Kenny Hallaert Defeats Dzmitry Urbanovich to Win Aussie Millions Event #23
Belgium's Kenny Hallaert won his first Aussie Millions title after shipping Event #23: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem Turbo Shot Clock against a tough final table to collect A$59,535 ($47,463).
Shot clock events might be Hallaert's thing as he almost notched his first Aussie Millions title a few days earlier when he finished in second place in Event #20: A$2,500 No Limit Holdem Six Max Shot Clock for A$94,975 ($76,240).
The win capped off an amazing Aussie Millions for the 2016 WSOP Main Event November Niner, who now has close to $4 million in live tournament cashes to go along with almost $4.3 million in online tournament cashes. In addition to his two podium finishes, he also took seventh place in Event #15: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem/Pot Limit Omaha for A$8,165 ($6,607) and 17th place in the Event #5: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem Mix Max for A$3,360 ($2,684).
"It’s been a really great Aussie Millions for me; apart from the Main Event where I busted within the first orbit!" Hallaert told PokerNews shortly after clinching the title.
"Four cashes with three final tables; a seventh place and a second place yesterday. It was disappointing to come so close to a win, so great to eventually win one today. It was a turbo so obviously you need to win a decent amount of flips; I won a lot at showdown and obviously, that’s how you make deep runs in this kind of event. I’m very happy to finally have a win. I’ve come close multiple times, and have had great scores. But on my Hendon Mob you have to dig deep to find the last win. Winning a tournament always feels good, whether it’s a big one or one of the side events that they have here. It always feels great."
Aussie Millions Event #23: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem Turbo Shot Clock Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize in A$ | Prize in US$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | A$59,535 | $47,463 |
| 2 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | A$38,450 | $30,654 |
| 3 | Jon Kyte | Norway | A$24,810 | $19,779 |
| 4 | Matthew Howearth | Australia | A$19,850 | $15,825 |
| 5 | Matt Affleck | United States | A$15,630 | $12,461 |
| 6 | Charles Caris | Australia | A$12,405 | $9,890 |
| 7 | Mike Guttman | Australia | A$9,925 | $7,913 |
| 8 | Brian Elsheik | Australia | A$8,060 | $6,426 |
| 9 | David Leas | Australia | A$6,200 | $4,943 |
| 10 | Mihai Barbu | Australia | A$4,960 | $3,954 |
The event attracted 242 entrants to generate a A$248,050 prize pool. This is a remarkable 48 percent increase from the 163 entrants a year before when Australia's David Stanton shipped the top prize of A$42,605.
A total of 27 players cashed the event for at least A$1,985 with everyone at the final table guaranteed at least a payout of A$4,960. Five Aussies were the first to be eliminated after Mihai Barbu (10th place - A$4,960), David Leas (ninth place - A$6,200), Brian Elsheik (eighth place A$8,060), Mike Guttman (seventh place - A$9,925) and Charles Caris (sixth place - A$12,405) all hit the rail in succession.
This left players from five different countries battling it out, many of which have found big success in huge tournaments in the past. American Matt Affleck added to his almost $2.7 million in live tournament cashes after securing his third Aussie Millions cash with a fifth-place finish worth A$15,630.
Hometown player Matthew Howearth notched his first Aussie Mllions cash when he bowed out in fourth place for A$19,850.
Norway's Jon Kyte, who was on fire late last year after claiming the first-ever Cash Game Festival trophy in London in September and winning the partypoker Nordic Poker Championships €2,200 Main Event for €240,000 in December, made the podium with a third-place finish worth A$24,810.
This left Poland's most successful live tournament player with $5.3 million in cashes Dzmitry Urbanovich and Hallaert as the only two left in an epic match-up for the title. Urbanovich was unable to add an Aussie Millions title to his many wins and Hallaert, who is just shy of $4 million in live cashes, added an ANTON ring to his poker trophy collection.
