with the words "now show me the money," he receives A$17,795 for his efforts.
Yuki Ko captured the fourth event on the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship schedule on Tuesday, defeating a final table that included 2003 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Peter Costa.
Costa wound up third and Ko went on to beat Ilias Sagias heads up to earn the Event #4: $1,150 Pot-Limit Omaha title, an exclusive LK Boutique championship ring and a $54,500 first-place prize.
The final table began at half past twelve on Tuesday with nine players remaining and Aussie Mostafa Haidary leading.
Costa was bringing up the rear, but managed to survive two all in pots early, including chopping a big three-way hand with Kiwi Roger Swolf that saw Swolf take over the chip lead.
Jens Lakemeier was the first player sent packing, getting it in with kings on a board with two aces, and fellow German Paul Hoefer was eliminated eighth in a massive three-way pot that saw Costa triple up into contention.
Panayotis Flourentzou took seventh when he ran an overpair into Sagias' set and Swolf continued to hold the lead until Costa took it from him, making a full house over his trips.
Haidary cracked Andrian Chin's aces to double up and Chin was soon sent home sixth before Haidary doubled through Costa and brought him back down to earth.
Ko started moving up the ladder when he busted Swolf fifth, the latter getting it in with a pair and a draw that could not beat Ko's small set. He also ended Haidary's tournament in fourth and started heads up play with a 3:1 chip lead when he made yet another full house, cracking Costa's queens to send the "Silver Fox" home third.
Sagias grabbed the momentum when heads-up started and pulled back to even. It went back and forth for a while until Saigas grabbed the lead, making a flush to double through Ko.
Ko then pulled back into a commanding lead doubling through with a straight against a set of aces and finally made a set of deuces to crack Sagias' aces and secure his first Aussie Millions win.