High stakes exponent Stephen Chidwick has been crowned the inaugural Australian Poker Open after a fourth place finish in the $100,000 buy-in main event catapulted him past Hungary’s Andras Nemeth on the points leaderboard.
A partnership between The Star Gold Coast, World Poker Tour (WPT) and Poker Central, the Australian Poker Open is a series of seven high-roller tournaments featuring buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. The title of Australian Poker Open champion and a $50,000 bonus prize is awarded to the player who accrues the most points across all seven events.
While Australia’s own Michael Addamo finished the series with the most money ($1,685,500) after winning the main event, it was Chidwick to topped the points tally with 650 points after reaching three final tables and taking down the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em. Chidwick picked up $999,000 for his efforts during the week, which includes his $50,000 prize as APO champion.
“It feels great,” Chidwick said afterwards. “Hopefully these style of events continue because I think it’s a bit more of an achievable accolade to win a multiple of or, over time, determine who the best player is rather than looking at a single tournament.
“Obviously there’s a lot of luck involved in this too, but over the course of seven, eight, or 10 events you’re going to see the better players win more often and it would be fun to see who can collect the most titles like this.”
Meanwhile, Addamo – fresh off winning his first Aussie Millions ring in Melbourne – continues to make his mark on the poker world with his live career earnings now already over $11 million.
Addamo is one of four players nominated for the upcoming Global Poker Awards in Las Vegas in March, Chidwick, Ali Imsirovic and fellow Australian Kahle Burns.
“That’s what you want to be as a poker player, the most feared player. I try to put people in tough spots,” he said of the nomination.
2020 Australian Poker Open Championship Standings (top 10):
| Pos | Name | Points | Prize (AU$) |
| 1 | Stephen Chidwick | 650 | $949,000 |
| 2 | Andras Nemeth | 630 | $534,100 |
| 3 | Michael Addamo | 560 | $1,685,500 |
| 4 | Mike Watson | 450 | $241,500 |
| 5 | Luke Greenwood | 360 | $717,700 |
| 6 | Farid Jattin | 360 | $360,500 |
| 7 | Joni Jouhkimainen | 330 | $231,500 |
| 8 | Aaron Van Blarcum | 305 | $857,500 |
| 9 | Timothy Adams | 300 | $416,500 |
| 10 | Erik Seidel | 270 | $284,300 |
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