Time has ticked well past 1.00 a.m. and we are finally down to heads-up! That’s right, just two players remain in contention for the ANZPT Sydney title. Yawns can be seen by those on the rail, us in the media are still sipping coffees as the final two players have made their way on a quick break. Before we continue, let us explain how we got here.
This story starts with Michael Fadersen being eliminated in fifth place to see us reach four-handed play. Fadersen’s final hand saw the player known as “WaGe N WaRz” all-in preflop holding A♣ 10â™ against the A♣ K♦ of David Campion. How Fadersen got those chips in started when Dinesh Alt opened to 125,000 from the hijack. Fadersen then three-bet all in for 500,000 from the cutoff. On to Campion and despite having big slick, he would think long and hard before making the call, having Fadersen covered. With that, the two players turned their hand over, at which point Fadersen said, “nice nit roll,” at the site of Campion’s hand. Once the dealer spread out a 4♦ 2♦ Q♥ Jâ™ 8♦ board, those were the final five cards that Fadersen would see in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event.
“Get me out of this place,” said Fadersen. “Time to play the majors.”
That’s commitment.
With four players remaining, Dominik Nitsche was in control, while David Campion and Dinesh Alt were simply just clinging to life. Dejan Divkovic on the other hand was true to his reputation, sending himself on a wild roller coaster ride that would see him cruise back into the chip lead after being down to just 550,000 earlier in the evening. The hand that would see Divkovic win more than half the chips in play was easily the most exciting of the tournament so far.
It all started with Nitsche opening to 160,000, before Divkovic three-bet to 400,000. Nitsche then four-bet to 660,000. Divkovic counted out a bet of 1.1 million here and Nitsche quickly moved all in. Divkovic called just as quickly and the two players turned their hands over as a 5 million chip pot had just been built. Divkovic held J♥ J♦ and was at risk, and looking to be going home, against the Q♣ Qâ™ of Nitsche. However, it wouldn’t be that simple as a 9♥ 10♦ Jâ™ flop meant that Divkovic took the lead. Divkovic gave his rail a high five and no sooner a 8♥ had hit the turn to give Nitsche the straight. Divkovic was getting ready to leave, but the dealer flipped over a 10♥ on the river to see Divkovic’s rail erupt. With that, Divkovic was up to 5 million in chips and Nitsche was down to 2 million – the lowest he has been quite some time.
David Campion’s night was one of the cat with nine lives stories. Campion was all in several times throughout the last couple of hours, managing to double every time he was at risk. That recently changed though as Campion would find himself on the rail in third place. It was an all-in preflop situation that would see Campion struggling to claw to life holding A-6 against the A♥ 10♣ of Dominik Nitsche. By the time the dealer had rolled out a 7♥ 9â™ Q♣ 10♦ K♦ board, Campion had already made his way to the payout booth to collect his $62,560 prize.
With three players remaining and plenty of chips still in play, we were sure that we were still a far way off reaching heads-up. Then Dinesh Alt went on a rampage, doubling up multiple times through Dejan Divkovic, before ultimately dealing the fatal blow to Dominik Nitsche. It was the final hand before the next scheduled break that would see Alt open to 200,000 from the small blind. Nitsche was in the big blind and made the call. On the 6♥ A♥ K♥ flop, Alt led for 350,000 and Nitsche called. The 3♦ turn would see Alt continue his betting, this time making it 500,000 to go. Nitsche once again called and an A♦ completed the board on the river. Alt thought for a moment before moving all in, having Nitsche covered. Nitsche instantly called, at which point Alt tabled 6♦ 6♠for a rivered full house. Nitsche, clearly disappointed, turned over his A♠9♥ for rivered trips as that cooler sent him packing in 3rd place and with $80,040 for his time.
Being that Alt had doubled through Divkovic a couple of times before taking all of Nitsche’s chips, it is no surprise that he has a dominating chip lead heading into heads-up play. In fact, Alt has Divkovic at more than a 3-1 chip deficit, with Alt’s having 7.2 milllion to Divkovic’s 2 milllion. Despite this, we wouldn’t be taking bets against Divkovic as we know for a fact he has what it takes to win an ANZPT title. Can Divkovic do it all over again and create history or will Alt be our a new champion!? The heads-up battle is just beginning, so be sure to return to the PokerStarsBlog to find out!
