WSOP APAC - Phil Hellmuth headlines the A$2,200 No Limit 6-max tournament, looking for 14th bracelet

As we have reported yesterday, Phil Hellmuth busted the first five events of the WSOP APAC and struggled with breathing problems aswell, but yesterday he pulled himself together and reached the final table of the A$2,200 No Limit Hold'em 6-max tournament. Meanwhile, in the crazy Player of the Year race, George Danzer reached the final table of the 8-Game Dealer's Choice event and has the chance to overtake Brandon Shack-Harris once again.

243 registered for the event which generated a prizepool of A$1.45 million. 31 players advanced from Day 1 and there were plenty of great players left, including Phil Hellmuth.

There were 27 places paid, and many of the big names busted after the bubble burst, Tony Hachem, Jesse Sylvia and Ami "UhhMe" Barer were ell eliminated. 

Phil Hellmuth eliminated Kris Nestorovic in 7th place on the way of reaching the final table for an astonishing 51st time in his career, where he will be hunting for the 14th WSOP bracelet of his career. 

In the final hand of the day, Alexander Antonios raised to 6,500 (blinds 1,500-3,000) from UTG, Michael Tran and Kris Nestorovic called in position. Hellmuth looked at his cards, declared that he hates this hand, then called in the big blind.

The flop came A-9-4 with two spades and Hellmuth lead out for 15,000. Everyone folded to Nestorovic, who went all-in with 65,500. Hellmuth asked for a count then called, stating that he hopes his opponent has A-4. 

Hellmuth had the A-9 of diamonds for top two pair, while Nestorovic had A-Q for just top pair. Hellmuth managed to hold up on the 8 turn and 6 river and increased his stack to 266,500, which is good for fifth place, but even the chipleader, Steven Zhou only has 315,000, so Hellmuth has a great opportunity to win his 14th World Series of Poker bracelet. 

Besides Hellmuth, the other interesting name in the final is Bruno Politano, one of this year's November Niners, who came to the APAC with the goals of improving himself and playing with tough competition to prepare for the WSOP Main Event final table. Day 3 will begin from 12:10 Melbourne time.

Hellmuth said the following about his day at the tables: "It feels really good to reach another final table. It's not necessarily unexpected, but it's just that I hadn't cashed in the first six tournaments. I felt like I was playing well. All I was doing was trying to manage my health. Manage my breathing."

Final table chipstacks

Seat 1. Steven Zhou - 315.000
Seat 2. Phil Hellmuth - 266.500
Seat 3. Alexander Antonios - 278.000     
Seat 4. Michael Tran - 274.000     
Seat 5. Yu Kurita - 269.500     
Seat 6. Bruno Politano - 65.000

Payouts:

1. A$128.784
2. A$79.646
3. A$55.365
4. A$38.909
5. A$27.624
6. A$19.809

In other WSOP APAC news,  Sam Higgs defeated a very strong final table to claim the A$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, beating Mike Watson, Jonathan Duhamel, Jamie Pickering, Jeff Rossiter and Ismael Bojang on the way to his A$127,843 payday.

1. Sam Higgs $127,843 
2. Mike Watson $79,099
3. Jonathan Duhamel $52,068
4. Jamie Pickering $36,449
5. Jeff Rossiter $27,011
6.      Ismael Bojang $21,123

Sam Higgs

As we have reported yesterday, the $A1,650 8-Game Dealer's Choice tournament was already underway. Now there are only 6 players left, including George Danzer, who has to finish fourth or better to overtake Brandon Shack-Harris in the Player of the Year race. Danzer is currently fifth in chips at the 6-handed final table, play will continue later today.