A field of 266 players was on hand for Friday's opening day of action in 2009 Aussie Millions Event #14 – $2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Holdem. Among the entrants were WSOP bracelet holder Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, online stars Michael Guzzardi, James Obst and Tony Dunst, Joe Hachem, Chris Ferguson and Lee Nelson. Even with the fast pace of six-handed play, it took more than 16 hours for the bubble to burst, and play was finally halted for the night with 24 players remaining and Obst the runaway chip leader. Obst finished Day One with nearly twice the chips of Noah Schwartz, his nearest competitor.
The popularity of six-handed play meant a full tournament and an alternate list for Event #14. In addition to the poker stars, celebrities Michael Vartan, Shane Warne and Jeff Fenech also joined the field. The fast pace brought numerous early eliminations, including Steve Topakas, Dan Shak, Lee Nelson and Ben Delaney.
Michael Guzzardi logged three final tables at the 2009 Aussie Millions, but missed a fourth when he lost a coin flip to bust well short of the money. Guzzardi got all his money in with pocket queens, and busted to Jonathan Dull's A-K when Dull made top pair on the flop and trips on the turn. Other notable departures on Day One included both of the Hachem brothers (Joe and Tony), Michael Binger and Michael Vartan.
All eyes were on chip leader James "AndyMcLEOD" Obst as play began for Day Two, but as the competitors fell around him, Obst bled chips for most of the day. Nick Binger was one of the early eliminations, busting in 23rd place (AUD $4,043) in a three-way pot with Sam Higgs and Niclas Dymling. Other early eliminations included Graeme "Kiwi G" Putt (19th, $4,043) and Wesley Whybrew (17th, $6,384).
With play down to two tables, Obst lost a huge pot to Thomas Lindbjerg that set the tone for the rest of the tournament. Obst was left with a short stack and busted a few hands later, with Day One's chip leader exiting in 11th place ($10,640).
After Michael "Timex" McDonald's eighth-place elimination, the tournament staff merged the final seven players onto one table. The seating assignments and chip stacks looked like this as Thomas Lindbjerg took a commanding chip lead into the final:
- Seat 1: Alexander Debus - 380,000
- Seat 2: Thomas Lindbjerg - 723,000
- Seat 3: Jonathan Dull - 290,000
- Seat 4: Phillip Peters - 331,000
- Seat 5: Jacob Lysemose - 301,000
- Seat 6: Noah Schwartz - 290,000
- Seat 7: Sam Higgs - 340,000
Sam Higgs became the first casualty of the final table when he and Alexander Debus tangled in a big hand, with Higgs picking up $19,152 for his seventh-place finish. Soon after, chip leaer Thomas Lindbjerg sent Jonathan Dull packing in sixth place ($23,940) before next eliminatiing Alexander Debus in fifth place ($34,580). Lindbjerg continued to steamroll the final table, eliminating Phillip Peters in fourth place for $47,880, then taking out Jacob Lysemose in third ($65,436).
Noah Schwartz' aggressive final table play took him all the way to heads-up play with Lindbjerg, dead even in chips, but in the end Schwartz could not overcome Lindbjerg's momentum, eventually finishing as the runner-up ($86,716), leaving Lindbjerg to claim the title, the gold Aussie Millions Championship ring and the AUD$130,021 first place prize.
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