The £2,500 buy-in Pokerstars Asian Pacific Poker Tour has taken place at the Grand Waldo Hotel in Macau, and it has been won by relative unknown Dinh Le.

The Vietnamese born player battled his way through a field of 352 players including experienced professionals such as Scott Nguyen, Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro, Bill Chen and top Internet player, Hevad ‘Rain’ Khan.  The tournament was played over three days and was the first major poker tournament to be held in China. It had a distinctly oriental feel with an opening ceremony which included gongs, drums and a Chinese lion dance.

By the second day of competition, the field had been reduced to 74 players.  Some big names in world poker were still left in the tournament such as Scott Nguyen, Hevad Khan, Bertrand Grospellier, Bill Chen, Isabelle Mercier and Joe Hachem.  Isabelle Mercier was the first of these big names to fall, as she had pocket kings but was up against pocket aces.  The next hour saw a fourth of the remaining players knocked out.  Internet ace Hevad Khan finished in 33rd place.  Play continued and eventually we were down to the final 9 players for the final table to conclude on day 3.

The players that made it to the final table and their chip counts going into the final table action were; Dinh Lee (710,000), Guillaume Patry (575,000), Ivan Tan (549,000), Bertrand Grospellier (455,000), Sangkyoun Kim (422,000), William Tan (293,000), Liz Lieu (232,000), Simon Randall (159,00) and Joe Hachem (130,000).

The first player to be eliminated was Britain’s only player to make the final table, Simon Randall.  His ninth placed position earned him a payday of $16,192.

Australian Joe Hachem was looking to make history by becoming the first player to win a WSOP main event, WPT title and Asian Pacific Poker Tour tournament.  He failed in his goal but had a good run to finish in eighth position and take home $24,288 in prize money.

The top female player of the tournament Liz Lieu of USA did well to finish in seventh place and earn $32,384.

Australia had two players in the final table and young casino dealer William Tan was the best of the Aussies as he finished sixth to collect $40,480.

Good friends Guillaume Patry and Bertrand Grospellier proved that they are two of the most exciting young poker players around as they finished fourth and fifth respectively.  Frenchman Grospellier’s fifth place earned him $48,576, whereas Canadian Patry’s fourth spot earned him a payday of $56,672.

Asian players playing on home soil had a strong showing at this tournament as the final three players left were Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea), Ivan Tan (Singapore) and of course Dinh Le (Vietnam).  It was Sangkyoun Kim who just missed out on the final heads-up action, and his third place earned him $72,864.

So it was Ivan Tan and Dinh Le left for the final heads-up action.  After 10 hands of intense play, Dinh Le had pocket eights against Tans A-T which sealed the title for Dinh Le.  Ivan Tan’s runner-up spot earned him $129,536.

This was Dinh Le’s first live tournament appearance and prior to this his only poker experience was a weekly game with friends.  He certainly shocked the field and should be a name to watch out for in the future as his first prize of $222,640 should allow him to travel the world poker circuit.  He won the title with brave play and his favourite move was bluffing.

Dinh Le’s win proves that anyone can win a major poker tournament and should be inspiration to aspiring poker players worldwide.

The action in Macau isn’t finished as the $15,000 buy-in high roller event is underway.

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