July 2012 Archives

It took a long heads-up battle but we've finally crowned a Queenstown Snowfest champion with Dave Allan overcoming illness and a tough heads-up opponent in Ken Demlakian to claim the title. Close to two hours ago, Demlakian looked across the table at Allan and chirped, "You're not enjoying this are...more

Jordan Westmorland has been a dominant force on this final table, responsible for the elimination of several opponents along the way, but it's come unstuck in 3rd place after a big clash with Ken Demlakian. It always proved tricky for Westmorland to have the unpredictable Demlakian sitting to his left....more

It was over two and a half hours from the time we saw the bust out of Matthew Wakeman in 6th place, before the next player was eliminated, with the last five players entering into an epic battle of attrition. No one was prepared to give an inch. Ken Demlakian...more

Our favourite Queenstown dealer, and cult hero in the poker room, Spencer, was given the honour of introducing our players this morning. Danny McDonagh claimed that it was just to prevent him from cutting the cards incorrectly. But rather than use our player profiles or the player's online nicknames for...more

It's been a great tournament for Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang. It's a tremendous sign when a player can navigate their way quietly through the field to the final table without really being noticed. It means that rather than relying on having to win an enormous coinflip or spiking a...more

It didn't take long for us to lose our first player from the Queenstown Snowfest final table as the short-stacked David Evans has been dispatched in 9th place. He was a little unlucky to go after three-betting the open raise from Matthew Wakeman. Chip leader Ken Demlakian cold-called the raise...more

The stage is set for thrilling finale here in Queenstown as the final nine take their seats for the final day of play at the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. Last year we had the final table setup on the main gaming floor, but this time around we're in the Summit...more

Three days of poker are in the books as the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event field has been reduced from a field of 149 players to our final table of nine. It's a super line-up with some ANZ regulars, some fresh-faced amateurs and a few highly talented online players looking to...more

On a day where the world's biggest sporting event kicked off, Billy "The Croc" Argyros dropped by our blogging desk before play to talk about his favourite subject - tournament structures. "Less than six levels, guaranteed!" exclaimed the Australian Poker Hall of Famer in reference to how long he thought...more

The money bubble is one of the cruellest moments of a poker tournament. However it's one of the most fascinating times as a poker observer as there are many plots and sub-plots to the whole situation. Short stacks are hanging on for dear life, medium stacks are staying out of...more

Our field of 31 has been reduced in the early stages of Day 3 of the Queenstown Snowfest, with 20 players remaining in contention as we approach the end of Level 14. Joel Feldman, Ben McLean, Richard Lancaster, our pair of Griffiths in Kristina and Mark, and the last hope...more

An Olympic-sized welcome to everyone at home following our live coverage of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. So perhaps we're not the biggest sporting event in the world at the moment, but hey, we're happy to take silver this time. With the London Olympics kicking off today, it got us...more

A unique split format greeted players today at the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. By all accounts, the players enjoyed the format where Day 2 was split into two halves due to the restrictions in size of the poker room. 87 players were split into Day 2a, which started at 12:30pm,...more

The remaining players have merged into one group inside the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino, as the survivors sit together for the first time. We had 23 players make it through Day 2a earlier today, while this afternoon another 24 players navigated their way through Day 2b. That left 47 players in...more

We've spent some time letting you know more about some of the great sights of Queenstown, but we would be remiss not to mention a little about our wonderful hosts for the week - the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino. After all, it's likely to be the place where our players will...more

The Day 2a flight is out of the way and the second group of 44 players have now found their seats in the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino to play the three levels of Day 2b. A total of 23 players survived the Day 2a period, with 2009 ANZPT Sydney champion Michael...more

As the players settle into the groove here on Day 2 of the Queenstown Snowfest, we should point out the unique format for play today. 43 players have started out today at 12:30pm for Day 2a. Those players comprise of our Day 1a survivors and a random allocation of the...more

Visitors to Queenstown rave about the culinary delights on offer, and after spending some time here, we can see why. Quite simply, we've yet to have a bad meal in Queenstown. Poker players are known for enjoying lavish meals and some are quite the food critic, but all reports so...more

Another beautiful day greeted us in Queenstown today for the third and final flight of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. After enjoying the sunshine this morning with a round of Frisbee Golf, another 49 players entered the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino for their last chance at Snowfest glory. It brought our...more

We've talked about some of the fun physical activities that one can partake in here Queenstown, but this city also offers much more than purely adrenalin-fuelled fun. For those looking for a change of pace, then why not relax at the appropriately named Wine Tastes? Described as the "New Zealand...more

It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to write about a Team PokerStars player representing the Australia and New Zealand regions. We've seen plenty of Bryan Huang, Raymond Wu, Vivian Im and Celina Lin on the APPT in recent times, and as much as we like writing about...more

Queenstown is truly blessed. Here we are, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, in the middle of winter, yet we seem to get the most stunning sunshine every single day. In fact, in my two trips here, I've only seen it rain once. Melbourne would be very jealous. Today is another gorgeous...more

The Queenstown Snowfest Main Event continued today in the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino with another stacked field putting the skis in the rack for one day to enjoy a friendly game of cards. Day 1b of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event attracted a field of 49 runners to bring our total...more

The old saying to have "the luck of the draw" applies to the game of poker in its most literal sense. Some days you can make good reads and play to your absolute best, but ultimately you can only do so much with the cards you are dealt by the...more

While the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event is undoubtedly the focus of attention for poker in New Zealand at the moment, there was actually another poker game in town this afternoon. Located some 1,600 metres above Queenstown, the mountain ranges of Coronet Peak are usually a skier's delight, but today the...more

One of the most memorable moments at last year's APPT Queenstown event, and in fact one of the most memorable moments for me personally in the last five years of covering poker tournaments, was Tom "tollgate" Grigg's epic battles with New Zealand's Koray Turker. I don't know a more aggressive...more

One of the things that lures over two million tourists to Queenstown every year is the variety of adventure-packed activities that one can partake in. It is called the adrenalin capital of the world for a reason. If you love nothing the thrill of the rush then Queenstown is the...more

With the madness of the World Series of Poker out of the way, attention has turned back to poker in Australasia as Season 6 of the APPT was launched today with Day 1 of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. Queenstown is quickly gathering a reputation as one of the most...more

We've already talked about the history of this event and, as an Aussie, it would be a shame for me to neglect to point out that the Kiwis are yet to actually win this tournament on their home turf. Ahhh, the Trans-Tasman rivalry is alive and well. But it's a...more

Over the past three years, the Queenstown Snowfest event has snowballed from humble beginnings into one of the premier events on the Australasian poker calendar. The inaugural Queenstown event was part of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) in 2009. A field of 134 players descended upon the snow-capped...more

As is tradition at all PokerStars events around the world, the players last night were welcomed to Queenstown with a party at the Wild Thyme Bar at the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino. Highlights included an open bar, a lavish spread of delightful snacks, a three-piece band and Robin Lim doing his...more

Today marks an historic day for poker in Asia. It is the first day of Season 6 of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. The tour which has broken new ground for the development of the game, exposing poker to a new breed of players and visiting exciting destinations throughout Australia,...more