The Poker Masters attracts players from all four corners of the globe. The lure of playing for big money and against the world’s elite grinders is extremely strong.
Two more $10,300 buy-in Poker Masters events crowned their champions last night. Both those champions hail from sunny Australia, although both now reside elsewhere. Who as the Aussie one-two? Let’s find out.
Poker Masters #10: $500K Gtd NLHE 8-Max
$500,000 was guaranteed to be won in Event #10 but 119-entries meant $1,190,000 was shared out. The top 16 finishers grabbed a slice of that ample pie. Spare a though for Finland’s Pauli Ayras, however, as he fell in 17th place, the last player to head home empty-handed.
Such luminaries as Chris Hunichen, Mike Watson, Timothy Adams, Thomas Muehloecker, and Ben Heath made it into the money places but fell short of final table appearance.
Vicent Bosca Ramon was the first finalist to bust. Eighth-place yielded $38,675. Ramon was joined on the rail by Edwin Villalobos Amaya and Wiktor Malinowski, the latter’s sixth-place resulting in a $59,500 score.
Joao Vieira collected $77,350 for his fifth-place exit before Austria-based Italian Gianluca Speranza secured the first six-figure prize of the tournament, namely $104,125.
Heads-up was set when Eelis Parssinen crashed out in third for $148,750. This left Dutchman Luuk Gieles and Australia’s Kahle Burns, playing from Mexico, as the only players in the hunt for the $291,550 top prize.
Burns has been in incredible form for the past 18-months or so, meaning it wasn’t a surprise to see him as the last player standing. Burns added another $291,550 to his ever-growing bankroll while Gieles consoled himself with a wallet-filling $208,250.
Poker Masters #11: $500K Gtd NLHE 6-Max
The second Poker Masters event on April 16 also had a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, but the top 12 finishers fought tooth and nail for their share of $940,000.
Ben Heath, who won his first WSOP bracelet last summer in a $50,000 buy-in event, exited in 13th and burst the bubble. Heath’s elimination paved the way for Talal Shakerchi, Luuk Gieles, and Jake Schindler to cash, the latter falling in seventh-place for $30,550.
Belarus’ Aliaksandr Hirs was the first finalist to collect some prize money, namely $39,950. Justin Bonomo followed suit ($58,750) before Cyprus’ Yahia Fahmy ($82,250) crashed out.
UK-based Dutchman Jorryt Van Hoof saw his tournament end in third-place for $112,800, leaving Chris Hunichen and Michael Addamo (lead image) to battle it out for the top prize of almost $300,000.
Both players are hugely experienced and have clashed dozens of times in major tournament. It was Addamo who came out with bragging rights, and $294,037, this time around. Hunichen, although disappointed not to win, walked away with $183,300. No doubt we’ll see both players deep in Poker Masters events this weekend and throughout the remainder of the series.
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