Anton Morgenstern Wins Event #24: AU$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Anton Morgenstern secured a stunning victory in the 2019 Aussie Millions Event #24: AU$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha in a come-from-behind victory against Colombian Farid Jattin to take home AU$530,640.
Jattin held more than two thirds of the chips in play heads-up, but two heads-up doubles saw the German battle back into contention and deny his opponent.
This is Morgenstern's second Pot Limit Omaha title over the course of his poker career, and is the biggest cash of his career following a 20th place finish in the 2013 WSOP Main Event.
Runner-up Jattin backed up a 31st place finish in the Aussie Millions Main Event with a second-place here, adding another AU$337,680 to his name as he closes in on US$4m in life time earnings.
Here are the final payouts:
| Place | Name | Country | Payout (AUD) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anton Morgenstern | Germany | $530,640 | $382,061 |
| 2 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | $337,680 | $243,130 |
| 3 | Tobias Ziegler | Germany | $225,120 | $162,086 |
| 4 | Daniel Demicki | Bulgaria | $176,880 | $127,354 |
| 5 | Jarryd Godena | Australia | $128,640 | $92,621 |
| 6 | Max Lehmanski | Germany | $112,560 | $81,043 |
| 7 | Alex Foxen | United States | $96,480 | $69,466 |
"From almost bubbling to winning it, that's pretty good!" said Morgenstern who was one of the shortest stacks on the money bubble. "For the last three years Omaha has been pretty much my main game."
After Farid Jattin had run over the table, he came into heads-up with almost a 4:1 chip lead, and Morgenstern told PokerNews afterwards that he feared the worst.
"I went into the heads-up match honestly expecting to just get secondand be happy with it. But sometimes the cards just come your way and you fight back.
"When we finally got even in chips he was asking for a deal, and I declined...and flopped a full house the next hand!"
Final Day Recap
There was action almost from the word go on the final day of play here in the AU$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha as Jattin doubled through overnight chip leader Andras Nemeth with aces against ace-king. And when Matthew Wantman followed suited and doubled through Nemeth, the Hungarian was on the ropes within the first level.
Nemeth battled back and was second in chips by the first break behind Jattin, but following a second big hand against the Colombian, Nemeth was eliminated in tenth place just before the second break, missing out on the final table of nine.
With two players still to be eliminated before the tournament reached the money, it was Max Lehmanski who led the way following the earlier elimination of Christian Heich.
Rory Rees came into the final table with just six big blinds, and soon bust to Tobias Ziegler before Takashi Ogura doubled through Alex Foxen. However, it wasn't enough for the Japanese player who fell in eighth, just missing out on the money after his ace-ten was seen off by the aces of Jattin.
Foxen soon became the first elimination in the money, check-raising all in with straight and flush draws, as well as top pair, only to be picked off by the kings of Jattin. These two eliminations boosted Jattin's stack over the one million chip mark still with six players remaining as the tournament headed on dinner break.
When they returned, next to go was Lehmanski in sixth place who had dwindled and was picked off by Ziegler as he struggled to keep pace with Jattin at the head of the field.
But when Jattin eliminated Jarryd Godena his chip stack grew to around two million and looked unstoppable. But the Colombian wasn't infallible. A double apiece for Morgenstern and Ziegler four-handed saw his lead cut to just four big blinds at the top of the chip counts.
To his credit, Ziegler sent the last remaining Australian in the field Daniel Demicki to the rail in fourth as he kept pace with Jattin as the top two stacks with Morgenstern behind him.
However, the pivotal moment of this final table came down to a stroke of luck. Holding a wrap against Ziegler's pair and a flush draw, Jattin managed to find a card that completed his straight without giving his opponent a flush and won a pot that would give a stranglehold heads-up.
Or so it seemed. Two doubles were all it took. Trips for Morgenstern in the first, and a full house second. Good hands made better when they get paid by your opponent.
And although Jattin managed to double once heads-up, it was all for nought as Morgenstern clinched victory and his first Aussie Millions ANTON Championship Ring.