John Bogdanovski Wins The Poker Palace Summer Championships $1,150 Main Event After Marathon Heads-Up (AU$100,000 / $76,623)
After a marathon heads-up that lasted four hours, John Bogdanovski prevailed over Mark Staples to become the winner of the $1,150 Main Event at the Poker Palace Summer Championships in Sydney's Club Marconi. Bogdanovski outlasted a field of 366 entrants to claim the first-place prize of AU$100,000 at the end of a long day.
Bogdanovski defeated runner-up Staples after an epic heads-up duel, forcing Staples to settle for the second-place prize of AU$63,000. Start-of-the-day chip leader Toby Giles rounded out the podium and received AU$40,000 for his efforts. The cashes were lifetime Hendon Mob records for all three, smashing their respective previous bests.
Notables running deep in the event included Michael Tran and Didier Guerin who finished in fourth and fifth, while Grant Levy just missed out on the final table after finishing in 11th place.
$1,150 Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bogdanovski | Australia | $100,000 | $76,623 |
| 2 | Mark Staples | Australia | $63,000 | $48,233 |
| 3 | Toby Giles | Australia | $40,000 | $30,624 |
| 4 | Michael Tran | Australia | $24,500 | $18,757 |
| 5 | Didier Guerin | Australia | $19,500 | $14,929 |
| 6 | Adnan Al-Maliki | Australia | $15,000 | $11,484 |
| 7 | David Hirst | Australia | $11,500 | $8,803 |
| 8 | [Removed:271] | Australia | $8,500 | $6,506 |
| 9 | Joseph Antar | Australia | $6,500 | $4,975 |
For those that stayed on top of PokerNews' live updates throughout the final day, as well to those watching in the room itself, Bodganovski's victory shouldn't have come as a surprise. Bogdanovski dominated the final table throughout and was personally responsible for knocking out five of his seven opponents and decimating the sixth one. At times, it almost felt like he was untouchable.
That is, until he ended up heads-up against Staples. Coming into heads-up play with a 3:1 chip advantage, the ball was in Bogdanovski's court to quickly finish the job. Staples, however, had a different plan in mind. It resulted in a gritty heads-up battle that lasted almost four hours. Twice, Staples came close to a comeback but ultimately, Bogdanovski never surrendered the lead and finished the job late in the night.
That wraps PokerNews first-ever live coverage of the Summer Championships at the Poker Palace! The $5,000 Super HIigh Roller, scheduled to be played out alongside the Main Event today, bagged with three players remaining. PokerNews will provide details of that event once the final results are in.
Once again, records here were smashed across the board; make sure to check out the website to keep up to date with the latest poker offerings at Club Marconi. Until next time!
