New Zealand’s ‘Brotha D’ Wins APPT Auckland

As co-founder of Dawn Raid Entertainment, the South Pacific region’s No. 1 hip-hop record label, Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii knows a thing or two about introducing new talent into the spotlight.

On Sunday, the spotlight was on Brotha D. Standing out in a field of 218 players, Brotha D went on to win the third annual PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour main event in Auckland, New Zealand.

The NZD $3,000 buy-in main event kicked off on September 15, and on the fifth day of play the 40-year-old New Zealand native found himself heads up against Tom Grigg of Australia for the tournament title. The two were nearly even in chips to start, but after some back and forth action Brotha D recorded the biggest win of his poker career, earning NZD $170,000 of the NZD $654,000 prize pool.

Here is a look at the chip counts when the final table began:

Tamas Lendvai — 472,000
Santi Soriano Ramos — 347,000

Noah Vogelman — 576,000
Tom Grigg — 616,000

Ropati Toleafoa — 163,000

Danny Silk — 250,000
Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii — 636,000

Leo Boxell — 194,000
Srdjan Mitrovic — 632,000

The first elimination of the final table came as a result of a bad beat. Leo Boxell got all in with pocket aces, only to be outdrawn by Danny Silk’s AK. The board ran K65K3 and Boxell was gone in 9th place (NZD $16,350).

Next to be eliminated was Noah Vogelman, who was the tournament’s day 1 chip leader. With an ace-high board showing, Vogelman moved in with his A5 and was well behind the AQ of Tom Grigg. Vogelman was eliminated in 8th place, taking home NZD $21,250, and Grigg exploded into the chip lead.

Soriano Ramos (NZD $27,800) and Kiwi Ropati Toleafoa (NZD $34,300) busted in 7th and 6th place, before a major clash occurred between Grigg and Tamas Lendvai. Grigg held A8 and called Lendvai’s all in preflop. Lendvai showed K3 and failed to improve on a 1062QA board, busting in 5th place (NZD $40,900).

With four players remaining, Brotha D got busy. He called Danny Silk’s all in bet and saw that his A7 was leading Silk’s K6. Silk hit a king, but an ace also fell to give Brotha D the pot, knocking Silk out in 4th place (NZD $49,050).
Next, the heads-up participants were decided when Srdjan Mitrovic moved all in with 98 and was called by Grigg, holding A8. Grigg’s hand held, and Mitrovic was gone in 3rd place (NZD $60,500).

The final hand came after a long, back and forth heads-up battle. Brotha D raised to 160,000 preflop and Grigg re-raised all in for his last 880,000. Brotha D called and showed AK. Grigg showed J10 and needed help. The board ran 9436Q and Brotha D took down the APPT Auckland title, along with NZD $170,000.

Final Table Results (in NZD):

1st: Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii – $170,000
2nd: Tom Grigg – $107,900
3rd: Srdjan Mitrovic – $60,500
4th: Danny Silk – $49,050
5th: Tamas Lendvai – $40,900
6th: Ropati Toleafoa – $34,300
7th: Santi Soriano Ramos – $27,800
8th: Noah Vogelman – $21,250
9th: Leo Boxell – $16,350

The next Asia Pacific Poker Tour event is APPT Cebu, scheduled for November 12-16 in the Philippines.

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