Level: 22
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
Level: 22
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
The players are currently being introduced by Crown Poker Tournament Director Joel Williams.
We expect to be underway very soon.
Welcome back to the Crown Poker Room in Melbourne, Australia for the final table of the 2013 APPT Melbourne Main Event. By the end of the day, there will be a champion!
Beginning the day as the chip leader of the final nine is Ashley Mason, while [Removed:17] is close behind.
Mason is an online grinder who boasts a resume which includes a massive WCOOP High Roller title, while Yan is known both online and in live poker where he finished 6th in the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event.
Both Mason and Yan are extremely experienced and will be tough to beat, but that's exactly what players such as Joe Cabret, Billy Argyros, Robert Damelian and Ravindran Maravar will be looking to do.
The remaining nine players are guaranteed $16,650 each, while they will all be looking to fight it out for the $217,000 first-place prize, along with the coveted APPT Melbourne trophy and title.
Check out the final table lineup below:
Seat | Name | Chip Count |
---|---|---|
1 | Joe Cabret | 501,000 |
2 | Ashley Mason | 2,299,000 |
3 | Robert Damelian | 989,000 |
4 | Billy Argyros | 226,000 |
5 | Ravi Maravar | 1,180,000 |
6 | [Removed:17] | 1,692,000 |
7 | Jazz Mathers | 146,000 |
8 | Phi Luu | 558,000 |
9 | Bowdy Tolhopf | 1,645,000 |
The action kicks off from 12.30pm local time and PokerNews will be here once again, every step of the way to crowning a victor.
What a run Joe Cabret has had in this tournament! After being down to just 5,000 in chips late on Day 3, Cabret remarkably turned things around with an epic "chip and a chair" story, to now find himself in contention on this APPT Melbourne final table.
58-year old Cabret started off 2013 in sensational fashion with a runner-up result in the Aussie Millions Main Event. Cabret picked up a cool $1,000,000 for that result boosting him into 12th place on the Australian all-time tournament money earners list, but he'll now be keen to add a major title in his home town casino at Crown.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog
Having relocated from the UK to now reside in Perth, Western Australia, 24-year old Ashley Mason might not have a big profile in the Australian live poker scene just yet, but he has certainly made an impression in the online poker world. Known as "AshTheDonkey" online, Mason is far from a donkey with a fearsome online record that boasts a victory in the 2011 World Championships of Online Poker High Roller Event for a massive US$430,000.
Mason's live tournament record is a little more modest, but he has already accumulated seven WSOP cashes that include a deep run in this year's Main Event where he finished 119th for US$50,752.
Mason is a man in form after winning the Six-Handed Event during the week for another $49,350 in winnings as he looks to secure his second trophy of the week.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog
Robert Damelian is a Motor Dealer from Sydney who has been playing poker for a little over seven years, but he might have to start taking the game more seriously given his recent run of success.
Damelian's big year includes a brilliant run at this year's World Series of Poker Main Event. Damelian finished in 56th place as the second-last Aussie standing and pocketed a massive US$123,597 for his efforts. Damelian actually cashed in the WSOP Main Event back in 2011 as well when he finished 224th for US$47,107. This will be his first major result in Australia and on the APPT.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStars Blog
The man known as "The Croc", Billy Argyros is one of Australia's all-time greats. This Australian Poker Hall of Famer has a tournament history dating back to 1989, which is longer than some of our final table participants have even been alive! That experience has netted Argyros with over US$1 million in earnings to place him 3rd in Australia for the most number of tournament cash results.
Argyros has results from all over the world but his biggest pay day came at the 2008 World Series of Poker where he finished 4th in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha championship for a collect of US$268,605.
Away from poker, Argyros enjoys golf and eating. He'd love nothing more than to secure an APPT title in his home town of Melbourne but he has some work to do as one of the short stacks.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog
We don't know a whole lot about Ravi Maravar in Seat 5 and he didn't give us a lot to work with on his bio sheet. We do know he's a software programmer from Melbourne who has been playing poker for about three years.
With only one other small cash to his credit, this final table will be Maravar's biggest achievement in poker, regardless of the result.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog
20-year old [Removed:17] burst onto the local poker scene this year with a 6th place finish in the 2013 Aussie Millions and continues to impress at tournament events around the world. Yan followed up with small results at the WSOP APAC, EPT Berlin and the Sydney Poker Championships, which sees him now ranked 8th on New Zealand's all-time tournament money earners list.
Yan has the honour of becoming a Supernova Elite on PokerStars in 2012 which is not an easy achievement. Those hours grinding online are now starting to pay off on the local live tournament circuit.
Away from poker, Yan enjoys photography and travel, and says that Melbourne is a beautiful city with lots to see and do. He also feels that he always runs well at Crown which bodes well for him on the final table ahead.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog
Jazz Mathers has a catchy name but his chip stack isn't quite as impressive as he enters this final table as the short stack of the field. Mathers is a 26-year old who works in Advertising, but enjoys grinding poker with Sydney poker icon "Toothpick Tony" described as his biggest influence.
Mathers only has two small previous cash results to his credit, so he'll be looking for a few early double ups to land a big score on this final table.
Bio courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog