Erik Seidel opened to 16,000 from under the gun. Yong Wang was on the button and three-bet all in for 107,000. The blinds both folded and Seidel made the call.
Yong Wang:
Erik Seidel:
Wang was ahead, but the flop gave his opponent a set. The turn was the and the river the and Wang was eliminated in ninth place.
Erik Seidel opened to 16,000 and called a three-bet from Michael Addamo for 64,000.
Addamo bet 36,000 on the flop, but another bet of 140,000 was enough to shake Seidel on the turn.
On the very next hand, Seidel opened to 16,000 from under the gun and Cary Katz called in middle position.
The flop was and Seidel bet 25,000. Katz slid a stack of around 600,000 chips into the middle, covering his opponent, and Seidel eventually called all in for 365,000.
Cary Katz:
Erik Seidel:
Katz was best, but would need to dodge both straight and flush draws if he was to send Seidel to the rail. The turn and river both bricked for Seidel, and he was eliminated.
Rainer Kempe open-shoved for 142,000 from middle position. Sam Greenwood was all in from the button for 321,000 and Timothy Adams called all in for 295,000 from the big blind.
Rainer Kempe:
Sam Greenwood:
Timothy Adams:
The flop had Adams in the lead with Kempe still looking to hit to triple up. However, the turn gave Greenwood a set. Kempe was drawing dead, and Adams failed to hit his jack on the river and both players were eliminated.
Michael Addamo raised the button and Ben Lamb as the single big blind called to see a flop of . Lamb led for 27,000 and Addamo raised it up to 70,000, which prompted the shove of Lamb for around 230,000. Addamo called within a few seconds and the cards were turned over.
Ben Lamb:
Michael Addamo:
Pocket jacks were no good in the previous all-in showdown but this time they held up on the turn and river run out. Lamb was eliminated in 5th place and takes home A$318,160 for his efforts.
With four players remaining, the average has increased to 102 big blinds.
It started with a raise to 22,000 by Michael Addamo from under the gun and Cary Katz called on the button. Sam Greenwood in the big blind three-bet to 105,000 and Addamo used one time bank extension before announcing a four-bet to 230,000. Katz got out of the way and Greenwood five-bet jammed for around 820,000 to receive an instant call from Addamo.
Sam Greenwood:
Michael Addamo:
The flop gave Addamo the nut full house and Greenwood needed runner-runner perfect for a royal flush. His elimination in 4th place was official once the hit on the turn and the river became a mere formality. Greenwood takes home A$397,700 for his efforts and Addamo has taken over the role as commanding chip leader three-handed.
"When he's in the big blind
and sticks it in your eye
that's Addamoooo," one of the Australian railbirds announced for half of the poker room to hear.
Blind on blind Orpen Kisacikoglu bet 12,000 on the flop and Michael Addamo called. The turn was the and Kisacikoglu used a time extension before checking.
Addamo bet 45,000 and Kisacikoglu called.
The river checked to Addamo who moved all in. Kisacikoglu had around 150,000 behind and muttered something about six-seven (which would give Addamo a straight) before calling.
Addamo showed and Kisacikoglu initially thought his hand was good before seeing that Addamo had three threes. Kisacikoglu showed for two pair and was eliminated in third place.
Michael Addamo limped pre-flop and Cary Katz checked.
The flop came . Katz checked and Addamo bet 20,000. Katz check-raised all in for 330,000 and Addamo called.
Cary Katz:
Michael Addamo:
Both players were in shock at the situation that unfolded between them and the turn and river sealed the title for Addamo, sending Katz to the rail in second place for A$715,860.
After eleven previous cashes including four final-table finishes, Michael Addamo has finally broken his Aussie Millions duck with victory in the A$50,000 Challenge, topping an 82-player field for A$1,073,790 ($738,234) and his first ANTON Jewellery Championship ring.
He defeated last year's A$100,000 Challenge winner Cary Katz heads-up, stopping the American going two for two in Aussie Millions High Rollers in back-to-back years.
Orpen Kisacikoglu picked up his first-ever Aussie Millions cash, finishing third for A$477,240.
2020 Aussie Millions A$50,000 Challenge Results
Place
Player
Country
Payout (AUD)
Payout (USD)
1
Michael Addamo
Australia
A$1,073,790
$738,234
2
Cary Katz
United States
A$715,860
$492,156
3
Orpen Kisacikoglu
Turkey
A$477,240
$328,104
4
Sam Greenwood
Canada
A$397,700
$273,420
5
Ben Lamb
United States
A$318,160
$218,736
6
Timothy Adams
Canada
A$278,390
$191,394
7
Rainer Kempe
Germany
A$238,620
$164,052
8
Erik Seidel
United States
A$198,850
$136,710
9
Yong Wang
China
A$159,080
$109,368
10
Kristen Bicknell
Canada
A$119,130
$81,902
Total
A$3,977,000
$2,734,199
Winner's Reaction
After finishing third in 2017 and then second in 2018 in the Aussie Millions Opening Event, Addamo said it felt great to get the monkey off his back.
"It feels great, you know, to get my first Aussie Millions ring," Addamo told PokerNews. "I'm pretty happy about it.
"I came into the festival just wanting to play the big buy-ins and try and play well. I knew it was important to rest-up between them, and I'll definitely be back for the A$100,000 in a couple of days."
Early Stages
There was always going to be a long day in store for players in the A$50,000 Challenge, which ended up attracting 82 players, breaking last year's record by 20.
The payouts were confirmed with ten places paid, as A$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha Challenge winner Jorryt van Hoof, Dan Smith, Tsugunari Toma, George Wolff, Koichi Haruta, Matthias Eibinger, Shan Huang and Stephen Chidwick were all eliminated short of the money.
Start-of-day chip leader Kahle Burns had a rollercoaster day, also busting short of the money, with Orpen Kisakicoglu moving into the lead. However, Michael Addamo, Sam Greenwood and Timothy Adams were all among the big stacks, as the tournament went on dinner break four eliminations off the money.
Michael Soyza Bubbles A$50,000 Challenge
There seemed to be no let up in the pace of the action, despite the A$119,310 pay jump, as Peter Jetten, Mikita Badziakouski and Elio Fox all bust in the space of half an hour
In the end, it was Michael Soyza who bubbled, rivering two pair against Addamo only for the Australian to have turned a flush and eliminate Soyza.
Short-stacked Kristen Bicknell was next (10th - A$119,310) with the remaining nine players all now seated around one table.
Final Table Action
It wasn't long before Erik Seidel sent Yong Wang to the exit in ninth (A$159,080), but Cary Katz soon finished off Seidel (8th - A$198,850) to become the first player over a million in chips.
Sam Greenwood came into the final table third in chips, but scored a massive fillip when he sent both Rainer Kempe (7th - A$238,620) and Timothy Adams (6th - A$278,390) to the rail in the same hand, spiking a set on the turn to crack the jacks of Adams and leave Kempe drawing dead with king-queen.
Addamo had been sitting comfortably so far, and added an elimination for himself, fading the straight and flush draws of Ben Lamb (5th - A$318,160) to join Katz with over a million in chips.
However, that million soon became two million after the elimination of Greenwood in 3rd (A$397,700). He five-bet jammed king-queen suited into the aces of Addamo, and despite flopping a flush draw and turning a straight draw, Addamo spiked a set on the river to bust Greenwood and take a stranglehold on proceedings that he would never relinquish.
Kisacikoglu stuck around gamely as the short stack before succumbing to Addamo, and although Katz did his best to elongate the heads-up portion of the tournament to two hours, he never gained any traction and would have to settle for second place and A$715,860.