Vincent "Wonky" Wan Wins 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event; Seidel Fifth

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Vincent "Wonky" Wan

Vincent Wan has won the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event, defeating heads-up opponent Ngoc Tai Hoang to win A$1,318,000 after a marathon 414-hand day that spanned a total of 15 hours.

Known as "Wonky", Wan is well-known here at Crown Casino in Melbourne for winning two six-figure Royal Flush Jackpots, but now has his first seven-figure score in what was by far the biggest cash of his career.

Runner-up Hoang came into the day as the short stack, missed the first 15 minutes of play and had to deal with being branded "the worst player" by Wan during three-handed deal negotiations, but now has the honor of winning the single largest score by a Vietnamese player in poker history as he also took home A$1,318,000.

Following the deal that saw eventual third-place finisher Gareth Pepper guaranteed A$1,000,000, both Hoang and Wan embarked on a heads-up battle that spanned over four-and-a-half hours.


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On the ropes, Wan was fortunate enough to win three showdowns in a row with the worst of it; the first two times to double up, then the final one to close out the match just before 4 a.m. local time.

2020 Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table Results

PlaceNameCountryPrize (AUD)Prize (USD)
1Vincent WanAustraliaA$1,318,000*$907,196*
2Ngoc Tai HoangVietnamA$1,318,000*$907,196*
3Gareth PepperNew ZealandA$1,000,000*$688,312*
4Nino UllmannGermanyA$480,160$330,501
5Erik SeidelUnited StatesA$378,660$260,637
6Oliver WeisGermanyA$307,820$211,877
7Nicolas MaloCanadaA$240,080$165,250

*denotes three-handed deal

Vincent Wan wins 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event
Vincent Wan wins 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event

Winner's Reaction

"It's destiny boys! Destiny!"

Those were the words that Wan told his rail after the second of three late doubles that saw him run out the winner. Just minutes later, Wan struggled to describe the emotions he was feeling.

"I'm lost for words," Wan told Aussie Millions Tournament Director Joel Williams. "I'm just tripping out at the moment. I was just wanting to min-cash at one point so I'm struggling; I'm just delirious at the moment."

"It's destiny boys! Destiny!" -Vincent "Wonky" Wan

"I can't believe my luck. Thank you to all the other players. Basically it's ten years of my life just grinding and working and trying to get here. I can't believe I did it!"

"I've had a love-hate relationship with this place but everyone during the tournament was amazing. It was stressful, but I've had a great time."


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Marathon Final Day Commences

Considering the length of the final table - 414 hands in total - it's hard to remember the start of the day, but the seven-handed final table started with six players after eventual runner-up Ngoc Tai Hoang missed the start of play and arrived 15 minutes late. By the time he arrived, eventual winner Vincent Wan, who started the day third in chips, had moved into the lead after winning an early pot against overnight chip leader Nino Ullmann.

Wan's chip lead didn't last long, with Ullmann quickly moving back in front, just before the first all-in confrontation of the final table. With both Ullmann and Hoang holding ace-king, the hand looked to be heading for a chip. That was until the Vietnamese went runner-runner to make a flush to double up.

By the first break, it was still Ullmann in front, and when play resumed he was responsible for the first elimination of the play, eliminating Nicolas Malo in seventh place. Malo flopped a pair and an open-ended straight draw, but Ullmann had flopped the nut straight to send his opponent to the rail.

Nino Ullmann
Start-of-day chip leader Nino Ullmann was active early at the Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table

A short while later, Oliver Weis, who began the day second in chips and failed to get anything going at the final table, would bow out next, getting it in dominated against Gareth Pepper to be eliminated in sixth place.

Pepper was really starting to get something going, and scooped a big pot against Ullmann to move into the lead. Wan also took advantage of the German's stumble, taking chips off Ullmann after he tried to bluff the river with just queen high and was picked off.

This sent Ullmann to the bottom of the counts, but he would double through Hoang shortly thereafter, and by dinner break was nestled in a group of four behind Pepper.


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Seidel Eliminated by Wan

Another of those players grouped behind the chip leader was Erik Seidel. The American was down to 18 big blinds, before three-bet shoving with ace-ten only to run into the ace-jack of Wan.

It was another outstanding result for Seidel who still sits second in the Crown Melbourne all-time money list. It also means that Seidel has now final-tabled a $10,000+ No-Limit Hold'em Main Event in each of the past five (!) decades.

DecadeYearEventFieldPositionPayout (USD)
1980s1988WSOP Main Event1672nd$280,000
1990s1999WSOP Main Event3934th$279,500
2000s2008Aussie Millions Main Event7802nd$879,028
2010s2015WSOPE Main Event3137th$113,428
2020s2020Aussie Millions Main Event8205th$260,637
Erik Seidel
Poker legend Erik Seidel had to settle for fifth place

Four-handed it was Wan who took control, with just under half the chips in play before Hoang eliminated Ullmann in fourth place. Ullmann got it in good with two pair against the queens of Hoang, but the board paired to hand Hoang the best hand. The players then looked at the numbers and quickly agreed on the following amendments to the initial ICM deal that was offered.

Three-Handed Deal Agreed

NameCountryChip CountsICM DealDeal Agreed
Ngoc Tai HoangVietnam10,515,000$1,341,392$1,318,000
Vincent WanAustralia9,880,000$1,314,128$1,318,000
Gareth PepperNew Zealand4,215,000$973,003$1,000,000

The trio played on for the title, ANTON Jewellery bracelet and Aussie Millions trophy, in what was a tumultuous short-handed affair. Pepper and Hoang would trade doubles, each already assured of a seven-figure payout, with Pepper doubling through Hoang again for good measure.

However, it wasn't enough to stop Pepper exiting in third place shoving blind from the small blind only to get picked off by Wan who woke up with an ace.

It took three and a half hours before the first all-in and call between the final two players, with both players opting for a passive and low-risk strategy to heads-up play which saw almost nothing but small pots, and very little pivotal moments.


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Final Stages

With fatigue setting in for both players and early-morning railbirds alike, there were three quick hands that saw Wan move from a 7:1 underdog to take down the tournament.

Ace-nine against ace-queen? Flop a nine. Ace-ten against ace-queen? River a ten. Finally, and with the third all-in in a row, Wan was behind once more with ten-nine versus ace-trey, but flopped a nine and faded a flush draw to secure victory and eliminate a visibly shaken Hoang in second place.

Aussie Millions Main Event Winners (1998-2020)

YearEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryFirst Prize
199874A$74,000Alex HorowitzAustraliaA$25,900
1999109A$109,000Milo NadalinAustraliaA$38,150
2000109A$173,500Leo BoxellAustraliaA$65,225
2001101A$151,500Sam KormanAustraliaA$53,025
200266A$330,000John MaverAustraliaA$150,000
2003122A$1,220,000Peter CostaUnited KingdomA$394,870
2004133A$1,330,000Tony BloomUnited KingdomA$426,500
2005263A$2,630,000Jamil DiaNew ZealandA$1,000,000
2006418A$4,180,000Lee NelsonNew ZealandA$1,295,800
2007747A$7,470,000Gus HansenDenmarkA$1,500,000
2008780A$7,758,500Alexander KostritsynRussiaA$1,650,000
2009681A$6,810,000Stewart ScottAustraliaA$2,000,000
2010746A$7,460,000Tyron KrostAustraliaA$2,000,000
2011721A$7,210,000David GorrAustraliaA$2,000,000
2012659A$6,590,000Oliver SpeidelAustraliaA$1,600,000
2013629A$6,290,000Mervin ChanMalaysiaA$1,600,000
2014668A$6,680,000Ami BarerCanadaA$1,600,000
2015648A$6,480,000Manny StavropoulosAustraliaA$1,385,500
2016732A$7,320,000Ari EngelCanadaA$1,600,000
2017725A$7,250,000Shurane VijayaramAustraliaA$1,600,000
2018800A$8,000,000Toby LewisUnited KingdomA$1,458,198
2019822A$8,220,000Bryn KenneyUnited StatesA$1,272,598
2020820A$8,200,000Vincent WanAustraliaA$1,318,000

That concludes the PokerNews live coverage from the 2020 Aussie Millions. We hope you have enjoyed following the updates from this year's Main Event and all the High Roller Challenge events. If you've missed any of the action, why not click on one of the links below to check out the live updates from these events or previous Aussie Millions tournaments.

EventFieldPrizepoolWinnerPayout (AUD)Payout (USD)Recap
A$25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Challenge59A$1,416,000Jorryt van HoofA$467,280US$322,400Recap
A$25,000 Challenge169A$4,056,000Farid JattinA$983,646*US$678,900*Recap
A$50,000 Challenge82A$3,977,000Michael AddamoA$1,073,790US$738,234Recap
A$100,000 Challenge54A$5,292,000Kahle BurnsA$1,746,360US$1,198,300Recap

*denotes headsup deal

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Managing Editor

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 now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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