The relatively unknown poker player Alex Antonios did not let Phil Hellmuth to take his 14th win in a World Series of Poker bracelet. The Event #7: AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max had an interesting turn-around, which many surely did not expect.
There was no doubt that after Antonios occupied the 1st place, many gambling media agencies had to change their first page headlines which were ready to praise Hellmuth. If he had won the bracelet, he would have gotten his 108th cash out and more than 50 final table participations. Alas, Antonios had something else in mind.
As the participation in the WSOP-APAC was relatively low, the chance for getting another trophy win was pretty high – that is a thought Hellmuth has on his mind.
The poker veteran shared on his twitter that he had slept thirteen hours before the event and was feeling fresh and ready. Yet in a succession of unlucky hands and a few bad plays on his side as well, he was doomed to go down early. At the final table Hellmuth took the 4th place winning less than AU$40,000.
Despite having a few opportunities to get a chip lead ahead of Chan, Ivey or Brunson, Hellmuth was nonetheless out flipped by the poker player who took the 2nd place – Michael Tran. Tran took home close to AU$80,00. If he had won the event, he would have had his 9th cash out for this year.
It is amazing that Antonios managed to win the WSOP-APAC as there were quite a few well-known names who took their chances at the tourney. The Brazilian player Bruno Politano also made an appearance, alas unsuccessful. He has recently made a deal with 888Poker and signed a contract with them. In order to understand the level he is at it is only needed to mention that his third cash out was for $730k.
Antonios is originally from Sydney and the price of AU$128,000 is the biggest one he had won so far. After winning the event, he showed strong character and his opinion of Hellmuth amazed many: “he has a certain style and he’s got to where he is because of that style and he really hangs in there. He’s also really good against fish.”
He continued by saying that despite Hellmuth being strong on his own, he would not withstand the pressure while facing eight other players at the final table. This statement is questionable, as Hellmuth has a lot of wins in WSOP bracelets behind his back. Maybe Antonios got drifted away by the victory.
Whatever his attitude may be, he won the event by going in an 8-hour battle against third spot holder Steven Zhou, the only player who had a chip lead ahead of Antonios on the first day of the event.
