The 2024 APL Millions, held from August 9 to 26 at Southport Sharks, concluded in spectacular fashion, crowning Melbourne’s own Amin Riyazati as the Main Event champion. Riyazati, emerging victorious in the $1,500 buy-in APL Millions Gold Coast Main Event, claimed his career-best prize of $706,500 and a beautiful trophy, solidifying his position among the elite with a spot in the Hall of Fame. Last year’s Main Event was won by Malaysian crusher Sean Ooi for $585,000. This means that the latest win by Amin is the biggest APL Main Event victory so far!
This victory marks Amin’s third live title in 2024, following wins at the Brisbane Championship and the Monster Stack event at the Australian Poker Tour in Adelaide. With his Main Event triumph, his total live tournament earnings have now exceeded $800,000. Aso, he has etched his name into the Hall of Famer and a drop-down banner with Amin’s name will be displayed at future APL Million series.
A Record-Breaking Main Event
The Main Event, which ran from August 11 to 26, was the crowning jewel of the APL Millions series, drawing a record 3,160 entries. This turnout surpassed last year’s 2,496 entries, setting a new record for the largest live poker tournament in Australian history. The overwhelming participation created a massive $4.1 million prize pool, distributed among the top 366 finishers. After ten Day 1 flights and intense competition, Amin secured the title by defeating Malaysia’s Hai Kee in a thrilling heads-up showdown.
Amin’s journey to victory was anything but smooth. The final table featured formidable opponents, including WSOP 2024 Mystery Millions champion Malcolm Trayner from Sydney and New Zealand’s Nathanial Hutton. Despite starting the final table as one of the shortest stacks, Amin demonstrated exceptional skill and strategy, steadily building his stack to make it to the heads-up battle against Hai Kee.
Final Table Action
The first to be eliminated from the final table was Kane Peters, whose ace-queen couldn’t overcome Hai Kee’s pocket kings. He was followed by Nathanial Hutton, who exited in eighth place during a three-way all-in confrontation. Brock Munro, the initial chip leader, fell in seventh place after his ace-queen was outmatched by Amin’s ace-king.
India’s Vivek Reddy Banala put up a strong fight, finishing in fifth place for a career-best $180,250. Vivek’s pocket sixes were bested by Hai Kee’s ace-seven, marking an impressive run for the Indian player who moved to Brisbane five years ago.
Crowning the Champion
With four players left, Amin held a chip lead of 37 million. Meanwhile, the rising star of Australian poker Malcolm Trayner became short and he finally shoved with Jd 10d against the Ad 3d of Anthony Russo. The latter found an ace on the turn to bust Trayner in fourth place.
ALSO READ: From Australia to WSOP Stardom: The Journey of Rising Star Malcolm Trayner
Trayner was followed by Anthony Russo who ran his pocket nines into the pocket kings of Hai Kee to exit in third place and set up the heads-up clash between Amin and Hai Kee.
Hai began the heads-up with a slight lead, but Amin quickly turned the tables. The Melburnian faced a barrage of all-ins from heads-up opponent, and eventually found the spot to call all-in with A-10 against Hai’s 8-6. The board ran safe for Amin, sealing his victory and earning him the title of 2024 APL Millions Main Event champion.
2024 APL Millions Main Event Final Table Payouts
1. Amin Riyazati – $706,500 + $100K Invitational Seat
2. Hai Kee – $461,000
3. Anthony Russo – $305,100
4. Malcolm Trayner – $233,160
5. Vivek Reddy Banala (India) – $180,250
6. Grant Wheeler – $135,565
7. Brock Munro – $100,200
8. Nathanial Hutton – $66,410
9. Kane Peters – $44,705
Naj Ajez Wins APL Millions 2024 Event 76 – $5K High Roller Shot Clock Challenge
The APL Millions featured 83 events across its 18-day run. Another big event playing out on the final day of the series was Event 76: $5K High Roller Shot Clock Challenge, which drew 237 entries and generated $1,113,900 in prize pool. The top 27 were paid out with Naj Ajez from Brisbane taking home the title and a prize money of $210,005 p after a heads-up deal with Tom Maquire (second for $230,000). This marked the first APL title and career-high score for Ajez.
APL Millions 2024 Event 76 – $5K High Roller Shot Clock Challenge Payouts
1st: Naj Ajez – $210,005* + $100K Invitational Seat
2nd: Tom Maquire – $230,000*
3rd: JP Rounce-Sue – $111,390
4th: Daniel Johnson – $89,110
5th: Ruiyang Wang – $70,175
6th: Wadih Barbara – $55,695
7th: Hari Varma – $44,555
8th: Michael Egan – $36,200
9th: Matthew Ginn – $27,850
Neng Zhao Takes Down APL Millions 2024 Event 80-NLH Deepstack
Another key winner crowned on the final day of the series was Neng Zhao who outlasted a field of 463 entries in the $600 buy-in Event 80-NLH Deepstack to win $54,680 from the $243,075 prize pool.
1st: Neng Zhao – $54,680 + $100K Invitational Seat
2nd: Michael Taylor – $34,275
3rd: Qi Shen – $21,150
4th: Andrian Chin – $16,045
5th: Anthony Chan – $11,670
6th: Phat Nguyen – $9,235
7th: Zhiyu Wang – $7,290
8th: Billy Bremner – $6,075
9th: Constantin Sincari – $4,860
Renee Wheatland Ships APL Millions Event 82 Freezeout Finisher
Another prominent event to wrap the final day of the series was the APL Millions Event 82 Freezeout Finisher. The penultimate event of the series drew 96 entries for $9,600 in prize pool. In the end, Renee Wheatland emerged victorious to win it for $2,590 and joined the other female winners from the series, including Florence Ho, Fiona Katu, Michelle Psarras, Nadyne Thorne, Jade Mitchell, Catherine Young and APL Ambassador Jackie Glazier. She was super happy, claiming her first-ever APL title.
APL Millions Event 82 Freezeout Finisher
1st: Renee Wheatland – $2,590 + $100K Invitational Seat
2nd: Puthy Chea – $1,730
3rd: Tyla Covill – $1,150
4th: Paul Kirby – $960
5th: Tony Hawker – $770
6th: Alan Yu – $670
7th: Giovanni Silvestri – $575
8th: Andrew Dent – $480
9th: Brayden Jinks – $385
Michael Roughley Wins The Final Event of APL Millions 2024
Michael Roughley took down Event 83: Last Chance Turbo NLH, the last event of the series. He overcame a field of 2024 entries and took home $9,995 from the $40,800 prize pool, which was finally shared by the top 24 players. A great way for Michael to end the series.
2024 APL Millions Event 83 – Event 83: Last Chance Turbo NLH Final Table Payouts
1st: Michael Roughley – $9,995 + $100K Invitational Seat
2nd: Ashley Warner – $6,540
3rd: Simon Chahine – $4,200
4th: Alistair Rashad – $3,265
5th: Alibi Hidayat – $2,650
6th: Hubertus Peeperkon – $2,140
7th: Jacob Marenos – $1,735
8th: Jesper Heinrich – $1,325
9th: Steven Smith – $1,020
The list of other prominent winners from the series will be updated shortly. Keep following PokerProNews!
Images & Hands Credit: Australian Poker League Facebook Page
