Alex Antonios Wins WSOP APAC Event #7 for AU$128,784
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On Saturday, all eyes were on Phil Hellmuth as he went for his 14th bracelet in Event #7: AU$2,200 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em at the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific. However, poker history would have to wait as the “Poker Brat” exited in fourth place. Instead, the day belonged to Australia’s Alexander “AJ” Antonios, who topped a field of 243 players to win the AU$128,784 first-place prize and coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
The final six players took their seats at midday. After just eight hours of play, Antonios, who plays cash games in Sydney, emerged as the last man standing. The first elimination of the day came early when Bruno Politano, who is a member of this year’s November Nine, got his short stack all in on Hand #7 of the final table. He was ahead with 
, but found himself racing against the 
of Hellmuth. Politano survived the flop, but a king on the turn gave Hellmuth the lead. Politano would miss the river and had to settle for sixth place and AU$19,809 in prize money.
Five-handed play lasted a long time, but eventually Yu Kurita four-bet jammed pocket jacks and found herself racing against Michael Tran’s 
on Hand #69 of the final table. An ace on the flop was a dagger through Kurita’s heart, and by the time the board ran out, Tran had made a full house to send Kurita back to Japan in fifth place with AU$27,624.
Hellmuth would fall 34 hands later when he moved his last 72,000 all in preflop holding the 
and was called by Tran’s 
. Hellmuth was flipping, but the proverbial coin did not come down in his favor as the board ran out a dry 
. Hellmuth was denied his record 14th bracelet and instead had to settle for fourth place and AU$38,909 in prize money.
After more than three hours of three-handed play, action heated up on Hand #202 of the final table when Steven Zhou raised to 25,000 on the button, and Antonios called from the small blind. Tran came along from the big blind, and all three players saw a flop of 
. Two checks saw Zhou continue for 32,000, and then Antonios woke up with a big check-raise to 107,000. Tran quickly folded, and Zhou snap-shoved for 341,000.
Antonios let an expletive slip his lips before asking for a count. After a minute, he dropped in some chips to create a monster pot.
Antonios: 
Zhou: 
Zhou was ahead with a pair of kings, but Antonios was drawing to a flush in addition to his ace. The 
turn have Antonios added straight outs, but it'd be the river that would give him the win. The river sent Zhou home in third place for AU$79,646, while Antonios took a 6-1 chip lead into heads-up play.
It took 23 more hands for Antonios to seal the deal, but eventually he did so when his held up against Tran’s 
in an all-in preflop confrontation.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Player (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Antonios | $128,784 |
| 2 | Michael Tran | $79,646 |
| 3 | Steven Zhou | $55,365 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | $38,909 |
| 5 | Yu Kurita | $27,624 |
| 6 | Bruno Politano | $19,809 |
Congratulations to Alex Antonios on winning the 2014 WSOP APAC Event #7: $AU$2,200 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em for AU$128,784 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.