It took Andrew Scott more than 12 months before he achieved the breakthrough result of his tournament poker career when he finished runner-up to Nam Le in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau High Roller event back in September.
However, it looks unlikely that the Hong Kong-based Australian will improve his standing on the APPT money list in this event after his stack was decimated early in level 3.
Scott found himself in a betting war with Melbourne’s James ‘Jabba’ Broom. On a board of 5s 7d 9s, Scott committed his stack with Broom making the insta-call. Scott showed 10 9 for top pair but Broom showed pocket sevens for a set. The turn and river (2d 6h) didn’t help Scott, and he was down to less than 1500 in chips.
The killer blow came just minutes later when Scott pushed all-in with pocket fours. Again, Broom made the call and showed Ac 9c. Not only did Broom find an ace on the flop, he made the nut flush to sweep Scott from the tournament area.
Broom enters this event as one of the form players on the regional scene. A well known player at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, Broom scored his breakthrough win in the AUD $1100 main event at the Melbourne Poker Championships in May.
He took home more than AUD $130,000, and showed that result was no fluke by reaching the final table of the recent PokerNews Cup main event, finishing ninth. Just the sort of form that could see him go a long way in this tournament.
Another player who reached the final table of the PokerNews Cup, Dave Lee, is also in today’s field. Like Broom, Lee has enjoyed a breakout year in 2008.
He won the $1100 NLHE Turbo event at the 2008 Aussie Millions (for more than AUD $70,000), and then was third in the PokerNews Cup main event. Lee, whose reputation as a cash-game player is arguably stronger than his standing as a tournament player, suffered an early setback today but is back above his starting stack of 10,000.
As the clock ticks down in level 3, 14 of the 149 players have been eliminated. Norwegian PokerStars qualifier Tommy Henstein is an early chip leader on 25,000 after KOing Aussie pub poker legend Rodney Davidson.
Watch APPT Manila 08: Rodney Davidson on PokerStars.tv
