Piccioli and Collopy snag first bracelets at WSOP APAC

Posted by Steve Ruddock on Apr 09, 2013 Posted in Poker News | No Comments »

wsopapacThe inaugural World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC for short) tournament series has been a bit of an enigma over the first few days; Event #1 saw a total of 1,085 entries over the three starting flights for the “Accumulator” tournament, but on the flipside Event #2, a $1,650 PLO event, and Event #3, a $2,200 Mixed tournament, were sparsely attended, pulling in only 172 and 81 respectively.

Even with attendance all over the place, the one thing the WSOP APAC has consistently produced is star-studded final tables and a pair of first-time bracelet winners in online poker stars Brian Piccioli, who won the opening “Accumulator” tournament, and Jim Collopy, who bested a very tough final table on his way to winning the PLO event.

Event #1: $1,100 NLHE Accumulator

The opening event of the WSOP APAC had it all; a new tournament format, a huge field, a million-dollar prize-pool, and a stacked final table that included the likes of 2010 WSOP Champion Jonathan Duhamel, 2012 October Niner Jeremy Ausmus, Aussie poker pro Jonathan Karamalikis, and online legend Brian Piccioli.

When the dust settled it was Piccioli who emerged victorious, besting the other online pro, Karamilikis, for the title. Piccioli, best known for his online exploits, has had limited live tournament success but is coming off a five-cash performance at the 2012 WSOP and can now call himself a WSOP bracelet winner as he moves forward in his live poker career.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from the tournament:

1. Bryan Piccioli – $211,575

2. Jonathan Karamalikis – $130,743

3. Jay Loo – $96,305

4. Jonathan Duhamel – $71,870

5. Jeremy Ausmus – $54,337

6. Graeme Putt – $41,610

7. Iori Yogo – $32,268

8. Peter Kleudgen – $25,335

9. Ryan Otto – $20,138

Event #2: $1,650 PLO

Event #2 can only be viewed as a disappointment coming on the heels of the wildly successful Accumulator tournament. A lackluster turnout of just 172 players registered for the tournament, a $1,650 PLO event, generating a prize-pool of just $258,000.

Still, the tournament brought out all of the stars and several of them landed at the final table, including the red hot Dan Shak, Party Poker pro and two-time WPT Champion Marvin Rettenmaier, and a pair of online legends in Mike Leah and Jim Collopy, with the latter going on to win the tournament after leading the final table wire-to-wire.

The win was Collopy’s first major tournament win, but not his largest score, which came at the 2010 WSOP Europe tournament series when he finished in second-place in the £10,000 Heads-Up Championship, pocketing roughly $275,000. Collopy also won a PLO tournament at the 2011 Aussie Millions, so perhaps there is something with Australia and PLO that suits him quite well?

Here is a look at the final table payouts from the event:

1. Jim Collopy – $69,662

2. Edison Nguyen – $43,050

3. Tino Lechich – $30,988

4. Scott Reid – $22,712

5. Dan Shak – $16,940

6. Paul Sharbanee – $12,856

7. Mike Leah – $9,923

8. Martin Kozlov – $7,784

9. Marvin Rettenmaier – $6,207

*Resources: www.thehendonmob.com and www.wsop.com



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