Jim Psaros Triumphs in ANZPT7 Sydney

Nine players came back yesterday looking to seize the day in Sydney and, as is always the case with tournament poker, only one was standing tall at the end of play. His name is Jim Psaros and he will take home $183,000 for his efforts.

Although it is not that common for the final table chip leader to win the tournament, this time there were no surprises. Psaros started the final day as an overwhelming leader over the pack and turned that lead into a victory.

When the cards started flying through the air yesterday, the average stack was quite short - just about twenty big blinds - and a few fast eliminations were expected. Those expectations were duly met as four players hit the rail in quick succession.

During the first half-hour of play, two players had their dreams crushed. Chung Liew was, expectedly, the first to go, as he returned with a mere four blinds in his stack. Shaneel Chand lost the very first race that could have marked his comeback and was eliminated in 8th place.

Tom Rafferty followed suit soon after as he also couldn’t hold in a crucial flip and was eliminated in seventh place. Zhi Hong Ma was eliminated in 6th when his ak failed to improve against the pocket Queens of Denis Sekuolski.

After those four eliminations, the remaining players were finally able to find some breathing space, as they caught up with the blinds a little and the game slowed down. Players were still not very deep, and certainly not deep enough to do anything against coolers.

Flopping two pair can be a great thing, but it can also be the hand that costs you your tournament life, as Li-ta Hsu of Taiwan (the only non-Aussie at the final table) found out when his bottom two pair turned up against the top two of Emanuel Seal. It made a huge dent in Hsu’s stack and he was eliminated moments later when he ran into the pocket Aces of Psaros. Some days there is just nothing you can do. Li-ta Hsu received $48,000 for his performance in Sydney.

Murray Roach was the next to fall, as his a8 , on average a very decent hand in four-handed play, fell short against Seal’s pocket Jacks. Seal added some more ammo to his stack, while Roach pocketed $62,000.

And then there were three, and the trio decided to strike a deal. This worked out pretty well for third place finisher Denis Sekuloski, who pocketed $90,000, $10k more than he would have otherwise.

As Sekuloski made his exit, Jim Psaros and Emanuell Seal were left to fight it out for the title. Although Psaros started with a small lead, neither player could really break away and they eventually agreed to make an even chop, taking $175,000 each and leaving the extra $8k and the trophy on the line.

The final hand saw the pair get their chips in the middle on a board reading jqq , with both players holding a flush draw. Psaros held the King of Hearts, however, and as the board bricked out, Seal’s Eight-high was left in the dust.

The ANZPT7 Sydney Main Event was thus brought to a conclusion, with Jim Psaros taking home the title, the trophy, and the total prize of $183,000!

Photo: PokerStars Blog