In a stunning debut performance, 13 of the 23 members of TeamAPL have progressed to day 2B of the 2009 World Series of Poker in the first year that the APL has qualified players into the tournament officially known as the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship.

Amid the bleary eyes and exhaustion, there was a glint of elation as the dream of stepping onto to poker’s ultimate stage moved a significant step closer for more than half of the team.

The only major action of the final 30 minutes featured Majed Haddad, who found himself on the wrong end of two hands but still finished in excellent position heading into day 2B.

Congratulations to the 13 players who will be back here at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Wednesday – Dean Hopkins, Charlie Elias, Majed Haddad, Shane Brown, Pande Nikolovski, Dave Fox, Emma Grace, Geoff Menz, TeamAPL captain Craig Ivey, Ross Parsonson, Jonathan Wertheim and the two shorts stacks, Leno Icaca and Parry Lee.

Leading the TeamAPL chip count on day 1D was Sydney's Dean Hopkins 

Commiserations to Natt Armstrong, Terry Adams, Regan Lake, Jay Hook, Trevor Allan, Steve Tolios, Michael Soumelidis, Danny Taylor, Alain Velmonte and Paul Georges – you did your League and country proud today.

And our thoughts are also with Ken Pattugalan, who was unable to take his seat today due to an urgent matter at home – safe travels Ken, and thanks for your support.

On behalf of Stephen Doig and Chris Wheeler, thanks for joining us today as TeamAPL journeyed into the toughest poker arena in the world for the first time, and proved once again that the APL represents one of the most fertile breeding grounds for poker talent anywhere in the world. We hope you can join us again for day 2B, and the charge to the money.

Team APL chip count (at the end of day 1D)

Dean Hopkins 92,250
Charlie Elias 83,500
Majed Haddad 69,225
Shane Brown 68,375
Pande Nikolovski 52,500
Dave Fox 47,900
Emma Grace 46,875
Geoff Menz 41,000
Craig Ivey 40,150
Ross Parsonson 32,000
Jonathan Wertheim 24,800
Leno Icaca 9500
Parry Lee 3400
Natt Armstrong Out
Terry Adams Out
Regan Lake Out
Jay Hook Out
Trevor Allan Out
Steve Tolios Out
Michael Soumelidis Out
Danny Taylor Out
Alain Velmonte Out
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander; 1.10am; 7/7/09

After a rough day at the felt, Queanbeyan’s Terry Adams has exited the Main Event. Sipping a red wine and sampling an assortment of snacks, Terry had his final stand with A-K against an opponent’s pocket nines and failed to improve on the flop, turn or river.

Terry Adams basks in his WSOP experience

“I’m disappointed. It was a great experience, don’t get me wrong, but I’m disappointed because I made about three key mistakes earlier on and now they’ve come back and haunted me in these dying stages. I’m happy though, I’ve learnt the hard way,” he said.

Also sent to the rail in the last session of the day’s play was Malabar’s Natt Armstrong who, after waiting all day for a hand to make a move with, pushed all in with pocket aces and was called by a player holding pocket jacks. Natt was cheering, but was forced to give up his chips when his adversary chased down a one-card straight.

Natt Armstrong got it in with the best – that's all you can ever do

Leno Icaca was left severely crippled after Jonathan Wertheim took the opportunity to double up against his fellow Sydneysider, but Leno was able to make a flush when his A-Q improved against pocket queens and has moved to 11,000. Pande Nikolovski is in a good position on 49,000.

Solid, first class poker has earned Pande Nikolovski a spot in day two

Emma Grace keeps the flame alive for all our APL female poker players – she’s on 42,000 and looking strong. Parry Lee has slipped to just over 19,000 but is more than happy with the chips he managed to save with making a great laydown late in the final level.

Meanwhile, Majed Haddad has clawed his way up to 95,000 after an up-and-down day at the table. “I told you. What did I say? I said I’d be back, didn’t I? I did. I told you I’d be back,” a confident Haddad jested.

Campbelltown’s Shane Brown is on 58,000 and although he’s feeling good about his play, he’s having trouble keeping his eyes open. Shane has been struggling to adjust to the new time zone and arrived at the Rio today after just two hours’ sleep last night. The dying stages of day 1B are beginning to prove a challenge for him.

Team APL chip count (midway through level five, blinds 200/400 with a 25 ante)

Majed Haddad 95,000
Dean Hopkins 95,000
Dave Fox 31,000
Shane Brown 67,000
Charlie Elias 67,000
Pande Nikolovski 49,000
Emma Grace 42,000
Geoff Menz 40,000
Craig Ivey 40,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Jonathan Wertheim 24,000
Parry Lee 20,000
Leno Icaca 11,000
Natt Armstrong Out
Terry Adams Out
Regan Lake Out
Jay Hook Out
Trevor Allan Out
Steve Tolios Out
Michael Soumelidis Out
Danny Taylor Out
Alain Velmonte Out
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Chris Wheeler, 12.40am, 7/7/09

Poker can sometimes drive a dagger through your heart – and it’s TeamAPL that’s bleeding for Regan Lake and Jay Hook after a stunning but ultimately tragic hand for the Aussie duo.

It’s coming up to the final break of the evening, and both boys are shell-shocked after being eliminated on same hand. Regan was committed with two-pair, kings and jacks, for about 50,000 on the turn but was already behind Jay’s straight (he was in for about 45,000). Unfortunately, a third player had a higher straight and that was that for the TeamAPL duo. The pot was worth approximately 150,000 to the winning player. Ouch.

Some better news for Ross Parsonson, the Corona-fuelled 25-year-old who won the June 2009 NSW Pro Open. After two huge hands where he first flopped a flush then rivered a straight, Parsonson is back to around chip average at 40,000 and in good shape to progress to day two.



He's still marooned from the other members of TeamAPL, but Ross Parsonson is loving life in the Amazon Ballroom 

Emma Grace has shown the poise that took her to victory in the first of two Tweed Heads WSOP Satellites by steadily building her stack to 50,000 – a great day’s play from the 41-year-old Queenslander, who is the only female member of TeamAPL.

That's a contented look on the face of Emma Grace

We should also make mention of APL head honcho Martin Martinez, who has had more ups and down than the Cyclone at Coney Island. Martinez has just 10,000 but expect the APL co-founder and CEO to lead by example in this tense final two hours of play today.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank my Bluff colleague Stephen Doig and APL media man Chris Wheeler for their tireless efforts running the floor today, to provide the latest news and chip counts from the Amazon and Brasilia ballrooms (they’ve covered more miles than a Wells Fargo coach). The first Bud of the night is just 120 minutes away, boys!

Team APL chip count (end of level four, blinds 200/400)

Dean Hopkins 79,000
Dave Fox 68,000
Pande Nikolovski 67,000
Shane Brown 50,000
Majed Haddad 44,000
Emma Grace 41,000
Craig Ivey 38,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Charlie Elias 30,000
Jonathan Wertheim 29,000
Parry Lee 28,000
Leno Icaca 26,000
Geoff Menz 25,000
Natt Armstrong 18,000
Terry Adams 18,000
Regan Lake Out
Jay Hook Out
Trevor Allan Out
Steve Tolios Out
Michael Soumelidis Out
Danny Taylor Out
Alain Velmonte Out
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander, 10.40pm, 6/7/09

The attrition rate is starting to mount as the blinds climb to 200/400 in the opening level of the evening session on day 1D of the 2009 WSOP main Event. Eliminations late in level three and so far in level four since the dinner break have been Danny Taylor, Trevor Allen, Michael Soumelidis and Steve Tolios.

Danny Taylor is out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event

Taylor had looked one of the steadier players on the roster today and ran pocket sevens into A-Q, and he was ahead until an ace landed on the river. Farewell to Nowra’s finest.

The gallant run of Soumelidis ended when he was first halved, then suffered a nasty beat when he showed with pocket kings, ideally positioned against pocket jacks.

What a beat for Michael Soumelidis, tough break mate

But the jacks improved to quads (which means the player also wins a $100 prize pack from official WSOP sponsor Jack Link’s Beef Jerky) to leave Soumeldis philosophical about his departure.

“I’m not disappointed in my play, what do you do there? It’s just unlucky,” he said. We’re in complete agreement Michael.

Dubbo man Trevor Allan is also out of the Main Event (too quick for us to harness any of the details, apologies to his followers in the Central West of NSW) while Steve Tolios was KOed after two brutal hands.

Firstly, his pocket threes improved to a full house only for his opponent to make quad sixes, then he lost a flip (like Danny Taylor) with pocket sevens against A-Q.

Leno Icaca passes on his thanks for all the support he’s receiving from Australia, but wishes he had some better news for you all. Again, it was TeamAPL v TeamAPL as Jonathan Wertheim’s all-in forced a fold from Leno on a loaded board of Jh-4c-Kh-6h. Icaca is down to 16,000 but that tranquil demeanour masks a fierce determination.

Leno Icaca: down but far from beaten

Parry Lee has been the BP quiet achiever of the day as his stacks meanders either side of 30,000, Natt Armstrong is waiting to pick some playable hands to improve on his 21,000 and Ross Parsonson is enjoying another cold Corona and holding a stack of 32,000.

Big movers in recent minutes have been Pande Nikolovski, who was paid off with kings and a set of nines to improve to 60,000, while Dean Hopkins won a remarkable hand when he found the case king to make a set against pocket aces and A-K, charging to 75,000 as a result.

Dean Hopkins has rocketed to 75,000 after hitting a one-outer

The Dave Fox v Jay Hook battle continues, with Fox coming out on top in the latest bout when he made trip fives to take down a 25,000 pot, then used kings to take a 15,000 pot against Regan Lake’s queens. He’s up to 70,000. The final break of the night isn’t far away, and then we’ll be on the downhill stretch with two hours remaining.

Team APL chip count (midway through level four, blinds 200/400)

Dean Hopkins 75,000
Dave Fox 70,000
Pande Nikolovski 67,000
Regan Lake 55,000
Jay Hook 45,000
Emma Grace 41,000
Geoff Menz 38,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Shane Brown 36,000
Craig Ivey 30,000
Charlie Elias 30,000
Jonathan Wertheim 29,000
Parry Lee 28,000
Majed Haddad 26,000
Natt Armstrong 21,000
Leno Icaca 16,000
Terry Adams 16,000
Trevor Allan Out
Steve Tolios Out
Michael Soumelidis Out
Danny Taylor Out
Alain Velmonte Out
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander, 9.50pm, 6/7/09

Alain Velmonte is the second TeamAPL casualty for day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The April 2009 NSW Pro Open champion was extremely short-stacked but still went out in agonising fashion.

He raised from the big blind with pocket jacks, with a re-raise forcing Velmonte’s hand. His opponent showed pocket queens but Velmonte hit a jack on the flop to take the lead. It didn’t last long, as a queen hit on the turn to send Velmonte to the rail.

“This has been a phenomenal experience. I can’t explain it. I’m so appreciative just to have played. I’ll learn from this,” the humble Sydneysider said.

In contrast, Michael Soumelidis has staged a gritty comeback to 16,000 after being as low as 1500. He’s been paid off on pocket aces and pocket queens, which arrived just in a nick of time!

Pande Nikolovski claimed his first scalp of the Main Event and having experienced a taste for the kill, expect more of the same from the December 2008 NSW Pro Open winner.

Charlie Elias has stayed under the radar in he early going but just announced his arrival when he hit the nut flush, taking his stack above 33,000. “I’m back,” he quipped.

Charlie Elias is back above his start stack late in level two

Dean Hopkins hasn’t won a hand in two hours but is still tracking OK with 21,000, Geoff Menz leaked some chips to fall back to 36,000 while WTPC winner Danny Taylor (25,000) is also patiently waiting a worthy hand.

There’s a quiet rivalry brewing between Dave Fox and Jay Hook after Dave tripled through a short time ago. Hook’s aggressive betting pushed Fox off pocket queens shortly after, but the pair are enjoying their personal stoush against the backdrop of the world’s biggest poker event.

Jay Hook stays under the hood and chipped up heading towards the dinner break

Majed Haddad was another big mover in level three thanks to a double-up with a pair of queens against a player chasing a flush or inside straight draw. He now leads the list of TeamAPLers with 59,000.

But it’s been a miserable session for Trevor Allan after an opponent’s A-6 improved to a pair on the river against his A-K. And Terry Adams lost a big pot with jacks against kings to leave his stack dangerously depleted – “I’m in a bit of trouble,” he said.

Team APL chip count (midway through level three, blinds 150/300)

Majed Haddad 59,000
Regan Lake 55,000
Shane Brown 49,000
Jay Hook 49,000
Dave Fox 48,000
Geoff Menz 46,000
Trevor Allan 37,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Steve Tolios 36,000
Charlie Elias 33,000
Emma Grace 30,000
Craig Ivey 30,000
Jonathan Wertheim 29,000
Pande Nikolovski 29,000
Danny Taylor 27,000
Natt Armstrong 24,000
Leno Icaca 26,000
Parry Lee 23,000
Dean Hopkins 23,000
Michael Soumelidis 16,000
Terry Adams 15,000
Alain Velmonte Out
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander, 6.20pm, 6/7/09

It’s break number two on day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, with 22 out of 23 TeamAPL members currently grabbing a quick snack or ciggie.

Amid the backdrop of one of the most dramatic days in WSOP history, with more than 500 players locked out after turning up too late to register, the TeamAPL players are more than holding their own among the star-studded line-up.



"Come 'n' get me": Regan Lake is pumped up for his title at poker stardom

Western Australian Regan Lake was the big mover in the past two hours, simply by following a basic strategy: “when you got it, bet it”! He’s now on 50,000.

Geoff Menz is also strongly positioned heading into the level before dinner, with a stack of 46,000. “Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this WSOP thing,” he chuckled.

Geoff Menz is in the zone early on day 1D

Trevor Allan also climbed the chip count after betting an open-ended straight draw and hitting on the turn. Central West, your man is cruising along beautifully on 40,000.

Ross Parsonson is also looking comfortable on 37,000, and has popped the top on his first Corona for the day. “It’s the magic formula, it’s always won me tournaments – I’ll pace myself though,” he said.

The patience of Pande Nikolovski is being sorely tested: “I can’t seem to hit anything even though I’m getting decent cards. Just have to keep being patient,” the Sydneysider lamented.

In contrast, Emma Grace said the cards aren’t really falling her way. She agonised early when a flop landed Q-9-9 after she’d folded Q-9. I know it was the right decision,” Grace said, as she surveyed her stack of 31,000.

Steve Tolios just lost a pot of 16,000 to fall to 34,000, but it may have been a blessing in disguise as a player suspiciously followed his betting all the way to the river. His opponent pushed all-in on the jack-high board, after Tolios bet the river hard, and reluctantly mucked his pocket kings.

A couple of players are under the pump heading into level three. Michael Soumelidis is down to just 4000 after his set of sevens were overtaken by a set of kings on the turn while Alain Velmonte is looking for a spot to make a move with just 5800 in his stack.

Team APL chip count (end of level two, blinds 100/200)

Shane Brown 54,000
Regan Lake 50,000
Geoff Menz 46,000
Jay Hook 38,000
Trevor Allan 37,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Steve Tolios 36,000
Majed Haddad 35,000
Emma Grace 31,000
Leno Icaca 31,000
Craig Ivey 30,000
Jonathan Wertheim 29,000
Pande Nikolovski 29,000
Terry Adams 27,000
Danny Taylor 25,000
Natt Armstrong 24,000
Dave Fox 23,000
Parry Lee 23,000
Dean Hopkins 23,000
Charlie Elias 19,000
Alain Velmonte 7500
Michael Soumelidis 7000
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander 5.30pm; 6/7/09

The WSOP dreams of 2008 APL Tournament of Champions winner Paul Georges are over. In the final hand of the opening level, he was crippled when his two-pair, queens and 10s, were overtaken by an opponent’s straight.

Paul Georges, the first member of TeamAPL to hit the rail

Left with just 750, Georges found himself with A-K and wasted little time committing his remaining chips. He was in a race with pocket fours, which duly held up. “Obviously I don’t feel great – it’s unbelievable some of the beats I’ve copped. What can you do … I played my best,” a dejected Georges said.

Alain Velmonte is also dangerously low on chips (7000) but is patiently waiting for a chance to make his move. “I heard there was a girl who cashed last year after taking 8000 into day two so that gives me hope,” he said.

It’s also been a frustrating start to level two for Natt Armstrong, who is finding decent starting hands but isn’t getting much love from the board. Natt’s hanging in there on 23,000 – that’s still an ‘M’ of almost 80!

Seated next to each other Jonathan Wertheim and Majed Haddad have clashed in a couple of hands, most notably when Haddad made a set of eights against Jon’s pair of aces to climb back from 20,000 to 30,000.

Jonathan Wertheim and Majed Haddad, clashing in the blinds

Team APL chip count (midway through level two, blinds 100/200)

Shane Brown 58,000
Jay Hook 45,000
Steve Tolios 44,000
Ross Parsonson 37,000
Geoff Menz 36,000
Trevor Allan 36,000
Craig Ivey 30,000
Majed Haddad 30,000
Emma Grace 30,000
Jonathan Wertheim 30,000
Michael Soumelidis 29,000
Dave Fox 28,500
Leno Icaca 26,000
Parry Lee 25,000
Danny Taylor 25,000
Terry Adams 24,000
Dean Hopkins 24,000
Natt Armstrong 23,000
Charlie Elias 20,000
Pande Nikolovski 16,000
Alain Velmonte 7000
Paul Georges Out

Posted by Sean Callander, 3.45pm, 6/7/09

It’s been a poised and impressive start for Team APL on day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, with the skills learned playing in big APL fields clearly coming to the fore.

Paul Georges boarded the day 1D roller coaster after his pocket queens were overtaken by trip aces on the river – it cost him 16,000, but could have been worse. He's down to 16,000, but ready to make a charge back. Shane Brown is back up to 32,000 after he made trip fives (holding A-5) and took down a pot worth 6000.

Pande Nikolovski told us he was settled and ready to pick his mark on a fairly tight table 162, and that mark came when he made a big move with A-K only to run into pocket kings, taking him down to 21,000.

Alain Velmonte tested his bluffing skills early to steer his stack above the starting figure of 30,000 but ran into a world of hurt after he ran his A-Q into an opponent’s A-K, with an ace on the turn only compounding his misery.

Geoff Menz said he was having trouble finding his rhythm on a loose and wild table 165. “It’s not what I expected, players calling with poor starting hands out of position but there are one or two good players clearly taking advantage so that’s what I’ll also need to do,” Menz said.

A pile of green chips in front of Craig Ivey tells us the TeamAPL captain started picking up lots of blinds early on – that is until his pocket kings found an opponent’s flopped quad sevens, while Emma Grace has started strongly – she was up to 37,000 after turning a set of jacks and takes more than 32,000 to the first break.

Emma Grace with fellow TeamAPLer Terry Adams at table 176

Steve Tolios topped the TeamAPL chip count after hitting a nice run of cards, with pocket aces following back-to-back flushes. Tolios was among the overall chip leaders on 47,000 but is now back down to 35,4000. Regan Lake has twice held pocket kings and said his confidence is “sky-high” with a stack of more than 40,000 in front of him.

For a short time, Steve Tolios ruled the poker roost on day 1D!

Orphaned in the Amazon Ballroom with Michael Soumelidis, Ross Parsonson has enjoyed a steady opening session and has been content to pick his opponents apart. “I haven’t taken down any pots but I think I have the table figured out, which is good,” he said.

Team APL chip count (after level one, blinds 50/100, start stack 30,000)

Shane Brown 42,000
Geoff Menz 39,000
Ross Parsonson 35,700
Steve Tolios 35,400
Craig Ivey 34,000
Majed Haddad 34,000
Emma Grace 33,000
Terry Adams 31,000
Leno Icaca 31,000
Jonathan Wertheim 31,000
Michael Soumelidis 30,200
Trevor Allan 30,000
Natt Armstrong 30,000
Dave Fox 28,000
Dean Hopkins 25,600
Parry Lee 23,000
Charlie Elias 22,800
Jay Hook 28,000
Danny Taylor 28,000
Pande Nikolovski 21,000
Paul Georges 16,000
Alain Velmonte 12,900

Posted by Sean Callander, 2pm, 6/7/09

More astute readers may have noticed that several members of TeamAPL are seated at the same few tables. Steve Tolios, Natt Armstrong, Dean Hopkins and Alain Velmonte are all seated at table 169; Jonathan Wertheim, Leno Icaca and Majed Haddad are on table 173, Jay Hook, Dave Fox and Regan Lake are seated next to each other on table 172 while Terry Adams and Emma Grace have each other for company on table 176. Dave and Terry have support from the rail in Dawn and Marg, who’ve settled in for the long haul.

We suspect this quirk in the entry system will be promptly corrected – it’s neither a good position for TeamAPL nor the other players at their tables.

However, these are the type of challenges that the WSOP presents for newcomers, and the team members have quick to put this minor hiccup behind and get down to action.

We should also mention that APL co-founder and CEO Martin Martinez is playing in the Main Event today, and is seated not far from the majority of TeamAPL at table 185, seat two. Imagine if the boss eventually finds himself in a battle with one of the TeamAPL members – that’ll be worth pulling up a chair.

APL CEO and co-founder Martin Martinez wishes TeamAPL the best of luck for today

The honour of providing the order to “shuffle up and deal” went to ESPN commentators Lon McEachern (currently meandering through the Rio on a pair of crutches) and Norman Chad, which followed the announcement that today’s field is a sellout, meaning there are more than 2500 players in action.

Most of the team seem to have escaped the presence of a big-name pro, although Trevor Allan has dual bracelet winner Jeff Madsen to his left and high-profile blind player Hal Lubarsky two to his right on table 171 and reigning WTGS champ Danny Taylor (enjoying his U2 and Bon Jovi) has the ominous figure of $50k H.O.R.S.E. champ David Bach and highly rated Canadian player Andrew Pantling sharing table 179.

Natt Armstrong and Dean Hopkins have also been keen to test the water but Paul Georges has been the early mover. He was dealt pocket aces third hand of the day and then made trip nines to take down two nice pots. He’s up to 37,000 and feeling confident.

Natt Armstrong gets settled for the opening level of day 1D

Shane Brown has wasted little time getting into the action only to lose a 5k pot when his opponent rivered a runner-runner flush, taking his stack down to 27,000.

Posted by Sean Callander, 1.20pm, 6/7/09

The moment of truth has arrived for the 24 members of TeamAPL. Some have waited almost a year, others just a matter of weeks but July 6 will forever be remembered as the day the APL made its mark on the biggest stage in poker: the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship, better known as the Main Event.

After tuning up at a special tourney played at team HQ in the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino (Trevor Allan and Dean Hopkins split the first prize), TeamAPL just arrived at the Rio after the short trip from the Las Vegas Strip.

Not surprisingly, there are more than few nerves in the camp but the game faces are ready as the players from across Australia prepare to take their seats along side many of the world’s best players. After a quick gathering in the Full Tilt Poker corporate suite, players made their way to their seats – most in the secondary Brasilia Ballroom, with Ross Parsonson facing the awesome spectacle that is a packed Amazon Ballroom.

We regret to inform everyone that due to issues at home, Ken Pattugalan has elected not to take his seat in the WSOP Main Event today, so we’ll be following 23 TeamAPL players today.

Here’s a rundown of the players who’ll be wearing the black shirts of TeamAPL on day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event:

Table 180, seat 8 – Craig Ivey (Team captain, lives: Adelaide, South Australia; age: 49; qualified for TeamAPL: Full Tilt Player of the Year)

Table 174, seat 6 – Paul Georges (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 25; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, 2008 APL Tournament of Champions)

Table 172, seat 2 – Jay Hook (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 25; qualified for TeamAPL: second, 2008 APL Tournament of Champions)

Table 165, seat 9 – Geoff Menz (lives: Brisbane, Queensland; age: 25; qualified for TeamAPL: third, 2008 APL Tournament of Champions)

Table 167, seat 8 – Charlie Elias (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 26; qualified for TeamAPL: fourth, 2008 APL Tournament of Champions)

Table 173, seat 1 – Jonathan Wertheim (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 25; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, August 2008 NSW Pro Open)

Table 173, seat 6 – Leno Icaca (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 60; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, September 2008 NSW Pro Open)

Table 176, seat 9 – Terry Adams (lives: Queanbeyan, NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner October 2008 NSW Pro Open)

Table 160, seat 8 – Hin Fung “Parry” Lee (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 27; qualified for TeamAPL: winner November 2008 NSW Pro Open)

Table 176, seat 8 – Emma Grace (lives: Queensland; age: 41; qualified for TeamAPL: winner Tweed Heads WSOP Satellite 1)

Table 162, seat 7 – Pande Nikolovski (lives: Sydney, NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, December 2008 NSW Pro Open)

Table 171, seat 4 – Trevor Allan (lives: Dubbo, NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, January 2009 NSW Pro Open)

Table 169, seat 7 – Natt Armstrong (lives: NSW; age: 23; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, February 2009 NSW Pro Open)

Table 179, seat 9 – Danny Taylor (lives: Nowra, NSW; age: 37; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, 2009 Wild Turkey Poker Classic)

Table 173, seat 2 – Majed Haddad (lives: Sydney, NSW; age: 30; qualified for TeamAPL: second, 2009 Wild Turkey Poker Classic)

Table 169, seat 3 – Dean Hopkins (lives: NSW; age: 24; qualified for TeamAPL: March 2009 NSW Pro Open Champion)

Table 172, seat 4 – Dave Fox (lives: NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, Tweed Heads WSOP Satellite 2)

Table 169, seat 9 – Alain Velmonte (lives: NSW; age: 26; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, April 2009 NSW Pro Open)

Table 172, seat 3 – Regan Lake (lives: WA; age: 27; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, WA WSOP Satellite)

Table 177, seat 7 – Shane Brown (lives: NSW; age: 34; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, May 2009 NSW Pro Open)

Table 32, seat 2 – Ross Parsonson (lives: NSW; age: 25; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, June 2009 NSW Pro Open)

Table 169, seat 1 – Steve Tolios (lives: NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, Sydney Outer West Deepstack event)

Table 138, seat 9 – Michael Soumelidis (lives: NSW; qualified for TeamAPL: winner, APL/Saints Two-day Challenge)