Cohen Wins in Queenstown ANZPT Event

Eight of the nine players at the final table of the SkyCity Alpine Adventure tournament hailed from Australia, meaning it was no surprise when an Aussie ultimately took down the title. The eventual winner was Julian Cohen, who took down $73,630 by winning the Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour event.

Cohen, who hails from Melbourne, topped a field of 119 players in Queenstown that included Tony Hachem and recent bracelet winner Simon Watt. But none of the big names reached the final table, where most of the tournament’s $267,750 prize pool was split among nine relatively unknown players.

Cohen won the tournament by defeating student Andrew Watson. Although Watson headed into heads-up play with a 3-1 chip advantage, but the tables soon turned when Cohen made a full house with A9s against Watson’s pocket sixes. Not long later, Watson moved all-in on the button with KT offsuit, which Cohen instantly called. Cohen showed AT, and when neither hand improved, Cohen clinched the championship.

The only New Zealander to make the final table was Emerson Rewi of Rotorua. Rewi, 35, finish 6^th, winning $15,400. Rewi’s previous best finish was 4^th at the 2008 Auckland Poker Championships.

While this victory marked Cohen’s largest win to date, he had previously seen a fair deal of success in local and regional tournaments. Prior to this win, Cohen had three final tables in large buy-in events, including a 1^st place finish in a team event at the Star City Casino in Sydney with Hugh Cohen on the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour last December.

Cohen was involved with an incredible hand earlier in the tournament that helped propel him to the chip lead at the end of the second day of play. Cohen raised under the gun and got one called – a player identified only as Furniture John. On a flop of Kc, Qc, 6h, Cohen bet and was called by John. On a turn of Jc, Cohen checked, after which John moved all-in – and was surprised to find Cohen beating him into the pot. John flipped over pocket sixes for a set, but Cohen held AT of clubs – for a royal flush. To add insult to injury, a queen hit the river to “improve” John to a full house.