Minh Nguyen, an Australia-based poker player, topped the field of the A$1,150 Australian Poker Hall of Fame Classic, yet another thrilling event on the schedule of the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Nguyen emerged victorious over 95 other opponents to receive the first-place prize of A$24,950 and an exclusive Aussie Millions ring.
As already mentioned, the one-day tournament attracted a field of 96 entries to generate a prize pool of A$92,400. The top 10 finishers received payouts, with the lowest one worth A$2,770. By the time ten-handed play was reached, Nguyen had already emerged as the chip leader with 275,000 in chips.
South African Robert Fenner was the first to leave the tournament of all ten finalists. He was eliminated by Nguyen and his 10th place was good for A$2,770. Soon after, the eventual champion defeated English poker pro Jack Salter. The player took home A$3,695 for his 9th place.
Gary Benson, known to be among the first inductees in the Australian Poker Hall of Fame, took 8th place in the event. His payout amounted to A$4,620. Ukrainian Antonina Anapolska, one of the two female poker players at the final table, was then eliminated in 7th place by Linh Tran. She collected A$5,545 for her efforts.
Michael Accardo from Australia was another finalist to fall victim to Nguyen. He was eliminated in 6th place by the eventual champion to scoop A$6,470 of the prize pool. Roy Vandersluis was the next to leave. He received A$7,390 for his 5th place in the tournament.
Shortly after, Nguyen deprived yet another player of the chance to win the event. Fellow countryman Geoffrey Mooney hit the rail in 4th place for a payout of A$9,240. And the elimination of Tatjana Zizic from Serbia was the last one before the heads-up match between Nguyen and Vietnamese Lihn Tran. Zizic took home A$11,090 for her 3rd place.
Heads-up action lasted for a little less than two dozen hands and Nguyen won most of those. On what turned out to be the last hand in play, Tran had [Qh][5h] against his opponent’s [9d][8h]. The board ran out [10s][9s][3h][3s][4d]. Tran moved all in on the river and Nguyen called. The Vietnamese tossed his bluff to the middle of the table to see his opponent win the hand and the tournament. Tran scooped A$16,630 for his runner-up finish.
