# Australia New Zealand Poker Tour

The ANZPT – Australia New Zealand Poker Tour was a southern hemisphere poker tour operated by PokerStars. It ran for seven seasons from 2009 before closing in 2015 after merging with the APPT – Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

## History

The ANZPT – Australia New Zealand Poker Tour was created in 2009 as a series of poker tournaments for local players in the Australia and New Zealand region, as the low entry (around AS2,000) were not attractive for professional players from US or Europe to travel so far to the region. This helped establish PokerStars live events in the region by encouraging local players to participate in tournaments under the PokerStars brand, glamour and prestige.
Between 2009 and 2015, several cities had the presence of ANZPT, in Australia they were: Adelaide, Sydney, Gold Coast, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Darwin and in New Zealand the cities chosen were Queenstown and Auckland.
During the 7 seasons, several awards were distributed to the Players of the Year, with Tony Hachem being the biggest champion, winning two years in a row in the first and second seasons. Tony is the brother of Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Series of Poker main event winner. In 2013, Anthony Hachem, son of Joe Hachem won ANZPT Melbourne.
At the same time, PokerStars organized another tour in the vicinity, with the APPT – Asia Pacific Poker Tour even having some tournaments from seasons 5, 6 and 7 happening together, expanding the reach of the APPT tournaments in the Pacific.
In 2015, it was announced by Global Poker Tours Ltd., a subsidiary for live events of Amaya Inc. (owner of PokerStars between 2014 and 2019), that ANZPT would merge with APPT and the brand would cease to exist, with only APPT continuing to organize poker events in the pacific region. "I have been very proud to be a part of the ANZPT," said APPT and ANZPT President Danny McDonagh. "There have been many memorable stops including Darwin, Gold Coast, and Queenstown together with the big city venues such as Sydney and Melbourne. The tour has preserved the freeze out format in the $2,000 range, a decision vindicated by how popular the series has been with players."

## ANZPT Main Event winners
### Season 1 (2009)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 31 January- 7 February | ANZPT Adelaide A$3,000 SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia | 215 | A$568,950 (~$365,694) | Karl Krautschneider | A$170,215 (~$109,406) |
| 23 April- 3 May | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 493 | A$986,000 (~$696,746) | Paren Arzoomanian | A$246,500 (~$174,186) |
| 19–25 July | ANZPT Queenstown NZ$2,500 SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand | 134 | NZ$301,500 (~$194,212) | Daniel Chevalier | NZ$87,435 (~$56,321) |
| 5–9 August | ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500 The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia | 249 | A$622,500 (~$524,325) | Scott Kerr | A$168,075 (~$141,568) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 1 (2009) – Leaderboard Champion: Tony Hachem

### Season 2 (2010)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 2–14 February | ANZPT Adelaide A$3,000 SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia | 236 | A$644,280 (~$569,751) | Rennie Carnevale | A$165,900 (~$146,709) |
| 13–21 March | ANZPT Perth A$2,500 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 222 | A$510,600 (~$467,065) | Tony Hachem | A$132,750 (~$121,523) |
| 15–25 April | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 446 | A$892,000 (~$829,636) | Angelo Hanataj | A$219,432 (~$204,091) |
| 11–14 June | ANZPT Canberra A$2,200 Casino Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia | 181 | A$362,000 (~$305,310) | Jason Gray | A$95,930 (~$80,907) |
| 17–25 July | ANZPT Queenstown NZ$2,500 SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand | 119 | NZ$267,750 (~$234,076) | Julian Cohen | NZ$73,630 (~$64,370) |
| 11–15 August | ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500 The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia | 287 | A$717,500 (~$653,342) | Nauvneel Kashyap | A$182,965 (~$166,604) |
| 2–11 October | ANZPT Melbourne A$2,700 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 310 | A$775,000 (~$752,062) | Martin Kozlov | A$195,700 (~$189,908) |
| 25–30 October | ANZPT Darwin A$2,200 SkyCity Darwin, Darwin, NT, Australia | 100 | A$200,000 (~$196,591) | Danny Leaoasavaii | A$57,000 (~$56,028) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 2 (2010) – Leaderboard Champion: Tony Hachem (2)

### Season 3 (2011)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 25 January- 6 February | ANZPT Adelaide A$2,400 SkyCity Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia | 253 | A$551,540 (~$546,881) | Octavian Voegele | A$148,900 (~$147,642) |
| 17–27 March | ANZPT Perth A$2,500 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 220 | A$500,600 (~$495,555) | Grant Levy | A$131,500 (~$130,175) |
| 4–17 April | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 393 | A$786,000 (~$816,072) | Michael Kanaan | A$195,714 (~$203,202) |
| 17–22 May | ANZPT Gold Coast A$2,500 The Star Gold Coast, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia | 245 | A$563,500 (~$595,622) | Peter Matusik | A$145,100 (~$153,371) |
| 10–13 June | ANZPT Canberra A$2,200 Casino Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia | 134 | A$267,900 (~$284,187) | Xiuming "Sammy" Huang | A$73,600 (~$78,074) |
| 15–26 September | ANZPT Melbourne A$2,400 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 310 | A$620,000 (~$635,845) | Lee Nelson | A$156,550 (~$160,551) |
| 29 September- 8 October | ANZPT Darwin A$2,200 SkyCity Darwin, Darwin, NT, Australia | 64 | A$128,000 (~$126,457) | Jack Drake | A$36,480 (~$36,040) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 3 (2011) – Leaderboard Champion: Daniel Chevalier

### Season 4 (2012)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 14–25 March | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 461 | A$922,000 (~$970,864) | Gordon Huntly | A$226,812 (~$238,832) |
| 26 April- 6 May | ANZPT Perth A$1,100 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 310 | A$310,000 (~$320,192) | Mathew Carlsson | A$78,275 (~$80,848) |
| 23–29 July | ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest NZ$3,000 SkyCity Queenstown, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand | 149 | NZ$402,300 (~$321,454) | David Allan | NZ$110,600 (~$88,374) |
| 20 August- 3 September | ANZPT Melbourne Grand Final A$5,000 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 257 | A$1,207,900 (~$1,258,347) | Samad Razavi | A$326,125 (~$339,745) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 4 (2012) – Leaderboard Champion: Mishel Anunu

### Season 5 (2012/2013)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 11–29 October 2012 | ANZPT Melbourne A$2,200 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 345 | A$690,000 (~$705,507) | Paul Hockin | A$101,275 (~$103,551) |
| 17–25 November 2012 | ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,200 SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand | 207 | NZ$414,000 (~$335,147) | Geoff Smith | NZ$80,502 (~$65,169) |
| 14–24 February 2013 | ANZPT Perth A$2,200 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 219 | A$438,000 (~$452,797) | Dejan Divkovic | A$114,000 (~$117,851) |
| 11–24 March 2013 | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 460 | A$920,000 (~$941,254) | Dinesh Alt | A$226,320 (~$231,548) |
| 20 May- 3 June 2013 | ANZPT Melbourne A$1,100 A$750,000 Prizepool guaranteed Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 844 | A$844,000 (~$820,636) | Anthony Hachem | A$181,460 (~$176,437) |
| 30 July- 4 August 2013 | APPT/ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest NZ$3,000 SkyCity, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand | 126 | NZ$340,200 (~$274,300) | Jonathan Bredin | NZ$93,600 (~$75,469) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 5 (2012/2013) – Leaderboard Champion: Iori Yogo

### Season 6 (2013/2014)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 16–24 November 2013 | ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,200 SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand | 213 | NZ$426,000 (~$353,457) | David Lim | NZ$110,760 (~$91,899) |
| 20 February- 2 March 2014 | ANZPT Perth A$2,200 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 226 | A$512,000 (~$462,111) | Patrick Mahoney | A$120,000 (~$108,307) |
| 12–24 March 2014 | ANZPT Sydney A$2,200 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 458 | A$916,000 (~$826,208) | Joshua Redhouse | A$123,500 (~$111,393) |
| 20 August- 1 September 2014 | ANZPT Melbourne A$2,200 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 516 | A$1,032,000 (~$965,144) | Edison Nguyen | A$217,500 (~$203,410) |
| 19–23 November 2014 | APPT/ANZPT Auckland NZ$2,500 SkyCity Auckland, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand | 225 | NZ$506,250 (~$401,952) | Minh Hau Nguyen | NZ$111,600 (~$88,608) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 6 (2013/2014) – Leaderboard Champion: David Lim

### Season 7 (2015)

| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
| 5–15 February | ANZPT Perth A$2,200 Crown Casino, Perth, WA, Australia | 192 | A$393,600 (~$306,716) | Michael Kane | A$98,900 (~$77,069) |
| 11–23 March | APPT/ANZPT Sydney A$2,300 The Star Sydney Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 445 | A$912,250 (~$696,821) | Dimitrios Psaros | A$183,000 (~$139,784) |
| 8–20 October | ANZPT Melbourne A$2,300 Crown Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia | 520 | A$1,066,000 (~$780,878) | Lin Shi | A$170,641 (~$125,000) |
* Australia New Zealand Poker Tour – Season 7 (2015) – Leaderboard Champion: Aristomenis Stavropoulos