Seat 1: Sam Williams (New Zealand) - 633,000 chips
Sam Williams is a 27-year old Philosophy Student who have been playing poker for just about ten years. He got started within the game during his highschool days but credits Paul Hockin and Carl Knox as his biggest poker influences.
Williams has a prior cash lead to the ANZPT Queenstown Main Event, but his biggest result came online when he won a $55 rebuy event for $20,000.
Away from poker, Williams enjoys rock climbing, so clearly he's a person who enjoys a challenge. He'll enter the overall table second in chips but has a mountain to climb to catch runaway chip leader Minh Nguyen.
Seat 2: Ben Rendall (New Zealand) - 545,000 chips
Ben Rendall is a 23-year old Trainee Intern Doctor with four years experience dabbling on this planet of poker. Rendall enjoys a lot of games but can usually be found grinding live No Limit Holdem cash games as much as $5/5 and a few mid-stakes Pot Limit Omaha online.
In his spare time, Rendall enjoys Basketball and he says that he is really enjoyed the friendliness of many of the staff in this event.
Seat 3: Michael Guzzardi (Australia) - 296,000 chips
Michael Guzzardi is a 30-year old from Melbourne and probably the most country's finest poker talents, amassing an outstanding resume in live and online tournaments over several years. His largest live score came in 2012 when he finished 3rd within the ANZPT Melbourne for $112,000. Guzzardi also plays cash games and will usually be found grinding Pot Limit Omaha.
Guzzardi says that winning the Sunday Warm-Up is the largest highlight of his career, while outside of poker he enjoys playing Basketball.
After several near misses over the years, Guzzardi may be hoping this will likely be the key title that has up to now eluded him.
Seat 4: Dean Blatt (Australia) - 142,000 chips
26 year-old Dean Blatt has already had an enormous year and has continued his fine form by making the general table of APPT Auckland. Blatt has posted greater than $300,000 in ends up in 2014 alone, along with his biggest score coming when he finished runner-up at ANZPT Perth for $77,710. A finish of third or better on this event will see Blatt take second place within the ANZ Player of the Year award for 2014.
Blatt says that "meeting WSOP bracelet winner Rory Young" is the largest highlight of his career and he also credits Young with being his biggest influence within the game. To be more specific, Blatt says that Rory Young taught him play 6-2 offsuit from under the gun. Blatt has the second one shortest stack on the final table, so he may need to make use of a few of those lessons to win this one.
Outside of poker, Blatt simply says that he refreshes Twitter to look if Rory Young has tweeted.
Seat 5: Thomas Ward (New Zealand) - 404,000 chips
Thomas Ward is a 24-year old poker pro with six years experience within the game. Although that is Ward's first major profit his home country, he's regularly seen at the Asian poker scene, particularly in Macau where he has recorded nearly all of his tournament results to date, including a fifth place finish within the August Macau Poker Cup.
Ward says that the highlight of his poker career was the chance to play within the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event where he made a deep run before cashing in 313th place for $33,734 in prize money.
Seat 6: Jesse McKenzie (Australia) - 477,500 chips
Known as "AT THE Mac", Jesse McKenzie is one among Australia's most consistent online poker players. He's certainly one of regular PokerStars online qualifiers to the APPT and ANZPT, and has the glory of being a prior winner of the Sunday Million - the biggest weekly online tournament within the world.
McKenzie also has a very good live record with a runner-up result on the 2011 ANZPT Adelaide and a third place finish within the 2011 ANZ Player of the Year.
McKenzie fought back from just 4,800 in chips late on day one after picking up pocket aces on consecutive hands to double up twice, before inflicting a double KO at the final table bubble saw him jump right into contention for his first major live title.
Seat 7: Stephen Thompson (New Zealand) - 32,500 chips
Stephen Thompson is an Operations Manager from Rotorua with five years of expertise in poker after some friends for him started within the game.
Those friends was at the rail cheering him on over the past few days and he'll need their support as he enters the general table extremely short stacked. Irrespective of what happens from here, this may increasingly be Thompson's best tournament result.
Away from poker, Thompson enjoys the original pastime of pig hunting.
Seat 8: William Rogers (UK) - 238,000 chips
William Rogers is a 33-year old Paramedic Student. He's been playing poker for ten years once you have started in an underground poker club in Japan.
Rogers is a typical within the MTTs on PokerStars where he has recorded a largest cash results of $60,000.
Rogers qualified for this event at SKYCITY after turning just $60 right into a $550 satellite seat which he then converted right into a Main Event seat!
Some of Rogers' hobbies include running, reading and enjoying Japanese cuisine.
Seat 9: Minh Nguyen (Australia) - 1,605,500 chips
Minh Nguyen is a 26-year old professional poker player from Brisbane. He's widely known as top-of-the-line players within the region, an honour he shares with brother and up to date ANZPT Melbourne champion, Edison Nguyen.
Nguyen have been playing poker for seven years and credits his brother with being the largest influence on his game. With the exception of tournaments, Nguyen plays "medium to high stakes" Pot Limit Omaha. Nguyen has an enormous chip lead going into the APPT Auckland final table and can be hoping to make this his breakthrough major tournament victory.
Nguyen has enjoyed the friendliness of the folk in Auckland this week and out of doors of poker, Nguyen enjoys hitting the gym and playing tennis.
Heath "TassieDevil" Chick is a contract Contributor for the PokerStars Blog.
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Asia Pacific Poker Tour]
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