Asia’s Biggest Poker Tour returns for Season 3 to set new records – posted 06.22.09

Poker players across Asia Pacific will soon feel the electricity rise under the felt once again as the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour returns to set new records with Season 3. 

Season 2 of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour was a huge success, attracting 1,772 of the region’s best poker players and awarding nearly $5,000,000 in prize money.

Season 3 looks set to break that barrier and stage the finest poker tournaments in the most stunning locations.

The Tour will make stops in Macau, Seoul, Auckland, The Philippines and Sydney with increased tournament capacities.

APPT Season 3 begins in Macau at the end of August at the Grand Lisboa - home to the luxurious PokerStars Macau Poker Room. From there, it’s a whirlwind ride across Seoul, Auckland and Cebu in the Philippines before moving on to Sydney for the Grand Final in December.

Click here to view the most current tournament schedule or click here to find details about the first event APPT Macau Season 3.

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Watch PCA and World Cup of Poker V live on PokerStars.tv – posted 01.05.09

PokerStars.tv is giving you a front-row seat to this year’s World Cup of Poker V and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) final tables, with four days of the best poker action streamed live and direct to your computer. If you’re a fan looking to see great poker or if you’re looking to improve your game, you cannot afford to miss this set of live broadcasts. 

PokerStars.tv will be streaming live TV coverage of events on the PokerStars European Poker Tour with expert commentary from Team PokerStars Pros. Fans can follow the drama live as it unfolds and observe the strategies of expert high-stakes players who are playing in $10,000+ buy-in games!

First up, the World Cup of Poker V finals will be broadcast live on PokerStars.tv, with hole cards visible to viewers at 12:00 ET, January 6 2009. The World Cup of Poker V sees teams from around the globe competing for national pride, bragging rights, and $290,000 in cash prizes.

Next up is the $25k PCA High Roller event on January 8, closely followed by coverage of the $10k Main Event on January 9 and 10. Now part of the hugely successful PokerStars European Poker Tour, the PCA is held every year at the ultra-luxurious Atlantis Resort and Casino, located in the beautiful surroundings of the Bahamas.

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Players take home a USD$4,998,268 total prize pool with APPT Season 2 – posted 12.11.08

Season 2 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) finished its five month tour as the richest poker tournament for players to enter in Asia Pacific. 

A massive 1,772 players from around the world took to the felt to claim a piece of the USD $4,998,268 prize pool that APPT Macau, Seoul, Auckland, Manila and Sydney events made in total.

Players who made it to the final table and won all earned over $128,000 and came from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages.

Hailing from over 70 different nations, with as many as 465 players qualifying via online satellites at PokerStars, the field created a multicultural and high-energy tournament experience.

In September, 22-year-old accountancy student Eddie Sabat beat a field of 538 to earn himself a payday of USD$453,851 and became the youngest player to win an APPT event. In October, it was the turn of 49-year old Yoshihiro Tasaka to become the first Japanese player to win an APPT event, after he took down APPT Seoul for USD$128,250. Elated to win in front of his home crowd, Kiwi Daniel Cracker took first prize at Auckland, winning USD$153,399. After a gruelling 16 hours of final table play at APPT Manila,  25-year-old Van Marcus, from Melbourne, conquered a field of 306 to earn USD$162,856.

Finally, the APPT Season 2 concluded by creating another Australian millionaire when 34 year old insurance worker Martin Rowe won AUD$1,000,000 (USD$648,046).

The APPT has generated unrivalled interest in poker throughout Asia Pacific and Season 3 details will be announced shortly.  You can view all our coverage on APPT Season 2 on PokerStars.tv or visit the archive section on PokerStarsblog.com.  

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34-year old Aussie insurance worker becomes millionaire – posted 12.07.08

Tonight 34 year old Sydneysider Martin Rowe pocketed a massive AUD $1 million to become the newest PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Grand Final champion, outplaying 476 rivals over the past five days.

Cheered on in front of his by family, friends and a home crowd, Martin, a father of (almost) two from North Sydney commented directly following his win: “I cannot believe I have won tonight.  I felt on edge but not out of control the entire tournament and now to have the title I am just ecstatic – this will be life changing for my family.”

The Final Table began with nine players from an impressive starting field of 477, including the current 22 year old World Champion Peter Eastgate and Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker, competing for a prize pool of over $2.8 million. 

With the final table made up of seven Aussies, it was fitting the title remained in Australia (a Pole and Canadian made up the remainder). Final table play lasted a gruelling nine and a half hours. In the last hand of the tournament Rowe raised 250,000 pre-flop. Gray went all-in and Martin called revealing Ac-Qh to Gray’s 9h-5h. The flop came down As-Qc-5s and the turn bought a 9s, but the river held a brick for Gray.

“It is fantastic to see an Australian champion in the APPT Grand Final for the second year in a row.  Amongst a great international lineup it represents the calibre of poker in this country,” said APPT President Jeffrey Haas.

Other players who finished on the final table included the PokerStars Online Qualifier Timothy English from Australia, who qualified through PokerStars in a Last Chance Qualifier last Monday for $475 and took fifth place today to cash AUD$ 140,000.

This tournament ends the second season of the PokerStars.net APPT.  Season 3 of APPT will be announced shortly.

The standings for the final nine of the Main Event are as follows:

Place	Name	Country	PS Status	Prize (AUD)
1	Martin Rowe	Australia		1,000,000
2	Jason Gray	Australia		476,000
3	Tony Basile	Canada		266,000
4	Antonio Fazzolari	Australia		182,000
5	Timothy English	Australia	PokerStars Qualifier	140,000
6	Frank Saffioti	Australia		100,800
7	Daniel Kowalski	Poland	PokerStars Qualifier	72,800
8	Hai Bo Chu	Australia	PokerStars Qualifier	53,200
9	Tom Rafferty	Australia		39,200

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