Hasan “Huss” Onay has won 2024 Australian Poker Open Main Event after a heads-up deal with Brazil Higor Seibel.
Onay, the second most successful player in the world Hustler Casino Live History, went heads-up with a dominant chip lead and eventually agreed to a heads-up deal with Seibel.
The tournament took place with 549 players Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconiwith Onay returning home A$284,480 and the first APO Main Event title. For his efforts, Seibel will receive A$255,520.
Australian Poker Open Main Event final table results
| Location | player | country | Price (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hasan Onay | Australia | $284,480* |
| 2 | Higor Seibel | Brazil | $255,520* |
| 3 | Lauchlan Swann | Australia | $120,000 |
| 4 | Georgina Vuksanovic | Australia | $90,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Tolomeo | Australia | $66,000 |
| 6 | Toby Giles | Australia | $51,000 |
| 7 | Michael Sleiman | Australia | $43,000 |
| 8th | Adi Dahari | Australia | $34,500 |
| 9 | Marc Seymour | Australia | $27,900 |
*denotes heads-up deal
Winner’s reaction
“It’s been mentioned in the last few days, but I might retire from cash games and start playing in tournaments!” Onay said PokerNews after his victory. “Even though this is the only place I can get money, I might just play here!”
“Maybe I’ll retire from cash games and start playing tournaments!”
Onay entered the final day third in chips behind Lauchlan Swann and the runaway chip leader Georgina Vuksanovicwho looked to run away from the tournament before eventually falling to fourth place.
“We were all standing really deep, so I felt comfortable playing,” Onay said. “At some point I was little, and [Vuksanovic] had half the chips in play. It felt like we were all playing for second place. But that’s not how poker works. I guess she got unlucky a few times and I turned it around.”
The first Australian Poker Open Main Event was a huge success and Onay said he was proud to have been a part of it.
“For me it is something very special. I know the organizers have put a lot of effort into it and it feels great to win it and be part of the team with them.”
“I know the organizers have put a lot of effort into it and it feels great to win it.”
And does this tournament win mean that players like Wesley Fei and Nik Airball will have to wait a while for Huss’ return to the US cash game scene?
“I’d like to say I won’t be there very often, but I think I’ll definitely be there. Give me a few months with the baby and I’ll definitely be there!”
Summary of the final table
Vuksanovic was a woman on a mission to get to the final table and find bluffs Adi Dahari and Onay before Dahari sent Marc Seymour as the first elimination at the final table to the rail.
At the first break, Vuksanovic was the overwhelming chip leader before the field went from eight to four after an hour of madness.
Michael Sleiman And Lauchlan Swann played an entertaining pot that saw Swann enter the race while Vuksanovic continued her rise through bluffs Toby Giles Off-pocket kings.
Then came the eliminations. Swann took out Dahari and Sleiman in quick succession before Onay got rid of Giles and Daniel Tolomeo. And while Vuksanovic still maintained her chip lead, the proceedings felt a lot less celebratory.
Seibel had shown excellent game awareness, raising multiple times and using safety-first tactics to get this far, and he doubled twice with four hands to stay alive.
Meanwhile, there was a change in the chip lead as Vuksanovic clashed with Swann. In a raising war on a dry jack-high flop, Vuksanovic three-bet with pocket sixes, but Swann’s shove with pocket aces forced her out of the hand.
Seibel would double again before Swann beat Vuksanovic in the fourth.
Onay had timed his advance perfectly, and when it came, it was timed perfectly. Seibel had secured another double through Swann, meaning he held the chip lead at the crucial moment at this final table.
Onay limped along Q♠Q♦ Blind to blind, Swann raised 9♥9♦ in the big blind. Onay raised again before Swann pushed the big blinds to over 70.
Onay took his time making his decision before finally calling and eliminating Swann with his pocket pair.
“Looking back, I feel like I let him roll slowly,” Onay said PokerNews later. “But it felt like ICM suicide and I didn’t know if I should call it off. If he had covered me, I honestly would have given up.”
The heads-up was a short affair. Seibel would double up one final time before the two agreed to a deal that would allow Onay to take home the trophy and title as the first winner of the APO Main Event.
The Australian Poker Open action continues here PokerNews with ongoing coverage of the Platinum Player Championships and The $10,000 Buy-in Trojan starting tomorrow. Stay tuned for the latest news from Sydney!
Want Shillibier
Editor-in-Chief
Based in the UK, Will began working as a freelance live reporter for PokerNews in 2015 and joined the full-time team in 2019. In 2017 he graduated from the University of Kent with a BA in German. He also holds an NCTJ diploma in sports journalism.
