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November 21st 2006
Tony G becomes first Asian Poker Tour champion
The first ever major poker tournament to take place in the Far East, the Betfair Asian Poker Tour (BAPT) event from Singapore, drew to a conclusion last Friday with a final table that was beyond all expectations.
The BAPT was a huge success from Day One, when 313 players, including poker pros Tony G, Lee Nelson, John Phan and Liz Lieu, coughed up the $5000 buy-in to create a prize pool in excess of $1.5 million,
After three days of intense poker the field had been whittled down to ten, and a final table that could not have been better if it had been hand picked, was set for action.
From a pool of just four truly recognisable players both Tony G and Lee Nelson (the 2006 Aussie Millions winner) had made the final, both with a reasonable stash of chips. Alongside them, and sending the crowd into a frenzy, were two local Singaporeans, Neil Yong and Josh Ang. Just 11 local players entered the tournament, so the success of Yong and Ang was remarkable. Along with a good mix of European players the scene was set for an exciting last hurrah.
Unfortunately for the home favourite Neil Yong, it was a short, and probably bitter sweet experience. He began the day with a shortstack and needed to make a move with the first decent hand he got. It was just bad luck that someone woke up with pocket jacks when he moved all-in with A-T. An ace on the flop sent the crowd into a collective hysteria, but a jack on the turn killed the optimism and ensured Yong was the first player sent to the rail.
Among other things this tournament had been characterised by an excellent structure that meant skill, and not luck, was the prevailing factor. It was no surprise then that with just four players remaining on the final table both Tony G and Lee Nelson were still involved, while Samuel Lehtonen, the chip leader from the start, and Josh Ang, the only remaining Singaporean, were also still in contention. Of the four it was Lehtonen who hit the rail first, haemorrhaging chips when play became four handed before slipping out altogether.
Next to go was Lee Nelson, apparently much to Tony G’s relief. The “mouth from down under” had stated prior to the tournament that Nelson was the player he respected most and after the penultimate day’s play Tony G admitted that he simply couldn’t live with his fellow Australian, and only regained control after Nelson had been moved to a different table.
With Nelson out Tony G went head to head with local player Josh Ang in a heads-up battle the producers must have had wet dreams about. In the end Tony proved too strong for Ang, and dealt the killer blow when he hit a pair on the flop with T-6, and Ang put all his chips in with A-J, missing both his outs.
Tony G was already a popular player in this part of the world, and even before he wore a kimono on the WPT Bad Boys of Poker he had been working towards promoting Asian poker. This victory did no harm to that cause, and neither did his extraordinary behaviour afterwards, when he handed the winners trophy to Josh Ang (saying it should remain in Singapore) and pledged 50% of his substantial winnings to Asian and Australian charities.
The final positions and payouts are listed below:
Tony Guoga (Aus) - $451,700
Joshua Ang (Sing) - $233,200
Lee Nelson (Aus) - $116,600
Samuel Lehtonen (Swe) - $102,000
Jeff Kimber (UK) - $87,400
Mark Whent - $72,900
Hans Vogl - $58,306
Hendrik Dahlgaard - $43,700
Brendan Walls - $29,200
Neil Yong $17,500
Submitted: 21/11/2006 10:01:27
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