The Aussie player turns $8,000 into $550,000 after outlasting 559 others
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event was the most recent big-money tournament to run in Australia. Six hundred players paid the $8,000 buy-in, culminating in six players reaching the final table, hoping to win the top prize of over $500,000. Richard Lee was the last man standing, putting his name on one of poker’s biggest achievements, the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
On the final day of the WPT Australia festival, Lee would earn the top prize of AUD854,890 (US$554,311), plus a $10,400 buy-in for the WPT World Championship. Frenchman Romain Morvan held the chip lead when final table play began, but his stack of 75 big blinds was just ahead of Australian Martin Kozlov, who had 66 big blinds.
Chinese player Gary Lin was third with 55 big blinds, Lee held 46 big blinds and Nino Marotta had 43 big blinds. Ken Demlakian was the short stack with 20 big blinds. Demlakian would go home in sixth place for $114,300 after being knocked out by Kozlov after about 30 hands.
Morvan would be the next to go out when his pair of 7s ran into Lee’s queen-high straight, collecting $149,800 for fifth place. Lee would eliminate Gary Lin after his pocket jacks bested Lin’s pocket nines, sending him to the rail in fourth place for $198,600. Marotta scored his biggest career cash in third place for $266,400 after going all-in with pocket 3s against Kozlov’s A-K offsuit, getting no help as his opponent paired his aces on the river.
Heads-up play began with Lee in the chip lead, and on the final table’s 95th hand, Lee would send Kozlov home in second place for $360,250, adding his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
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