Aussie Millions 2019: Bart Lybaert Wins A$1,150 Six-Max For A$124,355

It’s been a week since the 2019 Aussie Millions kicked off at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. While the 27-event poker festival has already drawn in some of the biggest names in international poker, the pace of action is fast gaining momentum. Six events have already crowned champions and another i.e. the A$2,500 8-Game Mix is expected to play down to a winner today. One of the most-awaited feature of the series – the A$1,150 Accumulator has also kicked off with its first flight registering 238 runners.

January 23 certainly turned out to be a big day for Bart Lybaert (cover image) who bested a field of 542 runners to take down Event# 6 – A$1,150 Six-Max title. This is the second title for Lybaert within a span of two weeks. Earlier, he had won the $2,200 NLHE at the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) for $250,391. Lybaert took home A$124,355 for his efforts this time.

The Belgian pro was among the top stacks in the list of the 15 players who advanced to the final day. At the heads-up stage he clashed with Travis Endersby and relegated him to the rail to claim the title. For Endersby it was a fantastic run to the heads-up. He had entered the final table as the shortest stack and orchestrated a comeback on the back of three crucial double-ups.With the victory Lybaert also picked up his second score at the series currently underway at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

The event drew 544 entries, 53 of which cashed for at least A$2,340. The bubble burst midway on Day 1 with the duel elimination of Michael Harb and Richard Davis who split the A$2,340 53^rd place payout.

Some known names who were able to book a profit at the event include Vojtech Ruzicka (27th for A$4,570), Mark Betts (35^th for A$4,015), Jackie Glazier (36th for A$3,455), Dara O’Kearney (37th for A$3,455), Johan Schumacher (43rd for A$2,900) and Sorel Mizzi (52nd for A$2,340). Opening Event champion Muhammad Asad narrowly missed his chance at Day 2 and finished in 17^th place (A$5,685).

The final day began with 15 runners led by Ta-Wei Tou who held 813,000 in chips. It didn’t take long for the field to whittle down to the unofficial seven-handed final table. David Yan (8^th for A$12,385) and Benny Glaser (9th for A$9,595) fell whiskers short of making it to the final table.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Ong Dingxiang – 1,500,000
2. Bart Lybaert – 1,300,000
3. Ta-Wei Tou – 1,200,000
4. Gautam Dhingra – 646,000
5. Michel Bouskila – 328,000
6. Ali Ghezelbash – 238,000
7. Travis Endersby – 124,000

Ari Ghezelbash was the first elimination on the unofficial final table, bringing the tournament down to its final six players.

Final Table Recap

Travis Endersby, who had come into the unofficial final table as the shortest stack, doubled up through Michel Bouskila with his pocket kings dominating the latter’s pocket jacks. He chipped up a second time through Taiwan’s Ta-Wei Tou with queen-king that rivered a pair, while Tou’s ace-king failed to get there on the board.

Next up, Michel Bouskila managed to add to his diminishing stack through a small but much-needed double up through Tou. However, he lost stream shortly thereafter and was eliminated in sixth place at the hands of Lybaert who held pocket aces against his ace-king.

The knockout helped Lybaert surge ahead into the chip lead, but Tou quickly wrestled it back by orchestrating the elimination of Indian-origin Gautam Dhingra who held king-queen against his ace-four. Tou found an ace on the flop, enough to send Dhingra packing out in fifth place.

Endersby earned his third double up by winning a flip with pocket nines against Lybaert’s ace-king. The pot also got Endersby the chip lead.

Ong Dingxiang, who had entered the final table in the chip lead had been fairly quiet all this time and was down to his last ten big blinds when Endersby moved all in with pocket nines. Dingxiang was at risk here but it was Ta-Wei Tou who called with pocket sevens, only to be eliminated in fourth place.

Shortly after the break, Ong Dingxiang was eliminated in third place after he failed to hold up against Lybaert’s king-high.

Travis Endersby entered the heads-up match with a strong three-to-one chip lead but lost the edge after doubling up Lybaert. There onwards, Lybaert bled Endersby’s stack dry to eliminate his heads-up opponent in runner-up place and walked away with the title and the ANTON Championship ring.

Final Table Results (AUD)

1. Bart Lybaert – A$124,355
2. Travis Endersby – A$82,695
3. Ong Dingxiang – A$48,905
4. Ta-Wei Tou – A$36,080
5. Gautam Dhingra – A$24,930
6. Michel Bouskila – A$17,960
7. Ali Ghezelbash – A$12,385

As the action picks up at the series, we expect a few Indian challengers to join in. Among those who have confirmed their attendance at the series are the recent APT Vietnam Main Event champion Abhinav Iyer, alongside Paawan Bansal and Vinod Megalmani.

Content & Images courtesy: PokerNews/crownmelbourne.com.au

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