It took a long heads-up battle but we've finally crowned a Queenstown Snowfest champion with Dave Allan overcoming illness and a tough heads-up opponent in Ken Demlakian to claim the title. Close to two hours ago, Demlakian looked across the table at Allan and chirped, "You're not enjoying this are...more

Jordan Westmorland has been a dominant force on this final table, responsible for the elimination of several opponents along the way, but it's come unstuck in 3rd place after a big clash with Ken Demlakian. It always proved tricky for Westmorland to have the unpredictable Demlakian sitting to his left....more

It was over two and a half hours from the time we saw the bust out of Matthew Wakeman in 6th place, before the next player was eliminated, with the last five players entering into an epic battle of attrition. No one was prepared to give an inch. Ken Demlakian...more

On a day where the world's biggest sporting event kicked off, Billy "The Croc" Argyros dropped by our blogging desk before play to talk about his favourite subject - tournament structures. "Less than six levels, guaranteed!" exclaimed the Australian Poker Hall of Famer in reference to how long he thought...more

The money bubble is one of the cruellest moments of a poker tournament. However it's one of the most fascinating times as a poker observer as there are many plots and sub-plots to the whole situation. Short stacks are hanging on for dear life, medium stacks are staying out of...more

Our field of 31 has been reduced in the early stages of Day 3 of the Queenstown Snowfest, with 20 players remaining in contention as we approach the end of Level 14. Joel Feldman, Ben McLean, Richard Lancaster, our pair of Griffiths in Kristina and Mark, and the last hope...more

A unique split format greeted players today at the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. By all accounts, the players enjoyed the format where Day 2 was split into two halves due to the restrictions in size of the poker room. 87 players were split into Day 2a, which started at 12:30pm,...more

The remaining players have merged into one group inside the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino, as the survivors sit together for the first time. We had 23 players make it through Day 2a earlier today, while this afternoon another 24 players navigated their way through Day 2b. That left 47 players in...more

We've spent some time letting you know more about some of the great sights of Queenstown, but we would be remiss not to mention a little about our wonderful hosts for the week - the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino. After all, it's likely to be the place where our players will...more

Another beautiful day greeted us in Queenstown today for the third and final flight of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. After enjoying the sunshine this morning with a round of Frisbee Golf, another 49 players entered the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino for their last chance at Snowfest glory. It brought our...more

We've talked about some of the fun physical activities that one can partake in here Queenstown, but this city also offers much more than purely adrenalin-fuelled fun. For those looking for a change of pace, then why not relax at the appropriately named Wine Tastes? Described as the "New Zealand...more

It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to write about a Team PokerStars player representing the Australia and New Zealand regions. We've seen plenty of Bryan Huang, Raymond Wu, Vivian Im and Celina Lin on the APPT in recent times, and as much as we like writing about...more

The Queenstown Snowfest Main Event continued today in the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino with another stacked field putting the skis in the rack for one day to enjoy a friendly game of cards. Day 1b of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event attracted a field of 49 runners to bring our total...more

The old saying to have "the luck of the draw" applies to the game of poker in its most literal sense. Some days you can make good reads and play to your absolute best, but ultimately you can only do so much with the cards you are dealt by the...more

While the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event is undoubtedly the focus of attention for poker in New Zealand at the moment, there was actually another poker game in town this afternoon. Located some 1,600 metres above Queenstown, the mountain ranges of Coronet Peak are usually a skier's delight, but today the...more

With the madness of the World Series of Poker out of the way, attention has turned back to poker in Australasia as Season 6 of the APPT was launched today with Day 1 of the Queenstown Snowfest Main Event. Queenstown is quickly gathering a reputation as one of the most...more

We've already talked about the history of this event and, as an Aussie, it would be a shame for me to neglect to point out that the Kiwis are yet to actually win this tournament on their home turf. Ahhh, the Trans-Tasman rivalry is alive and well. But it's a...more

Over the past three years, the Queenstown Snowfest event has snowballed from humble beginnings into one of the premier events on the Australasian poker calendar. The inaugural Queenstown event was part of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) in 2009. A field of 134 players descended upon the snow-capped...more