Jeff Garza(credit: Poker-King Blog)
In the first round, both Wasicka took down internet player (and Tournament Titan) Sorel Mizzi. Jamie Pickering, who has had quite an Aussie Millions Championship series – winning the $1100 NLHE Event and making two more final tables, ousted the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe’s Main Event champ, Obrestad. Other winners included Anna Wroblewski, who made two final tables at the Crown Casino in ’08 thus far, British poker player Harry Demetriou and Canadian player Michael McDonald, champion of the PokerPro Event this week.
Rafe Furst and Lee Nelson went 2-0 in Round Two to advance to the money round. Roy “The Oracle” Winston also defeated his opponent as did Jamie Pickering. However, Eric Hershler, winner of the LA Poker Classic in early 2007, defeated Wasicka in heads-up play, bringing kwikfish’s run at the title to an end.
Round 3 pitted Rafe Furst, who won his first WSOP bracelet in Pot Limit Hold’em back in 2006, against Masaaki Kagawa, a Japanese businessman who loves to play high stakes poker. Kagawa defeated Furst 2-0. Roy Winston, who won more than $200,000 at the Bellagio Five Diamond in December 2007, defeated Harry Demetriou, a former ‘scientist’ who took top honors in the inaugural Victor Chandler Poker Cup. Hershler lost his match against Lee Nelson, who was the 2006 Aussie Millions Main Event champion. Michael McDonald was victorious over fellow Canadian Mike Watson, aka Watts.
Each of these four would face the four remaining players from Day 2 on Saturday.
On Day 1b, 32 more players headed to the Heads-Up Championship at the 2008 Aussie Millions. Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Clonie Gowen and Sorel Mizzi were amongst those vying for the title. In Round 1, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, who busted out of the Main Event just in time for his match-up, didn’t last long in the event as Sol Bergen, an amateur player hailing from Saskatchewan, Canada, crushed him 2-0 right out the gate. Roland de Wolfe, Adam Junglen, Lee Watkinson, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak and Andy Bloch were also eliminated in the first round.
Bergren wouldn’t last against fellow Canadian Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi. Mizzi would go on to play against fellow internet phenom Jeff “ActionJeff” Garza in the Third Round. Clonie Gowen, Michael Binger and Terence Chan would also hit the rail in round two.
In Round 3, Garza bumped Mizzi. Russian poker player Alexey Popov defeated Justin Schwartz. Xuan Nguyen took out Joe Le and the Swede David Sonelin, who has made quite a name for himself on the EPT, eliminated Australia’s own Aleks Lackovic.
On Saturday, January 19, 2008 the final eight, each of whom were guaranteed at least $20,000, sat down to finish up the Heads-Up Championship at the Aussie Millions. Alexey Popov fell first. He was eliminated by Xuan Nguyen 2-1. Jeff Garza, a prominent online player, took out David Sonelin, also in a 2-1 finish. Kagawa struggled against McDonald in the first match, but eventually won it and the second one to defeat the Canadian. Finally, Roy Winston dispatched Lee Nelson, 2-1.
Garza then lost the first match to Nguyen after Nguyen hit a full house on the last hand. He evened things up with two pair in game two. In the third and deciding match, Garza, who hails from Norfolk, MA and is still too young to compete in casino games in the US, flopped a Broadway straight on the final hand, taking down his opponent. Kagawa then won the first match against the Brooklyn-based “Oracle”. However, in the second game, Winston flopped a set a queens, trouncing Kagawa’s pocket hooks. Finally, the Japanese player emerged victorious, setting the stage for a grand final match-up between himself and Garza.
Kagawa took down the first heads-up match with the nut heart flush. On the second game, Garza evened the score. In the third match of the finale, Garza moved all-in with a back-door diamond flush. Kagawa, who held pocket fours, insta-called with a wheel straight on the board. Garza flipped over the winner, crippling his opponent. A few hands later, ActionJeff sealed the deal, winning the match, the title and the $ (AUD) 100,000.