It hadn’t always looked like the PartyPoker Global Ambassador would progress through this heat as time and time again he ran up against bigger hands leaving him short stacked.  The WPT commentator had to dig deep into his vast reservoir of poker experience to claw his way back into contention.

In a field including such poker luminaries as reigning champion Marty Smyth, 2009 European Open V winner Roberto Romanello and Brazilian star Felipe ‘Mojave’ Ramos the game started of very cagily as the players sized up each other.  It was no surprise to see the players acting warily as the new triple stacked format afforded them the time to gradually build their chip counts.

It was Romanello and Smyth who made the first breakaway from the pack amassing over 700,000 chips before the first break.  As the blinds began to increase we saw our first players depart.  First out was Bruno Fitoussi then Felipe and Dixie followed in quick succession.

As we came into a three-handed game online qualifier Daniel Drescher lead the way with 1.1m chips with Romanello and Sexton trailing way behind.  But suddenly the wily Sexton stepped up a gear first doubling up against Romanello with A10 V A4 then delivering the final blow to knock the long time chip leader out of the tourney in third place.

That left Sexton up against the German Drescher.  To say we were left with a gulf in experience at the table would be an understatement of the mightiest proportions.  But as you will all know in a two-way fight it can be anybody’s game.  However it wasn’t to be as unbelievably the heads-up battle lasted just one hand.  Drescher had aggressively pushed all in with a flush draw but Sexton had hit two pair with two fours and two fives, Sexton made the call and hit the full house on the turn to leave Drescher drawing dead.

The rapidity of the finish had caught everyone by surprise but not the calm and composed Mike Sexton who has seen it all before.  He now progresses into today’s final and Drescher moves into the runners-up heat.

Great news for the PartyPoker pro but that leaves us with one problem who are we going to get to commentate on the final now Mike’s taken his seat?  Any takers out there?

Well that’s exactly what amateur poker player Paulo Melo did and thanks to his superb play through our World Open V online qualifying structure the thirty-five year old from The Azures, Portugal now has the chance to get his hands on the prestigious title and the $250,000 top prize.

It all started for ‘Golfinho_33’ way back with a $3 World Open V sub-qualifier satellite.  Our amateur fought through a field of 300 players to claim first spot and a $75 ticket to the next level of the structure.  The step up in standard didn’t faze Paulo at all as he finished in second place, high enough to gain a $700 buy-in to the main World Open V satellite.

Now this is where the big boys start to come in sniffing a chance to win a cheap seat at a major TV tournament but once again Paolo battled his way through the field and from the lowly initial stake of $3 Paolo had won a package worth a cool $13,000 to the PartyPoker.com World Open V!

Unbelievably the Portuguese player has only been playing at PartyPoker.com for a year after his friends suggested he try his luck at our poker site.  He mainly plays at the low-limit sit ‘n’ go tables and the odd satellite to our offline events.

To make it through to the heats of the World Open V has been a big experience for Paolo as this will be his first live tournament.  “To play at the World Open V is a dream come true because I have watched the pros on TV and now it’s my chance to compete with the best.  It’s doesn’t matter if I win or lose, qualifying for the tournament was the real achievement.”

Paolo will play in heat 5 with such poker luminaries as WSOP Main Event finalist Andy Black, PartyPoker European Open winner Liam Flood and Team PartyPoker Pro Bodo Sbrzesny.  I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing him the best of luck and you can keep up to date with Paolo’s progress over at twitter.com/partypokernews or our facebook fan page facebook.com/partypoker.

Mike Sexton Previews the PartyPoker.com World Open V

Heat One

Andy Ward
James Akenhead
Luke Schwartz
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Jason Adams
Ian Frazer
Christian Schafer

As a member of the November 9, James is the Pride of England. After reaching the final table of the WSOPE Main Event he has completed an amazing double! That says it all and he is certainly one to watch! I expect high stakes online player Luke Schwartz to talk it up. He is going to be entertaining and fun to watch.

Timoshenko has to be a favourite on this table. He has achieved so much and he i still only 21-years-old with wins at the Asian Poker Tour, the $25k buy-in WPT Championship as well as being an online superstar! I am so impressed with him, before the final table of the WPT Championship he went out and bought a suit and got a haircut! He is one of the good guys in poker. What impresses me mainly, however, is that he has made over $2 million in tournaments without the WSOP! That is quite something. He is a superstar now as well as being a superstar of the future.

Timmy won the Asian Poker Tour Macau in 2008 (pictured)

I love the way Ian Frazer plays– he lets his game do the talking. He’s got loads of tremendous tournament results and is highly regarded.

Mike’s picks

James Akenhead
Luke Schwarz
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Ian Frazer

Heat Two

Phil Laak
Simon Zach
Andy Greekfish
Nathan Lee
JP Kelly
Remy Biechel
Wayne O’Brien
Gustav Ekerot

Phil Laak is undoubtedly one of the most liked pros on the circuit – a WPT champion who is always entertaining. I have never been at a table where people don’t have a great time when he’s around.

JP Kelly has to be watched. Here’s a guy that has won a bracelet at the WSOP and WSOPE this year. That pretty much says it all and he’ll be a local favourite.

Remy Biechel is a great up and coming player who cashed in the Main Event this year. This PartyPoker.com ambassador is excellent with a short stack – if he gets low certainly don’t count him out!

Remy Biechel (pictured)

Mike’s picks:

Phil Laak
JP Kelly
Remy Biechel

Heat Three

Sammy George
Jennifer Tilly
Paul Zimbler
Neil Channing
Roland De Wolfe
Mike Sexton
Patrick Funke
Robert Sherwood

Neil Channing and Jennifer Tilly (pictured)

I have a very tough heat here – I would much prefer to have been in heat two. Jennifer Tilly has a WSOP bracelet, while Neil Channing has a phenomenal record and has to be one of the favourites here.

Roland De Wolfe is a brilliant player and as a triple crown winner he is highly respected. He’ll be the hardest to put on a hand and the player with the most imagination at the table.

I do fancy my chances – I wont be a walkover for anybody. Whoever wins will certainly have their hands full!

Mike’s picks

Jennifer Tilly
Neil Channing
Roland De Wolfe
Mike Sexton

Heat Four

Scott Fischman
Ryan Fronda
Layne Flack
Simon Craig
Antoine Saout
Teddy Sheringham
Johannes Nord Jorgensen
Fabian Quoss

A couple of years Scott Fischman was a real superstar – this star has faded slightly but he’s a very tough pro and is going to be hard to beat here.

Layne Flack is my pick to take down this down. ‘Back-to-Back’ Flack is the only player to win back to back bracelets at the WSOP. Also a WPT champion, he is my favourite.

Like James Akenhead, Antoine Saout has reached the November Nine and made the final table at the WSOPE Main Event. It’s remarkable that two guys have done this great double. This no fluke – Antione is no one time wonder.

Mike’s picks

Scott Fischmann
Layne Flack (nap)
Antione Saout

Heat Five

Liam Flood
Andy Black
TBC
John Magill
Andrew Feldman
Bodo Sbrzesny
Paulo Melo
Richard Makkinnon

This is all about the Irishmen for me. Andy Black is one of the most imaginative players in the poker world. His stack will never stay level. Liam is an archaic old school player and I can tell you one thing – he will be the only player at the table wearing a tie!

Andy Black (pictured)

I’m looking forward to seeing Bodo Sbrzesny, I heard great things about his first appearance at a PartyPoker event. He’s very creative and to see him lock horns with Andy Black is going to be very entertaining. They are two gunslingers – it is going to be a matter of who hits the target!

Mike’s picks

Liam Flood
Andy Black
Bodo Sbrzesny

Heat Six

Marty Smyth
Roberto Romanello
Ellis Reuben
Dixie
Tom Dwan
Bruno Fitoussi
Felipe Ramos

Marty is a highly respected and a top class pro. Tom Dwan – this guy is taking the poker world by storm and you have got to make him favourite here.

Bruno Fitoussi is definitely one to watch. He runs the Aviation Club but people don’t realise how good a player he is. He doesn’t play a lot of events but when he does he always does well. People think about him as a businessman but he definitely plays a better game than people think.

Felipe Ramos is one of the sensations of South America. Brazil is an up and coming hotbed of the poker world and he is certainly one not to write off.

From left: Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Mike Sexton and Felipe Ramos

Mike’s picks

Marty Smyth
Tom Dwan
Bruno Fitoussi
Felipe Ramos

Overall

This is a phenomenal field featuring very successful pros that have proven themselves in the biggest events. It is certainly going to be great entertainment as there are a lot of guys here who can talk and a lot of very creative players. Every single heat is not one to miss and whatever happens it looks like an extraordinary final table will be created which you wont want to miss.

My tip – watch out for the online qualifiers. They may not have profile at the moment but these guys have some game!

World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”®, WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

The latest from our Sinead Quigley at the Crown Casino in Melbourne

It’s Sunday so it must be Crown Casino for day 2 of the PokerNews Cup and the day begins well when Imad Elkerdi, a PartyPoker NPL player we feared lost was found alive and well and ready to play.  Imad brings our Day 2 players total to 9.

Gabriel Alarie (Canada)

Nordin Kerkvliet (Netherlands)

Wing Kwok Tang (Netherlands)

Jeff Woods (Australia)

Jason Brown (New Zealand)

Matthew Kepitis (Australia)

Micheal Martinovic (Australia)

Arif Mehmet (Australia)

Imad Elkerdi (Australia).

Gabriel our shortest stack has a clear mission; double up early or get out and so shortly after the call to Shuffle up and deal Gabriel is found at the cash tables.  Next to go is Matthew Kepitis when he makes a move and calls all in for 26K with pocket A’s against pocket Js. The flop comes 10(c) Q (h) 9 (d), turn is J(h) and the river is 6(d).  As the play continues Arif Mehment, Jeff Woods and Michael Martinovic are also sent to the rail.  Wing and Nordin faced a constant battle while Jason and Imad can do no wrong, with Imad moving into 5th position just before dinner break with 275,000 in chips.

With dinner break over 46 players still remaining and 13 to the bubble the battle continues.  Unfortunately it was not meant to be for Wing, sadly he joined us on the rail as the tension intensified and all we can do is watch as 1 by 1 players are eliminated.

The situation could not have been more intense for Nordin who was one of the few remaining short stacks as we nearer the dreaded bubble and even more so when a fellow short stack  manages to doubled up with a king on the river in a pot against Jason.  However everything changed for Nordin in the very next hand when the same short stack tried once more to improve but only won himself the title of Bubble Boy.

And so we had it, 3 PartyPoker Players were now in the money.  Nordin, who qualified online for just $1 dollar did manage to double up once more but the field eventually became too strong and he went out in respectable 26th place earning himself $4,000.

Imad was our next player to leave when from under the gun he called Allin with A(s) J(h) with just 1 caller showing pocket 7s.  The board arrives 2(c) 5(c) 8(h) J(d) 4(s) and Imad contents himself with 19th position and $6,000.

Jason’s luck began to desert him when Q 10 suited paired a Q on the board but his opponent’s pocket fours are bolstered by a 4 on the river.  Jason is down to 365K in chips and limping badly.  The end came with a flop of 8(c) A (c) 5 (h) which Jason checks with J,2(c), only remaining player raises to 60K then Jason check raises Allin for 298K.  Turn comes 10(h) and river 5(d) and Jason claims 12th place, $9,000 in prize money and out highest PartyPoker finisher.  Jason, a member of Palladium Elite was one of 5 Palladium Lounge VIPs to receive a gifted  his $3.5K package.

Play continues down to 9 for final table but for our PartyPoker players it’s all over for another year.  It has been a most enjoyable event and everyone is now focused on qualifying for our 2010 Aussie Millions packages.

I flew in to Melbourne late Monday night dined at my favorite Greek restaurant Tsindo’s with an old friend and got ready for my assault on the Poker News Cup.

I chose six events the first was eagerly anticipated the Online players V the Live players and I was fortunate enough to be the captain of the live team. The event had a great dynamic lots of energy lots of fun as most of the players knew each other. Andrew Jeffries shipped the heads up battle for the onliners and Ben Savage took the overall title representing the live players scores were close 780 to 681 to the way of the Onliners.
Every body had a great time and we look forward to it becoming a regular feature on tournament circuit.

Event two was the PLO followed by the Tony G Bounty (they had 500 on my head).  This was a great event for me (not only because I made it past the first break) but deep into the tourney I ended up with Tony G on my left … which made for a most interesting and entertaining 2 hours … and what a gentleman he is!!!

Unfortunately for me our battle was short lived after we ‘shoved in the dark’, blind Vs blind and there was no “7 from heaven” to get my K7 over the line Vs Tony’s KJ.

There was no love for me in the six-handed or the main event, but I look forward to tomorrow’s teams event where I partner up with my nemesis from the Aussie Millions, Raj Ramakrishnan!

On a final note … I had a great time at the Party Poker Players Party I was very nervous before my first speech and my friend/manager suggested after seeing me practice that some lubrication of the throat was definitely needed. I managed to stumble through my opening speech and I admit this is definitely part of my game that needs work.

Overall from a poker perspective this trip was a little disappointing but as always I had a great time in Melbourne and look forward to coming back to defend my title of the Aussie Millions in January 2010.

Keep a lookout for updates at www.stewartscott.com.au

Next stop  is New Zealand APPT keep you posted

Good luck on the felt……………………….

Stewart Scott

What a fantastic journey it has been for me from slaving in a hot kitchen to realizing my dream of being a full time sponsored Poker professional.

After playing my first ten dollar sit n go at Party Poker in 2004 which (seemed like only yesterday) and realizing some early success I really felt like I found my path in life ….the competition, the excitement, the adrenaline rush … was something I instantly fell in love with and after my first Final Table, “well that was enough”.

With the blessing understanding and support of my beautiful wife I threw down the Apron only months after my first game and commenced my apprenticeship on the grind.

I final tabled (and in fact came second ) in the first live tournament I played and in 2006 I won a satellite at Adelaide Sky Casino for a 30K package to the World Series.

After a very successful 2008 online I decided to take a shot at the most lucrative Tournament in the Southern hemisphere the …..Aussie Millions.

After 5, 12 hour days of solid grind and emotional highs and lows I was fortunate enough to outlast 681 people for a payday of AU$2 million … and become the first Australian to win the Aussie Millions.

My dream is now complete with the opportunity to represent the globally recognized brand, Party Poker.

I am excited about the future and I look forward to seeing you all on the virtual felt.

Stewart Scott

We are delighted to announce that 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott has joined the PartyPoker Grassroots team.

The 37 year old penned the exclusive deal this week after many years playing poker at Partypoker.com and is part of our VIP club Palladium Lounge.  As part of the deal he will be representing Partypoker at the Aussie Millions in January 2010.

Speaking of his impending ambassadorial role Stewart said, “It’s great to put pen to paper and sign-up to represent PartyPoker.com – it’s always been my site of choice.  I am looking forward to defending my Aussie Millions title in January and am even more excited that I will be doing this as an ambassador for PartyPoker.com with a large team of online qualifers!”

The Aussie Millions champ will also be embarking on a promotional tour across Australia to build on his already hugely popular ‘Stewart Scott Invitational’ events.

Poker stardom has come very quickly to the Queenslander.  After many years spent cooking fine cuisine in some of Australia’s top restaurants Stewart eventually formed an IT business and it’s from there that he began his journey into the world of poker.  His first port of call was Partypoker.com and under the name ‘Juzlearnin’ he began to make a big impression at the online poker tables until he eventually earned his place in our VIP Programme.

He first came to prominence on the live circuit in 2006 by winning a satellite series at SkyCity Casino in Adelaide that awarded him a $30,000 package for the WSOP Main Event. This success and his ongoing triumphs at the online poker room was spectacularly repeated at the 2009 Aussie Millions where Stewart became the first Australian to win the prestigious event, oh and by the way, he collected a very handy US$1,865,724 for his troubles.

If you fancy your chances of emulating Stewart PartyPoker.com will be introducing online qualifiers to win packages for the 2010 Aussie Millions this coming November, to ensure you’re bang up to date with the latest news and promotions you can follow us on twitter @partypokernews.

Our Aussie Millions champ is also on twitter giving you a great insight into the life of a poker pro, you can follow Stewart’s poker journey @juzlearnin.

It just leaves me to say welcome to the Partypoker team Stewart and let’s hope 2010 is just as successful as 2009.