APPT Grand Final Sydney - Live Updates

We had barely entered Level 27 when Martin Rowe became the APPT Grand Final champ.

Jason Gray limped, Rowe made it $250k and Gray shoved.

Holding A♣ Q♥ and the big chip lead, Rowe made the obvious call and Gray had just 9♥ 5♥.

The flop came A♥ Q♣ 5♠ and Rowe jumped way ahead until Gray grabbed some more outs with the 9♠ turn.

However, the river fell the 3♠ and while Gray takes $476,000, Sydney's Martin Rowe takes home the $1 million AUS first place prize and the glory of the 2008 PokerStars APPT Grand Final title.

That's all from Sydney for now, but you can still check out our final table recap here a little later.

Ripper!

Martin Rowe's foot is firmly planted on the gas pedal and he's not letting up.

He's raising almost every button, popping all Gray's limps and just came over the top of a $240k Gray button raise making it $600k.

Gray was forced to fold and Rowe's now got his massive lead back on over $7 million to Gray's under $2 million without seeing very many flops at all.

It looks like almost losing the chip lead to Jason Gray has woken up Martin Rowe.

Suddenly he seems to be raising more often and just pushed Gray off two big pots here.

The first one he fired $300k at a Q♣ Q♥ 2♦ 9♥ board after raising pre-flop and checking the flop. He managed to get Gray to fold and show an ace there, then kept firing bullets after another pre-flop raise moments later.

He bet $250k at the A♦ J♣ 2♥ flop, then another $250,000 at the 6♦ turn. Gray flatted both times, but when the 8♦ river fell, he could not call the $500k lead from Rowe.

Martin is back in charge and continues to be aggressive in his hunt for the Grand Final title.

Jason Gray just picked up another big pot to pull to within $1 million or so of Martin Rowe.

Things are definitely tightening up here in Sydney as we enter Level 26!

Jason Gray just snatched a more than $1 million pot from Martin Rowe and is climbing back into contention here in Sydney.

This hand started with a limped pot and a 4♣ 4♠ 2♣ flop which Gray led out at with an $80k bet. Rowe flatted and the A♣ turn was next, bringing a $225,00 Gray bet and another Rowe call.

The river came the 3♥ and without missing a beat, Gray made it $400k to see his holdings. Rowe looked him up, but mucked when Gray flashed K♥ 5♣ for the rivered straight.

It's now at around $3 million for Gray as Rowe falls to a little more than $6 million.

Since Jason Gray's early double, it's been a tight affair heads up.

Chips have been changing hands, but they've been traded right back soon after and we're pretty much right where we stood after Gray hit that straight to stay alive.

Heads-up is now 40-minutes old and getting fairly tense with Gray on $2.5 to Martin Rowe's $6.9 million.

Jason Gray just took a bite out of Martin Rowe's chip lead with a miraculous turned straight that sent the Syndey crowd into a frenzy here moments ago.

He flatted a Rowe raise and they both watched intently as the J♣ 9♠ 7♦ flop rolled out. Gray checked, Rowe made it $225,000 and Jason simply pushed in.

Rowe made the call having flopped top pair-top kicker with A♣ J♥ and he was ahead against Gray's Q♦ T♦. But before he could celebrate, the 8♠ turn came down to a roar from the crowd around the final table.

The river came the K♠ and it's now $2.2 million for Gray to Rowe's $7.2 million.

After just the first hand three-handed, Tony Basile is out and we're heads-up for the title in Sydney.

Martin Rowe made it $150k from the button, Basile pumped it up to $450,000 from the big blind and when Rowe shoved, Basile called.

Rowe had made the move with K♦ K♣ and was miles ahead of the A♦ K♥ Basile put his tournament life on the line with.

The board rolled out J♦ 9♥ 4♣ 6♣ Q♣ and Basile was suddenly out third. The Canadian takes $266,000 for his efforts and heads-up will begin with Jason Gray on $1.4 million to Rowe's massive $7.8 million.

Antonio Fazzolari found himself with just $400k after chasing an open-ender that missed before he open shoved with A♥ 2♠ from under the gun.

Martin Rowe made the easy call with A♠ K♣ and there was no miracle for Antonio on the J♥ 5♥ 7♣ 8♠ T♠ board.

He's out 4th cashing $182,000 and were three handed in Sydney.

Rowe has the lead on $5.2 million, Tony Basile has $2.6 million and Jason Gray is the shortest with $1.45 million.

The blinds are up again - Welcome to Level 25!

Antonio Fazzolari better grab hold of something, because he's about to drop right out of here.

His latest hit came courtesy of Tony Basile, who got Antonio to pay off two $300k bets on the turn and river holding top pair that became two on the end.

Fazzolari could only muck and is now the short stack on $700k.

Martin Rowe just struck back against Antonio Fazzolari check calling aces all the way down as Fazzolari hit top pair on a raggedy board.

It looked like Rowe's patient plan maximized the win as he fleeced Fazzolari out of almost $700k.

In the first big hand back from the break Antonio Fazzolari has found a way to crack Martin Rowe's seemingly inpenetrable armour.

He called a $110k raise from Rowe pre-flop, then check-called another $150k bet on the Q♦ 9♥ 7♠ flop. When the turn brought the 2♠, Antonio led out for $200k, but Martin wasn't going anywhere, raising right back to $600k total.

Fazzolari shoved and after what seemed like way too long in the tank getting almost 6-1 on the extra $365k wager, Rowe made the call. He had just J♦ T♥, explaining his hesitance, and needed to hit the open ender to rail Fazzolari and his Q♣ 7♥ two pair.

The A♥ river didn't do it and while Rowe dips to 3.6 million, he's still got the lead over Fazzolari's $2.5 million.

Play resumes now with about 40-minutes left in Level 24.

With Tim English's elimination, the four remaining players at the PokerStars APPT Grand Final have headed off on a 60-minute dinner break.

At this point, Martin Rowe looks like a lock with his $5.5 million in chips amounting to close to twice the rest of the table combined.

However, if PL.com has learned one thing jet-setting around the planet bringing you the best live poker tournament coverage on the web, it's that these things are never over until they're completely over.

To find out what happens, click back on PL.com at about 6:55 p.m. Sydney time for the exciting conclusion live from Star City.

Here's how it will look coming back:

We're down to four now after Martin Rowe has taken care of another player and continues to own the APPT Sydney final table.

Rowe made it $110k to see a flop and when Tim English pushed it up to $ 350k, he made the call. The flop came 10♣ 9♥ 4♣ and within seconds, English shoved.

Faced with a $1 million decision, Rowe made the rather loose one, calling with just Q♥ J♥ for the open ended straight draw. English was ahead, but his A♥ K♦ proved flimsy when the dealer peeled off the J♣ giving Rowe a pair.

The river came the aceless 4♥ and English was suddenly out. He cashes $140,000 for fifth and Martin Rowe has $5.5 million in chips and counting.

Young Tim English just found a way out from complete domination to double through Antonio Fazzolari.

They're both on about $1.2 million now after getting it in pre-flop with Tim's A♠ 8♣ well behind to Antonio's A♦ Q♥.

The K♠ 8♦ 6♥ 6♦ 5♣ board included an eight on the flop to miraculously save English from certain death.

We're down to five here and Martin Rowe's lead continues to grow after the elimination of Frank Saffioti.

This hand started with a $110k pre-flop raise from Tony Basile that both Saffioti and Rowe flatted. The flop fell A♣ 7♠ 6♠ and after a Rowe check, Basile c-bet $180k.

Frank shoved instantly for $500k+ and Rowe paused briefly before making the call. Basile looked puzzled, but mucked and the cards were flipped with Saffioti holding the massive top pair and flush draw looking A♠ Q♠ against Rowe's magical 7♥ 7♣ middle set.

The turn came the Q♣ and after the 9♦ remained spadeless, Saffioti went home 6th cashing $100,800.

With that, Rowe now has a commanding lead on over $4 million in chips.

We've reached the end of Level 23 now, bringing us to the start of Level 24.

This, as usual, means that the blinds are up.

Martin Rowe just fleeced Antonio Fazzolari out of a massive $1.5 million pot here in Sydney, grabbing hold of the chip lead.

He made a set of fives and got paid off big time when Fazzolari rode top pair all the way to the river where he found a second one.

Rowe is now the man with over $3.3 million in chips while Fazzolari fallls back to the pack on $1.65 million.

After a Martin Rowe $80k raise and a call from Frank Saffioti in the big blind, they went heads up to a 9♣ 6♠ 6♦ flop.

Saffioti checked, but when Rowe made it $80k again, Frank waved his hand over his chips indicating he was all in. Rowe made the quick call with A♠ 9♥ top pair, but Saffioti had found the luck again, holding Q♥ 6♥.

The turn came the 2♦ and the river the T♠ allowing Saffioti to double up close to $800,000 million.

Frank Saffioti now finds himself with just $500k after doubling up Jason Gray a moment ago here in Sydney.

Gray had A♣ A♠ versus Saffiotti's A♦ K♥, but while they got about $500k in the pot before the turn, all Gray's chips didn't hit the middle until it showed up, the board read T♠ 7♣ 3♣ 7♦ and Saffioti was drawing dead.

The river came the J♦ and Gray is now on $1.4 million while the Saffioti death watch just started.

Martin Rowe just moved up the ladder with a big pot versus Frank Saffioti.

The hand actually started with a $75k raise from Timothy English and a call from both Saffioti and Rowe.

The flop fell A♥ 6♥ 2♠ and Saffitio bet out $75k after two checks, getting the call from just Rowe. Then things got a little wonky. The 5♣ turn came out and Saffioti bet $75k out of turn.

Allowed to act only after, Rowe bet out $150k and Saffioti added the additional $75,000. The 4♥ river came down, Rowe bet another $150k and Saffioto paid it off flipping A♠ J♣.

Rowe had A♦ 5♥ for teo pair and is now on $2.4 million, just $300k behind chip leader Antonio Fazzolari.

We were just treated to a bit of a tussle between chip leader Antionio Fazzolari and the man with the next biggest stack, Timothy English.

The hand started with an under the gun limp from Fazzolari that English matched from the small blind. Frank Saffioti checked his option in the big and the K♦ 10♥ 2♠ flop was revelaed.

English waited just a few seconds before leading out for $55,000 and only Antonio called. English fired a second bullet at the 3♠ turn of $100k and again, Antionio flatted.

The A♦ river slowed down English, however, as he tapped the table to check. Standing up from his chair to do it, Fazzolari promptly pushed all in.

The call would be for Tim's tournament and although he looked for a second like he might make it, eventually he passed.

Fazzolari now has $3.7 million and English falls back to the pack on $1.4 million.

We've reached the tournament's 23th level and the blinds are up yet again.

Antonio Fazzolario continues hold his strong grip on this table as the others jockey for position behind him.

Jason Gray has fallen to the short stack position.

But while Timothy English continues to look like Fazzolari's stiffest competition, Frank Saffioti and Martin Rowe are right there with Tony Basile right behind them.

For those of you interested in how everyone else has already finished in this event, check out the Final Results tab above, which is being updated live by a our crack team instantaneously throughout our final table coverage. 

Here's how things stand in the final six:

We're down to 6 now after Daniel Kowalski got himself in some trouble here in Sydney and has said goodbye 7th.

He made a button raise to $55k and both Frank Saffioti and Antonio Fazzolari made the all Italian-Aussie call from the blinds.

The flop came A♣ 7♦ 4♥ and Saffioti led out, making it $55,000. Both players called, but when Saffioti and Fazzolari checked the 2♠ turn, Kowalski bet out $60,000.

That's when Saffioti wielded the old check-shove sword, having Kowalski barely covered and once Antonio gave it up, Kowalski made the call for his tournament life holding a weak A♠ 9♣.

Saffioti was ahead with A♦ Q♣ and when the A♥ river came down, it took down Kowalski with it.

He takes $72,800 AUD and we have just six grand finalists left.

Just like that, 2007 Melbourne Poker Champion Hai Bo Chu is done.

He decided to ship it all on a T♠ 7♦ 2♥ flop holding a gutshot, but Martin Rowe made the call with the Q♣ Q♦ overpair.

Chu's J♣ 8♦ hit the 8♣ turn giving him a few more outs, but they did not include theA♥ river.

He grabs $53,200 for 8th and Rowe moves up to $1.2 million in chips.

Without having to show much down, Timothy English has made an aggressive move up the leaderboard over the past couple of orbits.

We're still yet to have our second big confrontation of the final, but it's coming. You can feel that.

Here's how things look right now:

The action has tightened up since the Tom Rafferty blow up as players have seen the possible outcome of a big confrontation.

In the meantime, the blinds are up and so is the pressure.

Tom Rafferty just lost his mind and all his chips in the process.

He had battled with Antonio Fazzalori all day yesterday and when he raised it up to $55k pre-flop, Antonio made the call with position once again.

The flop fell A♣ 10♦ 2♣ and Rafferty fired out right away, making it $70k. Fazzolari looked down at A♦ 10♣ and put in raise up to $270,000 when, suddenly and decisively, Rafferty shoved.

Holding two pair, and a lot more chips, Fazzolari made the almost $1 million call. Rafferty had K♣ 5♣ and although he probably didn't want the call with his flush draw, he had put his tournament life on the line desperately needing a club.

The 9♠ turn wasn't one and when the 7♦ river fell, so did Tom.

He heads to the cage to grab $39,200 AUD and Fazzolari now has a huge lead on $3.5 million in chips.

Antonio Fazzolari has come out like a house on fire picking up the first few pots with unrelenting aggression and not even a flop.

He seems hell bent on playing the big stack and we will see if he can dominate this final table.

The cards are in the air here at the final table.

We start with the clock rolled back to Level 21.

Here's how it sets up:

Welcome to PL.com's final table coverage of the PokerStars APPT Grand Final live from land of Oz.

With a $1 million AUD first place prize and the glory of the APPT Season 2 Grand Final title on the line here in Sydney, relatively-unkown Aussie Antonio Fazzolari will come in with $1.7 million and the chip lead.

2008 WSOP Omaha Hi-Lo World Championship third place finisher Jason Gray is second right now with $1.1 million and Tom Rafferty, who went deep in the 2008 Aussie Millions six-handed event, is the only other player with $1 million or more.

Aussie Martin Rowe is next just below $1 million in chips followed by two PokerStars [[LinkTracker: PokerStars]]qualifiers[[/Link]], The UK's Daniel Kowalski and Aussie Timothy English, with around $950,000 each.

After just missing a final table at the 2007 WSOP, then cashing in the Main Event this year, Canadian Tony Basile is looking to get over the hump Down Under on $860k, while Day 2 luckbox chip leader Frank Saffioti is next to the bottom with $790,000.

For now, the bottom is reserved for Hai Bo Chu, who won the 2007 Melbourne Poker Championships. He has $781,000 and despite his tail end status, should not be counted out just yet.

Things will get going at Star City just a few minutes from now and PL.com's got it on lock.

Get your popcorn ready - The final table at the PokerStars APPT Grand Final starts next!