After four gruelling days of play inside the Crown Poker Room, the 2015 Aussie Millions Main Event has reached the final table. One of these seven players will be the toast of Melbourne on Sunday night with 1.6 million reasons to celebrate.
Let’s get to know our Aussie Millions Main Event final tablists a little better.
Seat 1: Joel Douaglin (New Caledonia) – 3,935,000 chips
Jovial 48-year old Joel Douaglin comes to this final table representing the emerging poker market of New Caledonia, and regardless of the result of this final table, he’ll become New Caledonia’s all-time leading money earner on Sunday night.
Douaglin normally plays in low limit tournaments and this result is easily his best with just a couple of small previous cashes on the ANZPT and APT.
Douaglin says that he enjoyed his time in Melbourne, especially the tournament directors and dealers who have done a wonderful job throughout the week.
With the second largest stack entering the final table, Douaglin is in with a great chance of putting New Caledonia on the poker map if he can claim the title.
Seat 2: Lennart Uphoff (Bavaria, Germany) – 3,595,000 chips
Lennart Uphoff is a 20-year old student who is one of a breed of emerging young German players who are taking the poker world by storm.
He has been playing poker for just two years after first getting started by playing with his friends. Uphoff usually plays multi-table tournaments with his record of $45,884 in earnings accumulated solely in tournaments in the Czech Republic.
Uphoff says that the best thing about this event has been the excellent structure provided in the Main Event. It’s enabled him to amass the third highest chip stack entering the final table.
Seat 3: Richard Lyndaker (Las Vegas, United States) – 1,200,000 chips
28-year old Richard Lyndaker hails from Las Vegas and has compiled a rather impressive record in the game. With recorded tournament results dating back to 2007, Lyndaker has over US$1.3 million in career earnings including 13 WSOP cashes.
His biggest result came at the 2008 WSOP when he finished runner-up in the tough $5,000 No Limit Holdem event for $570,551. Clearly Lyndaker has learnt from some of the very best as he credits former WPT champion Tom Marchese as his biggest influence in poker.
Away from the tables he enjoys soccer and fine dining.
Lyndaker has really enjoyed the good structure and says that he “only got it in bad once” in the Main Event – that was when he hit a flush draw against Erik Seidel’s set. That hand helped him reach the final table but he has some work to do as one of the short stacks.
Seat 4: Manny Stavropoulos (Melbourne, Australia) – 2,115,000 chips
One of two local representatives in the field is home-town hero Manny Stavropoulos. With over ten years of experience in the game, mostly inside the walls of the Crown Poker Room, Stavropoulos will no doubt have plenty of support at this final table.
Stavropoulos is regularly found in the $5/5 and $5/10 NLHE cash games, but he also has a strong tournament record with over US$300,000 in career earnings including a 15th place in the 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event for AU$70,000. He’s now bettered that mark and will be looking to go all the way to grab his first major title and keep the trophy on home soil.
Seat 5: James Rann (United Kingdom) – 4,085,000 chips
Our chip leader entering this final table is James Rann. This online poker pro from the United Kingdom has tournament results dating back to 2010, mostly throughout the UK, along with three small WSOP cashes to his credit among US$100,000 in earnings. His best result came mid-2014 when he finished sixth in an EPT Barcelona side event for €26,300.
The defining moment for Rann was late on Day 4 when he was all in as the short stack with 9♣ 7♣ against Alex Lynskey’s Aâ™ Qâ™ . Rann had one foot out the door until a nine spiked on the river for the double up. Ultimately that card was the difference between ninth place and Aussie Millions final table chip leader.
Seat 6: Brian Rast (Las Vegas, United States) – 1,185,000 chips
The most accomplished player on the Aussie Millions is undoubtedly American Brian Rast. The 33-year old poker pro has amassed almost US$8 million in career earnings, with two WSOP bracelets, highlighted by his 2011 victory in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Rast first got started in the game some 12 years ago while in University and has now carved a niche as one of the best players in the game.
Away from poker, Rast enjoys music, movies, fitness, nutrition, reading and basketball. He says that Melbourne is a great city, Crown is a fantastic hotel and he loves coming back here. He’ll love it even more if he can head home with the Aussie Millions trophy.
Seat 7: Anthony Legg (Melbourne, Australia) – 3,290,000 chips
The seventh member of the final table, and second local player, is 25-year old Anthony Legg. A welder by trade, Legg has been playing poker for five years and is starting to make a big impact on the Australian poker scene.
His live tournament record is modest, but he has some strong online results including reaching the final table of the PokerStars Sunday Million, not once, but twice.
Legg says that his hobbies include motorboating and beer, and he’ll carry a solid chip stack into the final table in the quest for his first major title.
Heath “TassieDevil” Chick is a Freelance Contributor for the PokerStars Blog.
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