It took just two hands of heads-up play to settle the 2008 PokerStars.com Asia Pacific Poker Tour Auckland event.

In the final hand of the tournament Craker had the button and he bet $120,000 but Matt Konnecke raised to $500,000. Craker thought for just a few seconds before announcing that he was all-in. Konnecke made the call and we were in for a race with the entire tournament on the line. Konnecke was well-covered by Craker but would move into the chip lead if he won the pot.

The players revealed their hands:

Craker: 2 2

Konnecke: A 9

Both players made risky moves with their respective hands and the audience applauded them for it.

The dealer flopped K T 6 and Craker-supporters went crazy as their man was two cards away from the Auckland title.

The turn came 5 and the tension in the room was palpable as Craker looked to fade any ace or nine. The river fell... Q!

A deafening roar went up from the crowd as Craker had won the tournament with his pair of ducks holding strong. The home country hero will take home $153,393 for his efforts in the contest while Konnecke will take $97,152 back to Australia.

We at PokerListings.com would like to congratulate Craker on his big victory and spend a special thanks to PokerStars.com and the staff of Skycity Casino who put on a world class event.

Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you in Manila!

Wang Jung's wild aggression finally got the best of him against fellow Kiwi Daniel Craker. In the hand Jung limped from the button and Craker bet $80,000 from the small blind. Matthew Konnecke called from the big blind but Jung went in for the massive re-raise by betting $300,000.

Craker called and Konnecke got out of the way immediately. The flop came down 9 3 2 and Craker checked but Jung immediately went all-in. Before the dealer had even placed the all-in card to Jung, Craker had called.

It was a great call by Craker as Jung showed K 6 for king-high. Craker showed 8 8, which was enough to put him in the lead.

"No king, no king!" cheered Craker's supporters.

The turn came 3 and the river fell J to give Craker the pot and eliminate Jung from the competition.

The New Zealander, of Korean decent, will take down $51,132 for coming in third.

We are now heads-up between Craker and Konnecke with the chip counts as follows:

1. Daniel Craker	$1.7 million
2. Matthew Konnecke	$1 million

 

After the brief dinner break we once again live from the heart of the Skycity Casino in Auckland. Who will win the title and $153,393 for first place? Stay tuned...

We've completed Level 22 and the three remaining players are currently enjoying a 30 minute break. It's still anyone's game as the three remaining player's are fairly even chip-wise. Check back in about 25 minutes to see how this one plays out.

In the meantime check out the most recent chip counts as of the break:

1. Daniel Craker	$1.05 million
2. Wang Jung	$800,000
3. Matthew Konnecke	$750,000

 

The two remaining New Zealand residents went at it in the latest hand. Wang Jung bet $100,000 pre-flop and Craker called.

The flop came K 7 3 and Jung moved all-in and Craker insta-called. Jung flipped over Q 8 for a flush draw while Craker showed K 8 for top-pair. The dealer turned the 2 and then rivered the T to give Craker the checkmark.

Ship the $771,000 pot directly to Craker! 

The most popular player remaining has been eliminated in a sick hand. Actor Dan Sing bet $65,000 from UTG and Wang Jung called.

The flop came A T 7 and Jung checked but Sing immediately bet out $85,000. Jung called and the turn came J. Jung once again checked but Sing bet $85,000, leaving himself with only $100,000 behind.

Jung thought for a minute and then announced he was all-in, easily covering Sing. Sing snap-called and flipped over K Q for the nut-straight. Jung showed J T for two-pair and would need a lot of help if he hoped to eliminate Sing.

The mostly pro-Sing crowd was on their feet as the dealer flipped over... J!

Jung rivers a boat to eliminate Sing. The entire crowd is silent and Sing can only shake his head as leaves to go pick up his $35,793 prize for first place.

We are now three-handed. 

Our four combatants are continuing to feel each other out at the final table of PokerStars.com APPT Auckland. They've just played the 150th hand and it feels strange there hasn't been an elimination in the last couple hours of play.

Blinds are now $10,000/$20,000 with a $3,000 ante.

Alright see if you can keep up with this. Daniel Craker, who was just our chip leader, tried to push Matthew Konnecke off a pot by going all-in on a flop of A 5 2. Unfortunately for Craker, Konnecke woke up with a hand in A K. The board finished with bricks and suddenly Craker went from hero to zero with just $200,000 chips.

The very next hand Craker shoved from the button and both Wang Jung and Konnecke called. Both players checked the entire board of K T 4 7 2 only to have Craker flip over K 2, which was the best hand.

"Nice river, Danny," said a fan.

Craker triples up to approximately $600,000. 

Wang Jung appeared to be running away with this event in the early stages of Day 3 but has taken a few hits in the last few hours of play.

In a recent hand Jung and Sing saw a board of A 8 7 K 5 and Jung, who had Sing easily covered, went all-in.

Sing thought for a minute and then called. Jung flipped over 8 6.

"Pair of eights?" said Sing as he flipped over A 5. "I can beat that."

Sing has a great deal of supporters in the audience and they heartily approved of the hand giving applause to their boy as he raked the pot.

Here are the approximate chip counts following the hand:

1. Daniel Craker	$850,000
2. Wang Jung	$700,000
3. Dan Sing	$600,000
4. Matthew Konneck	$400,000

 

It's Australia versus New Zealand all over again. In the latest hand of the tournament New Zealand celeb Dan Sing bet $46,000 from the button but Aussie Matthew Konneck re-raised an extra $100,000 from the big blind.

Sing thought for a minute before eventually calling to see a flop of J 9 6. Konneck took one look at the flop and moved all-in for $371,000 which represented the last of Sing's chips.

Sing went into the tank for a few minutes before throwing mucking his hand frustration.

After the hand Konneck was up to $640,000 and has been making some big moves in the last hour of play.