In 2013, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) further expanded its horizons as it traveled to Australia and the inaugural WSOP Asia Pacific Festival at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Famed for hosting the Aussie Millions, the venue was perfect for welcoming large crowds to Australasia in pursuit of WSOP gold. The inaugural Main Event saw one of the world’s best poker players and the biggest name in the game take the title.
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Americans Kick Off Festival with Gold Standard
For the first time, the WSOP was played Down Under, and players and fans alike loved it. With five bracelet events, including some team tournaments, with fun for everyone along the way. The series, which ran between April 4th and 15th, 2013, opened with the A$1,100 No Limit Hold’em Accumulator event, which had an astonishing 1,085 entrants in total.
Just 90 players would make the money, and although the bulk of the players were Australian, stars such as American Barry Greenstein (75th for A$2,669), Canada’s Michael Watson (44th for A$3,841) and the record holder for WSOP bracelets, Phil Hellmuth Jr. (20th for A$9,049) all came close to glory.
At the final table, players such as Jeremy Ausmus (fifth for A$54,337), the 2010 WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel (fourth for A$71,870), and last Aussie standing Jonathan Karamalikis (second for A$130,743) all came close, but it was American Bryan Piccoli who claimed the victory as the first bracelet winner in Australia, earning A$211,575 as a reward for the efforts.
The second bracelet event took place in Pot Limit Omaha and cost A$1,650 to play. It was also won by a player from the United States. Jim Collopy, now a fixture on the high roller scene and as respected in PLO as he is in No Limit Hold’em, took the title for A$69,662. There were three North Americans at the final table, as Canadian Mike Leah (seventh for A$9,923) and Dan Shak (fifth for A$16,940) both came close to winning WSOP gold.
Ivey Wins Mixed Bracelet
Phil Ivey is a World Series of Poker legend. The American, who was known as ‘No Home Jerome’ for his dedication to the poker felt in his very early years, has won 11 WSOP bracelets in a glittering career that sees him second on the all-time WSOP bracelet list, behind only Phil Hellmuth. Ivey’s ninth bracelet came in Event #3 of the 2013 WSOP-A festival when he won the A$2,200 Mixed Event.
At the final table, Ivey beat the future WSOP Player of the Year, Robert Campbell (fifth for A$12,020), Canada’s finest, Daniel Negreanu (fourth for A$16,336), and heads-up, Brandon Wong, as Ivey’s fellow American came second for A$32,039. Ivey’s victory was worth A$51,840 – barely a buy-in at the cash games he’s famed for playing – but the prestige was priceless.
In the next event, a A$5,000 NLHE 6-Max, Aaron Lim finally won a bracelet for an Australian in Australia. The final six players all hailed from Australia itself. After a spate of exits for foreign players Dominik Nitsche (10th for $19,940), Binh Nguyen (eighth for A$27,772) and British player Jason Gray (seventh for the same amount), Lim beat fellow Aussie Hun Lee heads-up to claim his first WSOP bracelet and the A$233,800 top prize.
The Great Show Down Under
With a High Roller event, the Caesars Cup tournament—neither of which would award a bracelet—and the Main Event still to be played, the remaining events were televised on ESPN Australia. Vegas favorites Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, along with sideline reporter Lynn Gilmartin, provided commentary.
There was a A$50,000-entry High Roller No Limit Hold’em next, with 44 entries and a top prize of A$825,000. Six different countries were represented at the felt among the final 6 players. British player Tom Hall was the first out, min-cashing for A$115,000 in sixth place, before a poker legend in the making, Elton Tsang, busted in fifth for A$155,000. Macau player Lo Fung finished fourth for A$225,000, before Malaysian businessman and emerging poker industry legend Paul Phua took third for $325,000 in the pre-Triton Poker days.
Heads-up, American Joseph Cheong was going for his first WSOP bracelet, but he was beaten to the gold by the German player Philipp Gruissem. The European winner was the first to take a WSOP title in Australia from his continent as Cheong was forced to accept the A$511,000 runner-prize after another near-miss.
Team Europe Flys High in Caesars Cup
As the Crown Casino in Melbourne prepared for the Main Event, an entertaining team event took place, albeit not for a bracelet. Team Europe, led by Sam Trickett, England’s most successful player of all time at that stage, thanks in no small part to his Big One for One Drop runner-up score of $10 million, faced off against Team APAC’s captain, the 2005 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem. With Team Americas, already in the final due to their retention of the trophy, featuring a loaded lineup of Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiaru, Phil Hellmuth, and the reigning world champion Greg Merson awaited the winners.
In the battle between Europe’s finest and the Australasian poker legends, it was Trickett’s team who came out on top. After Phil Gruissem and Marvin Rettenmaier beat Hachem and Richard Yong, Jackie Glazier and the late Shane Warne equalized, getting the better of English duo Sam Trickett and Sam Holden. In the final hand, Glazier shoved it with aces, and Holden called it off with pocket fives. No help came on the board, meaning it was all square when going into the final showdown in the best-of-three match.
The final match saw Dominik Nitsche take on Jeff Lisandro for progression. After doubling through Lisandro with worse cards, Nitsche won when ahead in chips with the dominated queen-six of spades, which made a runner-runner flush to topple the Aussie’s queen-jack of diamonds.
Europe moved on to the final, and the first match saw doubles team Negreanu and Esfandiari take on Trickett and Nitsche. Esfandiari would face Trickett just a year after having beaten him to The Big One for One Drop’s bracelet and $18.3m top prize. Nitsche won a final flip against Negreanu to take it for Europe, but America equalized soon after when the Phils, Hellmuth and Ivey, beat Rettenmaier and Gruissem with comparative ease.
The final match-up would decide the Caesars Cup and the world champion Greg Merson took on Sam Holden, who had also made it to a WSOP Main Event final table only to fall in ninth. The Englishman proved superior; however, rivering a full house to take control of the match and finishing it with pocket eights holding against Merson’s queen-four to give Team Europe the title.
The Main Man Takes Main Event Gold
The first-ever WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event was truly a tournament to remember, with 405 entries and a A$1.03 million top prize… as well as the first ever WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event bracelet. The event, costing A$10,000, had a total prize pool of A$3,847,500 and paid 40 places.
After well known pros such as Erik Seidel (39th for A$20,392), Joe Cheong (32nd for A$22,316), Antonio Esfandiari (9th for $65,408) fell by the wayside, eight players made the final table. Russell Thomas was the last American to bust, leaving in eighth place for A$82,721 before Mikel Habb followed him in seventh for A$107,730. German player Benny Spindler had become a major player on the European scene but fell in sixth for A$146,205 after losing a massive pot to the dominating Daniel Negreanu. Exits for emerging Aussie talent Kahle Burns (fifth for A$201,994), George Tsatsis (fourth for A$284,715) and Winfred Yu (third for A$423,225) followed, leaving Negreanu with a 10:1 chip lead. Incredibly, Marton managed to double up not once but twice, and ‘Kid Poker’ was left to sweat as his lead was significantly diminished. Eventually, Negreanu got it in with pocket deuces and a bigger stack, as Marton needed to hit with ace-seven. A board of K-J-6-T-4 ended the event in the Canadian’s favor, and his triumphant moment was sealed.
In winning the 2013 WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event, Negreanu became the first player ever to win bracelets in America and Australia. Not only that, but he went on to win his sixth bracelet soon after, which preceded an 11-year drought in bracelet terms. Kid Poker also became the first player to ever earn WSOP Player of the Year honors twice.
“A million dollars doesn’t suck either!” Negreanu said after winning at the Crown. Kid Poker had become the King Down Under.
| Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | A$1,038,825 |
| 2nd | Daniel Marton | Australia | A$537,911 |
| 3rd | Winfred Yu | Canada | A$423,225 |
| 4th | George Tsatsis | Australia | A$284,715 |
| 5th | Kahle Burns | Australia | A$201,994 |
| 6th | Benny Spindler | Germany | A$146,205 |
| 7th | Mikel Habb | Australia | A$107,730 |
| 8th | Russell Thomas | United States | A$82,721 |
| 9th | Antonio Esfandiari | United States | A$65,408 |
2024 WSOP Europe 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.