APPT Sydney – Grant Levy Takes it Home for the Aussies
Grant Levy (Credit: Poker Stars Blog)
The Poker Stars Asia Pacific Poker Tour laid anchor in Sydney, Australia last week. 561 players from around the globe paid to play in the Grand Final. Amongst those playing were four former WSOP champions, Joe Hachem (2005), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Chris Moneymaker (2003) and Greg Raymer (2004). The total prize pool was AUD $3,366,000. As the final table got underway, Lei He, a 19 year old born in China who now makes his home in Sydney, had the chip lead with 2,623,000 of the big ones. Nipping at his heels was a 27 year old internet businessman and former computer science teacher from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada) by the name of Sol Bergen. Larry Wright, an American roof contractor who qualified online at event sponsor Poker Stars, was the short stack. Without much wiggle room, he took a stab at doubling up through chip leader He with an A,J. he made the call with a K,Q and spiked a king on the river. A little while later, the table lost a second player. Jeremiah “John”Vinsant of Murfreesboro, TN, a 25 year old online sensation, raised the action up from the small blind with an A,K. The Malaysian player and software sales manager Vijayan Nagarajan came in over the top with pocket sevens. Vinsant reluctantly made the call and rejoiced when he hit a king on the flop. Nagarajan couldn't catch one of the two remaining sevens in the deck. He hit the rails in eighth place which was good for $69,060. Barry Kohlhoff, the NFL fan from Wisconsin in the United States who took down Joe Hachem on Day Two of this APPT event, played a few wild hands before singing his swan song. The married father of one has been playing the game seriously for about four years, logging in about 20 hours a week online. First, he got mixed up in a three-way-pot with John Matwey, a 45 year old former risk manager who qualified for the event online, and Jeremiah Vinsant with the third worst starting hand. Matwey went all-in first with his pocket fives. Kohlhoff and Vinsant called. Kohlhoff walked on water in that hand, making trip nines on the river and collecting a nice pot including Matwey's remaining chips. Matwey exited the game in seventh position. However, Kohlhoff's luck wouldn't hold. The gambling man busted out in sixth place, earning $115,100. He went all-in with A,8, a variation of the infamous 'dead man's hand' and failed to improve upon the pocket nines of his opponent, Canada's Sol Bergren. On the very next hand, the first Australian got bumped from the final table. Father of four, Jai Kemp, owner of an importing business, put himself at risk with an A,7. Grant Levy, a 28 year old married teacher from Penrith in Sydney's outer-west rim, made the call with A,2. The flop gave the hometown fave a lead which he held onto. Kemp parlayed his $11 online entry fee into a $158,830 payday so it's all good. Things slowed down to a crawl once play got to four-handed. In fact, it took as long to eliminate Sol Bergren in fourth place as it did to get rid of the four previous players combined. Bergren was KO'd by Vinsant. Lei He, the former chip leader, lasted only a few more orbits before succumbing. On his final hand, he held pocket nines against Vinsant's pocket hooks. The talented nineteen-year-old received more than $320,000 for his impressive third-place run. We're certain to see him at another final table soon. Heads-up play went on for a grueling 60 hands. The Tennessean Vinsant couldn't put the PE teacher away. On the final hand, Levy raised the action up pre-flop with Qs,6s. Vinsant called with his Q,10. The flop was magic for Levy, bringing him two pair. A six on the turn gave Levy a full house, leaving the case queen the only hope for his opponent. The river yielded a blank with the Ace of hearts, giving Levy the title, a million Aussie dollars and the distinction of being the first Australian to earn that much moolah on his home turf! These are the final results: 1) Grant Levy (Australia) - $1,000,000 2) Jeremiah Vinsant (USA) - $621,540 3) Lei Hei (Australia) - $322,280 4) Sol Bergren (Canada) - $230,200 5) Jai Kemp (Australia) - $158,838 6) Barry Kohlhoff (USA) - $115,100 7) John Matwey (USA) - $92,080 8) Vijayan Nagarajan (Malaysia) - $69,060 9) Larry Wright (USA) - $46,040