Mustapha Kanit Wins 2014 Aussie Millions Opening Event for $196,000
The 2014 Aussie Millions Poker Championship recently kicked off with its first scheduled tournament, Event #1: $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em. The event saw a staggering 1,302 players sit down in hopes of becoming the first champion of this prestigious poker series. In the end, Mustapha Kanit (pictured) earned himself the title as well as $196,000 in first-place prize money.
Kanit, fresh off of a fourth-place finish in the $25,000 High Roller event at the 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $492,600, continued to ride his hot streak in the new year. His total cashes in the month of January are now over $688,000.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mustapha Kanit | $196,000* |
| 2 | David Lim | $190,000* |
| 3 | Daryl Hussy | $125,000 |
| 4 | Orjan Skommo | $100,000 |
| 5 | Lukas Byrns | $80,000 |
| 6 | Otto Pickermann | $63,000 |
| 7 | Suraj Dutt | $48,000 |
| 8 | Christopher Zeng | $35,000 |
| 9 | Slade Fisher | $23,000 |
| 10 | Steven Tabb | $14,500 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
According to Poker Asia Pacific, The final table began with the elimination of American Steven Tabb. Tabb began the final table as the second shortest stack and he three-bet shipped all in from the big blind over an open from Kanit. Kanit called and showed the 6♣6♦ which was crushing Tabb's 3♠3♣. The board fell down 10♦J♣J♥7♠4♣ and Tabb was sent to the rail in 10th place.
Following Tabb's elimination, the final nine battled it out for quite some time before Slade Fisher became the next victim. On Fisher's final hand, David Lim opened with a raise to 135,000 from middle position. Fisher announced an all in bet for 180,000 total from the cutoff and the rest of the table folded. Lim called instantly and tabled the K♣K♦. Fisher showed theA♣J♣ and was in dire need of help on the subsequent streets.
The flop of K♥J♦9♥ paired Fisher, but at the same time it gave Slade a set of kings and a death grip on the hand. The turn and river did not help Fisher and he fell in ninth for $23,000.
Following Fisher out of the door was Christopher Zeng whose 9♠9♥ could not improve against Daryl Hussey's J♣J♦ after a preflop all in. The two saw the board come 7♦K♣10♥8♣9♦ and Zeng's tournament life came to an end. A while later, Suraj Dutt fell in seventh place. Dutt three-bet shipped all in for 1.1 million after Kanit opened with a raise to 120,000. Kanit called and the hands were tabled.
Kanit: J♠J♣
Dutt: 4♥4♦
Dutt flopped a small glimmer of hope when 5♦6♣6♠ hit the felt, giving him runner-runner straight outs as well. However, he found no help on the turn (A♥) or the river (3♣) and he was sent packing in seventh for $48,000.
The final six were then guaranteed at least $63,000 in winnings and that's exactly what sixth-place finisher Otto Pickermann took home. On his last hand, Hussy limped from the button and Kanit made it 275,000 from the small blind. Pickermann called all in for his last 160,000 from the big blind and Hussey released his hand. Pickermann showed 7♦6♦ but unfortunately held two under cards to Kanit's 9♠9♦. The flop came fairly dry for Pickermann with 10♠3♠4♦, giving him a few outs to make an inside straight. He picked up a flush draw and a few more straight outs on the turn with the 8♦, but nothing came through as the 4♠ paired the board on the river and sent him home in sixth.
From there, the eliminations came at a rather rapid pace. Lukas Byrns found himself all in for his last six big blinds with K♦2♦. Unfortunately for Byrns, he was crushed by Lim's A♣K♥. The board ran 3♣6♦9♦6♣4♥ and Byrns was forced to pocket $80,000 for fifth place. The very next hand, Orjan Skommo fell after moving all in from the button with A♣9♥. This time, it was Hussey who delivered the killing blow with this J♣J♥. The two saw a run out of Q♣3♣7♠K♦10♥ and Norwegian was eliminated in fourth for a cool $100,000.
Despite scoring the elimination of Skommo, Hussey found himself in a position to be the next to go. He moved all in from the button with A♣3♥ but was ultimately behind Lim's A♦8♣. Lim paired his eight on the 5♥8♠Q♣ flop and never looked back as the 4♠ and the 7♦ completed the board.
This left Lim and Kanit heads up to play for the title. The two quickly decided on a deal that separated their paydays by only $6,000. With Kanit guaranteed a bit more money, the two opted to play simply for the title and the Aussie Millions gold ring.
Kanit had the chip lead going into heads up play and sealed the deal after Lim shoved all in for 3.5 million from the button. Kanit called and the hands were tabled.
Lim: A♦7♣
Kanit: A♠9♠
The final board of the tournament came down 2♣5♥Q♠J♣J♥ and Kanit's ace-nine finished as the best hand. He was awarded the title as well as the $196,000 in first-place prize money.
PokerNews will touch down in Melbourne this week to cover the Aussie Millions $10,600 Main Event, $25,000 Challenge, $100,000 Challenge and $250,000 Challenge. Stay tuned to the PokerNews Live Reporting page for updates!
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