Martin Kozolov became the 12th Australian national in history to win a bracelet after outlasting an extremely tough 294 player-field over three days of play in the $10,000 buy-in Six Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship! Kozolov topped a final table that included four former bracelet winners: David Kitai (3 wins), Justin Bonomo (1 win), Chris Ferguson (5 wins), and Nick Petrangelo (1 win).
"Winning this tournament is very satisfying," Kozlov said. "It's tough. It's prestigious. It's some of the best players out there."
In the final hand, in the fourth hour of play when three-handed, Bonomo (9-9) and Kitai (6-6) were all in, and Kozlov had them both covered when calling with Q-Q.
The dealer burned a card and put out the flop: Q Q 7 - which gave Kozolov four-of-a-kind queens and secured him the pot and the title! Aside from a gold coveted bracelet, he received $665,709 in prize money.
"The crowd didn't really affect me all that much," Kozlov told WSOP.com when asked about the electrifying energy in the crowd, the largest of any final table played so far. "When you are playing, you get into a zone and tune that out. You just focus on the cards. You don't think about what's going on beyond the felt."
Final table results:
1 Martin Kozlov, Australia $665,709
2 Davidi Kitai, Belgium $411,441
3 Justin Bonomo USA $271,856
4 Chris Ferguson USA $183,989
5 Nick Petrangelo USA $127,622
6 Jack Salter U.K. $90,783