One of the venerable tournaments on the international poker circuit, the 2015 Aussie Millions, is in full swing at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. Several events have already been completed as its $10,000 Main Event and two High Roller ($25,000 and $100,000, respectively) prepare to take the stage this weekend.
Five events have crowned champions already “Down Under,” with the victors representing the entirety of the poker world. In Event #1, an $1150 No Limit Hold’em tournament, local player Vic Spadavecchia was able to navigate through a sizeable 1211 player field to take home the championship. The United Kingdom notched a victory in the $1150 No Limit Hold’em Shot Clock Shootout tournament (yes, just as it sounds – a Shootout format with a “shot clock” on the players to speed up the action) when Daniel Rudd, who brokered a three way deal with Hiroaki Harada and Angel Guillen, got the best of the ensuing luck fest to officially take the title.
Australia got back in the mix in Event #3, the $2500 Eight Game Mixed Event, when Oliver Gill put two veterans, Tony Bloom and Sam Khouiss, under his boot in streaking to the championship. Another Aussie, Sean O’Reilly, came out of a 496 player field in the $1150 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament to win the title over Xuan Liu’s valiant effort. The United States finally broke the scoreboard in Event #5, the $1150 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, when Ryan Dodge maintained his chip lead from the start of the final table to its conclusion in winning the title.
Dodge’s eventual victory was one of the truly stunning moments in poker. With both Dodge and eventual runner-up Mikael Koistinen sitting roughly even in stacks (Dodge held approximately a 100K chip edge), the duo saw a board that eventually came 10-7-5-10-7. After check-calling bets from his opponent on the flop and turn, Dodge checked again and Koistinen fired a bet on the river. Instead of making the call, Dodge would instead raise all in to force Koistinen to make a decision for his tournament life. Koistinen worriedly stated, “I have to call,” before turning up his A-9-5-5 for a full house. As it turned out, Dodge had him all the way; with his A-9-7-7, Dodge had flopped a better set, turned a better boat and made quads on the river to win the title.
The excitement is only building at the Crown Casino as Event #6, the $1150 No Limit Hold’em Accumulator tournament, continues with its second of three flights today. The Accumulator format, first played during the 2013 World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific, is unique in the poker world in that players can take part in every Day One that is offered for the tournament. Instead of the usual format – where a player can only advance his best Day One stack on for play in Day Two – the Accumulator allows the player to add his (or her) chips together from all of the Day Ones played to move onto Day Two action.
The final table for the Accumulator tournament is Sunday and, depending on the number of entries, could feature a huge prize pool.
Friday will kick off a busy weekend for the players and staff at the Crown as Event #8, the $2500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament features two notable female contenders. Australian Poker Hall of Fame and Women in Poker Hall of Fame member Marsha Waggoner will come to the final table in the middle of a five-player pack. Maria Ho will be the short stack when the final table begins and both ladies will have to contend with the likes of chip leader Jonas Mackoff, Jan Suchanek and Trung Tran.
Friday will also see the $25,000 Challenge takes the stage. Last year, Max Altergott was the beneficiary of a five-way chop that saw Altergott take home less money than Dan Smith, Jason Mercier, Martin Jacobson (not yet the World Champion) and Scott Seiver, but also saw Altergott catch fire after the deal was made to “officially” win the title. The champion for the tournament will be determined on Saturday.
Further into the weekend on Sunday, the Aussie Millions Main Event will open play for the 17th time. With three Day Ones, the Aussie Millions Main Event will more than likely crack its 668 player field from 2014 in guaranteeing another million-dollar payday for a fortunate player. Last year, Ami Barer kicked off what would be an outstanding 2014 tournament poker year for him by winning this event over such names as Sorel Mizzi, Jake Balsiger and Scott Seiver.
Still on the schedule following the start of the Main Event are two other tournaments that will draw incredible attention. The $100,000 Challenge opens play the same day of the Main Event (will be concluded on Monday) and $250,000 Challenge is scheduled for February 2. It promises to be another interesting year as the 2015 Aussies Millions draws the eyes of the poker world to the Southern Hemisphere.