Poker Web Watch / Dave Allan / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Players entered Day 3 in the Aussie Millions knowing they were only 20 spots from the money and locking up $15,000 for their troubles.

For the three members of Team Betfair, there were bigger plans in store as they looked to survive another grueling day of play with plenty of chips to work their magic as the big prize drew close.

Obrestad had a struggle through the afternoon's play, but it would merely be a short respite for her opponents.

Day 3 saw a number of well known players bite the dust. Joe Hachem was eliminated before the money which started at position 64, and was reached when Will Zemljaric lost a race to become the 'bubble boy' and finish 65th. Further names to fall through the day were Patrik Antonius, Scotty Nguyen and Raymond Rahme.

The stars of Day 2 were the girls - Annica Ivert and Annette Obrestad - but it was another member of Team Betfair who would make his move on Day 3. Sorel Mizzi took his 250k stack up above 500k, but ran into trouble as the day went on, and got as short as 40k. A late double up with pocket Queens got him started again, and he recovered to finish the day with 293k.

Obrestad had a struggle through the afternoon's play, but it would merely be a short respite for her opponents. Falling to around 320k at the dinner break but far from panicking, she went on a tear during the night levels, and finished the day's play with 807k in 5th position.

Chipleader at the start of the day, Ivert would not find the going as easy as on Day 2. Her stack also fell to around 360k in the afternoon, before she found her stride once again. Her aggressive play saw her get caught bluffing a couple of times, but her relentless pressure continued to pay dividends and she heads into Day 4 in 7th position with 709k.

At the end of the day's play, 28 players remained, and they had each locked up a minimum of $40,000.

Day 4 could well be the longest yet, as play will continue until the final table is set.

In further exciting news for Team Betfair, John Tabatabai took down the $5,300 Heads Up Championship, scoring himself the Aussie Millions Gold Ring and $100,000.

Tabatabai had to overcome a false start when chips were exchanged from the older style tournament chips to the newer chips halfway through the first match of the final, only for the players to realise there were extra chips in play! After having played for around an hour, the first match was abandoned and the final restarted.

Tabatabai went on to win both matches for a 2-0 win and victory in one of the most prestigious events of the carnival, beating out an exceptionally tough field on his way to the title.

Congratulations John!

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