The 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event was completed this weekend and Australia’s very own David Gorr prevailed as the winner after defeating James Keys in a heads up to take home an astonishing AU$2m first prize. The 68 years old amateur player beat more than 700 players on his way to the coveted title of Aussie Millions Champion. It was a romantic finish to this prestigious tournament which is sure to light the hearts of millions of Australian poker fans. The Aussie Millions is turning to one of the best poker tournaments in the global poker scene.
With a buy-in of AU$10,000 this No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em Main Event was a worthy climax for the Aussie Millions tournament that had been going on for the last couple of weeks. The final table included some major poker players such as Patrik Antonius and Chris Moorman. David Gorr was flying the flag for Australia.
Randy Dorfman enjoyed the lead going into the final table with 1.5 million chips ahead of second placed James Keys. David Gorr was loitering with intent in 3rd place just behind Keys. It was Patrik Antonius who fell first. The man many had come to see and who a number of pundits deem to be one of the most exciting young players in the modern game crashed out early on. It was the Australian patriot who then sealed the fate of the other major name at the table, Chris Moorman shortly after Antonius’s elimination.
With the two big stars gone from the table, the main event would be captured by a new star. It was only an hour before six became five. Samad Razavi went toe-to-toe with chip leader James Keys and didn’t survive the battle. Keys hit two pairs of Jacks over 7s where as Razavi only managed to hit a pair of Jacks with an Ace kicker. Gorr was then the assassin once more as he went against Randy Dorfman. Dorfman had a pair of 10s compared to Gorr’s Ace and 9 of clubs. The flop came… Queen of hearts, 8 of diamonds and 8 of clubs. Dorfman had two pair… his opponent only had one pair. The turn came and a 4 of spades was drawn. Gorr needed a 9 or an Ace to steal the hand at the last. The river was drawn… Ace of diamonds! Gorr had survived at the last draw and had eliminated Dorfman in the process. In the grand scheme of things this was undoubtedly a turning point in the final table.
Things settled down for a couple of hours as everyone caught their breath after what they had just witnessed. Michael Ryan, Jeff Rossiter, David Gorr and James Keys were left. Ryan and Rossiter became embroiled in a head-to-head hand where Rossiter had to rely on the river to seal a win and knock Ryan out of the final table in 4th place.
Down to three players and the chip counts were fairly level. David Gorr led with 6.4 million chips, then Jeff Rossiter and James Keys were pretty level on 4.6 million chips each. The next elimination would put the eliminator one step closer to taking the glory. It wasn’t long before that influential hand came. Rossiter will look back and question if he did all he could. The decisive hand saw the Australian lure him in with small raises before going all-in on the river. Only a pair of 5s were down with a Queen, Jack and 3 so Rossiter met Gorr’s all-in call. When Gorr turned over an Ace and a Queen to hit a two pair Rossiter abjectly mucked his cards and said his goodbyes.
Gorr was now staring victory in the face with a 12 million chip stack compared to Keys’ chip stack of 2.4 million. What followed can only be described as an epic encounter where Keys even pulled back to grab the lead a few times. Eventually, Gorr’s pressure was too much and Keys was pounded into submission. The final hand was a classic. The flop came at 7 of spades, 6 of clubs and 3 of hearts. Keys bet and his opponent called. The turn came down as a King of hearts. Again, Keys bet and his opponent raised him. As both men became confident they had something their rebounding bets spiraled into an all-in that would potentially decide the match. Keys revealed a 7 and 3 of clubs whilst Gorr showed a King and 4 of clubs. Keys was leading with a two pair. However, in true dramatic poker fashion, the Australian hit a 4 of spades on the river to seal his victory and snatch the win from Keys’ hands.
It had been a truly spectacular finale to what had been a riveting poker tournament. David Gorr couldn’t have won it in more exciting style in front of a home crowd as well. It was something only dreams are made of. The consolation prize of AU$1,035,000 for Keys will not make up for the painful way in which he had his glory stolen from him at the last second. The Australian won’t lose any sleep as he completed a magnificent feat to become the 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event Champion.
