Daniel Craker Wins Biggest Poker Tournament in New Zealand History

New Zealander Daniel Craker beat a field of 305 other players from 21 countries to win New Zealand’s biggest poker tournament in history, the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event for NZD $257,040 (approx. USD $155,800, Euros 114,300 , or GBP 90,075), plus an entry into the APPT Main Grand Final in Sydney and a shot at its top prize of one million dollars.

Craker spoke with New Zealand’s 3 News after his win that spanned 4 days, saying, "I just felt something was just telling me – before I’d even started – that I was going to have a good go at it." He added, "On day two I played probably my best poker of the tournament which got me up there."

The Final Table included (showing chip counts):

Seat 1: Daniel Craker – 447,000

Seat 2: Nathanael Seet - 348,000

Seat 3: Wai Yuen – 162,000

Seat 4: Matthew Konnecke – 80,000

Seat 5: Wang Jung – 373,000

Seat 6: Luke Stanford – 860,000

Seat 7: Jani Karke – 49,000

Seat 8: Dan Sing – 198,000

Seat 9: Michael Mariakis – 262,000

Craker took out the championship title and the winner’s check by betting 1.7 million chips on a pair of twos against Matthew Konnecke. "It was heads up and I had pocket twos. I was pretty tired and my strategy was to play aggressive and I raised it. He re-raised, I went all in… and they held up."

His strategy impressed those watching at the casino as well as poker buddies watching on line from his home town.

"The final table was sensational,"says host SKYCITY Auckland Executive Manager of table games Ejaaz Dean. "The crowd participation, the quality of the players and the quality of the hands was second to none."

Craker, a plasterer by trade from Lower Hutt, does not expect his new found fame and fortune to change him too much. He says he will use his winnings to buy a house but definitely has not forgotten his day job.

"I’m actually in the middle of a job at the moment," says Craker, before telling his boss: "I’ll get to that job eventually!"

Final Standings (showing prize money in NZD) were:

1. Daniel Craker (NZ) – $257,040

2. Matthew Konnecke (AUS) – $162,791

3. Wang Jung (NZ) – $85,680

4. Dan Sing (NZ) – $59,976

5. Luke Stanford (NZ) – $46,267

6. Nathanael Seet (Singapore) – $34,272

7. Jani Karke (Finland) – $25,704

8. Michael Mariakis (AUS) – $19,706

9. Wai Yuen (UK) – $14,565

 

Source: pokerpages.com

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