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Mike Watson Takes Australian Poker Open Championship Lead

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Mike Watson Australian Poker Open

With Aussie Millions now concluded, the poker world moved on to the next big thing. For high rollers and top-tier pros, that was the Australian Poker Open. The inaugural APO is being held at the Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It will feature seven events in total, including a $100,000 Main Event starting on Friday.

The first three events of the APO have concluded and Canada’s Mike Watson is the early frontrunner for the Australian Poker Open Championship. Watson won the opening event and finished third in Event #2. Other winners include Andras Nemeth and Timothy Adams.

Mike Watson Wins Opening Event

The first event of the Australian Poker Open was a $10,000 NL Hold’em Event and it played out on Sunday. A field of 59 entrants took part in the event and ultimately it was Canada’s Mike Watson that came out on top.

The final table was stacked with known pros, including Ben Lamb, Elio Fox, Andras Nemeth, and Orpen Kisacikoglu. Ultimately, it was Mike Watson facing Australia’s Michael O’Grady heads-up for the title.

O’Grady started the final table as the chip leader and took the lead into heads-up play. However, Watson managed to storm back and take the lead. The pair battled for a while, but ultimately O’Grady was knocked out when he ran A-8 into A-Q of Watson.

The win gave Watson the top prize of $177,000 and 300 points towards the 2020 Australian Poker Open Championship. After winning, Watson told Poker Central, “I’m thrilled to have won it. Especially in these series it’s great to get off to a good start and set the tone, get your confidence high, and try to make a run for that player of the series title. It’s also the first live event I’ve won a little while, so that monkey’s off my back.”

Andras Nemeth Wins Event #2

After finishing sixth in Event #1, Andras Nemeth managed to make his second straight final table in Event #2, the $10k PL Omaha. He wasn’t the only player to make a repeat trip to the final table. Mike Watson also made the final table and looked to extend his Championship lead. Other players at the final table included Chino Rheem and Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel.

Watson made a valiant run but finished in third place. This game him 150 points to help him extend his APO Championship lead. Andras Nemeth did indeed improve on his Event #1 finish, this time making heads-up play against Najeem Ajez.

Ajez came into heads-up play looking to have the title locked up, but Nemeth kept finding a way to survive. Eventually, he managed to work his way into the chip lead and in the final hand, he won the hand with just a pair of kings.

Nemeth earned $146,200 for his victory and 300 points towards the APO Championship. He is now second behind Mike Watson.

Timothy Adams Wins Event #3

Event #3 of the APO is a $25,000 NL Hold’em Event. The final table of this one was stacked with top-tier talent. Chino Rheem and Orpen Kissacikoglu both made their second final table of the series. Other players at the final table included Timothy Adams, Steve O’Dwyer, and Stephen Chidwick.

It was ultimately Adams facing Chidwick for the title. Heads-up play was short with Adams catching fire. In the final hand, Chidwick ran A-5 into Adam’s pocket sevens. The sevens held and Adams walked away with $241,500 and 300 APO Championship points.

He told Poker Central that, “This final table was really tough with all guys I’m used to playing against. At the high stakes you play mainly against all the same players and those guys are all really great and I’m very happy that I won. To win a tournament a lot of things have to go your way and today that happened to me.”

Four events remain on the schedule. Tuesday’s event is a $25,000 PLO event followed by the $25k NL on Wednesday, a $50k NL on Thursday. The $100,000 NL Hold’em Main Event is Friday. At the conclusion, the APO Championship will be awarded. The winner will receive a trophy along with a $50,000 prize.

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