The inaugural Star Poker Summer Series has been run with Andy Lee claiming the Main Event title just a week after winning the Pot Limit Omaha side event.
Day 3 of the Star Poker Summer Series $5,000 Main Event was expected to be the penultimate day of play, but with only eighteen players returning and play faster than expected, it became the final day as just one player was left standing.
Event 2’s $660 Pot Limit Omaha 6-Handed Champion Andy Lee (pictured) led the field, but had last year’s APPT Sydney Champion Jonathan Karamalikis, ANZPT Sydney Champion Michael Kanaan, Sydney final table regulars Tom Rafferty, Antonis Kambouroglou and Michael O’Grady, as well as the always lovable Ali Khalil still to contend with as a $270,000 first prize sat atop.
Although most of the talk over the past few days had revolved around the $221,000 shortfall in the $1 million guarantee, the focus today was on title, and right out of the door action was hot. Kambouroglou fell early before Khalil’s ace-king was downed by Karamalikis’ aces. Unfortunately it would be Nick Polias bowing out on the final table bubble after pushing a weak queen and running into pocket jacks to leave the final nine set as follows.
Final Table Lineup (blinds 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000-ante)
Seat 1: Peter Skouteris (505,000 in chips)
Seat 2: Michael Kanaan (561,000)
Seat 3: Jay Malig (346,000)
Seat 4: Tom Rafferty (604,000)
Seat 5: Jonathan Karamalikis (315,000)
Seat 6: Dien Nguyen (125,000)
Seat 7: Matviy Bilenky (708,000)
Seat 8: Mark Wright (441,00)
Seat 9: Andy Lee (1,291,000)
Action commenced with Dien Nguyen finding a double with pocket eights against ace-jack before his pocket tens trailed Matviy Bilenky’s queens when all the money went in on the flop. Jay Malig was bumped to the rail next when his ace-king unfortunately was unable to spike against chip leader Lee’s pocket kings.
Karamalikis – who also has back-to-back ANZPT Sydney High Roller titles in 2010 and 2011 – was searching for virtual back-to-back Sydney Main Event wins since the APPT Sydney stop was now non-existent and Star Poker had replaced it with this very event. Unfortunately for Karamalikis, his shove with pocket sixes would see him in a race against Kanaan’s ace-ten, and when a ten landed on the river there would be no repeat victory.
Mark Wright would exit in sixth when his ace-queen would be unable to improve against Lee’s aces, and with that pot, he would push out to hold roughly one third of the chips in play. ANZPT Sydney Champion Kanaan would unfortunately exit next after flirting with making a strong run at the win as Lee’s lead continued to climb further ahead. Peter Skouteris busted in fourth and Matviy Bilenky would be bounced in third to leave it a heads-up battle.
Andy Lee – 3,100,000 in chips
Tom Rafferty – 1,800,000
The heads-up affair wouldn’t be a long one like many would have expected. Instead it saw Rafferty – who has now made three final tables in three of Sydney’s biggest tournaments – push with pocket nines and Lee made the call with ace-queen. Two queens landed on the flop to send Lee the victory – his second for the series – as Rafferty was left to agonise at three close calls to claiming Sydney gold.
Final Table Results (164 players, $1,000,000 prizepool)
1st – Andy Lee ($270,000)
2nd – Tom Rafferty ($170,000)
3rd – Matviy Bilenky ($100,000)
4th – Peter Skouteris ($80,000)
5th – Michael Kanaan ($67,500)
6th – Mark Wright ($55,000)
7th – Jonathan Karamalikis ($45,000)
8th – Jay Malig ($35,000)
9th – Dien Nguyen ($27,500)
Notable Payouts: Michael O’Grady (12th), Ali Khalil (16th), Antonis Kambouroglou (17th)
Congratulations to Andy on collecting the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool as the last major Australasian tournament for the year is now in the books. Well done to Star Poker for hosting another world class tournament and thanks to Poker Media Australia for their live updates from the final table.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the Aussie Millions!

By Poker Asia Pacific

It was a case of “third times’ a charm” for Andrew Davis as he defied all comers in the $1K Sydney Special (Event3). Andrew had previously made deep runs in Events 1 and 2 of this years Summer Series finishing 11th and 5th respectively, so the spoils were just desserts for this retired poker lover from Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. It was certainly a day of twists and turns, and starting the day with a meagre stack of just $59K (4% of all chips in play); even Andrew’s most ardent supporters wouldn’t have given him much hope.

The day was only three hands old when we had our first casualty. Seasoned poker pro Sam Khouiss would be the first to go after shoving all-in after hitting top pair on the turn. Unfortunately for Sam, chip leader Ali G was “slow playing” his flopped trip 7’s and Sam would have to settle for $2,700.

One of the more “sicker” hands of the tournament would be responsible for the demise of our next player. Martin Rowe would open the action with his “standard” button raise, only for Paul Elliott to come over the top from the SB. Martin would then re-fire with a four bet hoping to push Paul off his hand, but Paul was going nowhere having “woken up” with Aces. Martin rolled over 96 off! A flop of 46J still seen Paul nicely out in front, but when a 9 appeared on the turn, Paul was heading to the bar for a “stiff” drink. Martin’s two pair held on the river and Paul had to settle for $3,240 to accompany his bad beat story.

Roni Makeem, who had been fairly quiet all morning, was the next to “ship” all his chips in the middle. Unfortunately for Roni his KJ was dominated by Alec Smith’s AJ and he would be calling it a day in 8th position ($3,780). Overnight chip leader Ali Ghezelbash failed to recover from his flopped top two pair being run down by Alec Smith’s bigger two pair and he was next to go. His final hand would see him shove with “big slick” only to run into Andrew Davis’s Aces. Ali would walk away with $4,590 for his efforts.

The two perennial short stacks for the day, Mark Griffiths ($5,670) and Todor Kondevski ($7,650) were next to go after both shoving fairly “light” and being unable to improve. Given the plight those two lads were in with their short stack all day, I think they “overachieved”, and should be mighty proud of their efforts.

Our next major confrontation would be of gigantic proportions, with the two big stacks colliding head on. All the money would go in on a flop of K43 with Alec Smith beautifully playing bottom two pair after being the pre flop aggressor. Unfortunately for Alec, Martin Rowe was running like “god” at the time, and after making the call with KJ another “cowboy” would appear on the turn giving Martin an unbeatable lead. Just to add further salt to Alec’s wound, the river was a 4, giving both players a “full book”. Alec had to settle for $10,260 today, but I’m sure there are bigger pay days ahead for this exciting young prospect.

It seemed at this time Martin was untouchable, however he lost a few crucial “races” not long after and quickly came back to the field. Frustrated by this, Martin was quick to put all his chips in the middle with T8 suited. Andrew Davis made the call with QJ and after the board ran out Jack high, Martin was heading for the exits $15,120 better off.

Heads up play would start fairly evenly with Andrew holding a slight lead on Fred Alam. It would be just two hands in, when we would find our winner. With blinds $20K/$40K/$4K, Fred would move all-in for his remaining $750K, Andrew made the call. Fred tabled A8. Andrew showed AT. The flop was 632 before an 8 would appear the turn, much to the delight of Freddy’s “raucous” cheer squad. However, with Freddy having one hand on the trophy, the T of spades would appear on the river giving Andrew a much deserved victory.

Catching up with Andrew after the victory, it was great to see the amount of joy the win had brought him. As most Star poker regulars would know, Andrew lost his beautiful wife Helen to cancer just over a year ago, so to see him grinning from ear to ear was very heart warming indeed.

1st Andrew Davis $29,700
2nd Fred Alam $20,520
3rd Martin Rowe $15,120
4th Alec Smith $10,260
5th Todor Kondevski $7,560
6th Mark Griffiths $5,670
7th Ali Ghezelbash $4,590
8th Roni Makeem $3,780
9th Paul Elliott $3,240
10th Sam Khouiss $2,700

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

Julia Alqahtani has been crowned this year’s ladies champion after taking down the $400 Ladies NLH (Event 4). 21 enthusiastic poker loving ladies made their way to the felt, not only searching for a nice pay day and some finely crafted crystal ware, but also the chance to grab the illustrious tag of Sydney’s finest female poker player. With some of the best female names in Sydney taking part, including Sydney Champs opening event victor Kristina Jeney, Catherine Owens (who has 3 Star Ladies events to her name), Jane Howard (a regular earner at The Star weekly tournaments) and Suzy Khouiss (sister of the legendary Sam Khouiss) it was certainly going to be no easy feat to come out on top.

But it would be part-time poker playing student Julia Alqahatani who would take down the coveted prize. Julia showing nerves of steel against her much more fancied rivals, built up a good stack early, held the chip lead at the start of the final table and at no stage looked in any real danger. The first big surprise of the day came when Kristina Jeney was one of the first eliminated. It capped off a rare bad day at the “office” for Kristina who was earlier bundled out of the $1K Sunday Special (Event 3). With a further two big names in the form of Suzy Khouiss and Catherine Owen following not long after, it was certainly a case of anyone’s title.

It wouldn’t take long for Julia to put her opponents to the “acid test” on the final table and assert her authority. Almost one by one Julia and the other big stack Carolyn Kohlman were picking opponents off at will, until we reached the final four where the screws started to tighten somewhat. Unfortunately for Shelley Maclean she would toil hard for just over 7 hours for no reward, ultimately finishing in 4th (top 3 getting paid) after being outdrawn by Carolyn Kohlman. Susan Bunt would finish 3rd, a very solid performance given her relatively short stack throughout. Heads up play commenced with Julia holding a 3 to 1 chip lead and it didn’t take long for all the chips to end up in the middle. On a board of K♣7♥3♥ Julia would raise Carolyn all-in. Carolyn made the call with Q♥10♥ for a flush draw whilst Julia tabled K♦9♣ for top pair. The board bricked out on 4th and 5th street and Julia would take the title.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

No, Not the Andy Lee that has formed one half of that great Australian comic duo Hamish & Andy, but the young gun poker player Andy Lee. Andy outlasted a small but select field of 42 in Event 2 (6-Handed $660 PLO) of The Star Poker Summer Series held in the plush surrounds of the Oasis Lounge. Some of the players who had come and gone during the day were the likes of Grant Levy, Daniel Nielsen, Barry Forrester, Rhys Gould and last years Omaha champ James Siu.

It was actually a case of so close yet so far for last year’s winner Siu who would make another final table but end up with the unenvious bubble tag finishing 6th with only the top five being paid.

Andrew Davis would be the first of the players who made the cash to be eliminated. A 5th place finish would wrap a pretty fair couple of days for Andrew who also finished 11th in Event 1 the previous day.

Walter Holt would be next to vacate the building after getting his money in good with KKQ8 against Andy Lee’s AJT7 pre-flop, the “window” card would be that dreaded Ace, and that being enough for Andy to take the pot. Walter would walk away with a 4th place finish.

Our next magic moment would involve the “doyen” of The Star poker room Antonis “Toothpick Tony” Kambrogliou who after seeing a flop of A♦10♣5♣ would ship all his money into the middle. Big stack Andy Lee made the call. Tony showed A♥J♣5♥2♦ for a flopped two pair whilst Andy tabled A♣J♠7♣2♥ for top pair with the nut flush draw. Whilst Tony was in front there, things went from bad to worse as firstly the turn card was the 10♦ giving both players two pair with a Jack kicker, and then the ultimate blow when the 8♣ landed on the river giving Andy the nut flush and in the process ending Tony’s tournament, sending him to the rail in third place.

This gave Andy a commanding 3 to 1 chip lead ($315K-$105K) over Russel Davies when play went heads up. Similarly to event one, it didn’t take long for all the money to go into the middle. With blinds $8K/$16K, Russel raised “pot” with Andy calling. Russel would go all-in “blind” before the flop. The flop of A25 (rainbow) would see Andy instantly call rolling over 3456 for the nut straight. Russell showed JJ54. The board blanked out on 4th and 5th street and Andy was victorious.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

A clinical display from Mladen Avramovski has seen him take down Star Summmer Poker Series’ first event ($330 NLH repechage). On the final table of nine, young Central Coast gun Will McKay held a stack more than double his nearest opponent. Unfortunately for the likeable kid, a few early missteps in proceedings saw his big lead dwindle away. There wasn’t a lot of action in the first 20 minutes, with most players who opened the pot being successful.

Our first big collision saw Vlastimil Kral eliminated in 9th position ($2,973). All the money went in on a board of 9♣8♣9♦, after Kenney Troung was “priced in” and called Vlastimil’s three bet all-in. Vlastimil rolled over KK whilst Kenney showed A♣10♣. Vlastimil needed to dodge an Ace or a club if he was to survive, but unfortunately for our friend from the Czech Republic the A♥ appeared on the turn and it was off to the rail for Vlastimil.

Our next elimination would be Adam “The Rat Attack” Ratten. Getting rather short Adam shoved pre-flop with KJ and Tri Nguyen made the call with 88. A “miracle” flop of KK3 saw Adam take the lead but an 8 on the turn gave the lead back to Tri with the river blanking out and Adam heading to the rail in 8th position ($4,197).

Alan Bustany would be next to go, shoving his small stack from the small blind with pocket 3s. Kenney Troung was only too happy to accommodate and rolled over 88. The 8’s held and Alan would be our 7th place finisher ($5,684).

You had to feel for young Matt Cauchi who had his kings cracked by Matviy Bilenky’s A3 in the next major altercation. Matviy made the move from the cut-off, with Cauchi snap calling. It was a “dirty” flop for Cauchi of A25 and things only got worse on the turn when a 4 appeared, giving Matviy a wheel. Cauchi, although proud of his efforts, would be left pondering “what could have been” as he made he exited in 6th position with an additional $7,433 in his “sky rocket”.

Tri Nguyen would be next to go as he moved all-in pre-flop with A♣K♣. Mladen Avramovski made the call with JJ and we were handed the classic hold’em race situation. Unfortunately for Tri, the Jacks held and Tri would have to settle for 5th and $9,182 for his efforts.

With blinds and antes creeping up to $50K/$100K/$10K, Will Mckay decided to shove pre-flop for his last $950K with 9♣8♠. Mladen immediately called from the big blind rolling over A♦J♣. Mladen turned “broadway” ensuring Will McKay would be packing his bags in 4th position ($11,280).

Our next elimination would turn out to be the most crucial of the tournament. Down to three handed, Avramovski and Bilenky both holding similar chip stacks would soon collide head on. With blinds still $50K/$100K Avramovski opened the pot for $275K. Bilenky called from the big blind. The players saw a flop of J28. Bilenky checked with Avramovski moving all-in. Bilenky tanked for a couple of minutes before making the call and putting his tournament on the line. Avramovski showed T9 for an up and down straight draw and Bilenky rolled over his top top (AJ). In a cruel twist of fate for Bilenky a 7 appeared on the turn giving Avramovski the nuts which left Bilenky drawing dead and settling for the bronze medal ($14,604).

This left Avramovski with an almost 4 to1 chip advantage over KenneyTroung as heads-up play started. We wouldn’t have to wait long to crown our first champion, with all the money going in on the first hand. Avramovski’s KQ dominating Troung’s QJ. Avramovski held, and took down first place and $42,588 to boot. Whilst Kenney was more than content to be walking away with $26,672 for a few days work.

Speaking to a delighted Mladen, I was interested to learn that this wasn’t his biggest cash and that he had won $45K in the very first Anzac poker tournament at The Star. Mladen also informed me he was down to $6K on Day 1 but just held in there and played the game of patience. He is looking forward to re-investing some of his winning in the upcoming 6-Handed and Main Event later in the week. If he retains the rich vein of form he is in at the minute, he’ll certainly prove something to stoush.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star