2009 Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table Recap
by Chad Holloway of Predictem.com
On January 23, 2009 the final table of the 2009 Aussie Millions began with the remaining eight players of a 681-player field. Those players included:
Stewart Scott: 4,750,000
Peter Rho: 2,400,000
Rajkumar Ramakrishnan: 2,250,000
Zachary Gruneberg: 1,100,000
Elliot Smith: 1,000,000
Sam Capra: 950,000
Barny Boatman: 800,000
Richard Ashby: 650,000
Action started slow and tight, that is until Boatman pushed all-in preflop
with the Ad 2c and was called by Gruneberg’s As Qh. The board came Ac 7h
3s 7c 4h and Gruneberg’s queen kicker sent Boatman home in eighth place
($100,000 AUD). Action continued when Ramakrishnan raised to 90,000 preflop,
was called by Smith, and then had Ashby move all-in. Both Ramakrishnan and
Ashby made the call and checked it down as the board ran out 4d 2h 2s 10h
9c. In the end, Ramakrishnan’s A-K was enough to beat the A-Q’s of both
Smith and Ashby, who was eliminated in seventh place ($150,000 AUD).
The
next elimination came when Gruneberg raised to 100,000 preflop and was called
by Ramakrishnan in the big blind. When the flop came Jh 4h 4s Ramakrishnan
checked, Gruneberg bet 150,000 and was called. The 7d on the turn caused
Ramakrishnan to check, Gruneberg to push all-in, and Ramakrishnan to make
the easy call. Ramakrishnan flipped over pocket fours for quads and had
Gruneberg’s Ks Jc drawing dead. The 9h river card was turned up as a formality
and Gruneberg was eliminated in sixth place ($210,000 AUD).
Not long after, Capra moved all-in preflop for his remaining 250,000 with 10s 10d and was called by Rho’s Ah As. The Qd Qs 3s 9d 5s board did not help Capra and he was out of the tournament in fifth place ($300,000 AUD). This made the chip counts heading into the final four:
Stewart Scott: 6,000,000
Elliot Smith: 3,000,000
Rajkumar Ramakrishnan: 2,750,000
Peter Rho: 2,000,000
After some slow play, Rho raised to 280,000 from the big blind and was reraised to 580,000 by Ramakrishnan, who held As Ah. Rho, who held Ks Kh, reraised enough to put Ramakrishnan all-in and was insta-called; unfortunately, the Kc 10d 5s 3s 2s board cracked the aces of Ramakrishnan, who was eliminated in fourth place ($400,000 AUD). Smith managed to fight back and even double-up three handed until he limped from the button with Ah Qc and had Scott move all-in with Ad 7c. Smith called and was ahead on the Kh Ks 10c flop but the 7s on the turn gave Scott the lead. The 5c on the river sealed the deal and sent Smith home in third place ($700,000 AUD). The final hand of the tournament came when Scott raised to 250,000, which sent Rho into the tank. Rho decided to push his remaining 2,175,000 with Ah Jc and was instantly called by Scott’s As Ad. The 9d 8h 2s 4d 9s board failed to help Rho and he finished in second place ($1,000,000 AUD). Stewart Scott became the 2009 Aussie Millions main event champion and won the $2,000,000 AUD first-place prize and a championship gold bracelet.
Other winners at the Aussie Millions included:
Event No. 1 ($1,100 no-limit hold’em): Christian Heich — $150,000
Event No. 2 ($1,050 PokerPro no-limit hold’em): Mark Carle — $25,000
Event No. 3 ($1,100 Omaha eight-or-better): Mel Judah — $30,600
Event No. 4 ($1,100 limit hold’em): Zach Gruneberg — $35,000
Event No. 5 ($1,100 H.O.R.S.E.): Jarred Solomon — $30,380
Event No. 6 ($1,150 no-limit hold’em w/rebuys): Mark Kassis — $160,326
Event No. 7 ($1,650 bounty feature event): Saidal Wardak — $151,200
Event No. 8 ($100,000 no-limit hold’em challenge): David Steicke — $1,200,000
Event No. 10 ($5,300 heads-up championship): John Tabatabai — $100,000
Event No. 11 ($1,100 pot-limit Omaha): Lee Nelson — $32,400
Event No. 12 ($3,250 pot-limit Omaha w/rebuys): Michael Binger — $123,840
Event No. 13 ($1,100 mixed hold’em): Adam Peck — $25,000.