2009 Aussie Millions Event #17, $1,100 Turbo NLHE: Matt Dietrich Claims Ring
In action at the 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championship on Sunday, Matt Dietrich bobbed and weaved his way through a field of 159 competitors in Event #17, $1,100 Turbo No-Limit Hold'em, before sending two opponents home off the final table in a huge hand that propelled him to the chip lead. From there, it was just a short contest between Dietrich and Raemin Alexander before Dietrich took down the championship ring and the AUD $42,900 top prize. Dietrich outlasted a field that included Mel Judah, James Obst, Michael Vartan and Tony Dunst on his way to his first 2009 Aussie Millions event title.
Event #17 was another unique tournament format for the Aussie Millions series. Each player started the day with 5,000 in chips, shortened levels of 40 minutes and only 30 seconds to act before his hand was declared dead. Upon reaching the final table, players were given a single "time breaker" button, which could be used for one 30-second time extension.
With the turbo format, there was plenty of action and early eliminations. Among the victims in the first levels were Antonio Casale, Michael Vartan, Dixon Ruecker, Danny Mountt and Chris Chronis. Chronis limped into a three-way pot to see a flop of 7?Q?10?. After an early-position bet, Lisa Walsh raised and Chronis moved all in. Walsh was the only caller, and she showed 8-9 for a straight draw. Chronis showed 7?10? for two pair, and was looking good to double up when the 3? came on the turn. However, the 6? on the river filled Walsh's straight, and Chronis was out.
The turbo format thinned the field quickly, and before long the money bubble was drawing near. Dennis Huntly sniffed the money in Event #17, but busted just a few spots short of the cash. Tony Dunst also got close, but lost a coin flip to Mark Saber when his pocket eights couldn't hold up against Saber's K?Q?. A queen-high board sent Dunst packing. After a timely double-up, Marsha Waggoner got all her chips in the middle on the bubble again with 9?9? and found callers in both Tobias Garp and Chris Barratt. Garp pushed Barratt out of the hand on the K?Q?7? flop and tabled K?Q? to leave Waggoner drawing thin. She was drawing dead when the turn K? gave Garp a full house, and then the 9? river to rubbed salt in the wound by giving Waggoner a meaningless full house of her own.
With Waggoner's elimination, play condensed to the final two tables, and proceeded to quickly thin to the final table. Peter Smyth snuck into the money with a 16th-place showing ($2,600), and PokerNews reporter Justin Dorazio made a good showing for himself with his 12th-place finish ($2,600). Dorazio moved all in over the top of Raemin Alexander's preflop raise with K?Q?, and found Alexander waiting with pocket aces. Nothing unusual happened on the 4?3?9?7?6? board, and Alexander's aces held up to bust Dorazio. Mick "Sticky" Guttman was the final-table bubble boy when he busted in tenth place ($2,600), and the final table looked like this:
1. Joel Small - 34,000
2. Con Cotsomitis - 78,000
3. Gary Benson - 148,500
4. Chris Barratt - 28,500
5. Luke Abolins - 46,500
6. Jani Mikkola - 210,000
7. Matt Dietrich - 105,500
8. Raemin Alexander - 106,000
9. Chris Ozer - 44,500
Raemin Alexander once again picked up a big pocket pair to bust an opponent. Luke Abolins got it all in with A?10?, and Alexander's pocket queens held up on a board of 6?5?3?2?Q? to send Abolins packing in ninth ($2,600). Alexander then knocked out short-stacked Chris Barratt in eighth place ($3,835) when Barratt moved all in preflop with A?5?. Alexander called from the big blind with A?8?. Alexander's eight kicker played on the J?J?2?Q?{4h] board, and Barratt was finished.
Gary Benson doubled through Jani Mikkola in one hand, then sent him to the rail in the next. Benson raised preflop with A?K? from under the gun, and Mikkola moved all in over the top. Benson quickly called, and Mikkola was dominated with A?Q?. No help came for Mikkola on the board of 8?8?4?A?9?, and he exited in seventh place ($5,135).
Con Cotsomitis got all his chips in the middle against Alexander and Chris Ozer. The live players checked down the board of 4?6?2?7?10?, and Alexander tabled Q?10? to make top pair on the river and claim another victim at the final table. Cotsomitis picked up $7,265 for his sixth-place finish.
Joel Small came out on the short end of a battle of three pocket pairs to finish fifth ($10,540). Matt Dietrich raised preflop, Small called all in from the small blind, and Gary Benson called from the big blind. The flop came down J?7?8?, and Benson checked. Dietrich moved all in with A?A?, and Benson snap-called with 7?7? for bottom set. Small was in third place and a lot of trouble with 6?6?, and headed to the rail when the turn and river ran out 2?4?.
Fourhanded action was quick, as Chris Ozer, Gary Benson and Matt Dietrich all got their money in preflop to quickly thin the field to two. Ozer moved all in from under the gun with 8?8?, Benson moved in over the top with A?J?, and Dietrich, who had both opponents covered, called from the small blind with K?K?. Raemin Alexander happily got out of the way. The board ran out an unexciting 3?9?3?10?10?, and Ozer's eights were only good enough for a fourth-place finish ($16,790). Benson's two pair on the river was not enough to pass Dietrich's kings up, and he was done in third ($22,075).
Dietrich took a big chip lead into heads-up play, but Alexander made a game of it before he finally succumbed in second place ($31,650). Alexander moved the last of his chips in preflop with K?4?, and Dietrich had more than enough chips to call with as he tabled A?9?. Alexander's cards were live, but the board missed him completely, running out Q?3?2?3?A?. Matt Dietrich's aces up were good enough to claim the gold ring, and Event #17's $42,900 top prize.
