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Victorino Torres Wins the 2010 PokerStars APPT Macau

The PokerStars APPT (Asia Pacific Poker Tour) Macau $40,000 HKD or $5,160 dollars no-limit hold'em main event attract 342 players in China and the total prize pool was $12,730,608 HKD or an equivalent of $1.63 million dollars. The eventual winner of the event was Victorino Torres, who won a total of $3,246,200 HKD or $416,000 dollars.

Torres said that it has been a fantastic experience playing in Macau and he hopes that he will have the opportunity to play again in the tournament. Torres plans to continue as a trial lawyer but he said that his winnings will help him fulfill his dream of having his own farm. The top forty players made the money in the APPT main event and notable cash-ins included APPT Manila champion Binh Nguyen (13th place), Henrik Gwinner (29th place) and Team PokerStars Pro member Marcel Luske (27th place).

The final table of the tournament happened on May 23rd, 2010 when the final nine players returned to decide the champion. The final table participants are: Victorino Torres-396,000, Kai Paulsen-528,000, Jeppe Drivsholm-1,223,000, Keith Hawkins-174,000, Albert Kim-436,000, Chong Cheong-904,000, Cole Swannack, 1,262,000, Brian Green-970,000 and Kenny Nielsen-791,000.

Torres made his presence known very quickly when he sent home Keith Hawkins in 9th place ($294,608 HKD), with his pocket 7's in the hole. Albert Kim hit the rail next in 8th place ($350,100 HKD), with the pocket pair serving as the grim reaper. This time it was Chong Cheong's pair of 8's.

The quick pace at the final table continued with Kai Paulsen's decision to move all-in with his K-7, only to discover that it will not work against Jeppe Drivsholm's A-K. An A/A/J on the board permanently crippled Paulsen, who was sent home in 7th place. Brian Green broke up the lull in the table when he shoved with a nine-eight on an eight-five-two board.

Drivsholm possessed an A/eight and won the card hand after the board was revealed. Green won $572,900 HKD for finishing in 6th place. A few hands later, Kenny Nielsen moved all-in during the pre-flop with his A-eight and Torres was assured of his 2nd elimination for the night when he called with his A/nine in the hole.

The board revealed J-nine-eight-ten-six and Nielsen was sent home in 5th place ($700,000 HKD). Drivsholm doubled to ensure a tough battle for 4th place, during which, Torres executed a full house against Cheong to increase their overall chip count. But fate caught up with Drivsholm when he decided to place his hope on the K(hearts) and 5(hearts) in the hole. Torres called with his A(diamonds) 7(spades) and the board revealed 10(spades) 6(diamonds) 2(clubs) J(spades) 8(spades).

Drivsholm then went home in 4th place with ($891,000 HKD). Cole Swannack had been coasting through the tournament until three poker players remained, but he made a wrong decision when moved all-in for 900,000 with pocket deuces. That was because the pocket aces of Cheong were waiting for him, which sent him home in 3rd place ($1,177,000 HKD).

Cheong faced a tough battle at the beginning of the heads-up showdown. He held 1.9 million chips against the 4.8 million chips of Torres and things went downhill as Torres won the first six cash pots that they contested. Cheong was able to double with his Kings but that just bought him back where he had started in the heads-up showdown.

Cheong's decision to move all-in would be his last one. He raised to 125,000 on the pre-flop and Torres called before a flop of J(spades) 10(hearts) 9(spades) were revealed on the table. Torres checked and Cheong decided to move all-in for 1.8 million. Torres called with his 8(clubs) 7(clubs) and Cheong answered with his Q(spades) 6(clubs).

The river revealed A(diamonds) 7(diamonds) and clinched the title for Torres. Cheong won $2,088,000 HKD for finishing in 2nd place and Torres won $3,426,200 HKD as the APPT Macau winner. The next APPT will be in Auckland, New Zealand on September 15th, 2010-September 19th, 2010.

08/11/2010, Wednesday
By Matthew Dorst

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