Big Winners at the 2018 Melbourne Poker Championship

August 16, 2018

Valerie Cross

The Melbourne Poker Championship wrapped up at Crown Casino Aug. 13 after 13 days of poker tournaments. A total of 15 events played down to a winner, with Gautam Dhingra (lead image) shipping the A$1,650 buy-in Main Event for A$156,051 ($113,309). The flagship event attracted 523 entries, generating a total prize pool of A$784,500 with 63 getting paid a minimum of A$3,140.

A$1,650 Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Name	Country	Prize Money
1st	Gautam Dhingra	Australia	A$156,051 ($113,309)
2nd	Hyung Tai Kim	Korea	A$124,424 ($90,319)
3rd	Julius Colman	Australia	A$66,690 ($48,410)
4th	Simon Chahine	Australia	A$50,210 ($36,447)
5th	Jordan Westmoreland	United States	A$34,520 ($24,941)
6th	James Harketts	Australia	A$27,455 ($19,836)
7th	Adam Markiewicz	Australia	A$22,360 ($16,155)
8th	Andrew Zebrovius	Australia	A$18,830 ($13,605)
9th	Minh Hau Nguyen	Australia	A$15,690 ($11,336)

In addition to the big one, 14 side events offered more chances to secure a hefty profit, with everything from 8-Game to Pot-Limit Omaha Knock-Out to Hyper Turbo No-Limit Hold'em and a variety of events that employed a Shot Clock. Here's a look at some of the biggest winners from the series.

Series Highlights

The A$350 Opening Event drew a whopping 740 entries to generate a prize pool worth A$185,000 ($136,911). David Kelly got the victory along with the first-place prize of A$40,240 ($29,780).

Plenty of other events handed out five-figure scores for their winners, including Event #4: A$550 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack. That event drew 392 entries for a prize pool of A$196,000 ($144,804) and Idris Hassan emerged victorious for a score of A$45,030 ($33,268). Also banking five-figure scores in that one were Natalia Rozova (second place for A$28,420; $20,997), David Tam (third place for A$17,640; $13,032) and Eugene Portlen (fourth place for A$13,915; $10,280).

Event #6: A$550 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max got 243 total entries for a prize pool of A$121,500 ($90,130). Khac-Trung Tran took it down to claim the A$30,975 ($22,977) first-place prize while runner-up finisher Srdjan Brkic banked A$20,350 ($15,096). Main Event winner Dhingra final tabled the 6-max, finishing in 7th place for A$3,340 ($2,478).

The series also offered a A$1,100 No Limit Hold'em 6-Max Shot Clock Event which 129 players partook in. A total of 14 players got a piece of the A$129,000 ($95,531) prize pool with Joel Williams winning the lion's share of A$34,835 ($25,797).

Bobby Zhang also banked five-figures for second place worth A$23,865 ($17,673), as did third-place finisher Corentin Bouguennec, who won A$15,480 ($11,464). Also finishing at the final table were Eugene Portlen, who got his second fourth-place finish of the series for A$11,610 ($8,598) and well-know Australian online and live pro, Jonathan Karamalikis (seventh place for A$4,835; $3,581).

Cashing big in the A$550 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty were Jesse McKenzie, who took home A$21,625 ($16,055) for his victory, and Thomas Pearce, who had to settle for A$14,270 ($10,594) for his runner-up performance.

High Roller Results

The A$5,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Event drew 61 runners, generating a prize pool of A$289,750 ($215,116). Seven players would finish in the money and Tino Lechich shipped it all to collect A$95,620 ($70,990). The lone German at the final table, Henri Buehler, fell short in fourth place for a payout worth A$31,870 ($23,661).

A$5,000 High Roller Complete Payouts

Place	Name	Country	Prize Money
1st	Tino Lechich	Australia	A$95,620 ($70,990)
2nd	Robert Spano	Australia	A$60,850 ($45,176)
3rd	Andrew Hinrichsen	Australia	$40,565 ($30,116)
4th	Henri Buehler	Germany	A$31,870 ($23,661)
5th	Jordan Westmoreland	Australia	$23,180 ($17,209)
6th	Luke Stokie	Australia	$20,280 ($15,056)
7th	Zackery Lowrie	New Zealand	$17,385 ($12,907)