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Elliot Smith Wins 2017 PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event

Canadian Pro Tops Field of 536 To Win $374,075 After Marathon Heads-Up Battle

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The first ever PokerStars Championship Macau series is now officially in the books. The centerpiece of the whole affair was the $42,400 HKD ($5,457 USD) no-limit hold’em main event, which drew 536 entrants to build a prize pool equivalent to more than $2.6 million. In the end Canadian poker pro Elliot Smith emerged victorious with the title and the top payout of $374,075 USD.

“I’m very excited, it’s an accomplishment not many people get to achieve,” said Smith after coming out on top. “I’m super, super happy.”

Smith was the chip leader with six players remaining and survived to heads-up play against Chinese poker pro Tianyuan Tang “Terry” Tang. The two agreed to an even chop of the remaining prize pool, aside from $300,000 HKD that was set aside for the eventual champion. Playing from six down to two players had taken only roughly two hours. It took another 11 hours until a winner was decided.

Smith and Tang played more than 260 hands, and in the end it came down to a classic race situation with Tang all-in holding pocket sixes against Smith’s ADiamond SuitKSpade Suit. Incredibly, Tang hit a set on a 9Spade Suit7Heart Suit6Spade Suit flop to take a huge lead in the hand, but Smith picked up a flush draw after the 2Spade Suit hit the turn. The 3Spade Suit on the river filled Smith’s flush, earning him the pot and the title.

Tang took home $2,577,500 HJD ($335,075 USD) as the runner up.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Elliot Smith $374,075 1680
2 Terry Tianyuan Tang $335,075 1400
3 Daniel Laidlaw $224,120 1120
4 Avraham Oziel $166,400 840
5 Aymon Hata $123,500 700
6 Pete Yen Han Chen $91,650 560
7 Yan Li $67,730 420
8 Xuan Tan $50,180 280
9 Fabrice Soulier $50,180 140