Mark Radoja Wins Aussie Millions Event #15: No Limit Hold’em/PLO
The action has been hot at the 2017 Aussie Millions at Crown Melbourne with more than half of the 26 events now on the books.
Canada’s Mark Radoja outlasted a final table full of local players to win the 15th event of the series for AUD$58,315. Event #15: No Limit Hold’em/PLO featured an AUD$1,150 buy-in and was the only event on the schedule to feature more than one poker variant with both no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha featured.
While Radoja’s victory was also his first cash in an Aussie Millions event, the Canadian has experienced success in the past with $2.5 million in career live poker tournament cashes, which include two World Series of Poker titles in 2011 and 2013.
The event began on Tuesday with 133 runners, down slightly from the 135 players who played the same event in 2016 when Australia’s Mohammed Afiouni won the top prize of AUD$35,985.
Fifteen players cashed in this year’s event with Australian James Obst recording his 13th career cash in an Aussie Millions event after being the first to go once the money bubble broke to collect AUD$2,045 for 15th place.
Poland’s Daniel Demicki, who won the 2016 Aussie Millions AUD$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, bubbled the final table after exiting the tournament in 10th place for AUD$3,405.
All of the players on the nine-max final table hailed from Australia outside the eventual winner, Radoja. Jason V was the first player eliminated on the final table in ninth place for AUD$4,090.
Both Tolly Sakellariou (eighth – AUD$5,450) and Omer Silajdzija (seventh – AUD$6,810) recorded their second cashes in this Aussie Millions before Michael Tran (sixth – AUD$8,170), Joseph Alvaro (fifth – AUD$9,545), Guiseppe Patamia (fourth – AUD$12,270) and Peter Kotsiris (third – AUD$15,675) were eliminated in succession.
Bjorn Ostby and Radoja were the last two standing in the tournament. Ostby was guaranteed to improve on his previous best finish in a live poker event, which came last year when he took third place in the AUD$550 Western Poker Classics Championships for AUD$10,000.
However, after the final cards were dealt, it was Radoja who earned the victory, leaving Ostby with the runner-up prize of AUD$23,875.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Radoja | Canada | AUD$35,450 |
| 2 | Bjorn Ostby | Australia | AUD$23,875 |
| 3 | Peter Kotsiris | Australia | AUD$15,675 |
| 4 | Guiseppe Patamia | Australia | AUD$12,270 |
| 5 | Joseph Alvaro | Australia | AUD$9,545 |
| 6 | Michael Tran | Australia | AUD$8,170 |
| 7 | Omer Silajdzija | Australia | AUD$6,810 |
| 8 | Tolly Sakellariou | Australia | AUD$5,450 |
| 9 | Jason V | Australia | AUD$4,090 |
