The ANZPT – Australia New Zealand Poker Tour was a southern hemisphere poker tour operated by PokerStars. It ran for seven seasons from 2009 before closing in 2015 after merging with the APPT – Asia Pacific Poker Tour.
History
The ANZPT – Australia New Zealand Poker Tour was created in 2009 as a series of poker tournaments for local players in the Australia and New Zealand region, as the low entry (around AS2,000) were not attractive for professional players from US or Europe to travel so far to the region. This helped establish PokerStars live events in the region by encouraging local players to participate in tournaments under the PokerStars brand, glamour and prestige.iGaming.org –
Between 2009 and 2015, several cities had the presence of ANZPT, in Australia they were: Adelaide, Sydney, Gold Coast, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Darwin and in New Zealand the cities chosen were Queenstown and Auckland.
During the 7 seasons, several awards were distributed to the Players of the Year, with Tony Hachem being the biggest champion, winning two years in a row in the first and second seasons. Tony is the brother of Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Series of Poker main event winner. In 2013, Anthony Hachem, son of Joe Hachem won ANZPT Melbourne.PokerNews –
At the same time, PokerStars organized another tour in the vicinity, with the APPT – Asia Pacific Poker Tour even having some tournaments from seasons 5, 6 and 7 happening together, expanding the reach of the APPT tournaments in the Pacific.
In 2015, it was announced by Global Poker Tours Ltd., a subsidiary for live events of Amaya Inc. (owner of PokerStars between 2014 and 2019), that ANZPT would merge with APPT and the brand would cease to exist, with only APPT continuing to organize poker events in the pacific region. "I have been very proud to be a part of the ANZPT," said APPT and ANZPT President Danny McDonagh. "There have been many memorable stops including Darwin, Gold Coast, and Queenstown together with the big city venues such as Sydney and Melbourne. The tour has preserved the freeze out format in the $2,000 range, a decision vindicated by how popular the series has been with players."PokerNews –
ANZPT Main Event winners Season 1 (2009) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 31 January-7 February ANZPT Adelaide A$3,000SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia A$568,950(~$365,694) Karl KrautschneiderCardPlayer – A$170,215(~$109,406) 23 April-3 May ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$986,000(~$696,746) Paren ArzoomanianPokerStrategy – A$246,500(~$174,186) 19–25 July ANZPT Queenstown NZ$2,500SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand NZ$301,500(~$194,212) Daniel ChevalierCardPlayer – NZ$87,435(~$56,321) 5–9 August ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia A$622,500(~$524,325) Scott KerrCardPlayer – A$168,075(~$141,568) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 1 (2009) – Leaderboard Champion: Tony Hachem
Season 2 (2010) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 2–14 February ANZPT Adelaide A$3,000SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia A$644,280(~$569,751) Rennie CarnevaleCardPlayer – A$165,900(~$146,709) 13–21 March ANZPT Perth A$2,500Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$510,600(~$467,065) Tony HachemCardPlayer – A$132,750(~$121,523) 15–25 April ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$892,000(~$829,636) Angelo HanatajCardPlayer – A$219,432(~$204,091) 11–14 June ANZPT Canberra A$2,200Casino Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia A$362,000(~$305,310) Jason GrayThe Hendom Mob – A$95,930(~$80,907) 17–25 July ANZPT Queenstown NZ$2,500SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand NZ$267,750(~$234,076) Julian CohenCardPlayer – NZ$73,630(~$64,370) 11–15 August ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia A$717,500(~$653,342) Nauvneel KashyapCardPlayer – A$182,965(~$166,604) 2–11 October ANZPT Melbourne A$2,700Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$775,000(~$752,062) Martin KozlovCardPlayer – A$195,700(~$189,908) 25–30 October ANZPT Darwin A$2,200SkyCity Darwin, Darwin, NT, Australia A$200,000(~$196,591) Danny LeaoasavaiiCardPlayer – A$57,000(~$56,028) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 2 (2010) – Leaderboard Champion: Tony Hachem (2)PokerNewsBoy – PokerStars Blog Interview –
Season 3 (2011) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 25 January-6 February ANZPT Adelaide A$2,400SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia A$551,540(~$546,881) Octavian VoegeleCardPlayer – A$148,900(~$147,642) 17–27 March ANZPT Perth A$2,500Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$500,600(~$495,555) Grant LevyCardPlayer – A$131,500(~$130,175) 4–17 April ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$786,000(~$816,072) Michael KanaanCardPlayer – A$195,714(~$203,202) 17–22 May ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia A$563,500(~$595,622) Peter MatusikCardPlayer – A$145,100(~$153,371) 10–13 June ANZPT Canberra A$2,200Casino Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia A$267,900(~$284,187) Xiuming "Sammy" HuangThe Hendom Mob – A$73,600(~$78,074) 15–26 September ANZPT Melbourne A$2,400Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$620,000(~$635,845) Lee NelsonPokerNewsReport – A$156,550(~$160,551) 29 September-8 October ANZPT Darwin A$2,200SkyCity Darwin, Darwin, NT, Australia A$128,000(~$126,457) Jack DrakePokerNews – A$36,480(~$36,040) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 3 (2011) – Leaderboard Champion: Daniel ChevalierPokerMedia Australia –
Season 4 (2012) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 14–25 March ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$922,000(~$970,864) Gordon HuntlyPokerNews – A$226,812(~$238,832) 26 April-6 May ANZPT Perth A$1,100Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$310,000(~$320,192) Mathew CarlssonThe Hendom Mob – A$78,275(~$80,848) 23–29 July ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest NZ$3,000SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand NZ$402,300(~$321,454) David AllanCardPlayer – NZ$110,600(~$88,374) 20 August-3 September ANZPT Melbourne Grand Final A$5,000Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$1,207,900(~$1,258,347) Samad RazaviPokerNews – A$326,125(~$339,745) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 4 (2012) – Leaderboard Champion: Mishel AnunuPokerStars Blog –
Season 5 (2012/2013) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 11–29 October2012 ANZPT Melbourne A$2,200Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$690,000(~$705,507) Paul HockinCardPlayer – A$101,275(~$103,551) 17–25 November2012 ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,200SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand NZ$414,000(~$335,147) Geoff SmithCardPlayer – NZ$80,502(~$65,169) 14–24 February2013 ANZPT Perth A$2,200Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$438,000(~$452,797) Dejan DivkovicPokerNews – A$114,000(~$117,851) 11–24 March2013 ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$920,000(~$941,254) Dinesh AltPokerNews – A$226,320(~$231,548) 20 May-3 June 2013 ANZPT Melbourne A$1,100A$750,000 Prizepool guaranteedCrown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$844,000(~$820,636) Anthony Hachem A$181,460(~$176,437) 30 July-4 August 2013 APPT/ANZPT QueenstownSnowfest NZ$3,000SkyCity, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand NZ$340,200(~$274,300) Jonathan BredinPokerNews – NZ$93,600(~$75,469) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 5 (2012/2013) – Leaderboard Champion: Iori YogoPokerNetwork –
Season 6 (2013/2014) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 16–24 November2013 ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,200SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand NZ$426,000(~$353,457) David LimPokerNews – NZ$110,760(~$91,899) 20 February-2 March 2014 ANZPT Perth A$2,200Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$512,000(~$462,111) Patrick MahoneyPokerNews – A$120,000(~$108,307) 12–24 March2014 ANZPT Sydney A$2,200The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$916,000(~$826,208) Joshua RedhousePokerMedia Australia – A$123,500(~$111,393) 20 August-1 September 2014 ANZPT Melbourne A$2,200Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$1,032,000(~$965,144) Edison NguyenPokerNews – A$217,500(~$203,410) 19–23 November2014 APPT/ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,500SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand NZ$506,250(~$401,952) Minh Hau NguyenPokerNews – NZ$111,600(~$88,608) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 6 (2013/2014) – Leaderboard Champion: David LimSoMuchPoker –
Season 7 (2015) Date Event / City Players Prize Pool Winner Prize Results 5–15 February ANZPT Perth A$2,200Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia A$393,600(~$306,716) Michael KanePokerNews – A$98,900(~$77,069) 11–23 March APPT/ANZPT Sydney A$2,300The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia A$912,250(~$696,821) Dimitrios PsarosPokerMedia Australia – A$183,000(~$139,784) 8–20 October ANZPT Melbourne A$2,300Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A$1,066,000(~$780,878) Lin ShiPokerNews – A$170,641(~$125,000) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 7 (2015) – Leaderboard Champion: Aristomenis Stavropoulos
External links pokerstarslive.com Asia Pacific Poker Tour
References