Oliver Speidel Wins 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event

by MIKE SCHULTZ on FEBRUARY 14, 2012

While Phil Ivey prevailed taking first place in the $250,000 Challenge, the Main Event at the 2012 Aussie Millions Poker Championship went to Melbourne’s Oliver Speidel. Speidel outplayed a field of 659 players to claim the $1,600,000 first place prize in a final table that only lasted seven hours.

As players dropped like flies from the final table, Speidel found himself the chipleader in head-to-head play against Hong Kong’s Kenneth Wong. In the final hand, Speidel put Wong all in pre-flop, with Wong holding a respectable 9♣ 9♥. However, victory was won when Speidel slammed his A♠ A♣ down. With no cards helping Wong on the board, Speidel, a 26-year-old banker, jumped on the table, laid on his back, and rubbed the $1.6 million all over his body. For poker spectators, it doesn’t get much more entertaining than that.

Here are the top finishers:

Along with the cash prize, Speidel also walked home with the coveted Aussie Millions diamond-encrusted gold ring, a glass trophy, and a Rolex watch.