As expected, Day Four at the World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific (WSOP APAC) Championship Event was a quick one, but the final table that will be played out on Monday will feature some excellent talent overall.
The fifteen men who came back on Sunday for action in the Crown Casino were looking to eliminate seven players to reach the goal for the day. As the action kicked off, 2012 November Niner Russell Thomas was at the head of the table, but he faced serious challenges everywhere he looked. Benny Spindler was slightly behind him at the start of the day, with Kahle Burns, George Tsatsis, Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu were all in the Top Ten and looking to take Thomas down.
After a slight delay to allow Esfandiari and Negreanu to participate in the Caesars Cup event, the men gathered at two tables and went to work. Spindler would make some early inroads in eliminating Yasar Gueden in fifteenth place, but Thomas would chip up a bit also, through Tsatsis. After Spindler knocked off Michael Pedley in 13th place, he took a lead that he wouldn’t release for the remainder of the day.
The short stack at the start of the day, Joel Feldman, was able to hang around to move up a couple more places on the payout sheet. His end would come after Spindler opened the action and Feldman moved all in. Shockingly, Winfred Yu moved all in over the top of Feldman, getting Tsatsis (from the big blind) and Spindler to exit the hand. When the cards were tabled, Feldman’s A-K was racing Yu’s pocket Jacks and, after the board ran nine high, Feldman was out in twelfth place.
Spindler continued to march upwards as the afternoon wore on, eventually reaching the three million mark by the time Tino Lechich was eliminated in 11th place before the second break. The players would come back off of that break and send Jordan Westmorland to the exits at the Crown in tenth place, at which time the final nine men redrew for the first ever WSOP APAC Championship Event final table.
At the unofficial final table, Spindler held a 700K chip lead over Daniel Marton while the remainder of the field was arranged under the two million chip mark. Still, it would take almost two hours to decide who would be the unfortunate player who wouldn’t make the “official” final table roster. During that time, there were some significant moves made.
Tsatsis would cut some chips from Esfandiari and Negreanu to crack the two million mark and the threesome would pick up the fight just a few hands later. After firing out a big pre-flop bet, Esfandiari was called by both Tsatsis and Negreanu to see a 7-Q-7 flop. After a Negreanu check, Esfandiari bet out and, once Tsatsis mucked, Negreanu fired a check-raise into the pot. After Esfandiari called and a Jack appeared on the turn, Negreanu would check-call another big bet out of Esfandiari. A river trey would come and, surprisingly, both men checked their options. After Negreanu showed an A-Q for a flopped two pair, Esfandiari sent his cards to the muck and a bunch of chips to Negreanu.
Esfandiari continued to drop down the leaderboard after that hand against Negreanu and it would eventually result in his departure from the tournament. After limping in from the button, Esfandiari saw Spindler raise the action to 75K. With the action back on him, Esfandiari pushed his remaining stack to the center of the felt and Spindler instantly called, tabling his pocket Queens against Esfandiari’s A-K. “Need some help,” Esfandiari would exclaim, but that help would never come; the Jack high flop provided him no help as he exited the stage in ninth place and the “official” final table was set.
1. Benny Spindler, 2.931 million
2. Daniel Negreanu, 2.437 million
3. George Tsatsis, 2.321 million
4. Daniel Marton, 2.160 million
5. Kahle Burns, 905,000
6. Mikel Habb, 551,000
7. Russell Thomas, 490,000
8. Winfred Yu, 367,000
From the chip stacks, it could be reasonably thought that the champion will come from the first four men on the leaderboard. Spindler is a former European Poker Tour champion and is used to the pressure of final table poker. Negreanu, who has stated it is his goal to add to his bracelet count during this year’s WSOP events, also will not be fazed by the spotlight. The wild cards may be Tsatsis (an experienced player) and Marton, who will be distinct threats at the table with not only their chips but their proximity between Negreanu and Spindler.
The champion of the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific Championship Event will be crowned on Monday, with the final table action kicking off at 2PM (Australia time, roughly midnight Eastern Time). While the men have received the notoriety for being at the first ever final table for the WSOP APAC Championship Event, they all want the WSOP bracelet and the $1.038 million that will go to the eventual champion.
