Russian 21-year-old Alexander 'The Great' Kostritsyn won the No-Limit Texas Holdem ‘Main Event’ at the 2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino recently.

He had to beat one of the toughest fields in the world, and was up against US veteran pro Erik Seidel in the heads-up finale. Seidel walked away in second place with a cool AUD$1 Million.

Kostritsyn, the youngest player and only European at the final table, took home AUD$1.65 Million, the largest prize ever awarded in a live poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

His previous best tournament cash was third in the 2007 Russian Summer Poker Tournament (worth $8,900).