It’s time to put your seat back into an upright position, stow your tray table, and stop watching whatever crap you’re watching – the Australian Poker Open (APO) is about to kick into gear.
It’s the first time that Poker Central has brought their unique brand of broadcasting to Australia, and The Star Gold Coast is going to be their home for the next few days. There’s nothing bitter about this lemon, but it will still pull your lips over your teeth with a ‘Wow!’
The melody kicked off with Event #1: AUD 10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE). 59-entrants created a prizepool of $402,785, and Mike Watson sat alone amid the smouldering wreckage, after beating Michael Grady in heads-up action.
It’s Watson’s tenth live tournament title of his career, and the $120,836 he bagged for the win tipped his total live earnings over the $12m mark. Although there were no red, white and blue flashing lights, Watson will be relieved with the win, his first since winning the 928-entrant PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event in 2016 for $728,325.
And ‘SirWatts’ defeated a solid End Boss in Michael O’Grady, who won the opening event of the Aussie Millions, defeating 867-entrants to collect the $130,365 first prize in the AUD 1,200 NLHE Accumulator.
Let’s see how Watson took it down the Gold Coast town.
The Nutshell Action
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Andras Nemeth – 615,000
Seat 2: Mike Watson – 1,355,000
Seat 3: Orpen Kisacikoglu – 1,100,000
Seat 4: Jamie Lee – 675,000
Seat 5: Michael O’Grady – 1,815,000
Seat 6: Benjamin Shannon – 400,000
The first person to feel like the deck had stuck a knife in his back was Andras Nemeth. The Hungarian made his last stand with the teeny-tiny looking deuces, and O’Grady called and hammered him with those giant-looking pocket aces.
Jamie Lee fell short before moving all-in holding jack-nine-suited, and Watson took him apart with ace-queen to create four-handed action. Orpen Kisacikoglu arrived in Sydney fresh off a third in the AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge at the Aussie Millions and put in another sharp showing finishing in fourth after an ill-timed bluff ran into Watson’s flush on the river.
The tournament slipped into the heads-up phase after Benjamin Shannon exited in third. Still, what a display from the man who arrived at the gate after winning two satellites (the first was AUD 250!). Shannon moved his little stack into the middle with ace-deuce, and O’Grady’s big stack gobbled him up with eight-four-suited.
Heads-Up
Watson had lost 13 of his 26 heads-up encounters, with a barrage of them happening in world-class events whereas O’Grady had won 16 of his 26 End Boss battles and was undefeated in his previous four match-ups.
According to the little we know gleaned from the Poker Central website, the final was entertaining. The chip lead moved from one stack to the other until Watson’s ace-queen finally battered the ace-eight of O’Grady into submission, and it was all over.
It’s the third time that Watson has won a live tournament on dirty Australian casino floors. In 2010, he won a 108-entrant AUD 1,150 NLHE event for $119,911, and in 2013 he won a 99-entrant AUD 2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha side event at the Aussie Millions for $76,010.
ITM Results
- Mike Watson – $120,836
- Michael O’Grady – $80,557
- Benjamin Shannon – $56,390
- Orpen Kisacikoglu – $40,279
- Jamie Lee – $32,223
- Andras Nemeth – $24,167
- Elio Fox – $20,139
- Ben Lamb – $16,111
- Lucas Greenwood – $12,084
Australian Poker Open Remaining Events
Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #3: 25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #4: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #6: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #7: $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em