169 of Victoria's most dedicated, enthusiastic and talented APL members made the poker pilgrimage to Panthers Lavington in Albury over the weekend to take part in the first APL Rhino's State Finals for 2008.
The field took to the felt at noon on Saturday 26 April amid electrifying applause following the screening of the 2007 APL Tournament of Champions highlights reel. With six tickets to the 2008 TOC up for grabs, there could not have been a better way of letting Victoria's finest know exactly what was at stake.
It wasn't only a shot at the TOC's massive $250,000 cash first prize, however, that had drawn a crowd of both players and spectators alike to Panthers Lavington; $1000 in cash, a Rhino's Energy Drink fridge and a year's supply of Rhino's Energy Drink were all in the mix.
On Tournament Director Chris Glen's word, Victoria's first APL Rhino' s State Final for the year kicked off. With a relaxed blinds structure and a 5k starting bank, it was little wonder we saw so few players sent to the rail in the first few hours.
It was Mark Grech who was the lucky player drawn to participate in the event as the Rhino's Bounty with a whopping $5000 to be awarded to him should he go on to become State Champion.
Hours into the tournament the room continued to buzz, whether it was the anticipation of who would be taking home a TOC seat from the main event, or the extra hype created by the side event Sit 'n' Go's.
At about 5.30pm the players still fighting it out for the title of State Champion seemed to tighten up as we moved closer to our final 16. Once the 16 was established, the players seemed to loosen up if only a fraction – they knew that from here on in it was going to take guts to secure a TOC seat.
All eyes were on our Rhino's Bounty Mark Grech, who was still in the running for his $5000 shot at victory courtesy of Rhino's Energy Drink, not to mention the $1000 winner's cheque with just eleven players remaining.
As is the case in any tournament, there comes a time when a gut feeling, pure instinct and every intrinsic and extrinsic factor available to you tells you "it's time." After a few quiet hands, Mark pushed all in for 85,000 in chips.
After what seemed like an age, Melbourne's Stephen Goodwin called the bounty down and flipped over . Mark was ahead with , but his relief was short-lived after seeing a on the flop. Mark failed to improve on the turn or river and left the tournament in 11th position – an achievement to be proud of.
Heading towards the bubble position, local Sarah Morris was unluckily forced all in by the blinds whilst holding , reducing the field to our final 8:
Adam Farrell (Dandenong - 85,000)
Steven Goodwin (Whittelsea - 85,000)
James Quach (Brimbank Maribanong - 118,000)
Chris Lander (Yarra Ranges - 47,000)
Anthony Meehan (Ballarat - 126,000)
Debbie Such (Riverina - 79,000)
Frank Cannizaro (Werribee - 96,000)
Kevin Farrell (Riverina - 228,000)
Action on the final table was slow to begin with. With the blinds at 5,000/10,000 the crowd, for at least a short while, seemed to witness more folding than one could expect from an origami class.
After almost one hour, Adam Farrell and Debbie Such were sent to the rail. We now had our 6 TOC qualifiers, but the title of State Champion was still up for grabs.
After another two hours, the Panthers Lavington crowd found themselves gathered around a heads up battle between Kevin Farrell and James Quach. After an eternity of raising and folding without an ultimate result, James made the move all in.
The crowd turned silent in anticipation of Kevin's decision. Kevin looked down at his cards, across to his trusty Crown Lager and then back up at James.
"You're going to hate me for this... CALL."
Kevin flips over
James shows
FLOP: TURN: RIVER:
With two pair on the river, Kevin was "crowned" Victorian State Champion. After a tough 12 months, Kevin broke down on completion of the tournament and commented that he "only wishes he had more time to play APL".
Congratulations on a fairytale ending Kevin! We could not be any more proud of our new VIC State Champ! Kevin looks forward to making the trip to Sydney in August to compete in the TOC and we wish him, and all 6 of our newest Victorian qualifiers the best of luck at 'The Cube'!
169 of Victoria's most dedicated, enthusiastic and talented APL members made the poker pilgrimage to Panthers Lavington in Albury over the weekend to take part in the first APL Rhino's State Finals for 2008.
. Mark was ahead with 
, but his relief was short-lived after seeing a 
on the flop. Mark failed to improve on the turn or river and left the tournament in 11th position – an achievement to be proud of.
, reducing the field to our final 8:
