Vincent Wan Wins 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event

The 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event has finally come to a close and Crown Casino regular Vincent Wan emerged as the biggest winner after topping a field of 820 entries for a career best score of A$1,318,000 ($907,196 USD).

Wan, who is known by his nickname “Wonky“, also walked away with the prestigious ANTON Jewellery bracelet, alongside the Aussie Millions trophy, as part of a three-handed deal with Vietnamese poker pro Ngoc Tai Hoang and New Zealand’s Gareth Pepper.

Seven players battled it out at the final table, with German player Nino Ullmann dominating the early stages of action. He sent Nicolas Malo out of the game after flopping the nut straight, beating the Canadian’s flopped pair and open-ended straight draw. Malo earned A$240,080 for finishing seventh.

Oliver Weis was the next to go after an all-in showdown against Pepper. Weis took home A$307,820 for his sixth-place finish. Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel three-bet shoved with ace-ten, but ran into Wan’s ace-jack, ending his bid in fifth place for A$378,660.

At 60 years old, Seidel still has it and remains among the biggest earners in the history of Aussie Millions. Over several years, he’s been securing final table finishes in No-Limit Hold’em Main Events at the $10,000 buy-in range.

Start-of-day chip leader Ullman fell in fourth place after losing a hand against Hoang. He walked away with A$480,160 in winnings.

Three-Handed Deal

The remaining three players agreed to a deal, leaving the ANTON bracelet and Aussie Millions Main Event title to play for. Each was guaranteed to earn a seven-figure score regardless of the outcome. The curtain eventually fell on Pepper after his blind shove from the small blind was called by Wan who held superior cards. Pepper finished third for A$1,000,000.

Vincent Wan was in the lead when he entered heads-up play against Hoang. It was an exciting match which extended the length of the final table to roughly 15 hours. Wan’s victory became official during the 414th hand of the day when Hoang went all in with ace-trey against Wan’s ten-nine. Wan secured two pair from the board to capture the title, with Hoang also taking home A$1,318,000 as runner-up. He now holds the record for the single biggest score by a Vietnamese player.

This year’s edition of the Aussie Millions Main Event was among the biggest in the tournament’s history, generating a total prize pool of over US$5.6 million, and falling just three entries short of the record-breaking 2019 attendance.

Wan now joins Bryn Kenney, Toby Lewis, Ari Engle, Gus Hansen and others in the Aussie Millions Main Event champions list, with $1,164,359 in total live earnings.