From Holiday to High Roller! Bernardo Del Toro Clinches Australian Poker Open Trojan Title

Will Shillibier
Managing Editor
3 min read
Bernardo Del Toro APO Trojan

It took an extra day, but we eventually we have a champion here at the Australian Poker Open.

The Trojan attracted 68 entries but in the end it was Mexico's Bernardo Del Toro who came out on top, winning A$220,000 after defeating Daniel Veljkovic heads-up.

Australian Poker Open The Trojan Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPayout (AUD)
1Bernardo Del ToroMexico$220,000
2Daniel VeljkovicAustralia$144,000
3Mostafa HaidaryAustralia$89,200
4Ehsan AmiriAustralia$62,000
5Marcial DiasAustralia$46,000
6Andy LeeAustralia$33,000
7Sean RagozziniAustralia$25,000
8Benjamin BottlesAustralia$20,000

Winner's Recap

Del Toro has only been in the country for a week and already has a tournament victory. Having never been before, he was invited by Mexican player Angel Guillen to discover the country some more.

"I've never been here before," he told PokerNews. "I'm gonna be here for a month and it's gonna be such an amazing time. [The victory] is kind of a weird feeling. I think it's going to take a while for me to really let it sink in."

The tournament returned for an extra day, something that Del Toro admitted helped him after feeling exhausted towards the end of Day 2.

Bernardo Del Toro

"It was a very good structure. I max late-reg'd because I like to play short stack. There were some cash game players who definitely would have had an edge on me deepstacked.

"The quality of the organization is top notch. It's as good as Vegas if not better! The environment and the people is way better."

"They stopped the tournament yesterday, and everyone was exhausted. I was taking such a long time on every decision and having the chance to refresh made it easy going to finish the tournament today."

Meanwhile, the Mexican had nothing but praise for Australian Poker Open organisers.

"The quality of the organization is top notch. It's as good as Vegas if not better! The environment and the people is way better. You can tell by far that people here enjoy the game. It's not such a gambling vibe, there's a competitive vibe and I really like that."


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Final Day Recap

Del Toro came into the last day second in chips but level with both Ehsan Amiri and Daniel Veljkovic in the middle of the pack.

Short stack Marcial Dias was eliminated on the second hand of the day, with Ehsan Amiri soon following. Both were eliminated by start-of-day chip leader Mostafa Haidary who pushed ahead in pursuit of victory.

However, things quickly took a turn as Del Toro doubled through Haidary and bested Veljkovic with just king-high to move into the chip lead, before sending Haidary to the rail in third place.

APO The Trojan

Veljkovic was short for most of the heads-up contest, and despite doubling twice failed to overcome the deficit as Del Toro emerged triumphant.

Thank you for joining PokerNews for coverage of the 2024 Australian Poker Open! Click here for more live updates!

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Will Shillibier
Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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