It was champagne all around earlier today as Black Belt Poker pro Sam Razavi became Master of Melbourne by taking down the latest leg of the APPT (Asia Pacific Poker Tour).
The Crown Casino played host to the week's poker fun and frolics, with 257 handing over the A$4,700 buy-in in hope of striking gold. After surviving three days on the battlefield, just nine remained with Sam sitting comfortably in second.
Sam was active on the final table, but managed to avoid the monster pots. He did, however, cause the first casualty of the day, disposing of a short-stacked Brendon Rubie with J-J versus Q-J having doubled him up just one hand previous.
It wasn't until short-handed that Sam truly began to excel, aiding the descent of fellow Brit Wayne Bentley before taking a small chip lead into the final three.
The podium-placers would engage in a long, hard-fought battle in which the chip lead changed multiple times. At one stage, Sam's stack was heading south, but a pivotal double-up with 9-9 vs. A-Ko provided some much-needed momentum that would see him reclaim the lead.
With confidence high, Sam defended his big blind to a raise from Tom Grigg, before calling continuation bets on the 7c-7h-5s flop and Qh turn. Sam's shove on the 3d river was then check-called all-in by Grigg who could only muck upon being shown 5h-5d for the flopped full house.
'Lovely. Beautiful,' as our hero would say.
As a result, Sam boasted a 3:1 chip lead heading into heads-up, and he secured the title in under 10 minutes. He was behind on the final hand with Ks-Ts versus Keith Walker's Jd-Jc, but an As-2d-5s-8s-Js board gave Sam hot flushes and the win.
Having finished second in Cebu, and then final-tabled the Macau leg, it was third time lucky for Sam who capped off another lucrative trip with victory in Melbourne, 18 months after finishing sixth in the Aussie Millions at the same venue.
In just a few years, Sam has collated a whopping $838,437 in live tournament winnings and a record of results longer than Mr. Tickle's arms, including a UKIPT title and several WSOP cashes.
"I feel amazing, because when we got three-way, I started dwindling," commented Sam in the post-match interview. "It felt like it was slipping away, and then just like that, it turned around… Everything just seemed to work out in the end."
"It was pretty tough. I know Brendon [Rubie] is a really good player and I was really concerned about having him on the table. It's a shame he went out, commiserations, but I wasn't too upset…"
A Black Belt in the Belt-Up Rewards System, Sam can be found playing on Black Belt Poker, and is a regular at Black Belt Live Events.
At the recent Nottingham Live II, he and friend Babis Lappas helped raise $2,500 for Cancer Research when Koddzilla's Carps ambushed Dusk Till Dawn dressed in full clown attire.
There was nothing fishy about today's display, though - Sam Razavi finishes on top Down Under to become 2012 APT Melbourne Champion, taking away the illustrious title and $326,125 first prize.
Or, in Koddzilla currency: 46,707 Jägerbombs.
1st Sam Razavi -- A$326,125
2nd Keith Walker -- A$205,345
3rd Tom Grigg -- A$114,750
4th Wayne Bentley -- A$87,575
5th Gary Benson -- A$72,475
6th James Bills -- A$57,375
7th Kristian Lunardi -- A$45,300
8th Nigel Andrews -- A$36,250
9th Brendon Rubie -- A$27,175
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