Malaysia's Junzhong Loo Wins 2014 WSOP APAC Event#2
October 7, 2014 12:08 pmJunzhong “Jay” Loo has become the first Malaysian player ever to win a WSOP title, after overcoming a field of 215 entrants at WSOP APAC Event #2: AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em to capture a prestigious gold bracelet, and take home a first place prize worth $107,500. Following his historic victory, Loo said:
“It means a lot, but I told myself that I can’t give up poker until I win something. I really worked hard for the past three months and then I got lucky today.”
By the time the final table had been reached on Day 3, Junzhong Loo was in second chip position overall. Loo (10-10) then eliminated a short-stacked Sam Ruha (2-2) in 7th for $15,867, before being dealt 9-9 and doing likewise to Sam Ngai (Q-J) in 6th for $20,490.
A little while later, Junzhong Loo (K-10) sent Martin Kozlov (K-9) to the rail in 4th ($35,763), and then Luke Spano in 3rd ($48,358) to herald in heads-up play against fellow Malaysian player Aik Chuan Nee for the title.
As the final battle commenced, Loo held a 932k to 358k chip lead over Nee, and 50 hands later the deciding hand was played with both Loo (6-6) and Nee (2-2) all-in preflop. The dealer subsequently put out a 5-4-3-8-8 board to secure Junzhong Loo the gold winner’s bracelet, and consign Aik-Chuan Nee to a runner-up finish worth $66,444. Commenting on his heads-up battle, Loo, said:
“It means a lot. It felt good [to play heads-up against another Malaysian]. It took away the stress. I didn’t mind if he won – we’ve played many times. In fact, I taught him how to play poker. I’m more of a cash game player, so I’m not that experienced in tournaments.”
Final Table Results:
1st Junzhong Loo – $107,500
2nd Aik-Chuan Nee – $66,444
3rd Luke Spano – $48,358
4th Martin Kozlov – $35,763
5th Peco Stojanovski – $26,862
6th Sam Ngai – $20,490
7th Sam Ruha – $15,867
8th Feng Zhou – $12,470
9th Michael O’Grady – $9,946