Martin Kozlov Wins Pokerstars Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour

A$195,700 payday for Kozlov
 
Melbourne poker pro Martin Kozlov (23) turned a short starting stack into a A$195,700 victory in the A$2,700 buy-in main event of the Melbourne leg of the Pokerstars Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour this week.
 
The local man bested a field of 310 entrants that generated a prize pool of A$775 000, ensuring that 36 survivors cashed.
 
Kozlov was the short stack going into the final table, where he faced James Obst, David Chilcott, Amanda De Cesare, Benjamin Savage, Kristina Jeney, Ted Nguyen and Rajkumar Ramakrishnan.
 
The young Melbourne pro survived at least two clashes where his departure appeared imminent but played a disciplined game of controlled aggression to stay the course and ultimately reach a heads up against James Obst, who held an intimidating 5 to 1 chip advantage. Unfazed, Kozlov relied on his style of play…and good fortune…to whittle away his opponent’s lead and finally defeat Obst, who went home surprised to find himself in second place with a paycheck for A$124,000.
 
The ANZPT’s final stop – at Darwin – is now in sight and will take place October 25-30.