The poker action down under is now over until next year and we have results from the main event. Before we talk about the results in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event I wanted to talk about some of the other results. Phil Ivey managed to pick up a gold ring in Melbourne, as he won 1st place in the $250K Super High Rollers tournament. Ivey may have won the tournament, but he has lost the support from many poker fans due to the Full Tilt Poker mess that’s still not settled.
Ivey made a deep run in the main event as well at the Aussie Millions, but he finished in 12th place. Only the top 7 players made the final table in the main event and none of the players were well-known pros. Oliver Speidel managed to outlast everyone to claim the title in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event. This is now the 2nd year in a row that the main event was won by a local. Speidel lives in Melbourne and he had an incredible run this year that will be next to impossible to match ever again.
The final table took just over 7 hours to finish and that’s extremely quick. The action started off quickly with Speidel eliminating Dion from the final table with his pocket queens against Dion’s pocket sevens. By the time the main event was down to just two players Speidel was in control of most of the chips. Kenneth Wong was still alive, but the odds were against him. Wong won a few quick hands to narrow the chip gap slightly, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Speidel seemed to run into a hand during the entire 2012 Aussie Millions and when he needed a hand the most he got it. In the last hand of the tournament Speidel put Wong all-in after a 6-bet preflop. Wong flipped over pocket nines, but it wasn’t a match for Oliver’s pocket aces. The board didn’t help Wong and Speidel won the tournament with his pocket aces. The entire crowd went crazy when Speidel pulled off the victory, as the local was the hometown favourite the entire night.
Speidel pocket $1.6M for winning the main event, but that wasn’t all he won at the 2012 Aussie Millions. Speidel also cashed in two other tournaments at this year’s Aussie Millions including a 2nd and 6th place finish. Speidel already had a great Aussie Millions before the main event, but winning the tournament had to be a great feeling for the local poker player. It isn’t everyday that you get the chance to play for $1.6M in front of a room full of fans that are cheering you on.
2012 Aussie Millions Results (Prizes in AUD)
• 1st Place – Oliver Speidel $1,600,000
• 2nd Place – Kenneth Wong $1,000,000
• 3rd Place – Mile Krstanoski $610,000
• 4th Place – Mohamad Kowssarie $405,000
• 5th Place – Patrick Healy $300,000
• 6th Place – Bjorn Li $230,000
• 7th Place – Yann Dion $170,000
