Asia Pacific Poker Tour -- Victorino Torres Wins Macau Main EventTorres Defeats 341 Opponents to Win $416,000 and His First Major Tournament Title |
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The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau $40,000 HKD ($5,160 US) no-limit hold’em main event attracted a total of 342 players in China this past week and the total prize pool was $12,730,608 HKD (approximately US $1.63 million). The eventual champion of the tournament was Victorino Torres (pictured left), who walked away with $3,246,200 HKD (US $416,000).
“My whole experience here in Macau has been exceptional to say the least,” said Torres after the win. “PokerStars ran this tournament beyond belief. To every player, if you have the opportunity, come out here and play.”
Torres keeps a day-job as a trial lawyer, but his poker winnings will free him up for another favorite hobby. “I think I’ll spend a little more time on the farm now that I won. I love farming. I find it soothing, it’s relaxing, and it’s beneficial. I love it.”
The top 40 players made the money in the main event, and notable cashes included recent APPT Manila champion Binh Nguyen (13th place), Team PokerStars pro Marcel Luske (27th place), and Henrik Gwinner (29th place). The final table took place on May 23 when the final nine returned to decide who would walk away as an APPT champion. Here were the chip counts at the start of the final table:
Seat 1: Victorino Torres — 396,000
Seat 2: Kai Paulsen – -528,000
Seat 3: Jeppe Drivsholm — 1,223,000
Seat 4: Keith Hawkins — 174,000
Seat 5: Albert Kim — 436,000
Seat 6: Chong Cheong — 904,000
Seat 7: Cole Swannack — 1,262,000
Seat 8: Brian Green — 970,000
Seat 9: Kenny Nielsen — 791,000
Torres struck quickly at the final table when he eliminated Keith Hawkins in ninth place ($254,608 HKD) with pocket sevens in the hole. Albert Kim fell next in eighth place ($350,100 HKD), and once again the grim reaper was a pocket pair. This time it was a pair of eights held by Chong Cheong. The brisk pace at the final table continued when Kai Paulsen decided to move all in with K-7, only to discover that he was dominated by the A-K of Jeppe Drivsholm. An A-A-J extinguished all hope for Paulsen, who was eliminated in seventh place ($445,600 HKD).
Brian Green broke up a two-hour lull in the action when he decided to shove with 9-8 on an 8-5-2 board. Drivsholm held A-8 and won the hand after the board bricked out. Green was awarded $572,900 HKD in sixth place. A short time later, Kenny Nielsen moved all in preflop with A-8 and Torres was pretty much assured his second elimination punch when he made the call with A-9 in the hole. The J-9-8-10-6 board agreed, and Nielsen was knocked out of the tournament in fifth place, good for $700,000 HKD.
Drivsholm then doubled up to ensure a long battle for fourth place, during which, Torres made a full house against Cheong to even up their chip stacks at the top of the leader board. Fate caught up to Drivsholm when he decided to pin his tournament hopes on the K
and 5 in the hole. Torres made the call with A
7
and the board was dealt 10 6 2
J 8. Drivsholm then left in fourth place with $891,000 HKD. Cole Swannack had been cruising until three players remained, but he chose poorly when he moved all in for 900,000 with pocket deuces. That was because Cheong was waiting with pocket aces, eliminating Swannack in third place ($1,177,000 HKD).
Even with the elimination of Swannack under his belt, Cheong faced an uphill battle at the start of the heads-up final. He held 1.9 million against the 4.8 million of Torres, and things only got worse as Torres won the first six pots they played. Cheong was able to double up with kings up but that just took him back to where he had started the final match. The next time he moved all in would be his last.
He raised to 125,000 preflop and Torres made the call before a flop of J 10 9 hit the table. Torres checked and Cheong moved all in for 1.8 million. Torres made the call with 8 7 and Cheong held Q 6. The turn and river fell A and 7 and clinched the tournament win for Torres. Cheong was awarded $2,088,000 HKD as the runner up and Torres took home $3,426,200 HKD as the APPT Macau champion.
The next APPT event will take place in Auckland, New Zealand from Sept. 15-19.
+ Final-Table Results:+
1st: Victorino Torres, PokerStars Qualifier (USA) – $3,246,200
2nd: Chong Wing Cheong (Hong Kong) – $2,088,000
3rd: Cole Swannack, PokerStars Qualifier (New Zealand) – $1,177,600
4th: Jeppe Drivsholm (Denmark) – $891,000
5th: Kenny Nielsen, PokerStars Qualifier (Denmark) – $700,000
6th: Brian Green, PokerStars Qualifier (Costa Rica) – $572,900
7th: Kai Paulsen (Norway) – $445,600
8th: Albert Kim, PokerStars Player (USA) – $350,100
9th: Keith Hawkins (England) – $254,608
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