“An amazing feeling!”
They were the words of our new Aussie Millions champion Ari Engel.
“I’m kind of speechless.”
His supporters on the rail cheered and applauded as Engel was awarded his Aussie Millions gold bracelet and $1,600,000!
Engel overcame Tony Dunst in an epic heads up clash that saw the chips pushed back and forward for over four hours.
In the final hand it was an overbet river jam that got the job done. The hand began with Dunst raising on the button to 325,000 holding A♣ 4♣ and Engel three-betting to 925,000 with J♠7♣ from the big blind.
Dunst made the call and the flop landed 10♠4♦ 2♥ . Engel continued for 825,000 and Dunst made the call to see the dealer turn the J♣ .
Engel barrelled again, this time for 1,650,000, and Dunst made a quick call before the 9♦ arrived on the river. That was when Engel emptied the clip with an overbet jam to cover Dunst’s last 6,100,000.
“Wow” Dunst said to himself after a couple minutes in the tank. He ultimately committed to a call with just a pair of fours but saw he’d been bested when Engel tabled his top pair.
Before Engel went head to head with Dunst he had to navigate his way through a tough final table. Initially seven handed, it would take around four and a half hours for the other five to fall.
First to go was John Apostolidis. He got a jam through with pocket jacks in the very first hand but was eliminated shortly after by Samantha Abernathy. The two were flipping after getting the money in preflop, with Apostolidis holding A♥ K♣ and Abernathy holding Qâ™ Q♥ . Apostolidis couldn’t improve on the 5♦ J♦ 8♣ 4♥ 7♣ run out and found the exit.
Sixth place went to Kitty Kuo after she ended up on the wrong side of a coinflip. Kuo was all in preflop with Aâ™ J♦ against Ari Engel’s 9♥ 9♦ but she couldn’t find any help as the board came down 7â™ 4♦ Q♣ Qâ™ 6♣ . She went home with $270,000.
Dylan Honeyman was out in fifth in a brutal fashion. While he was flipping preflop holding J♥ Jâ™ against Tony Dunst’s A♦ K♦ Honeyman flopped top set when the 10♥ J♦ 3♣ appeared. The K♣ turned and just needing to fade a queen to stay alive, Honeyman couldn’t do it as the Qâ™ rolled off.
Next out the door was the last Australian in the field Alex Lynskey. He’d been nursing a short stack for a while and eventually ran A♥ 7♥ into Engel’s A♣ A♦ . Lynskey couldn’t catch a miracle on the 6♣ Qâ™ 5♦ 2â™ 7â™ run out and he left us in fourth place.
Then it was time up for Samantha Abernathy. She too had been on the short stack and moved in with 10♥ 8♦ from the small blind. Engel woke up with A♥ 9♦ and made the call. The 9♣ A♣ J♦ flop gave Engel top two pair but Abernathy was still live with an open ended straight draw. It wouldn’t complete however as the J♥ and 8â™ completed the board. Abernathy scored $625,000 for the best result of any female player in Aussie Millions history.
2016 Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table Results
1st: Ari Engel (Canada) – $1,600,000
2nd: Tony Dunst (USA) – $1,000,000
3rd: Samantha Abernathy (USA) – $625,000
4th: Alex Lynskey (Australia) – $445,000
5th: Dylan Honeyman (Australia) – $340,000
6th: Kitty Kuo (Taiwan) – $270,000
7th: John Apostolidis (Australia) – $210,000
All amounts in AUD
Congratulations to Ari!
He overcame a field of 732 to take home $1,600,000 and etch his name in poker history.
Congratulations also go to the team at Crown Poker and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour for hosting another prestigious and hugely successful tournament.
That’s all for the Main Event but the Aussie Millions series hasn’t wrapped up just yet. Our coverage will continue Monday from 2:30pm local time for the exciting conclusion of the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge. We hope you can join us then!
