Ben Lamb Wins Flip to Secure Aussie Millions $25K Challenge Title

Ben Lamb made one of the wisest decision of his 32 years on this planet by cutting short his Caribbean poker plans to jet halfway round the world to Australia, and yesterday it paid off when he added the $25K Aussie Millions Challenge title – and AUD$647,114 ($524,764) to his already hugely impressive poker resume.

Lamb is known not only for his excellent cash game play at the highest stakes, but for his ability to run deep in huge tournaments when he decides to play them – final tabling the WSOP Main Event twice, last year finishing 9th and in 2011 coming even closer with a 3rd spot finish worth over $4million, adding a bracelet the same year in the $10K PLO event.

“It’s my first time at the Aussie Millions,” the 32 year old Tulsa, Oklahoma man explained immediately after taking down the title yesterday.

“Normally I go to the Bahamas for two weeks, and then go straight home because I’m just tired after playing every day. This year I decided to only go for a week. All my friends (Chance Kornuth and Sam Panzica among them and on the rail for the final table) were coming to the Aussie Millions. I’ve had a blast.”

Kornuth himself was in the headlines just a day or two ago having won the $1150 6-max event, and the format seems to suit Lamb as well, afterwards stating:

“Every time you win it’s fun, but six-handed tournaments are something that I really enjoy.”

Not that Lamb, despite his proven pedigree, was to have it all his own way – a number of big players still in it at the business end of things, including Mustapha Kanit and Kitty Kuo, though the two chip leaders would have vastly different ends to their hopes of winning.

Kanit, an absolute beast of the game, somehow found himself on the final table bubble holding J4 and praying for a flush draw to appear, up against Wayne Yap’s pocket rockets, but unfortunately for the Italian there was to be no resurrecting his event after his draw missed –in the money but out in 7th spot.

Kuo, on the other hand, was still in there fighting – best friend Kanit gone but next best friend, the Englishman Jack Salter, was hanging in there with her…

It wasn’t to be for either of them, however, following Roger Teska (6th) out the door with a 5th place for Salter and 4th for Kuo, Kitty taking down her biggest ever cash of US$199,454 in the process.

Wayne Yap, number 2 on Singapore’s all-time list after he cracked the $1million milestone late last year, took a very creditable 3rd spot – shortstacked for much of the final table and eventually falling to Lamb’s pocket kings, which meant the Vegas-based pro had to contend with Jan-Eric Schwippert heads-up for the win – and what a battle it was!

Or rather wasn’t – the pair doing a cash deal and flipping blind for the title! And as we know it was Lamb who came out on top, celebrating with friends Kornuth and Panzica.

Final table results

*denotes deal