Leo Boxell stormed to the chip lead early on in the tournament and never looked back. Once he doubled his starting stack to 40,000, his chips seemed to increase every time we checked in on him.
Boxell stayed as one of the big stacks throughout the final table and maneuvered his way to victory thanks to few timely hands and some solid play. After taking out Peter Smyth in third place and amassing a massive stack for heads-up play, Boxell made short work of Vincent Wan who placed second.
Down here in Australia, Boxell is a well-known face on the poker scene. The majority of Boxell's tournament cashes come in New Zealand and Australia and this one can be added to the long list that just keeps growing. He did finish in the money in the 2007 WSOP Main Event and scored six-figures back in 2003 at the Crown Australasian Poker Championships where placed second behind Peter Costa for over AUD$225,000.
It also often goes unnoticed that Boxell holds to very important titles down on this side of the world. He scored two bracelets that put him in elite class on this side of the world. In 2000, Boxell won the Crown Australasian Poker Championships and then in 2001 he took home the title at the New Zealand Poker Championships. Boxell currently sits in 18th place on the Australian all-time money list.
Boxell's number fan and supporter is his wife. She's usually within a few feet of him railing him all the way. This tournament was no different as she was right behind him the entire way and the first to congratulate him on his victory.
Congratulations to Leo Boxell on taking down Event No. 12 here at the Aussie Millions!
Vincent Wan made his last stand with a pair of sevens on fourth street, but Leo Boxell had a split pair of jacks to start. Boxell's jacks held until the end and Wan was eliminated in 2nd place.
For his efforts, Wan took home $3,500 AUD and added to his Aussie Millions resume, which includes a win in 2008 for over $125,000 AUD.
Wan mentioned that he really wanted the ring, but he understood that he was getting short and needed to make a stand at some point.
Vincent "Wonky" Wan was just all in for his tournament life against Leo Boxell and his buried kings. Wan went on to make a wheel on the hand after starting with and doubled up. This came after Boxell claimed he wasn't going to double Wan up.
Peter Smyth and Leo Boxell just battled on one of the first hands back from the break the players took. Boxell made three sevens on fifth and took down Smyth's two pair with queens and eights.
Boxell was able to eliminated the Englishman in third place and move up to 420,000 chips. Smyth will take home $2,250 AUD for his effort.
Vincent Wan is going for his second title at the Aussie Millions. In 2008, Wan won a $1,000 event for over $125,000 AUD. If he can win here, it will be his second Aussie Millions title.