Vincent Huang Wins Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions (A$67,190)
Australia's Vincent Huang navigated through a well-seasoned final table to win the 2018 Aussie Millions Event #18: A$1,150 The Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions for A$67,190 ($54,280) representing his third cash this festival.
The unique part of the event is that former Aussie Millions Main Event champions were invited to enter rake-free thus saving A$125. The tournament has proved popular, attracting 276 players to generate a huge A$282,900 prize pool. This represents a massive 36 percent increase from the last year's event when Australia's George Kanan outlasted a field of 203 players to win the A$51,000 top prize.
Aussie Millions Event #18: A$1,150 The Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize in A$ | Prize in US$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Huang | Australia | A$67,190 | $54,280 |
| 2 | Preben Stokkan | Norway | A$43,145 | $34,855 |
| 3 | Qinyi Tong | China | A$27,580 | $22,281 |
| 4 | Robert Glasspool | Hong Kong | A$21,930 | $17,716 |
| 5 | Asher Conniff | United States | A$16,555 | $13,374 |
| 6 | Steven van Zadelhoff | Netherlands | A$13,435 | $10,854 |
| 7 | Paul Höfer | Germany | A$10,610 | $8,571 |
| 8 | Bas de Laat | Netherlands | A$8,490 | $6,859 |
| 9 | Ken Okada | Japan | A$6,795 | $5,489 |
| 10 | Michael Zhang | United Kingdom | A$5,520 | $4,459 |
Players from four continents were represented at the final table with the eventual winner being the sole player to represent the festival's home country.
United Kingdom's Michael Zhang was the first player eliminated at the final table in 10th place for A$5,520 for his first-ever Aussie Millions cash. He now has almost $600,000 in live tournament career earnings with his win coming almost a year ago to the day when he won the GUKPT London Main Event for £113,000.
Japan's Ken Okada, who has more than $100,000 in live tournament cashes, also recorded his first-ever Aussie Millions cash after securing ninth place for A$6,795.
Dutch poker player Bas de Laat, who earlier in the festival won Event #5: A$1,150 No Limit Hold'em Mix Max, surpassed $200,000 in live tournament cashes after bowing out in eighth place for A$8,490.
A trio of well-experienced players then exited the tournament in succession. First to hit the rail was Germany's Paul Höfer in seventh place for A$10,610. Höfer now has seven Aussie Millions cashes as part of his $2 million in live tournament winnings.
Last year's PokerStars WCOOP Main Event champion Steven van Zadelhoff was the next to go in sixth place for $13,435. The Dutch poker player, who has $7.6 million in online tournament cashes to go along with $1.6 million in live cashes, almost secured his first Aussie Millions title earlier in the festival with a second-place performance in Event #15: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem/Pot Limit Omaha.
American Asher Conniff inched his way closer to $2 million in live tournament cashes after collecting the fifth-place prize of A$16,555.
Hong Kong's Robert Glasspool notched his first Aussie Millions cash in a big way with a fourth-place performance worth A$21,930. Shortly after, China's Qinyi Tong notched his second Aussie Millions cash after finishing in third place for A$27,580.
This left Norway's Preben Stokkan and Huang as the last two players standing. Stokkan had tons of experience and success on his side with $1.2 million in cashes including a win in the 2016 Norwegian Championships Main Event. However, it was Huang who finished on top to claim the coveted ANTON ring while Stokkan walked away with a healthy runner-up prize of A$43,145.
