Australian star Jonathan Karamalikis has taken down the $1,600 Poker SA Classic Series Main Event at the Maylands Hotel, Adelaide, Australia, after beating Jamie Spencer in heads-up action.
Karamalikis defeated his fellow countryman, Jamie Spencer, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of $42,980, at the end of a vibrant five-day festival held at the St Maylands Hotel, Adelaide.
Victory pushes Karamalikis over $2.5m in live tournament earnings. It was his first live tournament score since January, where he cashed in an Aussie Millions side event, after an impressive showing at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the same month.
Karamalikis is more commonly known as the online star xMONSTERxDONGx, where he has won over $5m in online tournament earnings, including a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title. It took 28 levels of play for Karamalikis to become champion, and the heads-up phase of a very even affair was settled after a cooler sent Spencer to the rail.
The pair got it in on [Qd] [Js] [9d] [3d], with Spencer ahead, holding [Kc] [Td] for the straight, and Karamalikis holding [Qs] [9h] for two pair. Yes you’ve guessed it. The [Qc] rolled off on the river to fill Karamalikis up.
It was the first Poker SA Series event since the brand inked a deal with 888Poker to host online satellites. Series ambassador Jackie Glazier finished 9th, and The Australian Poker Hall of Famer Graeme Putt finished 10th.
Final Table Results
1st. Jonathan Karamalikis – $42,980
2nd. Jason Spencer – $28,100
3rd. Andrew Dales – $18,180
4th. Steven Zhou – $14,880
5th. Bruno Portaro – $13,200
6th. Issa Boulos – $11,570
7th. Paul Pederson – $9,920
8th. Dominic Esposito – $8,270
9th. Jackie Glazier – $6,610
