The Asia Pacific Poker Tour came to a close in Auckland over the weekend as Australian ace Minh Nguyen bested a field of 224 other entrants to claim NZ$111,600 following a two-way chop with Thomas Ward.
The duo faced a tough final table led by Nguyen with a very significant chip lead, and he continued to pose a real threat to every player at the table with his aggressive tactics. These paid off, leaving him in the heads up against Ward.
Nguyen’s supremacy slipped as Ward gained the upper hand, and at that point the two agreed a deal that would leave Ward with NZ$104,000 and NZ$10,000 on the table for the winner.
Once that had been decided, the two got down to business, going all in without looking at their cards as agreed, with Ward appearing to have the better hand. It was not to be; Nguyen won the flip and despite Ward clawing back with double ups over the next two hands, the Australian ultimately claimed the final pot to win the title and the NZ$111,600 top prize.