Day 2 action in the Pokerstars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event in Seoul, South Korea, saw 83 players on hand to start play, the survivors of 165 initial Day 1 entrants at the Walker-Hill Casino. The 83 players worked down to the 16-spot money bubble as action was halted for the day, with Brian Kang emerging as the overnight leader following a wild close to the action.

The day began with Jan Van Dyk and David Saab atop the leaderboard, though neither would survive the session. First, though, came the winnowing of the shorter stacks, with several notables among them. Australian Van Marcus, who final-tabled last year’s APPT Manila stop, was one of the first. Marcus exited after getting his
chips in after a

flop. Marcus held

for trips, but Michael Bang held

for the same trips and a better kicker, which held up when the board completed with the

and

.

Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier lasted only a short while longer. ElkY’s last 16,000 went in against Osawa Masahiro after an

flop. Again it was trips vs. trips, with ElkY’s

trailing Masahiro’s

, and again the higher kicker held. This time the turn and river brought the

and

, ending Grospellier’s tournament run.

Meanwhile, both start-of-day leader Van Dyk and recent APPT Macau winner Eddie Sabat made early climbs. Van Dyk eliminated two players to become the first to top 100,000 in chips, while Sabat neared 60,000 after doubling through early, then collecting a second large pot. Sabat, though, took a couple of big hits to depart midway through the session. On his final hand, he got his chips in on a big draw with

and a board of

-10. Sam Faqiryar was in the hand with A-J, however, which held up when the board completed with 8-6.

Jan Van Dyk fared no better as the day wore on. First, his pocket jacks went down to a shorter stack’s pocket eights when an eight fell on the river, and as his stack withered, he pushed all in from the cutoff with

. Hori Katsiyohi pushed over the top from the button with

, which held up when the board rolled out

.

David Saab, meanwhile, moved out to the lead with about 160,000 in chips, but the prosperity wouldn’t last. Saab shipped half his stack to Brian Kang after trying to bully Kang while holding

on a

flop. Saab raised to 8,000, was check-raised to 24,000, and then pushed all in. Kang snap-called with

and pulled in the massive pot when the turn and river both brought aces. Saab regained those chips and more in a hand where he eliminated Jae Jung. Saab tried to re-steal a pot pre-flop with

, which turned out to be ahead of Jung’s

when Jung decided to play for the rest of his chips and pushed all in. Saab was priced in for the call and won when the board ran out

. “I will not fold!” cried Saab as he pulled in the chips.

Saab dropped a third of his chips soon after when he flopped two pair with 9-7 on a

flop, but had to dodge two all-ins, those of Wooka Kim with

and Hidenari Shiono with

. The

turn was harmless to Saab, but the

river gave the main pot to Kim and a larger side pot to Shiono, who had Kim well covered. Then Saab crashed out of the tournament in 17th, again while trying to bully Brian Kang.

The last hand of the night saw Saab raise to 6,000 preflop, with Kang calling from the button. Saab bet out for 17,500 after the

flop, and Kang called again. “Blah blah blah I check the turn dark,” said Saab, rising from his chair as the turn brought the

. “Careful, my friend,” Saab admonished Kang, but Kang bet 25,000 anyway. Saab immediately check-raised all in, and Kang immediately called. Saab showed

for bottom pair and a flush draw, while Kang opened

for another small set. The river brought the

, sending Saab off as the bubble boy and boosting Kang to the lead as play ended for the night.

The chip counts for the 16 survivors:

Brian Kang – 302,000
Yoshihiro Tasaka – 245,000
Sam Faqiryar – 242,400
Hidenari Shiono – 154,700
Diwei Huang – 131,300
Daniel Schreiber – 125,700
David Horvath – 92,500
Wooka Kim – 44,900
Fam Kai Yat – 41,200
Yuji Masaki – 39,000
Michiyuki Kondo – 37,100
Daniel Williams – 35,500
Hori Katsiyoshi – 23,800
Kwok Gi (Ken) Yeung – 21,800
Robert Campitiello – 20,900
Terry Gardiner – 16,100

Action resumes at 1pm Seoul time on Sunday (late Saturday night in North America), as the final-table lineup is setlled and the winner decided in the PokerStars.net APPT Seoul Main Event.

Fifty-six players returned to Leicester Square for Day 2 of Event #2, 2,500 H.O.R.S.E., at the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe. Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth started Day 2 atop the leader board, and one of the Phils remained in the tournament when play halted late in the evening. The marathon Day 2 lasted over 14 hours and saw numerous top names head to the rail as the field thinned to 11.

The stacked field on Day 2 created even more interesting table draws, including this table of doom. At Table 5, Joe Beevers and David Williams were moved onto a table that already contained tough opponents Woody Deck, Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Robert Williamson III and 2008 WSOP Main Event
final-table player Kelly Kim.

Among the early eliminations was Barry Greenstein, who busted to John Phan early in a hold’em round when Phan’s A-9 outflopped Greenstein’s A-10 as a nine landed on the board. Greenstein was soon joined on the rail by Bruno Fitoussi, Markus Golser, Jean-Robert Bellande, Brandon Cantu, and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow.

Max Pescatori showed his toughness early in the day when he bounced John Phan and Kelly Kim in short order. In Omaha hi/lo, Phan got the last of his chips in on a flop of

, and Pescatori and Raul Paez both called. Pescatori fired on both the

turn and the

river, and Paez called on every street with

for the low half of the pot. Pescatori dragged the high half with

for kings and fives as Phan was busted. Shortly after Phan was finished, Kelly Kim headed to the rail in razz when his 10-8-6-5-4 was no good to Pescatori’s 8-6-4-3-2.

Pescatori couldn’t sustain his early surge, however and ended up the bubble boy at the hands of Sherkhan Farnood. In stud hi/lo, Phil Ivey raised on third street with the

in the door. Farnood called with the

up, and Pescatori called with the

showing.

Ivey picked up the

on fourth street and checked to Farnood, who drew the

and bet. Pescatori called with

, and Ivey called as well. Ivey showed a Broadway draw on fifth street as his board read

, and he checked to Farnood again. Farnood bet out again, showing

, and Pescatori raised with a board of

. Ivey folded, and Pescatori and Farnood headed to sixth street. Farnood picked up the

and bet out again. Pescatori called all in when he picked up the

, and the hands were revealed:

Farnood:

for a 7-low and a straight to the eight
Pescatori:

for a smooth 7-low and no chance at high

Farnood needed to catch perfect to crack Pescatori’s low and send him packing, and the

he picked up on seventh street was good enough to eliminate the Italian Pirate just outside the money.

David Williams became the first player to cash when he busted in 16th place (4,812). Marc Goodwin, who nursed a short stack for much of Day 2 before finishing in 15th place, quickly followed. Daniel Negreanu headed to the rail in 14th (5,500) when he and Phil Ivey went to war on a flop of

in an Omaha hi/lo hand. Negreanu tabled

for bottom set and a nut low draw, and Ivey showed

for a flopped straight and an emergency low draw. The

on the turn was no help to either player, and the

on the river meant that Negreanu’s low cards were all counterfeited and Ivey’s straight was enough to drag the high-only pot and send Negreanu home early. Isaac Haxton was another late elimination as he busted in 13th place just before the end of Day 2.

Phil Hellmuth came into Day 2 as one of the chip leaders, but his famous temper showed itself more than once as his stack dwindled. After doubling up Mark Gregorich twice in consecutive hands in a razz orbit, Hellmuth’s once-massive chip stack began to shrink. Finally, finding himself with a short stack and receiving a warning for abusive behavior to the dealer, Hellmuth got all his chips in preflop against Sherkhan Farnood. Farnood’s

was a coin flip against Hellmuth’s

. The flop set things up for a Day 3 appearance by Hellmuth, coming down

. The

was irrelevant, but the

on the river made a set for Farnood and sent an irate Hellmuth home in 12th place (6,188). The 11-time WSOP bracelet winner’s shot at his first non-hold’em gold fell just short of the final table.

As Hellmuth departed, the final 11 chip stacks looked like this:

Howard Lederer 208,500
Sherkhan Farnood 141,500
Yuval Bronshtein 133,500
Phil Ivey 114,000
Jeff Duvall 112,100
Spencer Lawrence 88,500
Jeff Lisandro 84,000
Mark Gregorich 82,500
Ivo Donev 79,500
Kristian Eriksson 43,000
Raul Paez 17,500

Join PokerNews tomorrow at 2:30 local time as the remaining players work their way down to a final table and a WSOP bracelet.

Seat 1: Andy Bloch (Las Vegas, Nevada) — 370,000
Seat 2: Rob Hollink (Groningen, Netherlands) — 893,000
Seat 3: Tommy Hang (Seattle, Washington) — 578,000
Seat 4: Cy Jassinowsky (Johannesburg, South Africa) — 231,000
Seat 5: Jerrod Ankenman (Avon, Connecticut) — 441,000
Seat 6: Chris Vitch (San Diego, California) — 201,000
Seat 7: Brock Parker (Silver Spring, Maryland) — 166,000
Seat 8: J.C. Tran (Sacramento, California) — 247,000
Seat 9: Aaron Katz (Seattle, Washington) — 1,232,000

Day 2 began with 97 players, fewer than half the starting field, and would play down to the final nine. Along the way 70 players finished out of the money, including Huck Seed, Howard Lederer, Todd Brunson, John Hennigan, Erick Lindgren and Greg Mueller. A surprising elimination, just short of cashing, was Day 1 fourth-place finisher Justin Bonomo.

Sometimes it’s good to be lucky, but for J.C. Tran, sometimes it’s good to be oblivious. J.C. Tran was involved in a three-way hand which had been bet and called down all the way to the turn. When the fourth spade spiked on the river, Tran called an all-in bet and took down the hand with a set of sevens since his opponent had no spade. When some at the table asked Tran why he wasn’t worried about the fourth spade he said, it was easy – he didn’t realize the river had made a four-flush!

It’s a distinction no one wants, and in Event #30, it fell to Tim Kasparoff – bubble boy. Kasparoff had gone all in after Tommy Hang had called from middle position and the two went heads up. This was a classic race situation with Kasparoff holding the under pair, eights, to the overcards of Hang, A-10. The ten on the turn put Hang squarely ahead and left Kasparoff dead to an eight. Sadly for him, no eight on the river meant no cash, and Kasparoff was out in 28th place. Alex Kravchenko was the immediate beneficiary, able to say he cashed in this event, if only in 27th place, for $20,492.

In one of many battles of the heavyweights, a short-stacked Dewey Tomko went all in against Hoyt Corkins. Corkins tabled while Tomko showed the powerhouse . The flop was decisive, , but Tomko had a glimmer of hope after an eight came on the turn. The seven on the river, though, sent Tomko to the rail in 23rd place.

Corkins’ surge was short-lived as he went all in against Aaron Katz with against Katz’ . Katz found a dream board of four diamonds to eliminate Corkins in 21st place. Todd Witteles was out soon after. His stack depleted at the hands of Michael Mizrachi, he went in against Chris Vitch for his remaining chips. After an A-J-8 flop, Vitch four-bet to put Witteles all in. Vitch was ahead with A-K to Witteles’ J-6. Witteles never improved and departed in 19th place. Tompkins, Corkins and Witteles each took home $20,492.

Michael Mizrachi had more than his fair share of bad luck in back-to-back-to back hands. First, his flopped set was toppled by the turned straight of Jerrod Ankenman. Then his A-K went up against the pocket kings of Cy Jassinowsky and lost. In this final hand, he and Chris Vitch had three-bet before the Q-5-2 flop, then checked. When the four turned, Mizrachi check-raised and Vitch re-reraised. Mizrachi moved all in and was quickly called. Mizrachi knew he was in trouble, “You have a set of queens, right?” Vitch nodded, showing the ladies, and Mizrachi just shook his head as he turned over pocket fours for the lower set. No four on the river and he was out in 15th place with $30,738.

Eric Buchman started the day third in chips but was out just before the final table. After reraising Adam Katz preflop, Buchman got what he thought was a great flop – – which gave him a set of tens. After a series of bets, raises, and reraises – and some brief confusion about the size of Katz’ last bet – Katz announced he was betting blind on the turn to put Buchanan all in. Buchanan called and they turned over their hands, and Buchman saw that Katz was on the flush draw, which hit with the . Buchanan needed the board to pair on the river, but it blanked and he was out in tenth place with $35,861.

Join PokerNews.com for live reporting of the final table, beginning at 3pm Pacific Time on Tuesday.

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The second flight had no shortage of name players. WSOP Champions Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker took the field today along with former tennis pro and fellow Team PokerStars player Boris Becker. Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Mike “Timex” McDonald, Chad Brown, Antonio Esfandiari, Juha Helppi, Dario Minieri, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Thor Hansen, Vanessa Rousso, Erik “Erik123″ Sagstrom, and 2007 WSOP
Main Event final tablist Alex Kravchenko represented just a sample of the caliber of Day 1b’s field.

Max Pescatori was an early Day 1b casualty when he re-raised his relatively short stack all in with only to be called by Antonio Esfandiari’s . The board couldn’t rescue the “Italian Pirate.” In a limped pre-flop hand, William Thorson may not have realized he was up against Christoph Haller’s pocket aces. Thorson had the best of it with his , however, when all the money went in on the turn with a board, Unfortunately for Thorson, the river brought about a reversal of fortune and the end of his day. Bertrand Grospellier took his leave when he had the misfortune of running pocket jacks up against pocket kings.

In his clay to felt transition, Boris Becker was unable to find an advantage in Day 1b play and was eventually relegated to spectator status. Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem are both Team PokerStars players and both former WSOP Champions, but only Hachem will move on to play Day 2. Gavin Griffin’s defense of his EPT Grand Final title also came to an end on Day 1b.

By the time play came to a close, local French player Cyril Bensoussan had accumulated a stack of approximately 130,000 chips, which should secure his spot as chip leader going into Day 2. Also well positioned for Day 2 play are Raul Paez and Anders Berg.

The total prize pool and payout structure will be announced during Day 2 action. Follow along with the PokerNews’ tournament reporting team when the combined field gets underway on Monday 1:00 pm local time (GMT+1).

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Titan Poker lead the way with a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Wednesday April 9 at 13:30 EST. To enter, download Titan Poker through PokerNews, register a new account, make a deposit and earn a single Titan Poker Point. New players must have completed all entry requirements at least 24 hours prior to the start of the freeroll.

T6 Poker host their very own €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Thursday April 10 at 14:00 EST. To be in the running, download T6 Poker through the links on PokerNews, open a new account and make a minimum €50 deposit. Following that, players must earn €6 in rake. Qualified players must manually register for the freeroll. Remember, all entry requirements must be completed at least 24 hours prior to the freeroll.

Up next is CD Poker’s €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll which will kick off on Saturday April 12 at 13:00 EST. Interested players should download CD Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Earn a single CD Poker Point and use that to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. Too easy! Players have until the Wednesday prior to the freeroll to fulfill all entry requirements.

Not one to miss out, Full Tilt Poker gets on board by hosting a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll scheduled for Monday April 14 at 14:00 EST. To be in the running, simply download Full Tilt Poker through PokerNews, open a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from April 6-13. Qualified players must then click on the registration link in the lobby to confirm registration. This can be done at anytime during the qualification period.

Ending with a bang, PokerNews teams up with PokerStars to launch the final PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll rewarding the top two finishers with a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package each! Want in? Make sure you’re at the tables Tuesday April 15 at 15:00 EST. Download PokerStars through PokerNews, register a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 VPPs between April 8 and 13. Qualified players must use the ticket that will be issued to them (after April 13) to register for the tournament.

Players who already have existing accounts with the above poker rooms need not worry. You can still compete provided you originally signed up through PokerNews and have fulfilled all other entry requirements. Also, don’t forget that requirements for most rooms need to be met at least 24 hours prior to the start of each freeroll. Visit Freerolls for further details.

This is the last call – so be ready to play, and play BIG for your chance to compete at the 2008 PokerNews Cup Austria!

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The freeway comes in the form of a PokerNews WSOP Semi-Final Freeroll running every Monday, Wednesday and Friday beginning April 2. Both Monday and Wednesday freerolls kick off at 20:00 EST with Friday freerolls starting at 22:00 EST. These freerolls award the winner with T$270 (entry into one of Bodog Poker’s WSOP Semi-Final Tournaments) and the top five finishers
receive entry to the following $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll. To enter, download Bodog Poker through PokerNews, open a new account and make a deposit.

Not your thing? The toll way can get you there even quicker, with the PokerNews $10+1 Qualifiers. Qualifiers run at 20:00 EST every Tuesday and Thursday beginning April 1. These qualifiers award the top ten finishers with entry into the next $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll. To enter, download Bodog Poker through the links on PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit.

The first $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll is scheduled for Friday, May 9 at 20:15 EST. To enter, simply download Bodog Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. If players finished in the top five of a PokerNews WSOP Semi-Final Freeroll or in the top ten of a PokerNews $10+1 Qualifier then they will receive automatic registration to this freeroll. Alternatively, players can automatically qualify by earning 250 Bodog Poker Points in the calendar month prior to the freeroll. Remember, all requirements need to be fulfilled at least 24 hours prior to the start of the freeroll.

Should you be one of the lucky winners of a $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll, you stand to receive entry to the $10,000 Main Event (Thursday July 3), plus $2,500 cash for travel and accommodation. Winners join the coveted ranks of Team PokerNews and get to take home their very own PokerNews Merchandise Pack. In addition, expect to receive a special invite to the Team PokerNews Welcome Party where you’ll get the chance to meet and rub shoulders with the rest of the team – and if you’re lucky, you might just get to exchange strategy tips with some of the pros.

As always, these freerolls and tournaments are exclusive to PokerNews players. If you already have an existing account with Bodog Poker, you are still eligible to participate in these promotions provided you signed up through PokerNews and have completed all other entry requirements. If you did not sign up through PokerNews, you are ineligible and forfeit claim to any of the prizes. Should you win more than one freeroll, the prize will automatically be transferred to the second place finisher.

PLEASE NOTE:
Every PokerNews WSOP Semi-Final Freeroll and $10+1 Qualifier will be password protected. Check back to this article for all the passwords on Monday March 31.

Don’t miss out! Join Bodog Poker as they offer you the ride of your life and an unforgettable journey to one ultimate destination – the 2008 World Series of Poker.

Ed Note: Bodog Poker also offers PokerNews players a fantastic first deposit bonus of 110% up to $500.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (“Harrah’s”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerNews Ltd or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

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The final report on the audit was scheduled for release in early December, 2007, but due to the complexity of the issues involved was delayed in its release for several weeks. The audit confirmed that on or about August 14, 2007, cheating began, in the form of a software exploit (reported elsewhere) allowing unnamed insider(s) access to the hole cards at the insider(s)’ tables. Seven different accounts, two of which had multiple screen names, were connected to the cheating operation: GRAYCAT, PAYUP, STEAMROLLER, POTRIPPER, DOUBLEDRAG, XXCASHMONEYXX (also known as SUPERCARDM55), and RONFALDOXXB (also known as ROMNALDO). However, the audit confirmed that the cheating operation was not, by all evidence, an attempt to enrich AP as a corporate entity, but was instead an attempt by the unnamed insider(s) to garner personal gain.

While AP was not enriched in a corporate sense by the cheating, the KGC report did find two other specific faults with AP’s operations as the scandal became public knowledge. First, the principles of AP failed to contact the KGC (as required by the licensing agreement) within 24 hours of the discovery of the ‘impugned’ activities. Second, that “subsequent to the impugned activities having taken place, person(s) associated with AP’s operations deleted certain gaming logs and records which had the effect of hampering the Commission’s investigation — but did not prevent the Commission from obtaining sufficient information” on its first finding, which was the cheating associated with the seven accounts detailed above. The audit did note, however, that a voluntary repayment of stolen funds was begun by AP once the scope of the operation came into public knowledge.

Several different penalties were assessed against AP as a result of the KGC-ordered audit. First, the licensing agreement between the KGC and AP was modified. AP will be subject to a two-year probationary period of sorts when it will be subject to ongoing random audits; in conjunction with this, AP must implement a “continuous compliance program” to ensure that a repeat of the cheating scandal will not occur.

The KGC findings also mandated this: “Those person(s) responsible for the impugned activities [are] to be permanently removed from any role in AP ‘mind and management’ and/or operations and proof, satisfactory to [the KGC], that this has been done.” The report did not specify, however, who the removed person(s) was or were.

Another penalty was the imposition of the $500,000 fine against AP, the direct financial penalty for the breach of the KGC’s Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming, the applicable portion of the licensing and oversight agreement. In total, the KGC cited four different regulations or clauses as having been breached.

The KGC also has imposed upon AP the required posting of a security deposit (amount unspecified) against future violations or breaches of the KGC regulatory code. This deposit will be held by the KGC for an additional two years. The KGC also assessed to AP the entire cost associated with the audit and any additional follow-ups that may occur.

The full publication of the accounts implicated in the cheating is also designed to ensure that all affected players were or are reimbursed for the unfair play. As noted in another passage, “The Commission is satisfied that affected players have been appropriately reimbursed.” However, the disclosure of the accounts allows players to continue their own investigations into their play, and the KGC will accept ongoing complaints and evidence in the case additional unfair play, as yet unreimbursed, is uncovered. Players have 60 days from the date of the audit findings’ publication — or until March 11, 2008 — to have their evidence examined by the KGC.

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The winner of this year long promotion will receive a fantastic package that consists of entry to four major poker tournaments in 2008 (including the Aussie Millions and World Series). All buy-ins, accommodation, flights and expenses will be covered, giving the lucky winner a chance to live like a PokerProForAYear. The winner will also be able to blog about their experience and let everyone know what it’s
like to tour the world like a real international poker player. This first prize is valued at an amazing $50,000.

We are now at the business end of this excellent promotion and looking forward to the Final on Monday January 7 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. However, PokerNews players are keen to know; who are the finalists? Where do they come from? How did they get their shot at PokerProForAYear glory? We take a look back at the PokerProForAYear competition that was.

This competition kicked off early in 2007 and consisted of six series. Players competed for League Points in each series, in an attempt to qualify for the series final. Within each series, a seat at the PokerProForAYear Final was up for grabs, and as one can imagine, each series bore witness to some fierce competition. Excellent player value also awaited players, in the form of numerous cash freerolls and even global freerolls that awarded seats to some of the biggest live poker tournaments, including the Aussie Millions, EPT events and the World Series.

Here are the ten players that make up the PokerProForAYear Final Table. Check out their profiles at the official PokerProForAYear site.

PokerProForAYear Series 1 was taken out by Ilja Smid. Born in Kazakhstan and now living in Germany with his wife and young son, Ilja has been playing poker for close to two years. Competing mostly online, Ilja prefers the action at the No Limit Texas Holdem tables, including sit-n-gos.

Englishman Martin Page emerged victorious in Series 2. The retired firefighter has competed in several big events, including the WSOP in 2006 and 2007 and is an avid poker player.

Carlo Carione, an Italian from Milan, fought hard to win Series 3. Playing poker for around two years, Carlo spends a lot of his time online, although he has been known to take a seat at the live tables. Tournaments are Carlo’s preferred stomping grounds and he has previously competed at the Italian and Milan Poker Championships.

Always a gambler, Robert Price has been playing poker since early 2004. In that time, Robert has cashed in several big tournaments, including the 2006 WSOP. Robert is equally thrilled to have won PokerProForAYear Series 4.

Andrew Ritchie from Scotland managed a great win in Series 5. Playing poker for over two and a half years, Andrew has competed in tournaments from Barcelona to Las Vegas. The family man is equally as excited to share this experience with his children.

Luke Abolins from the UK emerged victorious in Series 6. Luke has been a poker player for around two years and spends most of his time competing online. Luke has previously competed in the 2007 PokerNews Cup Australia and is thrilled to be returning to Crown Casino in the search of greater poker glory.

After all the dust had settled from the six PokerProForAYear Series, it was Estonian Kairit Leibold who managed to place first on the overall points Leaderboard. Her top finish ensured her seat number seven at the PokerProForAYear Final Table.

The top 100 point scorers on the Overall Leaderboard then competed to fill the remaining three seats at the Final Table. After a great tournament, Italian Massimo di Marco finished first, followed by Jo Abolins (sister to Series 6 winner, Luke) and Robert Ritchie from the UK (brother to Series 5 winner, Andrew Ritchie).

After many weeks of tournaments, six action packed Series and numerous freerolls, the PokerProForAYear Final Table is ready to go. These players have spent many hours competing at the Pacific Poker tables and will now compete at the live final for a shot at $50,000 in prizes and to be crowned PokerProForAYear.

The PokerProForAYear Final will be filmed for PokerNews and distributed throughout our 28 language network. It’s been a long and generous competition and now the finale is looming large.

So stay tuned to PokerNews to see who will be the PokerProForAYear!

Ed note: Pacific Poker offers PokerNews players a 60% first deposit bonus up to $100. Sign up and take advantage of this offer today!

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