Australian Poker Open - Andy Lee Leads Event #3 Final Table

The third event of the 2020 Australian Poker Open was Event #3: AU$25,000 No-Limit Hold’em held from inside The Star Gold Coast poker room. Play ticked into the 18th level of the day, and following a trend set by Michael O’Grady in Event #1 and Najeem Ajez in Event #2, another Australia leads the Event #3 final table with Andy Lee holding the chip lead with 1,310,000 in chips heading into Tuesday’s PokerGO streamed Event #3 final table.

With the buy-in increased from AU$10,000 to AU$25,000 for this event, a strong field of 49-entrants created a AU$1,225,000 prize pool that contained a mix of international high roller regulars, a few local players, and some Australian’s looking to claim the first Australian Poker Open title for the home team. Once registration closed after level 9, a steady flow of eliminations would occur before the final nine players redrew to one table. Jorryt van Hoof exited in ninth place, and when on the money bubble, it would be Peter Jetten all in on the flop holding two pair against both Stephen Chidwick and Aaron Van Blarcum. Chidwick turned a flush and after Van Blarcum folded to his river bet and Jetten was unable to improve to a full house, the Canadian was eliminated in eighth place to put the remaining players in the money.

Play continued for several levels before Chino Rheem would collect his second 7th-place finish in back-to-back events after being all in preflop with ace-eight against Van Blarcum’s ace-king. The board ran out jack-high, and Rheem collected $61,250 for his efforts as the final six players bagged their chips for the night.

Those final six players are all guaranteed AU$73,500 in prize money, but all eyes are set on the first-place prize of AU$416,500 and the title of Event #3 champion. The player best positioned heading into the third final table of the Australian Poker Open is Sydney-based Andy Lee with 1,310,000 in chips. Lee has amassed nearly $1.59 million in lifetime tournament earnings with his best result being a victory in the 2011 Star Poker Summer Series Main Event for AU$270,000. With a victory in Event #3, Lee will move to 19th on the Australia All Time Money List

Second in chips is Stephen Chidwick with 1,200,000 in chips. No stranger to high roller final tables, Chidwick currently sits at over $33.4 million in lifetime money list and with a victory in Event #6, he will move to sixth on the All Time Money List. During the last two High Roller of the Year qualifying series’ of the British Poker Open and Poker Masters, Chidwick collected a total of seven cashes and one win.

A new-comer to the high roller scene, Aaron Van Blarcum sits third overall with 1,150,000 in chips. After catapulting himself into the poker scene just six months ago after he won the Season XVIII WPT Legends of Poker, Van Blarcum has added a second-place finish in the partypoker MILLIONS World Bahamas, a first-place in the $25,000 Bellagio High Roller, a second-place in the $50,000 Bellagio High Roller, and then just last week Van Blarcum finished second in the Aussie Millions AU$100k Challenge. In that six month span, Van Blarcum has won over $2.7 million, and can see that eclipse $3 million if his hot run continues.

Canadian Timothy Adams entered the final table as one of the short stacks, but after a triple up, he bagged 1,025,000 in chips. Adams has amassed over $18.8 million in lifetime tournament earnings and currently sits in third-place on the Canadian All Time Money List and 29th on the All Time Money List. At last year’s British Poker Open, Adams finished in second-place in Event #6 £25,000 No-Limit Hold’em for £154,000.

Rounding out the final table is Orpen Kisacikoglu with 860,000, and Steve O’Dwyer with 585,000. Kisacikoglu is the only player at the final table who has cashed this Australian Poker Open after taking fourth-place in Event #1, to follow his recent third-place in the Aussie Millions AU$50,000 Challenge for AU$477,240. Ireland’s O’Dwyer collected two 2nd-place finishes at the British Poker Open, and at Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas, he finished in sixth-place for $765,000. O’Dwyer’s lifetime tournament earnings sit at nearly $30.4 million to sit in tenth-place on the All Time Money List.

The button is on Aaron Van Blarcum and there is 11:20 remaining in Level 18 with blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 30,000-big blind ante.

The Event #3: AU$25,000 No-Limit Hold’em final table begins at 12 p.m. (AEST) on Tuesday, January 28, with action continuing until the Event #3 champion is crowned. Follow every hand when the PokerGO coverage begins at 7 p.m. (PT) / 10 p.m. (ET) on Monday, January 27.

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