Malaysian businessman Richard Yong has won the Aussie Millions $100k Challenge after defeating the German star Ole Schemion, in heads-up action.
How many players can brag that they had Phil Ivey and Sam Trickett in their winner’s photo?
Richard Yong can.
The Malaysian businessman defeated a stellar field of 70-entrants to capture the first prize of AU$1,870,000 in the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.
Not only was it the first of Yong’s poker playing career, but it ended a nightmare 12-months where he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of ‘accessory after the fact to transmission of wagering information,’ for his role in the Caesars Palace World Cup illegal sports betting ring that has seen fellow high stakes player Paul Phua also make the headlines.
Yong was fined $100,000, ordered to forfeit $400,000 in cash and property, and banned from the U.S for five years of unsupervised probation for his part in the scandal. So he nipped down to Australia to take on the worlds best instead.
Oh…I nearly forgot…he beat Ole Schemion in heads-up action.
The German superstar entered the final table as the chip leader, and if anyone was the favorite to take the title it was him. The current Global Poker Index (GPI) world number one has earned $6.7m in the past four years, but precious little of that has been taken from these lands. He was determined to change all of that. Yong had other ideas.
Yong eliminated Scott Seiver in third place after sevens crashed and burned against jacks. That set up a heads-up clash with the whale versus poacher. It was 4.9m in chips for Yong, 2m for Schemion, and despite the bearded German having won 11 of his 16 heads-up clashes, he could not make it number 12.
It was the first win of Yong’s career, and he now has approx. $5.8m in live tournament earnings.
Aussie Millions $100k Challenge Final Table Results (AU$)
1st. Richard Yong – $1,870,000
2nd. Ole Schemion – $1,350,000
3rd. Scott Seiver – $1,000,000
4th. Justin Bonomo – $800,000
5th. Jason Mo – $630,000
6th. Erik Seidel – $500,000
7th. Dani Stern – $400,000
8th. Alex Trevallion – $310,000
