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Day 5 of the 2009 Aussie Millions brought with it another limit event with Event #4: $1,100 Limit Hold’em being contested by a 140-strong field. Josh “JJProdigy” Field, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Dan Shak, Maya Gellar-Antonius, Michael Vartan and Matt Vengrin would make up the international contingent. Mel Judah would return barely 6-hours after tasting victory in Event #3 and was joined by the likes of Graeme “KiwiG” Putt, Jamie Pickering, Billy “The Croc” Argyros, James “Andy McLEOD” Obst and Emad Tahtouh.
Online sensations Obrestad and Obst, along with David Bach, would jump out of the blocks moving up the chip count leaderboard while Mizzi, Field and Vartan were early casualties along with Aussies Leo Boxell, Michael Pedley, Gary Benson, Tony “Bond18” Dunst and Martin Comer.
As Obrestad headed to an early dinner break at the hands of Phil Willcocks pocket kings, Obst would continue to dominate sending local’s Dave Lee and Antonio Casale to the rail with an over-pair and nut-flush respectively.
Dinner came and went, and so did Matt Vengrin and Daniel Kochan, followed swiftly by David Saab at the hands of table nemesis Dan Shak. Saab opened from under-the-gun to 1,000, Shak raised to 1,500 and Saab made the call before checking dark before the flop of 
came out. Shak bet 500, Saab raised all-in and Shak called the remaining amount tabling 
to be ahead of Saab’s 
. The turn and river fell the 
and 
and Saab departed as play reached the final three tables.
came out. Shak bet 500, Saab raised all-in and Shak called the remaining amount tabling to be ahead of Saab’s . The turn and river fell the and and Saab departed as play reached the final three tables.
With Judah’s long few days at the tables over as he headed to the rail he lived up to the PokerNews nickname of the “Energizer Bunny” as he took his seat at one of the many satellites on offer. Jason Gray was eliminated by Willcocks when his 
were no match for Willcocks pocket jacks. David Bach and Craig “HU4ROLLZ” Bergeron continued their dominance as play reached the bubble until the Maya Gellar-Antonius became the unfortunate bubble girl busting out when her 
was out drawn by James Obst’s 
on a board of 
.
were no match for Willcocks pocket jacks. David Bach and Craig “HU4ROLLZ” Bergeron continued their dominance as play reached the bubble until the Maya Gellar-Antonius became the unfortunate bubble girl busting out when her was out drawn by James Obst’s on a board of .
A short-stacked Tak Lee fell in 18th place followed by Russell Stevenson, David Gorr, Joshua Wilson and Dan Shak. Joe Meissner fell in 13th place while Billy “The Croc” found some needed double ups before Tim Guerin, Emad Tahtouh and Dean Blatt were all eliminated as the final table was set.
Seat 1: Zach Gruneberg - 90,000
Seat 2: Ken Eastwood - 55,000
Seat 3: Grant Levy - 94,500
Seat 4: Jesse Maguire - 112,000
Seat 5: Craig Bergeron - 118,000
Seat 6: Billy "The Croc" Argyros - 18,000
Seat 7: David Bach - 37,000
Seat 8: Bruno Portaro - 117,000
Seat 9: James Obst - 57,500
With the final table play underway, Argyros would be the first to fall at the hands of Levy when he made a full house against Argyros’s ace-high. Levy barely had to stack his chips before he sent Bach to the rail with 
for a rivered pair to Bach’s 
. Eastwood climbed but it would Gruneberg soaring way ahead of the pack taking out Portaro on the way. With action capped pre-flop, Portaro’s remaining single-bet was all-in on the flop with him holding 
to Gruneberg’s 
. The final board read 
and Portaro exited in 7th in devastating circumstances.
for a rivered pair to Bach’s . Eastwood climbed but it would Gruneberg soaring way ahead of the pack taking out Portaro on the way. With action capped pre-flop, Portaro’s remaining single-bet was all-in on the flop with him holding to Gruneberg’s . The final board read and Portaro exited in 7th in devastating circumstances.
Obst was crippled then eliminated in 6th, and then followed by Levy running into Gruneberg’s pocket aces. With play now four-handed and Gruneberg holding a commanding lead with half the chips in play he took most of Eastwood’s chips when he flushed out and then Maguire finished him off flopping a Jack-high club flush to see Eastwood head to the rail.
An offer to come-back tomorrow was turned down, and Maguire would rue the decision as he fell in 3rd when his found no help on a board of 
against Gruneberg’s 
.
found no help on a board of against Gruneberg’s .
Zach Gruneberg – 427,000
Craig Bergeron – 273,000
Closing in on 5am, heads-up play had been reached with Gruneberg holding a two-to-one chip advantage on the online star “HU4ROLLZ”. With play staying in Gruneberg’s control, the final hand would fall when Bergeron’s was all-in on the turn with the board reading 
up against Gruneberg’s 
. The river fell the and Bergeron exited in 2nd place with Gruneberg capturing the $35,000 first prize and coveted gold ring.
was all-in on the turn with the board reading up against Gruneberg’s . The river fell the and Bergeron exited in 2nd place with Gruneberg capturing the $35,000 first prize and coveted gold ring.
Final Table Results:
1st – Zach Gruneberg ($35,000)
2nd – Craig Bergeron ($25,200)
3rd – Jesse Maguire ($17,500)
4th – Ken Eastwood ($12,600)
5th – Grant Levy ($9,800)
6th – James Obst($7,700)
7th – Bruno Portaro ($5,600)
8th – David Bach ($4,200)
9th – Billy Argyros ($3,500)
After more than 17 hours of play, action is going to be just intense with players ‘giddying’ up for Event #5: $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. Stay tuned to PokerNetwork where you can find daily recaps on all events from the 2009 Aussie Millions.
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