Melbourne's Own Vincent Wan Wins Aussie Millions Main Event
Vincent Wan has been a regular at the Crown Casino in Melbourne for nearly two decades. In that time he has come to become a frequent face in the high stakes cash games and has even managed to win the Royal Flush jackpot on two occasions.
On Friday, he capped all of that by winning the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event title after an epic 15-hour long final table that included a heads-up battle that lasted longer than The Irishman and had nothing other than the trophy at stake.
The seven players who returned to action on Friday played for over two hours before the first elimination. Nino Ullmann raised from the UTG+1 with 
, Gareth Pepper called from the hijack with 
, and Nicolas Malo defended the big blind with 
. The 
flop gave Ullmann the nut straight. Malo and Ullmann both checked and Pepper bet 400,000. Malo moved all in for 790,000 and Ullmann came over the top for 1,325,000 all in. Pepper folded. The turn was the 
and the 
completed the board to eliminate Malo in seventh.
A little over an hour later, another player was sent to the rail. Pepper raised to 220,000 from the hijack with 
before Oliver Weis moved all in for 2,190,000. Pepper called. The board ran out 
to give Pepper the pot and end Weis’ run in sixth place.
The five remaining players played for four hours and took a one-hour dinner break before the next player was sent to the rail. Wan raised to 325,000 from the cutoff with 
and Erik Seidel pushed all in for 2,875,000 from the button with 
. Wan called. The 
flop gave both players a pair. Seidel wasn’t able to make trips throug the 
turn or river and the Poker Hall of Famer was eliminated in fifth.
Another hour passed without an elimination before Ullmann got involved in another confrontation with a much different result. Ngoc Tai Hoang called from the small blind with 
and Ullmann checked the big blind with 
. The 
flop gave Ullmann control. Hoang bet 300,000 and Ullmann called. Hoang then checked the 
and Ullmann bet 800,000. Hoang moved all in and Ullmann called all in. The 
river gave Hoang a better two pair and sent Ullmann to the rail with a fourth place finish.
The final three players then entered into chop discussions which got a little contentious. After running the ICM numbers, Pepper wanted his payout bumped up to an even $1 million. Wan agreed but was insistent that he would get the trophy, despite trailing Hoang at the time. Crown Tournament Director Joel Williams informed them that they had to play for the trophy. Negotiations continued and Wan pitched new numbers that Hoang felt was unfair.
“It is fair, because I’m definitely better than you. I’ve been a professional poker player for like 20 years and he’s been playing for like 10 years as well,” Wan said. “This is like your first cash. You have like a $5K cash a $2K cash, I saw. It’s okay. I know.”
Hoang explained he’s had other cashes not listed online while campaigning for a more favorable payout.
“I can see the way you play. You don’t,” Wan said.
The three finally came to terms on a deal that saw each of them secure a seven-figure payday. Wan and Hoang each earned $1,318,000 with Pepper taking home $1,000,000.
With the deal in place, Pepper lasted just 20 more minutes before busting. Pepper moved all in for 5,010,000 from the small blind with and Wan called from the big blind with . The board ran out 
to send Pepper packing and put the tournament into heads up play.
That pot gave Wan the heads-up lead over Hoang. Wan had 13,665,000 to Hoang’s 11,045,000 and despite Wan’s insistence he was a superior player, the pair played heads-up for nearly 4.5 hours before Wan claimed victory. Hoang was left desperately short after losing with to 
and to . There was yet one more chance for him to get it in good with an unfortunate result.
Hoang shoved his last 2,200,000 in the middle with and Wan called with . The 
flop gave Wan middle pair and Hoang couldn’t catch up after the turn or river and was eliminated in second place giving Wan the title as 2020 AUssie Millions Main Event champion.
2020 Aussie Millions Main Event Payouts
- Vincent Wan – A$1,318,000 ($907,196 US)
- Ngoc Tai Hoang – A$1,318,000 ($907,196 US)
- Gareth Pepper – A$1,000,000 ($688,31 US)
- Nino Ullmann – A$480,160 ($330,501 US)
- Erik Seidel – A$378,660 ($260,637 US)
- Oliver Weis – A$307,820 ($211,877 US)
- Nicolas Malo – A$240,080 ($165,250 US)
