Tournament coverage Poker

2009 APPT wrap

Written by Pai Yao

This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.

The 2009 Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) has come to the end of yet another ground-breaking year. The tour continued to increase the profile of poker in Asia, helping to ensure the game’s long term future in the region. The tour’s third year has seen new venues, an increase in numbers, and more local players taking up poker than ever before.

The Asia Pacific market was always going to be a lucrative one; it just needed the likes of the APPT to come up with a product that was appealing to everyone in the region. Not only have they come up with a range of tournaments and locations that work well for the local market, they (in conjunction with PokerStars) have also been successful in bringing plane loads of international poker tourists across to this part of the world.

An excellent example of this was in November, with the first ever major tournament held in Cebu in the Philippines. There have been major tournaments held before in Manila, but never before have tourists been able to travel to such an exotic beach location to play poker. It was one of the best welcoming parties ever held at a poker tournament. Just imagine sipping a cocktail on a pristine beach with your own private fireworks display.

APPT 2009

APPT 2009

Many poker players remember the miserable conditions of playing in a tent at the World Series a few years back. The Cebu Event was held in a marquee that was perfectly air conditioned, and from all reports it was the perfect place to play poker. The final table was delayed as the country held its breath as Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao took one step closer to Floyd Mayweather and a chance of boxing immortality. It was a great tournament, especially for Dong-Bin Han of Korea who took down the title and over seven million pesos for his troubles.

The Grand Final in Sydney is always a much anticipated event; and the highlight of the poker calendar in December. Australia is already home to one of the biggest poker tournaments in the world – the ‘Aussie Millions‘ – but the APPT Grand Final is clearly the second biggest ‘down under’, and already a must for all serious poker players. Imagine playing poker right in the heart of Sydney’s world famous harbour with the bridge and the Opera House just around the corner.

Star City has opened up a brand new poker room, and finally the wonderful harbour city of Sydney has a poker home to feel proud of. All the top pros including Joe Hachem, Peter Eastgate, Lee Nelson and Terence Chan made the trip to Sydney this year to enjoy the hot weather and the action packed poker. The Grand Final is the most prestigious and lucrative APPT title of them all. Two local Sydneysiders walked away with the Grand Final titles in the first two years, but this year Aaron Benton from Wollongong, Australia prevailed, playing a very impressive brand of poker. Benton will be a proud APPT Grand Final Champion, but even more importantly he walked away with a cool AU$594,000 for his hard work at the tables.

Season 4 of the APPT in 2010 promises to be another ground-breaking year of tournaments, so log onto www.appt.com and find out the details of how you could be the next APPT Champion.