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Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008
Sabat, Le triumph at APPT Macau
Eddie Sabat turned K-J into an APPT win.
By Miguel Strother
Eddie Sabat turned less than a $100 investment into nearly half a million dollars by winning the main event of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour's Macau tournament Sept. 7.
Sabat is a 22-year-old American and is now the youngest player ever to make a final table on the PokerStars APPT. He made the most of it by defeating Malaysia's Charles Chua heads-up after 12 hours of play at the final table.
On the final hand, both players were all-in after a 6
6
Q flop. Sabat's hole cards were KJ, while Chua held Q
3. The A on the turn was no help to Sabat, but when 2 came on the river, the University of Southern California accounting student made his flush and the lone American at the final table sealed his first big-time tournament win.
"This has been an unbelievable journey, and I really don't think I will realise what I have just accomplished until I go to bed and wake-up in the morning. It's like a dream right now," Eddie said in the Macau Daily Times.
"It was incredibly supportive to have all of my friends around me throughout the tournament as it's been a long road. I really can't wait to just get back to my apartment in Los Angeles and chill."
Sabat has been playing well lately, cashing twice at the 2008 WSOP, and if he keeps this up he'll need all of his accounting skills to take care of his own newfound wealth.
The tournament saw substantial growth this year. Some of the world's top pros see this type of tournament in Asia, the biggest ever, as a huge step forward for the game globally.
"Taking part in the APPT is very exciting, as you get to meet and compete against so many of the world's best players," said 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem.
"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."
The complete results at the final table of the APPT main event were as follows (all totals in Hong Kong dollars):
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Edward Sabat | $3,540,040 |
| 2nd | Charles Chua | $2,275,740 |
| 3rd | Diwei Huang | $1,201,080 |
| 4th | Mikael Rosen | $847,080 |
| 5th | Jeppe Drivsholm | $632,150 |
| 6th | Kuok Wai Will Cheong | $442,500 |
| 7th | Tian Chen | $328,720 |
| 8th | Javed Abrahams | $240,220 |
| 9th | So Myung Sim | $177,000 |
Shortly after the main event ended, the High Rollers event began. That gave second-place finisher Charles Chua just enough time to be the last player to drop the nearly $20k needed to register.
Although Chua did not win this event either, he again made the final table, finishing fourth and cashing for another $115k.
Neither Chua nor any of the other players in the field could best pro Nam Le. Le put away Australia's Andrew Scott heads-up with a pair of kings.
He outlasted a final table that included Quinn Do, David Steicke, Will Ma, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan, Zhong Wei "Ivan" Tan and Van "sirens" Marcus.
Chan, the most famous pro at nearly any table he sits, faced Steicke in the hand that sealed his fate. Holding pocket sixes, Chan went all-in pre-flop, and Steicke called with A
Q.
With no real help for either player on the flop of 23T, Chan looked to be in good shape before Steicke hit a runner-runner straight with K andJ on the flop and turn.
Despite the beat, Chan remained optimistic about the tournament and about the health of poker in Asia.
Nam Le reeled in an Asian Poker Tour sponsorship and an APPT win this week.
"It's great for poker in Asia that there's a major tournament like this here in Macau," says Chan. "It's bringing in top players like myself, and letting the world know that there is real poker here, and real poker players here, and that anybody can win millions of dollars."
Tournament winner Nam has previously cashed 15 times at the WSOP, including third in a USD$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 WSOP. The 25-year-old also won the 2006 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge II and most recently finished fourth at the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic.
Other notable players in the field included Joe Hachem, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Hevad Khan, Isabelle Mercier, Lee Nelson and defending champion Eric Assadourian.
The final-table results and money totals for the High Rollers event were as follows:
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (HKD) |
| 1st | Name Le | United States | $3,700,000 |
| 2nd | Andrew Scott | Australia | $2,100,000 |
| 3rd | Quinn Do | United States | $1,200,000 |
| 4th | Charles Chua | Malaysia | $900,000 |
| 5th | David Steicke | China | $700,000 |
| 6th | Will Ma | Canada | $500,000 |
| 7th | Johnny Chan | United States | $400,000 |
| 8th | Zhong Wei "Ivan" Tan | Singapore | $300,000 |
| 9th | Van "sirens" Marcus | Australia | $200,000 |
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