Australia’s Alex Antonios Wins 2014 WSOP APAC Event #7

Australia is continuing to dominate this year’s World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, and with Alex Antonios’ latest victory at $2,200 NLHE 6 Max (Event#7) the country has now made it 5 bracelets from 8 tournaments. In total, Australia boasts a total of 20 gold bracelets, putting it in 5th place overall behind the USA (936), Canada (46), England (30), and Germany (21).
WSOP APAC Event #7 attracted a field of 243 players to create a prize pool worth A$486,000, and after three days of action the country’s latest champ, Alex Antonios, overcame a final table  which included 13-times WSOP winner Phil Hellmuth to claim the title, as well as the A$128,784 (US$113,173) first place prize.
Following his impressive win Antonios, who now boasts $212,282 in live tournament winnings, commented: “I just stumbled upon a bracelet. And a lot of people dedicate their entire lives to winning bracelets. I definitely ran good and got in a good spot there at the end.”
After the final table got underway, Phil Hellmuth (A-K) eliminated Bruno Politano (Q-Q) in 6th ($17,435), and nearly 2.5 hours later Michael Tran (A-K) did likewise to Yu Kurita (J-J) in 5th for $24,314.
Michael Tran (4-4) followed up by sending Phil Hellmuth (A-7) to the rail in 4th ($34,247), and after Alex Antonios (A-2) took care of Steven Zhou (K-9) in 3rd ($48,731), the heads-up phase of the competition got underway between Antonios and Tran for the title.
As the final showdown commenced, Antonios held a 7.5-1 chip advantage over his remaining competitor and just 30 minutes later it was all over after a short-stacked Tran moved all-in with 10-9 and was called by Antonios with K-4. The Q-7-6-7-3 ended Michael Tran’s bracelet hopes, but he did pick up $70,103 in winnings, while Alex Antonios was crowned the champion. The Aussie also indicated his victory was all the more memorable for having had WSOP legend Phil Hellmuth at the final table, commenting:
“Phil’s definitely the type of person you want to mess with, and you want to get him in those spots. In the end I didn’t get to bust him, and you want to be the one to bust him. So in that regard, I’m not satisfied. But I don’t take pleasure in denying him his 14th bracelet. If I was heads-up with him and I denied him, then it would be good for me and I would be satisfied. Sometimes you feel sorry for Phil in a way. He dedicates his life to winning bracelets and he definitely wanted it more than anyone at the table.”
Final Table Results:
1 Alex Antonios – $113,353
2 Michael Tran – $70,103
3 Steven Zhou – $48,731
4 Phil Hellmuth – $34,247
5 Yu Kurita – $24,314
6 Bruno Politano – $17,435