Scott Davies Captures WSOP APAC Main Event Title

October 21st, 2014 | by Kaycee James

Scott Davies ran hot at the final table to take down the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event in Melbourne. (Image: WSOP)

Scott Davies won the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP APAC) Main Event, beating a field of 329 players to win his first WSOP bracelet. Davies won a prize of A$850,136 ($748,000) after defeating England’s Jack Salter in heads-up play.

“This is the Super Bowl to me,” Davies said after his big win. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. When I decided I was going to play poker for a living I just remember Chris Moneymaker winning the Main Event and thought one day I might get a chance to do that.”

Goal Achieved for Davies

Heading into the WSOP APAC Main Event, Davies had won a little bit over $400,000 in his career, so the prize money is certainly a big boost for the American who currently resides in Canada. But as for so many players, Davies was really hunting for a bracelet. In fact, Davies has a blog titled “My Quest for a WSOP Bracelet,” a named he joked that might have to be changed given his most recent accomplishment.

“The bracelet means everything,” Davies said. “I mean, I’d be lying if the $850,000 isn’t huge, but I decided that I wasn’t coming into this final table looking to ladder up the pay jumps. I wanted to win.”

In the end, Davies needed to defeat the UK’s Jack Salter in heads-up play to win the tournament. Salter was a valiant opponent, but the cards were simply with Davies. On the final hand, Salter flopped trips and moved all in on the flop. Unfortunately, Davies had flopped a full house, leaving Salter with only a handful of outs, none of which hit for him. Salter took home A$516,960 ($455,000) for second place.

“If there was ever a day to run good, this was the day to run good,” Davies said. “This is probably the best I’ve ever run in a single day.

Kassela, Italiano Among Final Table Storylines

The final table featured a couple of intriguing players who made deep runs, but couldn’t quite hold on long enough to play for the title. Ang Italiano was both the final Australian and the final woman in the field, giving her a sizable rail as she continued to battle through the final table. Unfortunately for those hoping for a local to take down the title, she would ultimately be eliminated in sixth place. Still, the A$118,769 ($104,500) prize was a huge success for a player who won a satellite for just A$65 ($57).

Perhaps the biggest name at the final table was that of Frank Kassela. As the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year and the winner of two WSOP bracelets, Kassela looked to be a real contender after taking the chip lead with just five players remaining.

But disaster struck just a few hands later. Kassela would run into aces not once but twice in a row, first allowing Davies to double through him before being eliminated on the very next hand while holding ace-queen against pocket aces. Kassela took home a prize of A$164,089 ($144,500).

Kyle Montgomery was the next to be eliminated when his ace-king fell to Davies’ pocket jacks. Henry Wang then fell in third place when Davies once again showed up with pocket aces against Wang’s K9 suited, setting up the final heads-up battle.