ANZPT7 Sydney - Day 1A in the books

Tournament poker in Australia and Asia has been going strong this year. Australia and New Zeland Poker Tour Season 7 that has kicked off yesterday is the latest tournament to take place in this part of the world.

Although it is happening at the same time as the EPT in Malta, the two events are really not a competition to one another considering the distance between the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian and the Sydney's Star Casino.

Day 1A of the $2,300 Main Event attracted total of 188 players, all gathering to battle it out for their share of $800k prize pool (which will, in all likelihood, be shattered). After a grueling day of play, more than 100 hopefuls fell along the way, leaving just 84 to return for the Day 2 on Saturday.

It was a local player, Sayed Jabbour, who had the most chips in his bag after the last river was dealt. His stack of 157k is trailed by that of 122k of Octavian Voegele, who looked like he was going to end of top of the chip counts until Jabbour found the heater late in the day. Tty Ly is the only other player who bagged a six-figure amount and will be coming back for Day 2 with 111k worth of betting discs.

Sydney has long held the record for the number of participants but in the Season 6, it was dethroned as Melbourne gathered 516 players and created the very first prize pool to exceed a million dollars on the tour. Edison Nguyen was the name of the man who took the trophy home from the Crown's Casino.

This year, Sydney is looking to claim what is rightfully his (or hers, which ever your prefer), by creating, once again, the biggest event in the history of the tour. Things are looking good so far, as almost 200 participants for the Day 1A is a great indicator.

Day 1Bs traditionally feature bigger fields and it is not unusual to see double or even bigger number of players take their seats at the tables. Even if it doesn't happen, ANZPT Sydney will be a great event and whoever takes home the first prize will certainly not be unhappy.

Photos: PokerStars Blog