Online Poker > Online Poker News
Poker News
November 20th 2006
Tony G wins Asian Poker Tour in dream final table
The first ever Betfair Asian Poker Tour tournament had everything its organisers could want, and more. A big field, big name players, home grown success, and a super-star poker entertainer taking down the victory. Asian poker is now well and truly on the map.
313 players coughed up the $5000 entry fee for this inaugural Asian Poker Tour event, contributing to a very healthy + $1.5 million prize pool. Among them were Gus Hansen, Tony G, and Lee Nelson (the Aussie Millions winner) adding credibility to go with the money.
Of the well known players on view at the event, both Tony G and Lee Nelson made the final table, with Tony G (already a popular player in Asia after he wore a kimono on the WPT Bad Boys of Poker) thrilling the crowd with a virtuoso display of great poker and classic entertainment.
Perhaps even more exciting than the presence of two well known players at the final table was that of two local Singaporeans in Neil Yong and Josh Ang. Only 11 local players entered the tournament so for two of them to make the final table was a remarkable achievement.
For Neil Yong however it was a bitter sweet experience. He was delighted to just reach the final table after nursing a short stack for some time, but was disappointed, if not surprised, to be the first player eliminated, running his A-T into pocket jacks. An ace on the flop sent the crowd into frenzy, but a jack on the turn quickly changed the mood and ensured Yong was the first player eliminated from the final table.
The tournament as a whole, and the final table also, benefited from a terrific long structure that prevented the event from descending into an all-in battle early on, as so many other premier tournaments have tended to over recent years. Skill, not luck, was the primary ingredient for success here.
It was no surprise then that with four players left Tony G and Lee Nelson were still involved, while Samuel Lehtonen, the chip leader for much of the final table, and Josh Ang were also still in contention. Of the four it was Lehtonen who fell first, surrendering his chip lead when play became four handed and then eventually slipping out altogether.
Next out was Lee Nelson, much to Tony G’s relief, after the famous smack-talker had stated prior to the tournament that Nelson was one of the players he respected most. Indeed after the penultimate day’s play had ended Tony G admitted that he simply couldn’t live with the Australian when the two were placed on the same table, and was only able to regain control after Nelson had been moved to a different table.
With Nelson gone Tony G went head to head with local player Josh Ang in a heads-up battle even the producers could not have dreamed of. In the end Tony proved too strong for Ang, defeating the home hope when he hit a pair on the flop with T-6, and the two players got all their chips in the middle, Ang missing his outs with A-J.
Tony G then cemented his reputation as Asia’s most popular player when he promptly handed the winners trophy to Josh Ang (saying it should remain in Singapore) and pledged 50% of his substantial winnings to Asian and Australian charities.
The final positions and payouts are listed below:
Tony Guoga (Aus) - $451,700
Joshua Ang (Sing) - $233,200
Lee Nelson (Aus) - $116,600
Samuel Lehtonen (Swe) - $102,000
Jeff Kimber (UK) - $87,400
Mark Whent - $72,900
Hans Vogl - $58,306
Hendrik Dahlgaard - $43,700
Brendan Walls - $29,200
Neil Yong $17,500
Submitted: 20/11/2006 15:14:14
Page 1 of 1
Monthly Archive