On Sunday, the final 7 players of a starting field of 732 (the fourth largest Main Event in Aussie Millions history) returned to the Crown Poker Room to battle it out on the final table. Not less than three Australians and two women made the final table this year but after 92 hands of play the biggest stars, Ari Engel from Canada and Tony Dunst from USA, were playing heads-up for the title!
Dunst, perhaps best known as one of the hosts of the World Poker Tour, had the lead when the duel started but the chip lead changed several times over the next couple of hours (the battle lasted for 123 hands). The two were about even around the scheduled 45-minute dinner break, but when they returned it didn't take long for Ari Engel to eliminate Dunst in second place.
According to PokerNews, two key hands after the dinner break gave Ari Engel the win. First, he called Dunst's five-high bluff with a pair of fours. Funnily enough Dunst then attempted to make a similar hero call (with a pair of fours) but was beaten by Engel's top pair.
Final table results:
1. Ari Engel, Canada, $1,600,000
2. Tony Dunst, USA, $1,000,000
3. Samantha Abernathy, USA, $625,000
4. Alexander Lynskey, Australia, $445,000
5. Dylan Honeyman, Australia, $340,000
6. Kitty KuoChinese , Taipei, $270,000
7. John Apostolidis, Australia, $210,000
