When it came down to the final nine players in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour’s Macau event, there was exactly one PokerStars qualifier remaining. He was also the last man standing. When the final cards were dealt, Eddie Sabat parlayed his online qualifier into a U.S. $453,851 payday. The 22-year-old American was the youngest player ever to make the APPT Macau final table.
After a grueling 12-hour final table, the final nine finished as follows. All prize money is given in Hong Kong Dollars (HKD):
1. Edward Sabat (United States), $3,540,040
2. Charles Chua (Malaysia), $2,275,740
3. Diwei Huang (Singapore), $1,201,080
4. Mikael Rosen (Sweden), $847,080
5. Jeppe Drivsholm (Denmark), $632,150
6. Kuok Wai Will Cheong (Macau), $442,500
7. Tian Chen (China), $328,720
8. Javed Abrahams (United Kingdom), $240,220
9. So Myung Sim (South Korea), $177,000
On the final hand of the tournament, Sabat and Chua pushed their chips into the middle after a flop of 6-6-Q with two diamonds. Sabat flipped over K-J of diamonds and Chua showed Q-3. The ace of clubs missed both players on the turn, but a river diamond gave Sabat the win. He cashed twice during the 2008 World Series of Poker, taking home $16,032 for 24th place in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event 36). He also pocketed $5,060 in a $2,000 buy-in No Limit tournament by virtue of finishing 108th. His marquee WSOP cash came in a Circuit Event at Harrah’s Rincon, where he finished third in the $5,000 buy-in Championship Event for $70,680.
The stats from the 2008 APPT Macau tournament are staggering. There were a total of 538 entrants this year, which was up 52% from 2007. The top 56 players cashed and many of whom were from Asia. In fact, Asian attendance to the Macau tournament ballooned by 35%. On the growth in that part of the world, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion and PokerStars pro Joe Hachem remarked, “Taking part in the APPT is very exciting, as you get to meet and compete against so many of the world’s best players. This is the second time I’ve taken part in the event and it’s great to see so many Asian faces at the tables. I think the level of participation this year shows that the PokerStars APPT is a great catalyst for the development of the game in the region.”
Players who made their way to Macau included three-time WSOP bracelet winner Barry Greenstein, 2008 WSOP HORSE Champion Scotty Nguyen, 2006 Aussie Millions winner Lee Nelson, and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan.
Sabat qualified online for just over $90. The APPT heads to Seoul, South Korea in a few weeks. Play at the Paradise Walker-Hill Casino begins on September 26th. The APPT’s website notes that Korean nationals are not allowed to enter the tournament because of the casino’s “condition of its gaming license as granted and regulated by the South Korean government.” Exceptions are available, so visit the official APPT website for more details.
Congratulations to Eddie Sabat for winning the APPT Macau for all of us here at Poker News Daily.