Congratulations to Scott Calcagno, Winner of Event 4: AU$1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Terminator (AU$61,250)!
The 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific has crowned the newest bracelet winner with 29-year old Australian Scott Calcagno capturing gold in Event 4: AU$1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Terminator for AU$61,250!
On Monday afternoon, 250 players took a seat to play the unique format of poker very common to Melbourne - The Terminator. It applauded the eliminations of players by rewarding anyone that was able to eliminate a player with a red Terminator chip that was worth $500 each. However the real goal is always to clinch the lion's share of the AU$250,000 prizepool that was on offer.
Day 1 would be a battle on the green felt, and as play reach the expected end-of-day, it was decided that play would continue until the bubble was broke - and unfortunately it would be 2013 World Champion Ryan Riess the one going home empty handed when his aces were cracked by a runner-runner straight. Day 2 was all about the money as the final 27 players were whittled down to a final table of nine as the likes of Dylan Hortin (26th), Josh Barrett (23rd), Ismael Bojang (20th), Peter Aristidou (19th), Daniel Neilson (18th), Richard Lyndaker (17th) and Mike Watson (13th) all found themselves on the rail.
Nelson Maccini would be the overwhelming chip leader coming into the final table, but the story lines of the day would consist of Tony Hachem looking to join his brother Joe as a WSOP bracelet winner and Brandon Shack-Harris searching for his second WSOP bracelet of the year while also simultaneously extending his WSOP Player of the Year lead. Joe Cabret would be the first to go when his aces were cracked by Calcagno's flopped set, as Hachem followed out next when his couldn't outdraw Henry Tran's aces. Tran however fell in 7th when he made a move holding and couldn't outdraw Nick Piskopos' .
Shack-Harris' quest for a second bracelet would end in 6th place when he was all in holding against Calcagno's . The board would see his pair counterfeited to leave just five. As chips circled back-and-forth, it would be Day 1 chip leader Piskopos the next to go when his top two pair ran into Maccini's flopped set. Unlike the entire final table - and we believe everyone that made the money - Duncan McKinnon had not captured a terminator button, and unfortunately it would remain that way when he fell in 4th before Andrew Dales exited in 3rd to leave Calcagno and Maccini almost dead even in chips.
Heads-up play started quite docile, but a big pot saw Calcagno move out to a two-to-one advantage after he got value with his over Maccini's . Maccini would slowly claw back until Calcagno ran a bluff with queen-high against Maccini's two pair to see Maccini now sitting with a two-to-one advantage. Calcagno then managed to flop a set of fives to get a double on the river against Maccini to once again flip the chip stacks back. From there Calcagno continued to apply the pressure until the final hand saw his flopped two pair improve to a full house to see him capture his first WSOP bracelet.
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Scott Calcagno | Australia | AU$61,250 |
2nd | Nelson Maccini | Australia | AU$37,845 |
3rd | Andrew Dales | Australia | AU$27,343 |
4th | Duncan McKinnon | Australia | AU$20,123 |
5th | Nick Piskopos | Australia | AU$15,075 |
6th | Brandon Shack-Harris | USA | AU$11,488 |
7th | Henry Tran | Australia | AU$8,900 |
8th | Tony Hachem | Australia | AU$7,008 |
9th | Joe Cabret | Australia | AU$5,605 |
Although the cards fell Calcagno's way throughout Day 2 and 3, he played smart and aggressive poker on his way to capturing the AU$61,250 first prize along with the 12 terminator buttons (worth AU$6,000) which included his since he became the the overall terminator of Event 4. Congratulations to Scott Calcagno who now joins the likes of Jeff Lisandro, Joe Hachem, Gary Benson, Mark Vos and Andrew Hinrichsen as Australian WSOP bracelet winners!
Our time may be done in Event 4, but the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand at Crown Melbourne where you can find continuous live updates of the 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific right here.