Local Kiwi Wins APPT Auckland

The brand new leg of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) event is now complete. The kiwi locals have defended their shores with a fantastic win by the champion, Kiwi Daniel Craker; this brings the time to reflect on yet another great event from the Poker Stars APPT.  The Auckland Sky City Festival of Poker has definitely increased the game of poker’s profile in the land of the long white cloud. Sky City Auckland has smashed all records here in New Zealand (Out doing the national championships, held in Christchurch) and can now lay claim to being the true home of poker.

The final Heads-Up was a Trans-Tasman battle between New Zealander Daniel Craker and Australian Matthew Konnecke. The play only lasted eight minutes, Craker went into heads-up play with almost double the amount of chips that Konnecke had in front of him, putting him in a great spot to secure the trophy and title, keeping first place on home ground.

The two young players wasted no time finding hands to “Go to War” with and in only the second hand of heads-up play Craken pushed all-in over Konnecke's raise. Konnecke called and put his tournament life on the line with A 9. Craken rolled 2 2 and our players were in a race. With the crowd anxiously watching the board was dealt out, K 6 T 5 Q, offering no help to Konnecke. The railbirds (rail kiwis) erupted into applause as Craken began celebrating the win.

New Zealand (Also known as Aotearoa in native language) is a wonderful country full of natural wonders plus the incredible Maori culture. Adding to this is the warmth of the locals making it such an inviting place to come. Whether you are bungee jumping off the Sky Tower or tasting some of the finest cuisines, players from throughout Asia, Pacific, and around the world, have enjoyed the wonders of this beautiful country.

The poker in NZ has been absolutely amazing with some of Team Poker Stars world’s best flying in to enjoy all that was on offer. Team Poker Stars Pros Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer and local celebrity Lee Nelson were all here and spent time out of their busy schedules, not only to play the game they love, also to speak, chat and help other poker players and all their fans that flocked into the poker festival.