2010 Aussie Millions Main Event - Live Updates

Sidneysider Tyron Krost is the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event champion!

Krost defeated Frederick Jensen in a brief and dominating heads-up match that saw him beat Jensen in every pot on the way to the final climactic hand.

That hand would begin with Jensen min-raising from the button and Krost flat-calling in the big blind. The flop came K♣ 3♥ 2♦ and Krost checked to Jensen, who bet out 225,000.

Krost made a raise to 650,000 and after only a moment's thought, Jensen pushed a re-raise of 1.1 million into the middle.

The re-raise amounted to about half of Jensen's starting stack, effectively committing him to the hand, and when Krost announced he was all-in it was clear that Jensen had found the cards he would live or die with.

He snap-called, turning up K♦ 6♠ for top pair, but Krost had K♠ 9♦ and the Aussie Millions title in his sights.

The 23-year-old PartyPoker qualifier stood, his hands on his head, to await the turn and river and when the turn card was the 7♥ and the river the 2♥ the game was over; Krost had defeated 745 other competitors to claim the crown and the AUD $2 million first prize.

For his runner-up finish, Jensen earns AUD $1.1 million.

Congratulations to Krost and to all who cashed, and especially to the Crown Casino and Director of Poker Operations Jonno Pittock on another world-class tournament. We'll see you all next year!

After about an hour of three-handed play, Tyron Krost raises to 250,000 and Sorel Mizzi makes it 775,000 to go from the big blind. Krost moves all-in over the top, putting Mizzi to a decision for his tournament life and after some serious time in the tank, Mizzi makes the call.

Imper1um has 7♦ 7♣ and is racing against Krost's A♠ K♠.

In the stands, John Tabatabai and the rest of the Mizzi hangers-on call for a seven, while Krost's less-vocal supporters beg the dealer for an ace or a king.

The flop is torture for the Canadian, coming K♥ T♥ 5♥.

"Running hearts," says Mizzi. "Let's chop it up."

The turn, however, is the 8♦ and Mizzi needs one of two remaining sevens to stay alive. But the river is the 2♥ and Mizzi whiffs and for the second year in a row a Canadian kid has finished third in the Aussie Millions.

The Betfair pro earns AUD $715,000 in what must be the toughest 700k he's ever had to swallow.

We're now heads-up between Tyron Krost and Frederik Jensen, both PartyPoker qualifiers aiming to repeat what PartyPoker sponsored-pro Stewart Scott accomplished a year before.

Stay tuned for the grand finale!

On the first hand back from break, Frederik Jensen raises from the small blind and Kosta Varoxis makes the call in the big, leaving himself with just 150,000 behind.

The flop comes Q♣ 9♥ 7♣ and Jensen throws out a 150,000 wager. Varoxis makes the call and Jensen turns up 2♣ 2♥.

Varoxis squeezes out the A♥ and the 6♣ and will need some help to stay alive.

The pro-Kosta krowd screams "Pair the board," and "Ace!" but the turn is the T♦, leaving Varoxis drawing to an ace or a six if he wants to avoid elimination.

The river card, however, is the 2♠, giving Jensen an unnecessary set and busting Varoxis in fourth. The Aussie will earn AUD $450,000 for his tenacity.

His elimination deprives the final table of its most vociferous supporters, as the krowd is making its exit as Varoxis ambles down to the cashier.

In a battle of the blinds, Sorel Mizzi gets his two-million chip stack all-in against Kostas Varoxis, his A-6 needing help against the hometown favorite's pocket kings.

Imper1um has had a tumultuous day and now his hope for that AUD $2 million first prize rests on three aces or some funky running cards.

But the A♦ in the window is a miracle for the Canadian kid, giving him the better pair and setting him up nicely for the smooth double up. Mizzi can barely hide a smile as he waits for the turn, which bricks with a scary-looking queen, not quite the face card Varoxis was looking for.

The river is a four and Mizzi has survived, doubling up to around four million while Varoxis is down to his last 500,000.

We've reached the end of another level.

It takes a few rounds, but Kosta Varoxis open-shoves all-in from the button for his last 990,000. In the big blind, Tyron Krost asks for a count and after some rumination, he makes the call.

The pro-Kosta krowd (unaware, apparently that Krost is a Sidneysider), starts screaming the Joe Hachem theme song as their boy turns up Q♣ T♣. He's behind, though as Krost has A♥ 4♥ and Varoxis will need a hand if he's to continue the hunt.

The flop comes 9♣ 6♠ 3♠ and that helps neither player. The turn is the 5♥ and Varoxis is down to one shot to stay alive.

But Varoxis is a roach at this final table and, as if there was no doubt, the Q♠ on the river falls to give the crowd favorite the best hand, doubling him up to more that two million and prolonging four-handed play.

In other news, Australian poker legends Joe Hachem and Marsha Waggoner have both shown up to make an appearance.

Gus Hansen was by earlier, giving a signed copy of his book to the girlfriend of one of the pros, and Chris Ferguson showed up with his girlfriend to try to wrangle VIP access to one of the Crown's other nightclubs, VIP access to the Studio 3 club being reserved to the four people who still have chips in this event.

Left with just a million in chips after doubling up Frederik Jensen, Sorel Mizzi gets all-in preflop against Kostas Varoxis holding A♥ Q♥ and is in for his tournament life against Varoxis' A♣ 4♠.

The flop comes 8♥ 7♥ 5♣ and Mizzi flops a heart flush draw while Varoxis has a gutshot draw. The turn is the J♠ and the river the K♠ and Mizzi avoids elimination, doubling up to around 2.5 million and knocking Varoxis to 500,000.

Within the span of a couple hands, Varoxis is all-in and Mizzi has made the call, showing A♦ J♥ to Varoxis' K♦ J♠.

Mizzi has the hometown hero dominated but a Q♣ 9♠ 5♥ flop means Varoxis has a gutshot draw - and he gets there with the T♠ on the turn, to much hoonish applause as the drunken Aussies threaten to blow the roof off the joint.

The river is the 4♠ and Varoxis has doubled to 1.2 million. Mizzi is down below the two million plateau.

Tournament organizers are now riling up the audience by throwing t-shirts into the crowd and mark our words: if an Aussie wins this thing, Melbourne will burn.

We've got a head-scratcher here.

After ten hours of play within the raucous confines of the Crown Casino's Studio 3 nightclub, Peter Jetten seems to have lost focus for one hand, and it's cost him the tournament.

Jetten made a preflop raise to 200,000 on the button and Australian hitman Tyron Krost re-raised to 600,000 from the big blind.

Presumably thinking Krost was attempting a resteal, Jetten thought for a moment and then moved all-in over the top for his last two million. Krost insta-called and Jetten was left standing sheepishly in the corner like the kid who kicked the cat, turning up K♦ 5♦ against Krost's pocket tens.

Jetten needed a king or a bunch of diamonds to double up and stay alive, but after the flop came A-J-2 with one diamond, the turn was a seven and the river a five and that was the end of "Apathy," who hung around to stare at the board in disbelief before wandering off to be consoled by the inebriated ruins of Team Jetten.

Apathy earns AUD $350,000 for his fifth-place finish.

A few hands later and fellow Canadian Sorel Mizzi has started to implode as well.

Mizzi raised to 200,000 and saw Frederik Jensen re-raise to 575,000. Mizzi put him all-in and Jensen called, turning up A♥ K♠ to counter Mizzi's A♠ 5♠.

The board ran 9♦ 7♥ 3♦ Q♦ 3♣ and the king held, giving Jensen the double up to 5.5 million and knocking Mizzi down to about a million.

This final table is in grave danger of spiraling out of control.

Previous Aussie Millions final tables have taken place in an airtight control room with a smattering of friends and family allowed to watch on a television in an adjacent antechamber.

But for 2010, tournament organizers have decided to stage the final in a nightclub, replete with bleacher-style seating. The slow pace of play, combined with copious amounts of alchohol - Tom Dwan's "Team Jetten" claims to have devoured nine bottles of Dom Perignon - have created a zoo here in Melbourne.

A contingent led by John Tabatabatabatabatabai is rivaling infamous "bogan" Corey Worthington for top marks in hoonish behaviour, while the hometown Aussies lurk in the background just waiting for Australian poker superstar Kostas Varoxis to make a move.

Basically, nobody's really paying attention to the poker and we're just waiting for the first overly-intoxicated fat man to fall from the top of the stairs. Oh, Lord - now they're sending the Aussie Millions hostess into the drunk tank. Pandemonium ensues.

Stay tuned for more from Melbourne. We might award an AUD $2 million grand prize tonight or we might burn this mother to the ground. Either way we'll blog about it.

P.S. The blinds have gone up.

Sorel Mizzi and Peter Jetten both appear to have turned the corner as Level 25 continues, with both players having made significant progress in rebuilding their stacks after taking a few hits a bit earlier in the evening.

Mizzi is now back to close to the five million mark, taking a couple of medium-sized pots with nice postflop betting, including a 500k pot against Fredrik Jensen that Jensen relinquished to a bet on the A-K-K-2-6 river.

Then he took another three-way pot with a bet on the turn of an A-5-3-7 board, adding another 400,000 or so to his stack.

Meanwhile, Jetten is making great inroads here at the final table, clawing his way out of the bottom of the chip counts and keeping his substantial - and slightly inebriated - crowd happy.

Jetten took a bit pot at Mizzi's expense, moving all-in for 1.3 milion over the top of a 270,000 bet from Mizzi on a T♥ 6♦ 2♣ flop. Mizzi thought it over and then laid down the hand and the girls in the blue wigs went wild in the stands.

Even Tom Dwan is excited; he keeps pouring Dom Perignon for Team Jetten and if their boy takes it down, one imagines there'll be a hell of a party.

Anyway, Jetten kept rolling, getting two callers with a 200k preflop raise and seeing a flop come K-10-8. All three players checked, but when a seven fell on the turn Jetten bet out and took down the pot.

He's now on over two million.

As Sorel Mizzi sees his stock start to fall, Tyron Krost continues to upswing, winning a couple of tidy pots as the last level came to an end.

The first pot saw Krost call a 100,000 raise from Peter Jetten while in the small blind. Both players checked an A-J-J flop, but when the turn brought a six and Krost bet out, Jetten conceded the pot and folded.

Then Jetten opened another pot for 100,000. Krost made it 300,000 to go on the button and then Frederik Jensen re-upped to 750,000 from the small blind. Action folded back to Jetten, who laid it down, but Krost moved all-in for nearly three million in chips.

Jensen folded and Krost dragged the pot, building his stack up to nearly four million.

The 24th level of the day is over and we're on a quick break before action resume in Level 25. Five players remain in the hunt for those Aussie Millions millions.

Sorel Mizzi has just lost a pair of pots that have brought his once stellar chip stack back to terrestrial levels.

The first hand was against Frederik Jensen and began when Mizzi raised to 90,000 preflop. Jensen made the call in position and the flop came 5♦ 4♠ 3♠. Mizzi bet 100,000 and Jensen flat-called and the turn was the 2♦.

This time, Mizzi checked. Jensen bet 275,000 and Mizzi folded.

A few minutes later, Mizzi again opened a pot for a 90,000 and Kostas Varoxis re-raised to 220,000 from the small blind. Mizzi made the call and the flop came 8♠ 6♠ 3♣.

Varoxis led out for 260,000 and Mizzi flat-called. The turn was the Q♣ and both players checked to see the river, which was the 6♦. Both players checked again and Varoxis turned up K-Q for top pair, which was enough to give the Aussie the pot.

"Must be nice, Kostas," a bunch of people in the crowd started screaming. We don't speak Aussie so we don't know what it means, but suffice it to say the hometown favorite is climbing, having built his stack up to nearly 2.75 million.

Mizzi, meanwhile, is on just about four million and sees Frederik Jensen gaining in his rearview mirror.

Steve Friedlander must have been reading our coverage, because he returned from dinner having ditched the outback chic tropical suit and hat combo he was rocking in favor of a more laid back t-shirt and baseball cap. But the new-look Friedlander didn't last long.

Just a couple of hands after the return from break, Frederik Jensen raised to 90,000 and Kostas Varoxis made the call, as did Peter Jetten. Then Friedlander moved all-in from the button for his last 700k or so.

The blinds folded out, as did Jensen, but Varoxis moved all-in over the top and Jetten got out of the way.

Just like our previous all-in hands, pocket sevens featured prominently in this one as Friedlander was racing with the hockey sticks against Varoxis' Big Slick.

Wasn't much of a race.

The flop brought a king and no draw possibilities for Friedlander. The turn brought another king. The river card was a jack and that was the end of the American's day. Friedlander earns AUD $250,000 for his performance.

That's right y'all, the dinner break is over and we're all well fed. Six players are back beneath the lights and the TV cameras for the last leg of this epic playdown to an Aussie Millions title and an AUD $2 million first prize.

Sorel Mizzi retains the chip lead, but Tyron Krost is steadily making a climb up the leaderboard to drink the Betfair pro's proverbial milkshake. Can Mizzi hang on to claim his first major live tournament title? If Mizzi fails, can Peter Jetten take up the mantle for Canada, Oh Canada? Or will Felix Leiter Steve Friedlander carry the day for the CIA Americans?

Only PokerListings knows, and we'll be happy to tell you - in about six hours. Stay tuned!

With six players remaining in contention here at the final table of the 2010 Aussie Millions main event our tournament has broken for a 75-minute intermission. The players - and media - will grab a bite of dinner and then return to the Crown Casino's Studio 3 nightclub to play down to a champion.

Action will resume at roughly 7:45 p.m. local time and we'll be back from Melbourne when it happens. Grab a bite and join us for the thrilling conclusion!

Tyron Krost has claimed another victim.

Just a few minutes after eliminating Stephen Shelley, Krost called Annette Obrestad's all-in holding pocket sevens and finding himself racing for stacks with Annette_15's A-J.

Krost had Obrestad well out-chipped, meaning the 2007 WSOPE champ would need to hit an ace or a jack to stay alive in this tournament. The flop, however, was near death for the Norwegian, coming K-Q-7 and giving Obrestad a gutshot straight draw while flopping Krost a set.

The turn was a five and Obrestad needed a ten and only a ten to stay alive, but the river was a king and that meant the end of the Betfair pro, who takes AUD $175,000 in a losing cause.

Play continues six-handed with twenty minutes left in the current level.

After nearly four hours of final table play we have our first elimination and it's local qualifier Stephen Shelley out in eighth.

Shelley's final hand began with a raise from Tyron Krost in early position. Shelley defended in the big blind and the flop came T♣ 5♦ 3♦, prompting a check from Shelley and a 325,000 wager from Krost.

Shelley took little time before moving all-in over the top and Krost made the call, turning up a pocket pair of jacks to Shelley's pocket sevens.

The Aussie would need a seven or running cards to stay alive, but the board finished out 8♦ 2♥ and that was the end of Stephen Shelley, who won his seat in a $22 satellite. He's converted that $22 to a $125,000 final haul, a spectacular return on investment.

We're down to seven players and action continues here in Melbourne.

Stephen Shelley has rocketed up to 1.8 million in chips and third on the chip leaderboard over the last level of play, doubling his stack without getting all-in or facing any sort of serious danger.

Shelly took a small pot from Sorel Mizzi with a 62,000 wager on the turn of a 7-6-3-9 board after Mizzi had raised pre and c-bet the flop. Then he made a well-timed c-bet on Frederik Jensen to take down another small pot.

Also chipping up in the last level was Reno, Nevada native Steve Friedlander, who came into the final table dressed as an Aussie Tom Wolfe in a very outback chic tropical suit and hat ensemble.

Friedlander is one of two players at the final table without a sponsor's patch, furthering our suspicions that he is actually CIA agent Felix Leiter and that his buy-in was provided by the American government.

Also without a patch is Peter Jetten, but he's Canadian and clearly doesn't need the sponsorship.

Anyway, Friedlander picked up some chips in the last level when he, Mizzi and Jetten went to the turn of a A♦ J♠ T♠ K♦ board after five players had seen the flop. Jetten bet 150,000 on the turn and Mizzi folded out. Friedlander called and the river was the T♥.

Friedlander open-shoved and after tanking, Jetten laid it down.

The blinds are moving up and chip counts have been updated. Stay tuned for more action - if the CIA doesn't assassinate us first.

As we expected, the play out of the gate here at the final table of the 2010 Aussie Millions has been deliberate, and yes that's a euphemism for slow.

Two years ago, Erik Seidel told PokerListings that his plan going into the tournament's final table was to grind his inexperienced opponents into submission, and we firmly believe he would have sat at that felt for two or three days if Alex Kostritsyn hadn't taken him out when he did.

This year, there's nobody with the experience level - or patience - of Seidel, but the structure is still enough so that with AUD $2 million on the line, nobody really wants to get rash.

Over the first hour of play, Sorel Mizzi ditched about a million in chips but has since worked that back up to where he's only 500,000 down from the start of the day.

Most of the losses came at the hands of Kostas Varoxis, who doubled through Imper1um and then took another small pot from the chip boss a few hands later. Then Frederik Jensen got into the act, taking a million-chip pot at showdown with top pair, top kicker after calling down a 325,000 bet from the boss.

But Mizzi has climbed back, courtesy Stephen Shelly, who got into a preflop raising war with Imper1um that ended when Shelley blinked in the face of Mizzi's 430,000 re-raise.

Annette Obrestad, meanwhile, took a small pot on a scary A-A-2-A-6 board with a pocket pair of fives for the full house. Stephen Shelly had a club flush, which was about as useful as a snowmobile in a Melbourne January, and neither player looked particularly inclined to bet.

Obrestad's on about 1.3 million.

Every player at this final table has a cheering section of some kind or another, with the surviving Aussies garnering the bulk of the fan support. It's safe to say, however, that nobody has a fan club like Peter Jetten.

Jetten's supporters have commandeered a section of the stadium-style bleachers and are decked out in matching "Team Jetten" and "Team Canada" t-shirts, drinking champagne and eating cheeseburgers as they cheer on the young online pro.

Among those decked out in Team Jetten regalia are a quartet of comely young women in bright wigs, the kind of fan support we can wholeheartedly condone.

Also among Jetten's supporters are online pro Brian Powell and Tom "durrrr" Dwan, who at the moment is popping a bottle of some expensive-looking bubbly.

"You can cheer for whoever you want," Dwan is telling the Aussie seated next to him. "But when he goes out, you gotta cheer for Jetten."

By the way, the blinds have gone up.

Short-stacked throughout the day yesterday, Kosta Varoxis doubled through Jurgen Wenigwieser when his A-J outflopped Wenigwieser's pocket kings. The Aussie clapped his hands together. "It's my time," he shouted.

That just might be.

Just two hands into the final table, Varoxis flops a set of nines on an A-9-2 flop and finds chip boss Sorel Mizzi willing to gambol. Mizzi calls Varoxis' all-in with A-J and after the turn and river brick, ships over 600,000 across to Varoxis, who is now up over the million chip mark.

Mizzi can stand the loss, but it's a good start for Australia and an inauspicious start for Canada.

The players have been introduced and the fans are in the stands here at the final table of the 2010 Aussie Millions main event. Sorel Mizzi has made it to the table despite being swarmed by security demanding to see his credentials when he walked through the door, and Peter Jetten has brought a fan base that includes online grinder Brian Powell.

We begin play with 30 minutes left in the current level and Crown Director of Poker Operations predicts a protracted final table struggle - unless Mizzi starts throwing his weight around.

The Aussie Millions structures are typically very generious in the late stages of the tournament. For comparison's sake, last year's final table began with 20,000/40,000 blinds and was in itself a grind to the finish, but if Mizzi decides to dominate all bets are off.

Cards are in the air and the game is afoot. The final table has begun!

Welcome back to Melbourne, Australia, where the 2010 Aussie Millions has reached its grand finale. Over 21 levels of hard-fought play a field of 746 has been distilled to the final eight survivors and all have reconvened at the Studio 3 nightclub in Melbourne's Crown Casino for this last epic fight for the AUD $2 million first prize.

Sorel Mizzi comes into Day 5 with a dominating chip stack, holding six of the approximately fifteen million chips in play. The decorated online pro will look to take down his first major live tournament title by defeating a table that includes 2007 WSOPE champ Annette Obrestad and Peter "Apathy" Jetten, among others.

Start time is schedule for 2 p.m. local time, but we anticipate a bit of a delay as the tournament staff and TV crew try to sync up. We'll have live updates, photography and news coverage of the final table when it gets underway, so keep your browsers on PokerListings and we'll ship you the goods.

Stay tuned; the 2010 Aussie Millions final table is now!