Friday, 29th March 2024 11:58
Home / Uncategorized / APPT Melbourne: The cream rises to the top

We’ve finally arrived at the 2012 APPT Melbourne Main Event final table. After three days of flops, turns and rivers, our field of 257 has been reduced to our final nine. We’ve talked about the quality of this field throughout the tournament and this final table reflects that quality.

Our chip leader is Tom “tollgate” Grigg. Affectionately referred to as a “beast” in the poker community for his relentless aggression and fearless play, Grigg’s record on the APPT is second to none. With four APPT final tables to his credit, Grigg will be looking for his first APPT title here today. And he’s going to be hard to stop as the only player with over two million in chips.

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While Grigg’s online and live record would usually be hard to match, this final table has several players with equally impressive resumes.

Brendon Rubie is arguably the hottest player on the tour right now. He kicked off the year with an Aussie Millions gold ring and then headed to Las Vegas where he narrowly missed bringing home a bracelet in WSOP Event #28. Combine that live prowess with one of the best online records in Australia, and it’s a lethal combination.

Yet both of those guys currently trail James Bills in the unofficial online rankings. Known as “BizBills” online, Bills is the #1 online guy right now in Australia and with over US$1.3 million in lifetime winnings, he’s one who has flown under the radar on the live circuit. Could this be his opportunity to shine?

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Throw in high stakes cash game player Kristian Lunardi, the super talented duo of Brits in Day 2 chip leader Wayne Bentley and 2011 Aussie Millions final tablist Sam Razavi and the unknown quantities of Keith Walker and Nigel Andrews and we have ourselves one helluva final table.

But just to cap things off, with a little cream on top, we’ve also got Australian Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson. Recognized as the first Australian to ever win a WSOP bracelet, Benson is on his first APPT final table and winning the title would cement his place as one of the greatest Australian players of all time.

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It’s going to be a fun afternoon! Stay locked into the PokerStars Blog for all the latest updates from the Crown Poker Room.


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