The final table line-up for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final has been decided, and the odds remain firmly in place that another local will be crowned champion. Seven of the nine players are Aussies, with Daniel Kowalski (a UK based Pole) and Canada’s Tony Basile representing the internationals.

Michael Guzzardi bubbled the final table when he pushed in the last of his extremely short stack pre-flop and was joined by Hai Bo Chu and Antonio Fazzolari.

Play was checked down on a board of 7c-Ad-4d-Jc-2s before Fazzolari showed pocket fives, Chu edged ahead with pocket sixes while Guzzardi’s 10d-3h completely missed.

Despite losing that hand, Fazzolari remains chip leader ahead of Jason Gray and Tom Rafferty. There are three PokerStars Online Qualifiers (Chu, Kowalski and Tim English) at the final table. We look forward to bringing you all the action at the final table from 1.30pm local time.

Seat 1: Martin Rowe, Australia (995,000 in chips): A self employed local from North Sydney, this 34-year-old insurance worker has been playing poker for three years. In his first PokerStars.net APPT event, Martin goes into the final table 3rd in chips. A regular at Star City, Martin has also played and cashed in preliminary events at the Aussie Millions.

Seat 2: Jason Gray, Sydney (1,188,000 in chips): Don’t let the calm exterior or quiet demeanour of this poker pro fool you. He’s been playing poker full-time for three years but has featured in the nation’s biggest cash games for more than two decades. His best tournament results have come in the past 18 months – he won the $15,000 buy-in event at the 2007 Victorian Championships for more than AUD $125,000, then placed third in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split World Championship at the 2008 WSOP for more than USD $200,000.

Seat 3: Tony Basile 863,000 in chips: A 39-year-old racehorse owner from Canada bought in directly to this year’s PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Playing poker for the last 15 years, his career highlight was placing 309th from a field of 6844 in this year’s World Series of Poker main event. Heading into the final table 7th in chips he hopes to make the APPT Grand Final his first major win.

Seat 4: Timothy English (945,000 in chips): This 23-year-old science student from Melbourne’s Glen Iris qualified online at PokerStars in a Last Chance Qualifier last Monday. In his first big tournament he is ecstatic to have made the final 9 and will be cheered on by his mates who fly up from Melbourne on Sunday morning, ensuring he has plenty of support to take the title. He currently sits 6th in chips heading into the final day.

Seat 5: Daniel Kowalski, Poland (959,000 in chips): Not to be confused with the Aussie swimming great, 35-year old Pole Daniel Kowalski has been playing poker for a mere six months. In his first major tournament, Daniel is fifth heading into the final table having won his seat to Sydney on PokerStars. A self employed business man, Daniel resides in England. The APPT Grand Final in Sydney is his first tournament down under.

Seat 6: Frank Saffioti, Australia/Italy (790,000 in chips): This 37-year-old Australian born Italian has been playing poker for three years. A local of Sydney beachside suburb Seaforth, Frank owns a traditional Italian Restaurant in Sydney. Considering himself a poker enthusiast, Frank won his seat in a satellite on PokerStars and lies sixth in chips heading into the final table.

Seat 7: Tom Rafferty (1,101,000 in chips): Originally from Canberra, Tom Rafferty now calls Sydney home. This 24-year-old has been playing poker professionally for 16 months and is celebrating his tournament debut in perfect fashion – with a final table appearance and enough chips and determination to go all the way to the title. Tom is part of the new online poker generation and is excited to potentially become the next PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final Champion.

Seat 8: Antonio Fazzolari (1,775,000 in chips): Claiming to “invent the game,” Antonio is no newcomer to poker. The 58-year-old Melbourne resident, who owned a poker club in Jersey where Phil Ivey used to play, is chip leader heading into the final table. The retired engineer moved to Australia eight years ago and is looking forward to the chance to take out Sydney’s biggest poker tournament.

Seat 9: Hai Bo Chu (781,000 in chips): Qualifying on PokerStars for just $11, this marketing executive from Templestone in Melbourne will be cheered on from the stands by wife Bomi. Hai Bo has been playing poker for the last five years, however it has really started to pay off in the past 12 months – 186th in the WSOP Main Event, pocketing USD $38,600 for his efforts and taking out the Melbourne Champs main event last year for $100,000. Heading into the final table as the short-stacked player, Hai Bo will be looking for chips early in the day in order to become the next PokerStars.net APPT champion.

Spectators are six-deep around the rail at the two tables that remain in play for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. One table is at the corner of the poker area, and a second is the feature table that will be used for tomorrow’s final table.

Two players who won’t be seated at that table for last day of the APPT Grand Final are Brendan Edmonds (12th) and George Kassis (13th).

The chip leader at numerous times during day 3, Edmonds lost a handful of pivotal pots before tangling with Tony Basile pre-flop. He showed Ac-10s to be marginally ahead of Basile’s Kc-7c but a seven on the flop was enough for the Canadian to eliminate one of the players expected to survive the day.

Kassis also committed his money with the best of it, with pocket kings against the pocket jacks of Jason Gray. The first card revealed on the flop was the jack of hearts and it was adios to Kassis.

With 11 players still in the hunt, Antonio Fazzolini (1.8 million), leads from Tom Rafferty (1.2 million), PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski (970,000), Jason Gray (960,000), Frank Saffioti (945,000), Basile (790,000), Tim English (540,000), PokerStars qualifier Hai Bo Chu (460,000), Michael Guzzardi (435,000), Martin Rowe (405,000) and Lisa Delellis (210,000).

The pace has finally slowed after the constant carnage of the afternoon session on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final. Only three players have been sent to the rail since play moved to two tables.

The money was in pre-flop between all-in player Daniel Hameiri (kings) and Ray Lapitan (deuces). In one of the more remarkable hands of the tournament, Lapitan not only hit a deuce on the flop, he made quads on the turn to send Hameiri packing in emphatic fashion.

The cheering section for local Scott ‘Punty’ Smith were silenced when their man pushed all-in over the top of the pre-flop re-raise from Brendan Edmonds. Smith (A-8) started behind Edmonds’ A-J, and stayed there as he departed in 15th spot. That pot gave Edmonds a stack of more than 1.5 million and almost 15 per cent of the chips in play.

Ray Lapitan was the last player eliminated before dinner after making a move on a board of 9d-Js-Ks-Qh. Lapitan was strong (Kc-Jc), but Tom Rafferty (Jh-10s) was stronger. The As on the river only improved Rafferty’s straight, and Lapitan was out in 14th.

Players will soon to return from the dinner break (blinds will be up to level 22 – 12,000/24,000 with a 4000 ante), with three players over the one-million mark: Tom Rafferty (1.13 million), Daniel Kowalski (1.07 million) and Antonio Fazzolari (1.04 million).

The redraw for the final 16 players has just been completed as we reach the business end of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City Casino in Sydney. Aside from the single representatives of the UK (Daniel Kowalski) and Canada (Tony Basile), the other 14 players are all representing the host nation.

The best credentialed of the remaining players is Sydney’s own Jason Gray, who placed third in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split World Championship at the 2008 WSOP for more than USD $200,000. However, the crowd is firmly in the corner of three players – Lisa Delellis, Scott Smith and Michael Guzzardi.

During level 19, eliminations were Ray Sukkar, who was caught out making a move with 10h-7h by Brendan Edmonds with Ks-Qh. The board ran out Jc-Js-9s-Kh-6s and the man who finished fourth in the 2008 PokerNews Cup was out.

Michael Fraser was also in all sorts of strife when he shoved with Kd-Js only to discover that Michael Guzzardi had woken up with pocket aces. They duly saluted, and Fraser was on his way to the cage to collect his cheque for AUD $15,400.

Marlon Goonawardana spent most of the day counting out or stacking up large numbers of chips after playing several big pots, but his tournament came to an end when he stuffed it in with 9c-10s. Frank Saffioti showed Ah-Qc to take the lead, and a queen on the flop signalled the end of the Melbourne’s player’s hopes of snaring the AUD $1 million first prize.

Table 15

Frank Saffioti 730,000
George Kassis 610,000
Jason Gray 540,000
Tony Basile 360,000
Scott Smith 630,000
Brendan Edmonds 700,000
Daniel Kowalski (PokerStars qualifier) 760,000
Martin Rowe 430,000

Table 16

Ray Lapitan 850,000
Michael Guzzardi 800,000
Lisa Delellis 350,000
Tom Rafferty 970,000
Antonio Fazzolari 880,000
Tim English (PokerStars qualifier) 570,000
Hai Bo Chu (PokerStars qualifier) 340,000

Need some tactical advice on getting to the final table? Settle back to watch Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem's advice...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Hachem's Tips with Erin on PokerStars.tv

The odds of another Australian player winning the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final are getting shorter with each elimination as we prepare to redraw the final 16 players. After yesterday’s sluggish progress, the field has been slashed from 48 to 17 as the battle for spots at the final table.

But the highest profile Aussie remaining, PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian, won’t be matching the finish of his good mate Grant Levy after he was just bumped by Brendan Edmonds.

It was Assadourian’s A-J against A-Q for Edmonds with a queen on the flop meaning the Sydneysider was out in 20th spot. It’s Assadourian’s second APPT cash after he won the APPT High Roller event in Macau last year.

However, the internationals are hanging tough with UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski, who trails the only player with a seven-figure stack (1.1 million) and Tom Rafferty (920,000). They lead Canada’s Tony Basile (800,000) and Ray Lapitan (700,000).

Other players to fall by the wayside over the past hour include a player who’s dominated our blogs over recent days, New Zealand PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks. The queens of Tony Basile delivered the final nail into the coffin of Willcocks who was holding jacks.

Another player who dominated in the early stages of the event, Jamie Pickering, has taken off the technicolour dreamcoat and cowboy hat after Jason Gray’s A-5 connected on the river against Pickering’s K-10. We’ve also lost Jason Pritchard (23rd) and Bassam Habib (24th). Players are taking a quick breather before the blinds go up to level 20 (10,000/20,000 with a 3000 ante).

Half of the 48 players chasing the AUD $1 million on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final have been sent to the rail as the steady stream of eliminations continues through the afternoon.

We’ve recently farewelled French PokerStars qualifier Mamouni Smain (28th) when his A-J came up against the A-Q of Marlon Goonawardana. The deep run of champion jockey Shane Dye ended in 29th in similar circumstances when his A-Q failed to improve against the A-K of Melbourne’s Hai Bo Chu.

The ultra short-stacked Chris Lee made his last stand with a reasonable hand, pocket eights, against the Qh-4h of Ray Lapitan only for runner-runner hearts to end Lee’s tournament.

Martin Rowe claimed another scalp when his A-K held up against the A-8 of Travers Nicholas, then Sydney newspaper reporter and media league satellite winner Valerie Gigliotti was KOed in 25th when her K-Q ran into Lapitan’s A-9, with a nine on the flop good enough to take the pot. That leaves Lisa Delellis as the last remaining female player in the field.

At the top end of the chip count, it’s incredibly even and the lead has already changed on several occasions today. UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski (750,000) leads narrowly from Tim English (700,000) followed by Tom Rafferty (640,000), Antonio Fazzolari (630,000), Marlon Goonawardana (620,000) and Jason Gray (600,000).

Our last remaining PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian was clinging to his tournament life but now has some breathing space with his stack up to 300,000 (albeit below the average of 390,000). The blinds are about to kick up to level 19 (6000/12,000 with a 1000 ante).

We shouldn’t be cheering for players today, but we definitely had a soft spot for Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco. One of the most popular staff members at Crown in Melbourne, Frank made it two cashes in two APPT events after he made the money in Macau.

Indeed, he enters the record books as the only player to have cashed in all the APPT main events he’s played! Frank recently farewelled us when he shoved with pocket nines only for Tony Basile to pair his A-J on the flop of Jc-4d-Ks. See you at the Aussie Millions, Frank.

Barely two levels into play, already 20 of the 48 players who started the day remain. Those checking out the cash-game lists include former chip leader Stewart Davidson, who sent UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski into the chip lead when the money went in pre-flop with Davidson showing A-K and Kowalski pocket aces. There were no miracles, and Davidson was out in 37th.

The final US player in the field, Thomas McLaughlin finished 36th, with Michael Harrington (35th) and Sam Capra (34th) following soon after. Capra was looking good with kings against the pocket nines of Michael Guzzardi, only for a nine to land on the turn.

Dutchman Roel Pijpers was KOed by fellow PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks in 33rd, then Anthony Rafter was next to go when the money went in on the on the board of Ac-Qc-5d-6h. Fazzolari needed help with his K-5 with thepirat’s A-8 just ahead until the Kh sailed down the river to sink the Irishman’s hopes.

The 500 chips have just been raced off as the blinds increase to level 18 (5000/10,000 with a 1000 ante). There are 31 players remaining, and the field has been redrawn into four tables.

After such a tight bubble period last night, it was hardly surprising to see the short stacks waste little time in the opening minutes of day 3 in the PokerStars.net APPT. But five players in five minutes, talk about the eradication of a species!

It started with Jimmy Wong’s elimination in 48th when he pushed with A-Q into a flop of 8s-Ac-9s only to find Antonio Fazzolari wake-up with A-9. Dave Lee followed on the next hand, but his J-4 was always going to struggle against the A-K of chip leader Frank Saffioti. Other early eliminations were Robert Bechara (46th), David Kim (45th) and Zhi Hong Ma (44th).

PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks won a big pot when John Mendel pushed with kings only to find the Kiwi with eights, sending Mendel out in 43rd.

Minh Nguyen, Aussie veterans Graeme Putt and David Gorr, and George Lind have also departed the tournament area. Lind butted heads on several occasions with Lisa Delellis, the pub poker qualifier from Wollongong.

She took a slice of Lind’s chips with pocket queens against A-8, then after a brief reprieve when he made two-pair (nines and fours) against Delellis’ pocket 10s, Martin Rowe finished off the PokerStars qualifiers.

We’re deep into level 17 (4000/8000 with a 500 ante) and only 36 players remaining. On the other side of the Star City poker room, the $1100 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event has also just kicked-off.

Before too many more exit the big event, we've got good luck messages to pass on from some of the big names...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Goodluck from the Stars on PokerStars.tv

There’s a slight north-easterly breeze blowing down Sydney Harbour, and the weekend warriors have set the spinnakers for Saturday morning’s yacht races. It’s warm, the sun is shining and the cafes and restaurants along Darling Harbour are packed. Where would you rather be?

The poker room at Star City, of course, for day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. After last night’s thrilling bubble period, which ended with the unfortunate David Sanis finishing in 49th finish. The remaining 48 players are guaranteed a payout of AUD $8400. In total, 10 PokerStars qualifiers remain in contention.

Dealers have just been told to load their shoes: a story in itself. Instead of dealing the cards by hand, the dealers use what can best be described as cutdown version of a blackjack shoe, which was conceived by two Star City staff members.

The dealer slides the card to the player and virtually eliminates the possibility of a card being exposed. Another unique feature of poker here at Star City is the placement of the burn card (on the turn and river) directly under the face-up car, while the turn and river cards are dealt with what is commonly known as the “Star City snap”.

Play is underway, with a few minutes remaining in level 16 (3000/6000 with a 500 ante). We’ll be playing down to the last nine players tonight. In total, 10 PokerStars qualifiers remain in contention.

The top 10 chip counts are:

Frank Saffioti (Australia) 619,000
Jamie Pickering (Australia) 572,500
Brendon Edmonds (Australia) 517,500
Daniel Kowalski (UK) PokerStars Qualifier, 447,000
Timothy English (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier, 415,500
Raymond Lapitan (Australia) 415,500
Marlon Goonawardana (Australia) 404,000
Antonio Fazzolari (Australia) 366,000
Wang Che Jung (New Zealand) 359,500
Stewart Davidson (Australia) 347,500

Seat draw, day 3

Table 7

John Mendel (Australia) 74,000
Robert Bechara (Australia) 42,000
Mamouni Smain (France) 269,000
Anthony Rafter (Ireland) 105,000
Jamie Pickering (Australia) 572,500
George Kassis (Australia) 205,000
David Kim (Australia) 41,000
Phillip Willcocks (NZ) 343,000

Table 9

Jason Pritchard (Australia) 157,000
Jason Gray (Australia) 308,500
Frank Bianco (Australia) 58,000
Roel Pijpers (Netherlands) 28,000
Graeme Putt (Australia) 29,500
Brendon Edmonds (Australia) 517,500
Christopher Lee (Australia) 171,000
Scott Smith (Australia) 201,500

Table 10

Michele Guzzardi (Australia) 142,000
Shane Dye (Australia) 139,500
Tony Basile (Canada) 343,500
Timothy English (Australia) 415,500
Wang Che Jung (NZ) 359,500
Michael Fraser (Australia) 69,000
Marlon Goonawardana (Australia) 404,000
Sam Capra (Australia) 82,000

Table 15

Frank Saffioti (Australia) 619,000
Stewart Davidson (Australia) 347,500
David Lee (Australia) 21,500
Tom Rafferty (Australia) 293,000
Bassam Habib (Australia) 192,500
Raymond Lapitan (Australia) 415,500
Mark Deutsch (Australia) 103,000
Daniel Kowalski (UK) 447,000

Table 16

Valerie Gigliotti (Australia) 32,500
Daniel Hameiri (Australia) 166,000
Minh Hau Nguyen (Australia) 69,500
Zhi Ma (Australia) 36,500
David Gorr (Australia) 133,000
Thomas McLaughlin (USA) 87,000
Ray Sukkar (Australia) 131,000
Eric Assadourian (Australia) 98,000

Table 18

Michael Harrington (Australia) 115,500
Hai Bo Chu (Australia) 66,000
Jimmy Wong (Australia) 112,500
Antonio Fazzolari (Australia) 366,000
Lisa Delellis (Australia) 103,000
Travers Nicholas (Australia) 123,500
George Lind (USA) 113,000
Martin Rowe (Australia) 129,500

Today's structure

Level 15: 2000/4000 (500 ante)
Level 16: 3000/6000 (500 ante)
Level 17: 4000/8000 (500 ante)
Level 18: 5000/10,000 (1000 ante)
Level 19: 6000/12,000 (1000 ante)
Level 20: 8000/16,000 (2000 ante)
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (3000 ante)
Level 22: 12,000/24,000 (4000 ante)
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (5000 ante)
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (5000 ante)
Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (5000 ante)
Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (5000 ante)
Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)
Level 28: 60,000/120,000 (15,000 ante)
Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante)
Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (30,000 ante)

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Day 3 Intro on PokerStars.tv

You need luck to win a poker tournament, and the talking point among players as they fly to the four corners of the world after the PokerStars.net APPT Manila main event will undoubtedly the luck that carried Van sirens Marcus to the title at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino.

But it’s an unfair assessment of his performance. Sure, he won a disproportionate number of hands when chasing the board, but this is a player who was overdue for a breakthrough victory.

The young poker pro from Melbourne (he’s still a young man in his mid-20s) has been chalking up consistent results on the green and virtual felt for several years.

This was his third APPT cash for this PokerStars Sponsored player, and all had been final table finishes. He was fifth in this event last year, and finished ninth in the 2008 APPT Macau High Roller.

Forget the rivered sets or quads (who could forget that one-out three he hit to make quads on day two) – this win was about grit and determination against the odds. As his stack was under constant attack from the trio of Korea players at the final table, Marcus maintained his composure and ensured he was in a position to win the event. The harder he works and prepares, the luckier he gets.

Watch APPT Manila 08: We have a WINNER! on PokerStars.tv

As much as it was a breakout event for Marcus, it was also an important event for players from the Philippines and Korea.

The performance of the Filipino players in their home event cannot go without mention. Of the 32 players who cashed, 10 were form the Philippines with Ramil Tandoc’s fifth-place surpassing the performance of Derick Hernandez (ninth) in the 2007 APPT Manila main event.

With the PokerStars Filipino Poker Tour going from strength to strength, the Philippines can rightly claim to be one of the strongest poker markets in Asia, with the quality and quality of players to prove it.

They also added a unique brand of colour to the tournament – from larger-than-life characters like Melvin “The Miracle” Matibag and Wally “The Dream” Sombero to former models-turned-poker players Sunshine Samson and Priscilla Meirelles and full-time pros like Neil Arce and Franco Mabanta, the local players made the APPT Manila main event (which doubled as the Filipino Poker Tour Philippine Championship) their own.

The three Korean players at the final table – Tae Jun Noh, Hyoung Jin Nam and Chang Yong Suk – showed that Korean poker no longer needs to hang its name on ex-pats like Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. They were bold, loose, aggressive and put on a show that made this the most dynamic final table in APPT history.

It was also great to see Team PokerStars Pro Lee “Final Table” Nelson again underlining how he earned that nickname, with a solid sixth – his third APPT cash and first APPT final table.

Amid the fears of a global economic recession, the tally of 285 players (up from 255 in 2007) was rightly regarded as an excellent turnout for the penultimate event on the 2008 APPT. And has been the case in Macau and Seoul, the ratio of Asian players to internationals again increased. Slowly but surely, poker is gaining a foothold in Asia.

We now turn our focus to Sydney, Australia for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. It’s hard to believe that 12 months has passed since a quietly spoken schoolteacher by the name of Grant Levy won a life-changing $1 million.

Held at Star City Casino on the shores of Darling Harbour in the heart of Australia’s largest city, the tournament is played in full view of a poker-loving public and with a backdrop of one of Australia’s most recognisable icons – Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Last year, poker-mad locals and players around the country, combined with hundreds of PokerStars online qualifiers to create a field of 561 players and a massive prize pool of AUD $3.336 million.

Having set such a high bar, how could the APPT possibly soar higher in 2008? Firstly, another AUD $1 million first prize has been guaranteed. In addition to the $6300 buy-in main event, the APPT Tournament of Champions has again been scheduled. Featuring APPT season two winners and a selection of Team PokerStars Pros, this event offers a $50,000 prize, to be donated to the winner’s charity of choice.

A popular addition to other APPT events has been a big buy-in High Rollers event. Logically, a $15,300 High Roller event will be played in Sydney on the penultimate day of the main event.

There’s even a chance to chat with the champions at a Meet and Greet session on Sunday, December 7, or join Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson at their World Poker Seminar (date and time to be confirmed). Team PokerStars Pros set to be front and centre at Star City are Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Lee Nelson, Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, Gavin Griffin, Raymond Rahme, Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown.

Watch APPT Manila 08: Lee Nelson on Sydney on PokerStars.tv

On behalf of the blogging and digital media teams here in Manila, we hope you enjoyed our coverage of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Manila main event. We look forward to seeing you in Sydney.