Vic Champs - Event 1 $550 NL HE Live Reporting

16:17
Starts at 7.15pm. Big field expected.

18:26
Testing `1830 OUT

19:26
Tournament off and running with about 260? plus starters. PNW guess on NB today 265. John Homman amnd Cuschieri just walked in

19:32
Our tip for the Veteran's Handicap - Crown NL Holdem Champion 1999 - Milo Nadalin. Siomke big time entries Mark Vos and Emad Tahtouh now taking their seats. This is a small entry tournament but it has attracted a number of stars.

MiloThe Whacker


19:53
Two ring ins from afar???

Long odds?

20:19
Yoyo is out....when pressed for details he answered, "I got called."

20:19


20:25
Local champion Wes settled and looking forward to a win with wife Jenny
Wes Bugiera

20:35
Andrew Dimmock another early casualty spotted on the rail.

20:44
Blinds are 100/200, a couple of minutes to go in the level. 224 players remaining.

The 'feature table' has Mark Vos, recent Crown Series 2 winner Dusan Stoevski and the infamous Daniel G.

21:07
8 minutes to go in the 4th level - 150/300. Start bank was 5000 so things are still pretty quiet here.

At the feature table, Mark Vos and Daniel G are engaging in a stream of constant banter. Not sure if any of it can be classified as witty, but the railbirds seem entertained.

194 players remain in the field, average stack is 6701.

21:24

The feature table

21:26
Players have just come back from break

Some chip counts:
Dan G - 13.5k
Mark Vos - 4k
Emad Tahtouh - 12k
Milan Gurung - 8k
Billy the Croc - 20k
Martin Comer - 25k

21:33
Blinds are 200/400, 180 players remaining, average stack 7,222.

21:39
Here are the payouts:

Total entrants: 260
Total Prizepool: $130,000.00
Places paid: 30

1st - $33,800
2nd - $22,100
3rd - $13,000
4th - $9,100
5th - $7,280
6th - $5,980
7th - $4,940
8th - $3,900
9th - $2,990
10th - $2,210
11th-20th - $1,430
21st-30th - $1,040

21:53
Mark Vos is out...153 players remaining, average stack 8496. A couple of minutes left in the level - next level is 200/400.

21:59
Some chip counts:
Arul Thillai - 30k
Gary Benson - 15k
Emad Tahtouh - 16k

22:15
Ten minutes left in level 6 - 300/600. 116 players remaining, average stack is 11,206.

One unknown player unlucky to be eliminated as he called all-in with AQ against J6...6 on the flop and another 6 on the turn sent him home.

22:34
Vic Thornton doubles up with JJ v 99.

98 players left.

Putty, Rattler, David Gorr, Emad, Milan, Dan G, John D, Ray Walter, Martin Comer, David Bradshaw, Arul Thillai, Sticky Micky still in...

22:45

Mick Guttman, Rattler, and Graeme Putt

23:02
Benson out, Dan G out.


23:22
72 left, blinds at 600/1200 - next break after this level in 4 mins.

Some chip counts:
Martin Comer - 58k
Mick Guttman - 20k
Arul Thillai - 23k
Emad Tahtouh - 33k

23:31
Players are on break. 68 remaining, average stack 19,117. Blinds will be 800/1,600 when they return.

23:52
Players still in include Angela Italiano, Dr Wes, John Homann (at the feature table) and Vic Thornton

23:53
Joe Hachem has arrived and is walking the tourney floor saying hi to friends.

00:04
Down to 59 players, 5 minutes left to go at 800/1600. Average stack is 22,033.

Angela Italiano out, Martin Comer still powering along - is up 83k.

00:13
David Gorr doubles up with AcKc vs his opponent's AhQh - 3 clubs on the board and David is now up to around 30k. Opponent is left shortstacked.

Next hand, the shortstack goes all-in with A9 and David calls with A5 - a 5 on the flop adds about another 3k to David's stack.

00:22
Arul doubles up through David Gorr

Arul had AcKc, David had QQ. Board was 4-6-T-6....and then - an ace on the river. Arul now has 68k, David is left crippled with 4k and is eliminated on the next hand.

00:24
Down to 49 players, halfway through level 10, blinds 1k/2k. Average stack is 26,530. Just a reminder that top 30 will be in the money.

00:36
Milan moves all in for about 10k in early position. Emad re-raises all in for about 30k. The blinds and limper eventually fold and Milan turns over AJ. Emad has KQ and calls for a King on the flop. His call is answered and the King comes to bust out Milan.

00:36
Down to 40 players now. One more table until the money.

00:43
Emad eliminates another player with AK(?) vs A7...board is 2-T-Q-9-Q and Emad adds another 25k to his stack. He is up around 80k now.

00:45
We might be near the bubble but players dropping fast. Just lost another one with A9 vs AA. Down to 35?

00:48
Ian Schoots has two players all in before him and instantly calls with his KK. His opponents have KQ and QQ. Hard for Ian to lose there and he kills two birds with one stone.

00:54
Ian Schoots raises to 7k, the button calls and Ray Walter calls from the small blind. The flop comes 2h 3h 8c and Ray moves all in with TT. Ian instant calls with 88. No help for Ray and Ian takes another huge pot.

00:55
Dr Wes is all in with Jh9h versus AK, rivers a flush to double up to 40k.

00:56
Players still in: Billy the Croc, John Homann, Rattler, Martin Comer, Mick Guttman.

01:02
31 players, on the bubble and hand for hand.

01:09
We are in the money....the unlucky bubble player was eliminated with QK vs As9s.

01:10
Players are reshuffling to the final three tables. There is two mins left to go at 1,500/3,000. Average is 42k.

01:15
Chip counts:

Emad - 105k
Martin Comer - 95k
Dr Wes - 30k
Arul - 52k
Ian Schoots - 111k
Mick Guttman - 20k
John Homann - 55k

01:20
Comer bets out 20k on flop with all low clubs. Arul raises to 60k and Comer reluctantly folds showing the Tc. Arul shows the 7s (no pair), "oops, wrong card."

01:27
Blinds 2k/4k

Play is folded around to the button who limps, John Homann calls in the SB and BB checks. Players check to the river. On a board of 4-2-K-5-2, John checks, the BB bets 6k, button folds and John thinks before making the call. BB shows 93 and John wins the 24k pot with A6.

01:29
27th - Michael Guttman - $1040
28th - Peng Khoo - $1040
29th - Peter Aristidou - $1040
30th - Stephen Russell - $1040

01:37
Wes Bugiera is eliminated

Martin Comer raises to 8k from the cutoff. Wes pushes all in for about 25k from the button and Martin calls.

Martin shows JdTc and Wes has As9d.

The flop is Kd-Qc-8c, the turn is another club the Kc, and the river is the Jc to give Martin the flush and eliminate Wes from the tournament.

01:42
22 players remain....Players are about to go on break.

Recent eliminations:
23rd - Mike Vongsykeo - $1040
24th - Marwan Nassif - $1040
25th - Wes Bugiera - $1040
26th - Bill Argyros - $1040

01:44
22nd - Peter Pratis - $1040

Players are now on break.

01:50
Just a reminder....play will continue until ten players remain and the final table will be held tomorrow.

01:50
Play is about to resume, 21 players left, average 59k, blinds will be 3k/6k.

01:55
On a board of As-8h-5s-9d-Jd, a player bets 12k. Emad thinks for awhile before making the call. The other player turns over Js5h for two pair and Emad mucks. Emad is now at 70k.

01:58
On the feature table, the button pushes all-in for 12k. Charles Chua makes the call from the big blind and is ahead with Qd7d against Qh5d. However the board falls Kc-4c-Qc-Jc-Kd and both players split the pot with two pair.

02:00
21st - Kelvin Beattie - $1040

We are now down to two tables.

02:07
Rattler moves all in for 26k with JJ and is called by Martin Comer with AA. No help for Rattler and he finishes in 20th place.

02:10
Pocket Rockets

A player min raises to 12k from middle position, and Emad calls from the big blind. The flop is Kc-3d-4d, Emad checks, his opponent goes all-in and Emad insta-calls, flipping over black aces. The other player shows Ad6d, but the turn comes a 3h and the river a Kh and he is eliminated in 20th place.

02:13
19th - John Bampton - $1430
20th - Anthony Donjerkovic - $1430

02:19
Ace on the river....

Player on the button raises and Arul pushes all-in for 26,500. Button makes the call with 4d4c while Arul shows AdTd. The board comes 8c-5s-Jh-7h and the river - the ace of spades to double Arul up. Remarkably this is the second time an ace on the river has saved Arul this tournament.

02:22
Leigh Warne pushes all in with AK and is called by a player with AJ. A Jack hits the flop and Leigh is out in 18th place ($1430).

02:27
Arul doubles through again

Arul raises from early position and is called by Martin Comer on the button and Emad in the small blind. On a flop of 8h-Jd-9c, Emad checks and Arul pushes all-in for 52k. Martin calls and Emad folds.

The hands:
Arul - Ah9d
Martin - KcQs

Turn and river are no help to Martin and Arul doubles up to 150k. Martin now has 47k.

Blinds are now 4k/8k

02:34
16th - Bert Forbes - $1430
17th - James O'Sullivan - $1430

A player min raises UTG to 16k. Plays folds around to Bert in the BB who pushes all in for 52k total. He is called instantly by the original raiser who has pocket kings. Bert has KhTh and cannot improve and is out in 16th place.

02:43
Martin Comer pushes all-in from the button, Mark Wong calls from the small blind and is all-in as well. Emad is in the big blind and is thinking about calling but folds, showing a king.

Emad is up in arms as the players show their hands - Martin has 9cTc and Mark has 6s8s. Emad is even more annoyed when the flop is K-5-6c and calls for cards that would make his hand a loser. He gets his wish - the turn is 8c giving Mark two pair, and the river is 3c which gives Martin the flush and eliminates Mark in 15th place.

14th - Doug Talbot - $1430
15th - Mark Wong - $1430

02:45
Chip counts:

Ian Schoots - 145k
Arul - 140k
Emad - 130k

02:49
With the board showing Tc-Qd-6c-8h, Martin pushes all-in and his opponent calls all-in for 52k. Martin has Jc3c for the flush draw but his opponent has Jh9h for the straight. The river is the 2d and Martin loses 130k pot.

02:52
Martin Comer moves all in from the small blind and Charles Chua calls from the big blind. Martin turns over 79 and Charles A8. The flop brings an Ace to seal the deal and Martin is out.

02:57
John Homann raises and Gianni Katsanakis reraises all-in from the BB. John calls and is in bad shape with KQ against Gianni's AK.

The flop is safe for Gianni - 3c-4d-7s, as is the turn of 9d, but a Qs on the river sees him eliminated in 12th place. John H is now up to 170k.

12th - Gianni Katsanakis - $1430

We are now hand-for-hand to decide who will return for the final table tomorrow.

02:59
Charles raises to 30k under the gun and it is folded to Arul in the small blind, who makes the call to 30k. The big blind also calls and we see a flop of K 9 6. It's checked around and a Jack comes out on the turn. Arul bets 40k and the others fold.

03:04
Charles moves all in for 39k on the button. Emad makes the call from the small blind and Ian Schoots folds the big blind. Charles turns over K9o and Emad has Q8o. The flop came A 5 9 meaning Emad needed a Queen. It came on the turn and Charles is out in 11th place.

03:26
Final hand of the night

After Charles Chua busted, on the feature table David Wyatt pushed all-in for 33k from the button. He was insta-called by Vadim Pinsky in the small blind, and Tim Balaban decided to take his chances and pushed all in for 39,500 total from the big blind. Vadim called the extra 6,500 and players showed their hands:

David - As7c
Vadim - Ad8d
Tim - KhJc

Flop is 7s-Kd-6d and Tim is in the lead, but a 5d on the river gives Vadim the flush and eliminates the other two players. David and Tim finish equal 9th.

Our final table of eight players is as follows:

Seat 1 - Emad Tahtouh - 212,500
Seat 2 - Ratima Poka - 142,500
Seat 3 - Arul Thillai - 215,000
Seat 4 - Ian Schoots - 130,500
Seat 5 - John Homann - 187,000
Seat 6 - Matthew Chew - 102,500
Seat 7 - Vadim Pinsky - 188,500
Seat 8 - Jovan Scekic - 117,000

03:28
The final table resumes at 4pm today.

16:06
Almost ready to start the final table.

16:24
The blinds have been moved back two levels to 3000/6000.

16:26
Emad raises to 16k under the gun and everyone else passes. Emad turns over his pocket aces. An aggressive table, but no action!
==========
Arul raises to 15k, John re-raises to 45k and the blinds and Arul pass.
==========
Emad raises to 16k from the button and Arul calls from the blig blind. The flop comes K 3 4. Arul checks, Emad bets 30k and Arul folds.

16:36
Five players in preflop for 20k, flop is Jd-4s-5d.

Ian, John and Vadim check to Emad who bets out 70k. Arul folds on the button and it's folded back around to Vadim who thinks for a little while and then folds. Emad shows pocket twos.

----

Jovan limps UTG, Emad limps UTG+1 and Arul raises to 40k. Play folds back around to Jovan who pushes all-in for another 62,500 more. Arul has Jovan covered but doesn't make the call and Jovan takes it down.

16:55
Vadim limps UTG, John Homann completes in the SB and Matt in the BB checks. Players check the flop of 4d-7h-8s, the turn is the As and John and Matt check to Vadim who bets 15k. John folds, Matt calls, and he and Vadim check the 10c on the river. Matt shows Ad3c to take it down.

17:00
Blinds now 4k/8k

Play is folded around to Vadim in the SB who completes and Jovan checks the big blind. The flop is 4c-3d-10c, Vadim bets out 10k and Jovan quickly calls. The turn is 8d, Vadim pushes all-in for 99,000 and Jovan calls. Vadim shows KhTd while Jovan needs a lot of help with Ts9d. The river is the 7h and Jovan is left with 4500, while Vadim is up to 214,000.

================

The next hand Arul limps, Jovan is in the small blind for 4k and chucks in his last 500, and Emad checks the big blind. The flop is 8d-Jh-Jc, Emad bets out and Arul folds. Emad shows Jd5h, Jovan has Ad2d and needs running cards to stay alive. The turn is Kc, the river a Th and Jovan is the first player eliminated from the final table in 8th place.

8th - Jovan Scekic - $3,900

17:19
Matt raises on the button to 22k, Emad calls from the big blind. Both players check to showdown with the board showing Jc-Qs-Qh-3d-4s. Emad turns up Kh3h for two pair queens and threes, but Matt laughs as he shows Ad4d for two pair queens and fours. Matt to Emad - "That's what you get for slowplaying". :)

17:19
Blinds up to 6k/12k

17:22
Ian moves all in for 39.5k under the gun. Ratima calls from the small blind. Arul in the big blind thinks for a minute and re-raises all in. Ratima folds and Ian turns over A9. Arul has JJ but Ian spikes an Ace on the flop and triples up.

17:46
Arul Thillai eliminated

In a battle of the blinds, Ratima had completed from the SB and Arul checked the BB. Both players checked the flop of 4c-6d-3d and on the turn card of 8h, Ratima checked and Arul bet out 20k. Ratima raised to 80k total, Arul pushed all-in for over 100k more and Ratima insta-called.

Arul turned over Ts5d for an open-ended straight draw, but had his outs cut in half as Ratima showed Ac7d for ace high and a gutshot straight draw. The river was a 4s, and Arul was eliminated in 7th place.

7th - Arul Thillai - $4,940

17:49
John raises to 35k Ratima calls. The flop comes 8 7 3 with two diamonds. Ratima checks and John moves all in. Ratima folds and John shows AQ of diamonds.

17:50
Players on a break.

17:59
Chip counts:

Emad - 320,000
Ratima - 410,000
Ian - 60,000
John - 220,000
Matt - 80,000
Vadim - 190,000

18:27
Players back from break blinds 8k/16k

Emad raises from the button to 40k. Ian pushes all-in from the button for 64,500 total and Emad calls. Ian shows AdTd and Emad has Qh7d. A 7 on the flop puts Ian on shaky ground but the turn is the Ah and river is the 10c to give Ian two pair and double him up.

============================

Ian completes from the small blind, and John Homann in the big blind pushes all-in. Ian would be all-in to call and thinks for awhile before folding. John shows pocket kings. On the next hand, Ian raises to 40k from the button and John pushes all in from the small blind. Ian thinks again and folds after a long deliberation. John shows AhKh.

============================

Ratima limps UTG, Vadim completes from the SB and Emad checks his BB. Players check the flop of 8c-3h-2d, and on the turn of 4h, Ratima bets 50k, Vadim folds and Emad calls. The river is the 9s, Emad checks and Ratima pushes all in. Emad thinks for a long time and folds showing an ace. Ratima turns over AT and Emad said he had A6.

18:30
Matthew Chew eliminated
Matt pushes all-in for 68,000 from early position and is called by Ian in the big blind. Matt has AsQc and Ian has pocket sixes. Vadim claims to have folded pocket 8s. The board is no help for Matt - 2d-Kd-Jh-4s-9c - and he is eliminated in 6th place.

6th - Matthew Chew - $5,980

18:39
Ratima calls from the small blind, Ian checks and we see a flop of 2h 5h Ts. Ratima checks, Ian bets 20k and Ratima check-raises to 50k. Ian moves all in for another 63k on top and Ratima eventually folds.

18:39
Blinds $10000/$20000

18:43
Blinds now 10k/20k

Play folds around to Vadim in the small blind who raises to 70k total. Emad asks Vadim how much he has left, and then pushes all-in. Vadim has less than 100k and calls. Emad has AdTc and Vadim QcJc. The flop is Kd-Kh-5c, a Td on the turn gives Vadim some extra help but a 3d on the river sees him eliminated in 5th place.

5th - Vadim Pinsky - $7,280

18:44
Emad is all in versus Ratima....details soon

18:48
Ratima limps under the gun, Ian folds, John completes from the small blind and Emad raised it to 85k to go. Ratima thinks for a while then says he will raise his 'grey ones', referring to his massive stack of $1000 chips. Emad quickly announces "All-in" and Ratima decides to make the call. Emad turns over the pocket rockets and Ratima has JQ suited. The flop brings a Jack, but the turn and river blank out for Ratima and he is out in 4th place. Emad is now well in the lead.

18:52
Ian Schoots eliminated

Emad has well over 400,000 and raises to 60k from the button. Ian pushes all in from the small blind and John folds. It's about 115,000 more to Emad and he makes the call. Ian has KcJc and Emad has Ac2d. The first card on the flop is the 2h, and the 2c behind gives Emad trips. The rest of the board is no help to Ian and he is out in 3rd place.

3rd - Ian Schoots - $13,000

18:53
We are now heads up, John Homann has about 220,000 and Emad has well over 500,000.

19:00
Emad limps, John moves all in and Emad folds. John shows 88.

John moves all in, Emad folds, and John shows 77.

John moves all in, Emad folds, and John shows a King.

19:01
John moves all in (296k) and Emad quickly calls. John has TJ and Emad A6. The flop brings a Ten and John doubles up.

19:36
The heads up battle has been fairly tight, not a lot of flops. John has pushed all-in a couple of times preflop but Emad has folded each time. Emad is now ahead with about 740k to John's 560k but the lead is switching back and forth with blinds at 10k/20k.

19:39
Emad raises to 80k. John moves all in and Emad folds.
-------------
Emad raises to 80k, John calls and we see a flop of 2 9 5. John moves all in, Emad folds and John shows a 5.

19:40
John is picking up a lot of pots here and keeping the pressure on Emad. A great heads-up battle.

19:52

Emad doubles up
Blinds are up to 20k/40k. John has been pushing Emad around and is up to 1M in chips. Emad pushes all-in from the button for 303,000 and John calls. Emad shows KdTc and has John dominated with Kc9c. Board is Qh-As-Ad-6c-3c and Emad doubles up to about 600,000. With 1.3M chips in play, he is now almost level with John.

20:01
John raises to 80k and Emad calls. The flop comes 6 6 2. Emad checks, John moves all in and Emad folds.

============================

The board reads A Q 3 5 and Emad bets out 60k. John raises to 120k and Emad calls. The river brings a 4 and Emad checks. John also checks and shows a 5 for one pair. Emad turns over his Q2 for a straight, disappointed that John didn't take another stab at the pot.

20:04
Emad had John on the ropes with 1M versus John's 300k. Emad raised to 100k from the button, John pushed all in for 325k total and Emad called. John showed KsJc and Emad 3d6h. A flop of Jh-Js-Ac virtualy assured John of a double up and a 2d on the turn and Tc on the river confirmed it. Players are now dead even with 650k apiece.

20:10
The flop is K 4 6, all spades, and John bets out 100k. Emad quickly moves all in and John makes the call with K8. Emad shows Q6. The turn brings another spade and Emad calls for another one on the river to split the pot. The river is a red three and Emad is busted out in 2nd place. Congratulations to John Homann!

Back To Press Release List