Kiwi poker players Jay Gilbert and Jason Brown have taken home $40,500 each after chopping the Main Event prize pool at the 2015 New Zealand Poker Championships in Christchurch this morning.
After 27 hours of play over two days, Gilbert and Brown found themselves heads up after Charlie Hawesbowed out in third place and decided to cut a deal.
Gilbert, who had slightly more chips than Brown, took home the trophy but the pair shared the champion title as the prizemoney for first and second pace was combined, then cut down the middle.
The duo outlasted a field of 136 players that all bought into the tournament for $1650, generating a prize pool of $204,000.
Gilbert, who flew down to the tournament from Wellington, was playing in his first major live tournament series and credited his success to patience and well timed aggression.
Gilbert highlighted a huge pot on the final table bubble where he doubled up after his AA beat the AK of Jackson Zheng as a pivotal moment in his win.
Brown was at the opposite end of the experience spectrum, having chopped an APT tournament for $120,000 in 2009 and is a regular on the live scene in New Zealand and around the word.
NZ poker champions Jason Brown (left) and Jay Gilbert.
Brown also made the final table of the South Island Champs on Friday, finishing 9th for $2,800.
Brown said the trophy wasn't as important to him as the money and was thrilled with how his tournament series went.
He was the chipleader heading into day two of the tournament and credited his success to understanding people and recognising that everyone has different traits and tells.
"Poker is like a game of chess," said Brown. "You have to figure people out and you have to be vigilent. It's also so important to stay focused the whole time. It's no good watching sport or getting distracted in between playing hands, all information is valuable."
Brown highlighted a big bluff when play was three handed as being instrumental to his win.
On an 8TQKA board with three diamonds he moved all in on the river in a pot with Hawes holding 5s7c.
The Main Event was the flagship event of the nine-day Christchurch series, which featured eight tournaments and attracted players from all over the world.
Main Event payouts: 1st - $40,500 Jay Gilbert 2nd -$40,500 Jason Brown 3rd - $28,000 Charlie Hawes 4th - $22,000 Geoff Smith 5th - $17,000 Jackson Zheng 6th - $13,000 Mike King 7th - $10,000 Darryl Hussey 8th - $8,000 Roy Gourley 9th - $6000 Ash Ryman-Ferris 10th - $5000 Dan Bates 11th - $5000 Peter Tawe 12th - $4500 Rachel Bellard 13th - $4500 Steven Holloway
