A Champion Will be Crowned in the A$25,000 Challenge
A new champion will be crowned at the 2020 Aussie Millions and 33 players out of a record-breaking field of 169 entries in the A$25,000 Challenge remain in contention for the first seven-figure top prize of the series at the Crown Casino complex in Melbourne.
Only the top 17 spots will take home a portion of the A$4,056,000 prize pool and the min-cash is worth A$70,980, reaching the seven-handed final table will ensure a payday of A$131,820. The eventual champion can look forward to a payday of A$1,074,840 and the ANTON Jewellery Championship ring.
Heading into the final day as the chip leader is Steve O'Dwyer with 560,000, followed by Chino Rheem with 486,000 and George Wolff is right on his heels with 478,000. Other notables with above-average stacks include 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Jack Sinclair (415,500), Sam Greenwood (395,000), Dietrich Fast (354,500), Chin Wei Lim (324,000), Koray Aldemir (318,500), and Kenny Hallaert (259,000).
In a field filled with High Rollers from all over the world, quite a few of them have visited the Aussie Millions for the first time and that's a promising sign for the other High Roller events that follow. But first up, a new champion will be crowned today and a long day at the tables is ahead until then.
A$25,000 Challenge Payouts
| Place | Payout (AUD) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A$1,074,840 | $743,155 |
| 2 | A$730,080 | $504,785 |
| 3 | A$466,440 | $322,501 |
| 4 | A$344,760 | $238,371 |
| 5 | A$243,360 | $168,262 |
| 6 | A$172,380 | $119,185 |
| 7-8 | A$131,820 | $91,142 |
| 9-10 | A$111,540 | $77,120 |
| 11-12 | A$91,260 | $63,098 |
| 13-17 | A$70,980 | $49,076 |
The action recommences at 2.30 p.m. local time with blinds of 2,500-5,000 and a big blind ante of 5,000 and the levels will remain 60-minutes long. Stay tuned right here on PokerNews to find out who will take home the ANTON Jewellery trophy.
Day 2 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | Tyron Krost | Australia | 218,000 | 44 |
| 7 | 2 | Nicholas Wright | Australia | 165,000 | 33 |
| 7 | 3 | Jack Sinclair | United Kingdom | 415,500 | 83 |
| 7 | 4 | Derek Ip | Hong Kong | 287,000 | 57 |
| 7 | 5 | Vincent Huang | Australia | 82,000 | 16 |
| 8 | 1 | Bart Lybaert | Belgium | 354,500 | 71 |
| 8 | 2 | Michael Zhang | United Kingdom | 90,500 | 18 |
| 8 | 4 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | 178,500 | 36 |
| 8 | 5 | Justin Liberto | United States | 309,000 | 62 |
| 8 | 6 | Masato Yokosawa | Japan | 337,500 | 68 |
| 10 | 1 | Nick Pupillo | United States | 145,000 | 29 |
| 10 | 2 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | 318,500 | 64 |
| 10 | 3 | Martin Zamani | United States | 236,000 | 47 |
| 10 | 4 | Elio Fox | United States | 131,500 | 26 |
| 10 | 5 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | 395,000 | 79 |
| 10 | 6 | Sam Higgs | Australia | 226,000 | 45 |
| 14 | 1 | George Wolff | United States | 478,000 | 96 |
| 14 | 2 | Alex Trevallion | Australia | 256,500 | 51 |
| 14 | 3 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 560,000 | 112 |
| 14 | 4 | Najeem Ajez | Australia | 341,500 | 68 |
| 14 | 5 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | 288,000 | 58 |
| 14 | 6 | Nino Ullmann | Germany | 195,000 | 39 |
| 16 | 1 | Spiros Maroulis | Australia | 212,000 | 42 |
| 16 | 2 | Joshua Duce | Australia | 155,500 | 31 |
| 16 | 3 | Ami Barer | Canada | 190,000 | 38 |
| 16 | 4 | Yake Wu | China | 166,000 | 33 |
| 16 | 5 | Dietrich Fast | Germany | 378,000 | 76 |
| 16 | 6 | Seth Davies | United States | 59,500 | 12 |
| 17 | 1 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 259,000 | 52 |
| 17 | 2 | Geoffrey Mooney | Australia | 64,000 | 13 |
| 17 | 3 | Tom Rafferty | Australia | 168,500 | 34 |
| 17 | 4 | Chino Rheem | United States | 486,000 | 97 |
| 17 | 5 | Chin Wei Lim | Malaysia | 324,000 | 65 |
and Wolff had that dominated with the 
.
board and that reduced the field to the final 30 hopefuls, who are spread around five six-max tables.
and Liberto cracked his knuckles and shrugged. After about another minute, he dropped in a stack of chips, but he couldn't beat 
as Liberto gathered to exit.
flop was bad news for Krost but he picked up some outs with the 
turn.
fell on the river and that spelled the end for Krost in 20th place.
, the kicker played and the bubble burst to reduce the field to the final 17 hopefuls.
board failed to provide any help and Ajez was the first player to head to the payout desk, collecting A$70,980 for his efforts.
flop, Huang bet 37,000 and Wolff called. Huang bet 102,000 on the 
but was in awful shape against 
board. Both ace-kings chopped up his stack and the High Roller regular departed in 15th place for A$70,980.
for third pair.
flop paired Jattin and Ip was in need of running cards to double. It was all over after the 
of O'Dwyer and a nine-high board left Higgs drawing dead on the turn. He takes home A$70,980 and the remaining 12 players are now guaranteed at least A$91,260.
