Justin Liberto Wins Event #3: A$1,150 Shootout at 2019 Aussie Millions
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After two days of shootout play, and overcoming three separate tables, Justin Liberto has won Event #3: Shot Clock Shootout for A$36,220.
Coming into the final table with the chip lead, bracelet winner Liberto managed to navigate his way to win the third and final table in the shootout format and secure his second cash of the series and first-ever Aussie Millions title.
In fact, this is only the American's fourth cash outside of North America; remarkable for a man with over US$3,000,000 in lifetime cashes.
2019 Aussie Millions Event #3: A$1,150 Shot Clock Shootout Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Payout (A$) | Payout (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Liberto | United States | A$36,220 | US$26,078 |
| 2 | Adam Kane | Australia | A$30,540 | US$21,989 |
| 3 | Jordan Westmorland | United States | A$19,470 | US$14,018 |
| 4 | Kuo Chen Hung | Taiwan | A$15,775 | US$11,358 |
| 5 | Christian Nolte | Austria | A$12,550 | US$9,036 |
| 6 | Cooper Smout | Netherlands | A$10,330 | US$7,438 |
| 7 | Sarah Bilney | Australia | A$8,485 | US$6,109 |
| 8 | Travis Endersby | Australia | A$6,640 | US$4,781 |
| 9 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | A$4,795 | US$3,452 |
2019 Aussie Millions Event #3: A$1,150 Shot Clock Shootout Final Table Action
Despite coming into the final table third in chips, Toby Lewis was the first player out the door, adding A$4,795 to the A$1,458,198 he won for winning last year's Aussie Millions Main Event. Including that victory, this is Lewis' seventh Aussie Millions cash to date.
Travis Endersby only had one previous Aussie Millions cash before the day, coming back in 2017 where he finished 97th in the Opening Event for A$3,530. Endersby regularly plays at the Crown Casino in Perth, but traveled to Melbourne and finish eighth in Shot Clock Shootout for A$6,640.
This was Sarah Bilney's third Aussie Millions final table in four years. She finished fifth in the Deep Freeze for A$23,095 in 2016, and seventh in the Six Max for A$19,565 in 2017. This year she added A$11,070 to her poker career earnings which now top US$300,000.
Cooper Smout is a cognitive neuroscience Ph.D. student at the University of Queensland Brain Institute in Brisbane, and put his brain to good use to finish sixth for A$14,020 and his first Aussie Millions cash. Christian Nolte was the last remaining European at the final table, and he was eliminated next, mirroring Bilney's achievement of making three Aussie Million final tables in four years but beating the sixth place he finished in the same event back in 2016 for $20,755. Two years ago he followed that up by finishing third in the Omaha Hi-Lo for A$10,575. The Austrian took home A$10,330 in prize money.
Coming into the final table second in chips, Kuo Chen Hung managed to stick around until he bust in fourth place for A$15,775 and his first Aussie Millions cash. That left two Americans and one Australian left fighting for the ring three-handed.
After two cashes in the Aussie Millions Six-Max event in 2016 and 2018, Jordan Westmorland made his first Aussie Millions final table before busting in third place for A$19,470. Runner-up Adam Kane scored his first recorded HendonMob cash since 2009 taking home A$30,540 for his efforts, falling just short of defeating Liberto as the final table finished at around 10 pm local time.
Check the PokerNews.com Live Reporting section for more daily highlights of the 2019 Aussie Millions. Traditional live reporting will begin on January 25 with the $25,000 Challenge.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
