Bernardo Del Toro & Chris Moussa Win Big At 2024 Australian Poker Open

Set to conclude on April 7 this week, the A$2 Million GTD Australian Poker Open is running full steam. One of the latest Australian Poker Open Highlights was the  $10,000 Trojan, which drew in an impressive68 entries and generated $639,200 in prize pool. The tournament ran for an extra day and crowned a champion Mexico’s Bernardo Del Toro who walked away with a career-best A$220,000 after defeating Australia’s Daniel Veljkovic heads-up. Veljkovic took home $144,000 as the runner-up.

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Del Toro, a newcomer to the country, has become Australian Poker Open Champion within just a week of his arrival. Invited by Mexican player Angel Guillen to explore the country, Del Toro expressed his excitement about his month-long stay in the country, stating, “I’ve never been here before, and it’s going to be such an amazing time. Winning feels surreal, and I think it’ll take some time to fully grasp it.”

Australian Poker Open The $10,000 Trojan Final Day

Del Toro entered the final day second in chips with Ehsan Amiri and Daniel Veljkovic being in the middle of the pack. Short stack Marcial Dias exited on the second hand of the day and he was soon followed by Ehsan Amiri. Both were eliminated by start-of-day chip leader Mostafa Haidary.

However, things quickly changed as Del Toro doubled through Haidary and then bested Veljkovic with just king-high to snatch the chip lead. A little later, he sent Haidary to the rail in third place to move into heads-up against Veljkovic who was able to double twice but failed to overcome the chip deficit and win it.  

Australian Poker Open The $10,000 Trojan Final Table Results

Among the other Australian Poker Open Highlights was the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships. Returning for an extended Day 3 of the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships, only two out of the final ten players had less than 25 big blinds. Among them was Sydney local Chris Moussa, as the action resumed at Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi. As the play progressed towards the final table bubble, Moussa’s stack tripled as he secured back-to-back pocket kings. Leveraging his newfound chips, Moussa soared to claim a memorable title at the inaugural Australian Poker Open.

The $1,500 Platinum Player Championships drew an impressive 937 entries, smashing the advertised guarantee and generating a whopping A$1,218,100 in the final prize pool. In the end, Moussa took home the lion’s share of the prize pool, emerging Australian Poker Open Champion and securing A$248,000 along with the coveted APO trophy.

Australian Poker Open $1,500 Platinum Player Championships Final Day

A total of ten players returned for an unscheduled day. Moussa delivered the first knockout with his pair of kings taking out Michael Sleiman in 10th place. Moussa then took  an overwhelming chip lead after knocking out David Hirst in ninth place. Ken Demlakian fell in eighth after missing his flush draw, while Campbell Ashton lost a flip to fall in seventh. The next to fall was Alex Lee, who entered the day as one of the big stacks. He was busted by Moussa in sixth place. Moussa then dispatched Sergio Colosimo in fifth place before Paris Sitzoukis exited in fourth place.

Down to three-handed, Khanh Le called off on the river against Moussa and lost to exit in third place. Moussa entered the heads against Justin Woo, who came into the day as the chip leader. Moussa held a sizable chip lead and the pressure was on his opponent until the final card was dealt. On the final hand, Woo called off on the river. Moussa had the goods and he took down the coveted title.

Australian Poker Open $1,500 Platinum Player Championships Final Table Results