Marcel Schreiner Takes Lead in APPT Snowfest Day 2

Marcel Schreiner, took command of the PokerStars sponsored Asia Pacific Poker Tour “Snowfest” in Queenstown, New Zealand, on Day 2, with a stunning performance that saw him conclude play with more than double the number of chips than second placed online poker player Tom “tollgate” Grigg.

German poker player Schreiner and Tom Grigg both started the APPT Main Event on Day 1B, but had managed to avoid each other and finished first and seventh respectively in the day´s chip count. Day 2 however was a different story, with ongoing tussles between the two dominating the day´s play.

Griggs Causes Some Early Damage

Tom Grigg was involved in a lot of the early action as the 71 remaining players took their seats on Day 2. Within the first few hands he managed a double elimination when his flopped set of three´s was too strong for Joel Douaglin´s A♣ J♥ (top pair, top kicker) and Jeff Bucher´s J♦ 9♥ (top pair), and followed that up in the next level of play crippling Koray Turker (A♣ 5♠) when his K♥ K♣ found the K♠ on the turn.

Alicia Sails In and Out

Overnight chip leader, Alicia Sale, had experienced a very choppy ride on Day 1C – dropping down to her last 4,000 chips before recovering to lead the tournament with 91,750 – and Day 2 was no different for her. Unable to catch the cards that would enable her to dominate her table, she eventually got moving when her 5♣ 6♠ made a top straight against Kyle James´ A♣ 5♠, but was crippled when her A♣ Q♥ couldn´t overtake Wayne Bell´s J♥ J♣, and was eliminated by PokerStars Qualifier Jonathan Karamalikis when his Q♠ J♣ caught 10♠ 9♠ 8♠ on the flop against Alicia´s A♦ J♦.

Daleroxxu Fizzles Out in a Flash

UK poker player Dale Philip (he would claim to be Scottish) had been pretty pleased with himself after a solid start in the tournament and capturing the Pot Limit Omaha side event. However, his tournament life was determined in the space of fifteen minutes mid way through the day. Things looked good when Dale (6♥ 7♥) moved his short stack in against Marcel Schreiner´s 5♥ 5♦ and hit two pairs on the flop, but within a couple of hands his K♠ 5♥ came second in a race against recent Sunday Million winner Jesse McKenzie´s A♣ 9♦ and then Jackson Zheng found an 8 on the flop to pair his Q♦ 8♦, and Philip´s hand of K♠ 2♠ was beaten.

What Goes Down Must Come Up

Meanwhile, Marcel Schreiner had witnessed his chip stack demolished without even turning a card! Schreiner had re-raised Tom Grigg from the button, only to find Grigg 3-betting him up to 21,200. Schreiner considered his position and made the 4-bet up to 39,200 and which point Grigg shoved and Schreiner folded. Schreiner was left with 75,600 chips (blinds 800/1,600) and had lost his good position. However, that was all to change as the day drew to a close.

Schriener first crippled New Zealand qualifier Jackson Zheng when his pocket Queens held against Zheng´s 10s, eliminated Jeremy MacDonald with Jacks over Twos (MacDonald had Twos over Kings), and the busted the last lady standing – Rachel Bellard – when his A♣ 7♦ held on against Bellard´s K♦ 8♠. Then, just before the close of play, Schreiner took out 2009 winner Danny Chevalier before making the play of the day to gain his revenge on Tom Grigg.

Day 2 “Play of the Day”

Tom Grigg raised to 4,500 and was called by Zheng (who had made a great recovery from earlier). Schreiner re-raised to 10,800 from the button and Grigg four-bet up to 24,700. Zheng got out of the way and Schreiner called. The flop showed K♣ 4♥ 5♦ and Grigg bet 25,000. Schreiner called and both players checked the turn (6♥) before Grigg fired another 35,000 chips on the river (7♣). Schreiner went deep into the tank before calling the bet, but what an inspired decision it was as Grigg turned over A♦ 9♥ for Ace high while Schreiner had A♠ Q♥ for Ace high with a better kicker!

Looking Ahead to Day 3

Twenty one players remain in the Snowfest, and tomorrow they will play down to the final table. Despite Marcel Schreiner´s huge chip advantage, Tom Grigg is still there in second (they will be playing on different tables tonight) and Jackson Zheng just doesn´t know when he is beaten! Day 1A chip leader, Cole Swannack, is still going strong in the field, as is PokerStars qualifier Jonathan Karamalikis who won last year´s APPT Sydney and this year´s Hi-Roller event at the ANZPT Sydney

Chip Counts for Day 2