The 2015 Aussie Millions is beginning to wind down at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, with two tournaments scheduled for their final table action this weekend. In the Aussie Millions Main Event, James Rann is in command – but will have to contend with Brian Rast at the final table – while the $100,000 Challenge features a star-studded final eight players.
Aussie Millions Main Event
The final seven players have been determined in the hunt for the $1.6 million (Australian) first place prize for the Aussie Millions Main Event. While James Rann will have the chip lead, he’s joined by two men – Brian Rast and Richard Lyndaker – who might have something to say about the eventual victor.
30 players came back on Friday with the hopes of being one of those players at the final table and they wasted little time in chopping down the field. In the opening level of play, 11 players were sent home with their piece of the Aussie Millions prize pool. Such notables as Mike McDonald and Jonathan Roy were amongst those whose dreams of Aussie Millions glory were dashed, but it was the departure of Phil Ivey that drew the most attention.
Ivey started the day as one of the shorter stacks in the room and he was unable to build any momentum as the early action progressed. On his final hand, Ivey bumped heads with Anthony Legg on a 4♥ Q♥ 3♥ flop that saw Ivey open, Legg three bet all-in and Ivey call off his stack. Ivey’s K♥ Q♦ was in the lead against Legg’s A♥ K♦ until the 9♥ came on the turn, giving Legg the nut flush to Ivey’s second nut. Drawing dead, Ivey rose from the table and offered congratulations to Legg as he went to claim his $40,000 for his 23rd place finish.
Another interesting subplot to the day’s action “Down Under” was the attempt by the defending champion of this tournament, Ami Barer, to keep his championship. That stirring run was ended by Alex Lynskey when Lynskey’s pocket tens hit a set on the turn against Barer’s A-J to leave him drawing dead. Despite falling short in his run at back-to-back championships, Barer’s 11th place finish earned him a $95,000 payday.
The final table was set with the elimination of Grant Levy. After making deep runs in 2009 and 2012, Levy was looking to fulfill a dream of making the Aussie Millions final table, but it was quashed by Lennart Uphoff. After Levy three-bet all-in following a raise from Uphoff, Uphoff made the call and tabled a leading pocket pair of eights against Levy’s K-Q off suit. The Ace-high board didn’t bring a needed King or Queen for Levy, sending him home as the final table bubble boy.
1. James Rann, 4.085 million
2. Joel Douaglin, 3.935 million
3. Lennart Uphoff, 3.595 million
4. Anthony Legg, 3.29 million
5. Manny Stavropoulos, 2.115 million
6. Richard Lyndaker, 1.2 million
7. Brian Rast, 1.185 million
Although he is on the short stack, Rast is a dangerous character to have on the final table. If he can get on a roll, he could dig himself out of the basement and become a force. With the top four contenders all separated by less than a million chips, it really is anyone’s tournament to win.
The final table of the Aussie Millions Main Event is off on Saturday due to the play of the $100,000 Challenge. The final seven will return on Sunday to compete for the $1.6 million first place prize and the prestige of being the champion of the Aussie Millions.
$100,000 Challenge
It will be a major battle when the final eight players return on Saturday to determine the champion of the Aussie Millions $100,000 challenge. Ole Schemion will be the chip leader at that final table, but the competition against him is stacked with talent as well as chips.
28 players returned from the original 70 entries for Day 2 of the tournament with Jason Mo atop the pack. With only the final table getting paid, the players stepped lightly in attempting to make their best strike for the $100K Challenge title. With that said, such players as Fabian Quoss, Pratyush Buddiga, Phil Ivey and Tobias Reinkemeier still found their way to the rail early in the day.
Schemion made his move to the top of the leaderboard in eliminating Tony Bloom just short of the final table. On an extremely wet A♠ K♥ 10♥ Q♠ Q♥ board, Bloom would move all-in with only an Ace-high flush to show for his efforts. Schemion had him more than covered, both in chips and in cards (an A♥ Q♦), making the call an easy one to eliminate Bloom in tenth place ($0).
Once Dan Smith was knocked off as the bubble boy after running his K-Q offsuit into Erik Seidel’s pocket Jacks, the cast was set for what should be an exhilarating $100,000 Challenge final table:
1. Ole Schemion, 1.888 million
2. Jason Mo, 1.150 million
3. Erik Seidel, 1.083 million
4. Justin Bonomo, 833,000
5. Dani Stern, 656,000
6. Richard Yong, 554,000
7. Scott Seiver, 545,000
8. Alex Trevallion, 291,000
Seidel made history in arriving at the $100,000 Challenge final table. Cashing in this tournament for the fourth time, Seidel broke a tie with David Steicke, Dan Shak and Bloom at three for most cashes in the $100,000 Challenge. Seidel was last at the final table of this tournament in 2011, when he finished third behind Bloom and eventual champion Sam Trickett.
The players are all guaranteed $310,000 for their efforts, but the eventual champion will take the lion’s share of the prize pool in walking off with a $1.87 million bankroll boost.
