Tang Triumphs in WPT Australia Main Event ($647,470)
The Star Gold Coast is known for its many casino games but they took a back seat this week because the WPT Australia Main Event was in town. The $5,400 buy-in WPT Australia Main Event drew in 710 entrants, who created a $3,550,000 prize pool. David Tang was the last man standing, and he received a cool $647,470.
Attracting 710 players to the WPT Australia Main Event was no mean feat. A lack of online poker options meant players bought in direct or won live satellites. Such an impressive turnout shows it is not only casino games Australia players want but prestigious poker action.
Tang has almost two dozen live cashes on his resume. Most stem from playing Melbourne, but this latest result is by far his largest haul. This is how the WPT Australia Main Event went down.
WPT Australia Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Tang | $647,470 |
| 2 | Po Ho | $421,635 |
| 3 | Naj Ajez | $310,675 |
| 4 | Daisuke Ogita | $231,505 |
| 5 | Josh Hutchins | $174,480 |
| 6 | De Kun Li | $133,025 |
The top 89 finishers won a slice of the $3,550,000 prize pool. Global names Kristy Arnett Moreno, Aussie superstar Robert Campbell, Sosia Jiang, Sean Ragozzini, and Andrew Moreno cashed. As did Martin Finger, and Vincent Huang. John Doringer fell in seventh place and popped the official final table bubble.
The final six returned to one of Australia’s best live dealer casinos knowing they could not win less than $133,025. It took only 15 hands for the first player to bust and leave the tournament. Po Ho opened the betting with a raise from the cutoff, De Kun Li shoved on the button, and Daisuke Ogita called in the big blind. Ho folded, Li turned over Ac-6c, but Ogita’s Kh-Kc crushed him.
Fifth place and $174,480 went to Josh Hutchins on the 27th hand of the WPT Australia Main Event. Hutchins open-shoved for 11 big blinds with Kc-9d, and Naj Ajez call with Ac-5c in the big blind. Neither player improved on the Jh-8h-7s-8c-7d, and Hutchins crashed out.
Ogita Runs Into a Cooler
Another 42 hands played out before the WPT Australia Main Event lost another player. Ajez min-raised to 300,000, Ho three-bet to 800,000 in the small blind, only for Ogita to four-bet to 3,450,000. Ajez ducked out of the way, Ho five-bet all in, and Ogita called off his 7,800,000 stack. Ogita turned over Ah-Ks, but Ho held As-Ad. The five community cards ran ten-high, and Ogita headed to the cashier’s cage.
Heads-up was set on the 187th hand of the final table. Ho opened the betting with Ah-4d, Ajez moved all-in for 15 big blinds with As-5h, and Ho called. Ajez looked set for a timely double-up until the board ran Qh-6d-4c-Ts-4s.
That hand gave Ho a 21,000,000 to 14,500,000 chip lead over Tang going into heads-up. Tang won the first hand of one-on-one play, which turned the stacks on their heads. The WPT Australia Main Event ended one hand later.
Ho opened to 1,000,000 with Ac-8c, Tang moved all-in with Kd-Td, and Ho called off his 6,200,000 stack. The 8d-7d-5s flop gave Ho a pair of eights but Tang had a flush draw. The Ad turn improved Tang to an unbeatable flush, rendering the Ks river inconsequential. Tang raked in the pot, the title, the trophy, and $647,470.
Tang Delighted to Become a WPT Champion
“I’m still a bit stung, but it’s awesome. I wasn’t expecting to get this far. To be honest, I was actually trying to cancel my flight here because I wanted to watch the Australian Football League Grand Final in Melbourne, but they wouldn’t give us a refund on our flights so it just all worked out. I haven’t played a tournament since the Aussie Millions in 2020, so once I made Day 2 and 3, it was actually quite fun getting deep in the tournament for sure.”
