Events 6, 7 and 8 of the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific poker tour wrapped up at the Crown Melborne in Australia this week.
The new Event 6: $1,650 buy-in 8-Game Dealer’s Choice saw young Australian, Rory Young, beat poker veteran Sam Khouiss in heads-up taking the $42,720 top prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
“I’m feeling pretty happy right now!” Young said after the win. “I mean, I’m very surprised because I didn’t know how to play a couple of the games very good [sic] coming into the event. Luckily the games I don’t play good [sic] just weren’t chosen that often.”
Event 7: $2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em saw Australian 25-year-old cash game grinder Alexander Antonios topple Phil Hellmuth, denying Hellmuth his 14 WSOP gold bracelet and placing him fourth in the final table standings.
Antonios went on to face Michael Tran in heads-up emerging victorious for a pay check of $128 784.
“It’s obviously tough to win a bracelet,” Antonios said. “People like Phil have been around for 25 years and have only won 13.”
Event 8: $5,000 8-Game Mixed Event hosted one of the toughest fields in the series to date comprising two players with two bracelets each, a WSOP main event winner and 2014’s most prolific WSOP casher.
Heads-up battle between Scott Clements and George Danzer, both playing for their third WSOP bracelet, saw Danzer take the prize of $84,600.
Final table notables included two-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Clements, WSOP main event champ Jonathan Duhamel and Ismael Bojang, who made a record breaking 13th WSOP cash in a single year.