On Saturday night, the stirring conclusion of the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event aired on GSN. The broadcast, which is sponsored by Full Tilt Poker, began with five players and newly minted Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi as the chip leader. The final five consisted of two Aussies, two Canadians, and one Dane in a truly global event.
Peter Jetten was the first casualty of the hour-long show, running K-5 of diamonds into Tyron Krost’s pocket tens. Jetten 4bet all-in pre-flop with the suited hand and despite hitting a five on the river, hit the exits in fifth place. Jetten told cameras following his elimination, “I knew going into today that this would take a long time and I was ready to play until six in the morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t get an opportunity to test out my 3am and 4am playing skills.”
Frederik Jensen doubled up after Mizzi 4bet all-in with A-5 of spades and ran into A-K. However, Mizzi struck back, doubling up at the expense of Kosta Varoxis with A-Q against A-4. Loud chants of “Mizz-i” permeated the Crown Casino as Mizzi’s better kicker held up.
Varoxis quickly doubled up twice, first against Mizzi and then against Krost, to get right back into the hunt for the $1.8 million first place prize. In his hand against Krost, Varoxis spiked a six-outer on the river to survive.
Mizzi drew out on Varoxis’ pocket kings with A-6. All of the money went in pre-flop and the drama was quite abbreviated, as Mizzi flopped an ace and never looked back. Varoxis, down to just 500,000 in chips, promptly moved all-in on the flop with A-6 against Jensen’s pocket twos. The wired pocket pair held and Varoxis’ Aussie Millions run came to an end. He commented after his elimination, “I came in wanting to do the best I can. I wanted to win. I knew I could win. I had the chance to and I came pretty close. I’m more than happy with that.”
With three players remaining, Mizzi 3bet to 775,000 with a wired pair of sevens and Krost shoved over-the-top all-in for 6.2 million with A-K of spades. Mizzi made the call, putting his stack at risk, and watched as a king fell on an all-heart flop to give Krost top pair. Mizzi called for running hearts for a chop (neither player held a heart), but no help came on the turn or river and Mizzi busted in third place. He entered the final table as a commanding chip leader and lamented, “Compared to the other days I played, I wasn’t getting the cards I was getting earlier.”
Then, on a flop of 3-K-2, Krost check-raised to 650,000 with K-9 and Jensen made it 1.1 million with K-6 for top pair with a weaker kicker. Krost moved all-in and Jensen made the call, yelling for his “one time.” The board filled out 7-2 and Krost took down the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event title. Jensen was gracious after his runner-up showing: “It would have been a really sweet win, but [Krost] deserves to win. Tyron, he’s a good guy and a really good player.” Krost hoisted the trophy before Aussie Millions on GSN hosts Paul Khoury and Grub Smith wrapped up the tournament.
Next Saturday, the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship debuts on GSN at 8:00pm ET. Sixteen teams entered the made-for-TV tournament, which was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas, and the top prize is $1 million. Check your local listings for station information.
