As the final ten players gathered for an added Day 3 of the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships, only two of them sat down with less than 25 big blinds. Australia’s Chris Moussa was one of them as play resumed at Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi, but not for long. As play began on the final table bubble, Moussa saw his stack triple with back-to-back pocket kings, riding his new chips and some more good fortune to memorable title at the inaugural Australian Poker Open.
The event drew a total of 937 entries, smashing the advertised guaranteed prize pool before settling at A$1,218,100. The bulk of that was in play today, with Moussa taking home A$248,000 along with the coveted APO trophy.
$1,500 Platinum Player Championships Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moussa | Australia | $248,000 |
| 2 | Justin Woo | Australia | $176,000 |
| 3 | Khanh Le | Australia | $114,000 |
| 4 | Paris Sitzoukis | Australia | $70,600 |
| 5 | Sergio Colosimo | Australia | $43,500 |
| 6 | Alex Lee | Singapore | $31,000 |
| 7 | Campbell Ashton | Australia | $26,700 |
| 8 | Ken Demlakian | Australia | $22,500 |
| 9 | David Hirst | Australia | $18,200 |
Winner’s Reaction
In his own words, the key to Moussa’s success was persistence. That came in the form of enduring an extra day, and also recovering from his short stack after bagging the chip lead on Day 1e. “I was so tired and we had a long drive, so tried to get plenty of rest,” Moussa explained to PokerNews after his victory. “My wife took care of the family so that was a big plus, and coming in today little bit more refreshed.”
Moussa faced a start turnaround from one day to another, as he opened play on Day 2 with one of the largest stacks in the room. By the time had ended, he was down to 11 big blinds and sitting ninth out of the final ten players. “Lost a couple of flips trying to apply pressure, backfired, and then coming into today short stack, it was all about survival.”
Picking up pocket kings on consecutive hands will certainly change a player’s fortunes, as his chip count went from 1,300,000 to 4,200,000 in that span while bursting the final table bubble.
“It changed the game,” said Moussa. “After that I was lot more calmer and a bit more in control because I have more bigs to play with. So my mindset changed from survival to kind of seeing where the table leads and go from there.” Where it lead was collecting almost half of the chips in play with six left, and riding that stack to significant win in Sydney.
Moussa was amazed at the inaugural Australian Poker Open event, giving credit to the organizing team and poker staff. “This event is world class, 100 percent the best venue and series in Australia, no question, no doubt.”
Day 3 Action
Ten players returned for an unscheduled day, resuming hand-for-hand play on the final table bubble. Moussa’s improbable second pair of kings took out Michael Sleiman in 10th place, allowing the field to redraw under the lights of the feature table.
Moussa was also the beneficiary of the next significant chip exchange, taking an overwhelming chip lead while knocking out David Hirst in ninth in the hand of the tournament.
Ken Demlakian fell in eighth after missing his flush draw, while Campbell Ashton lost a flip to finish seventh. Alex Lee entered the day as one of the big stacks, but he became Moussa’s next victim to exit in sixth. Moussa then dispatched Sergio Colosimo in fifth place before Paris Sitzoukis saw his up and down day end with a fourth-place finish.
With action three-handed, Khanh Le called off on the river against Moussa and the tournament was down to two.
The last player standing in Moussa’s way was Justin Woo, who came into the day as the chip leader. Moussa held a sizeable chip lead that did not disappear, and the pressure was on his opponent until the final card was dealt,. Woo also called off incorrectly on the river, as Moussa had the goods again and took down the title.
As soon as the tournament wrapped up, Moussa embraced his wife and had his next move firmly on his mind. “Holiday, for sure, take my wife and leave the kids, that’s definitely in the cards.”
This concludes PokerNews coverage of the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships, but be sure to check out our live reporting hub for exciting poker action around the world.
