The Shane Warne Foundation is now $50,000 better off after the charity’s patron and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem won the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions.
Holding an 8:1 chip lead over fellow Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer, Hachem had been blessed with a run of cards after the dinner break, which continued when Raymer decided to take a stand on the fifth hand of heads-up play.
Unfortunately, his Qs Js was up against Hachem’s Ac Ks, and the board of 8h 8c 8s Kd 10h ensured the 2005 world champion would collect his first win on home soil.
The face of poker in Australia, Hachem said he was thrilled to end the year on such a high note and would take delight in delivering a cheque for $50,000 to the Shane Warne Foundation.
Joe Hachem winner of the Tournament of Champions
“The Shane Warne Foundation distributes funds raised to established charities that provide essential help and services to seriously ill and underprivileged children. It’s a great cause and the foundation helps a lot of people. From a personal standpoint, it fills a gap that I’ve been looking for to give something back,” he said.
It’s been a great 24 hours for Australian poker, with Grant Levy winning the APPT Grand Final and Hachem triumphing over three other world champions and four APPT title winners in the Tournament of Champions.
The PokerStars.net APPT wraps-up our commitments at Star City in Sydney, Australia and puts a cap on the highly successful inaugural season. See you in 2008!
Just like that – we’re down to the heads-up battle for the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions title, and what a line-up.
It’s world champion v world champion as 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer and 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem prepare to do battle. To be fair, Raymer faces an uphill battle – Hachem holds a 8:1 chip lead as they prepare to play heads-up for the first time.
Levy is free to get some well-earned sleep after he raised under the gun to 15,000 and Hachem called out of the big blind.
The flop comes 3c 9d 4c, Hachem checked, Levy bet 21,000, Hachem added an extra 50,000, Levy said all-in and Hachem called.
“Ship it” is the cry as Hachem lands pocket nines for top set, while Levy shows pocket kings. The turn and river are queens (Scotty Nguyen’s head is in his hands after folding a queen).
Scotty nguyen and Joe hachem
Hachem’s tasty run of cards continued on the next hand when Scotty pushed all-in for 55,000. Hachem showed pocket aces, and Scotty As 8h. The board isn’t friendly (10s 2s 10h 4c 5s), and Scotty bows out, but not before thanking every single person in the room and sharing in a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with Joe and Greg for the TV cameras.
Scotty Nguyen
Latest chip count:
Joe Hachem 830,000
Greg Raymer 70,000
PokerStars Video Blog Ali interviews Grant Levy at the break
Barely 10 minutes have passed since players returned from the dinner break before Brett Parise became the fifth player eliminated from the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions.
Hoping to win $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Parise pushed in his entire stack on a board of Ad 8d 2h Qh but received a prompt call from Joe Hachem.
Parise, who won the APPT Manila main event after winning a seat via a freeroll on PokerStars, showed Ah 8s for two-pair, while Hachem trailed with As 9d.
APPT Manila Champion Brett Parise
Needing a queen or a nine, the 9h duly arrived on the river for Hachem, sending Parise, the likeable 22-year-old originally from Indiana, on his way.
Knowing what it takes to fulfil all the obligations after winning a major poker tournament (two in Joe’s case), Hachem led the audience in a round of applause for APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, who’s barely had any sleep since taking out the $1 million first prize just 17 hours ago.
Barely 10 minutes have passed since players returned from the dinner break before Brett Parise became the fifth player eliminated from the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions.
Hoping to win $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Parise pushed in his entire stack on a board of Ad 8d 2h Qh but received a prompt call from Joe Hachem.
Parise, who won the APPT Manila main event after winning a seat via a freeroll on PokerStars, showed Ah 8s for two-pair, while Hachem trailed with As 9d.
APPT Manila Champion Brett Parise
Needing a queen or a nine, the 9h duly arrived on the river for Hachem, sending Parise, the likeable 22-year-old originally from Indiana, on his way.
Knowing what it takes to fulfil all the obligations after winning a major poker tournament (two in Joe’s case), Hachem led the audience in a round of applause for APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, who’s barely had any sleep since taking out the $1 million first prize just 17 hours ago.
The honour of being crowned the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions winner will be decided among Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer, APPT Manila winner Brett Parise, APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy and PokerStars player Scotty Nguyen.
Two of the APPT’s season one winners, Ziv Bachar (Seoul) and Eric Assadourian (Macau High Roller champion), were eliminated just before the dinner break.
Ziv Bachar champion APPt Seoul
Eric Assadourian
Short-stacked, Bachar pushed all-in from late position and Raymer moved over the top, also for his entire stack. The race pitted Bachar’s pocket sevens against Raymer’s Ad Kh. The Israeli stayed in front on the flop of 5c 6s Jd, but Raymer hit a king on the turn to scoop the pot.
Assadourian, the popular pick of the locals to take out this tournament, then followed soon after when he again butted heads with Hachem.
On a flop of Kc 6h 7c, the money eventually made its way into the middle with Hachem showing Jc 6c and Assadourian 8c 9c. The 10c on the turn gave both players a flush, and a straight flush draw, but Hachem had Assadourian outpointed either way.
Players have just returned from dinner (Scotty Nguyen decided to join the TV crew for a spot of camera work). Blinds will be at 3000/6000.
Latest chip count:
Grant Levy 109,000
Greg Raymer 73,500
Scotty Nguyen 167,000
Brett Parise 187,000
Joe Hachem 363,500
PokerStars Video Blog Interview with Eric Assadourian
PokerStars Video Blog Introduction to the Tournament of Champions
The price of poker has gone up in the 2007 APPT Tournament of Champions in Sydney, and we've reached the final "1-hour" blind level. The blinds are now at 1000/2000, and all future blind levels will reduce to a half hour duration, and the action is sure to heat up! Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem has maintained the chip lead courtesy of his early double-up, and plenty of raising. Greg Raymer and Grant Levy have both also been very active, and Levy has made a nice charge considering he earlier laid down the best hand, and should have tripled up!
Who said this was going to be a friendly game? The three local players at the table – Sydney’s Eric Assadourian and Grant Levy and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem from Melbourne – are representing Australia’s two largest cities.
There’s been a simmering rivalry between the cities – separated by 550 miles – for more than a century, dating back to the times when Melbourne was the hub of Australia’s government before the capital was moved to Canberra. You name it, and Melburnians and Sydneysiders will argue about it – even poker.
APPT Macau High Roller Champion Eric Assadourian
Eric and Joe have some history at the poker table, dating back to the 2006 Melbourne Poker Championships when Eric eliminated Joe in third place, before going on to win the event.
Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem
Both Assadourian and Levy have taken chips off Hachem since he doubled up through Chris Moneymaker, but there’s plenty of chips in play and the blinds are just 500/1000 at this stage. C’mon Joe, do it for Melbourne!! 500/1000 at this stage. C’mon Joe, do it for Melbourne!!
Is there a poker player who looks more comfortable at a TV table than Scotty Nguyen? Away from the constant scrutiny that comes with being a famous face in a public cardroom, the PokerStars player is holding court in the TV studio and is clearly enjoying the experience of an afternoon’s play with some new friends – all for a good cause.
It could be a group of guys just enjoying an everyday game of poker, except for the small matter of the six WSOP bracelets and three world championships amassed by the seven players remaining.
Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier Eliminated
That’s right, we’re down to seven after Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier was eliminated just before the first break.
On a flop of Ad 3d 9d, Greg Raymer led out for 10,000 and ‘No Mercy’ reraised all-in. Raymer called and showed 4d 7d for a made flush, while Mercier needed help. It didn’t arrive and Mercier, a great supporter of the APPT having journeyed across the world from her base in Montreal, Canada to Korea and Macau, is out in eighth position.
Chris Moneymaker started his journey to the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in style with a cash in the $1600 Six-handed No Limit Hold’em as part of Star City’s Big Game Poker Championships.
2003 World Champion Chris Moneymaker
However, his APPT Grand Final journey was cut short on day one, and he’s now become the first player to be eliminated from the APPT Tournament of Champions.
Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker Eliminated
Moneymaker crossed paths with Team PokerStars Pro and fellow WSOP champion Joe Hachem after a flop of 9 Q 3 (all hearts). Hachem bet 5000 and Grant Levy, who’s barely 12 hours into his reign as APPT Grand Final champion, made it 17,000 total.
Moneymaker then pushed all in with Ah Qd and Hachem called with 10h 4h. Levy thought long and hard before throwing away what proved to be the best hand (Jh 5h) face up. Two clubs (4 2) on the turn and river ended Moneymaker’s hopes of a $50,000 payday for the Memphis Humane Society.
There is no charity on the felt where competitive professional poker is concerned, but today 9 of the most competitive names in the game will line up in the inaugural Asian Pacific Poker Tour Tournament of Champions.
The 9 player field will comprise of 4 Team PokerStars Pros, 4 World Champions and 4 APPT Champions, including yesterday’s 2007 APPT Grand Final Sydney winner, Australian Grant Levy. The players will be vying for the honour and glory of being the first ever APPT Tournament of Champions Champion, with a prize of $50,000 to the charity of each player’s choice, in a prestigious televised event.
The field and charities nominated are as follows:
Seating:
Seat 1 Ziv Bachar 2007 APPT Seoul Korea Champion -- Family Soldiers (Israel) Seat 2 Grant Levy 2007 APPT Sydney GF Champion -- CARITAS Seat 3 Greg Raymer 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Bubel/Aiken Foundation Seat 4 Scotty Nguyen 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Homeless Children Seat 5 Eric Assadourian 2007 APPT Macau High Roller Champion -- Salvos Seat 6 Isabelle Mercier 2004 WPT “Ladies Night” Champion -- ALS Research Foundation Seat 7 Chris Moneymaker 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Memphis Humane Society Seat 8 Brett Parise 2007 WPT Manila Champion -- Make-A-Wish Foundation Seat 9 Joe Hachem 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Shane Warne Foundation
Event Preview:
The all-star field has assembled and the cards are in the air, with plenty of poker to be played. Play will commence $100k starting stacks and the three 60minute opening blind levels. There will be no antes in the tournament.
Structure:
1 500 / 500 Duration: 60 min. 2 500 / 1000 Duration: 60 min. 3 1000 / 2000 Duration: 60 min. 4 1500 / 3000 Duration: 30 min. 5 2000 / 4000 Duration: 30 min. 6 3000 / 6000 Duration: 30 min. 7 4000 / 8000 Duration: 30 min. 8 6000 / 12000 Duration: 30 min. 9 8000 / 16000 Duration: 30 min. 10 10000 / 20000 Duration: 30 min. 11 15000 / 30000 Duration: 30 min.
Stay tuned for all of the action and photos, and visit http://www.apptlive.com/ for a live webcast of the event!
