Gordon Huntly wins Australia New Zealand Poker Tour

03/26/2012 : SCOT TAKES DOWN AUSTRALIAN POKER TOURNEY
 
Huntly takes A$226,812 back to Scotland
 
Scots poker ace Gordon Huntly took A$ 226,812 in first prize cash back to his homeland after a weekend in which he took down the 2012 PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour main event in Sydney.
 
The canny and disciplined Scot bested 461 entrants in the event, which started final table action Sunday evening with Huntly facing Liam O’Rourke, Anthony Aston, Stewart Ballard, Jason O’Brien, Oliver Speidel, Craig Blight, Bradley Lancken and Martin Rowe.
 
At that point Liam O’Rourke on 3,400,000 had a significant lead on his closest opponent, Anthony Aston (1,900,000), with the pack some way behind.
 
Most of the fireworks on the final table were provided by O'Rourke and Jason O'Brien as the game progressed, but eventually it was O'Brien who headed for the exit in fifth place after a memorable clash with his aggressive rival.
 
Four-handed, it looked like a long night as more disciplined play took hold for several hours before first Ballard and then Aston fell in fourth and third spot respectively, leaving Huntly and a dominating O'Rourke to settle the match.
 
Despite O'Rourke's larger chip stack and aggressive approach, it was Huntly who emerged the winner, and after only a half hour of action to boot. He ground down O'Rourke's lead to eventually position himself with a 3 to 1 chip advantage, enabling him to take the game..
 
O'Rourke's second placing was worth A$ 144,754