The 2014 Aussie Millions has once again proven to be one of the elite tournaments in the international poker world. On Friday, a strong final table for the $10,000 Main Event was determined as some of the deepest pocketed pros stepped up for Day 1 play in the $100,000 Challenge.
Aussie Millions Main Event
36 players came back for the start of action on Friday (late Thursday night in the United States), looking to play down to the final table of seven. At the start of action, Salvatore Fazzino was in the catbird seat as players such as Jonathan Duhamel, Jason Mercier, Liv Boeree and Rhys Jones all were looking to run him down. With such a large field – and several eliminations necessary to reach the final table – it was expected to be a long day and it turned out as such.
The early action saw Jones, who was one of the shorter stacks, head to the exit of the Crown Casino as the first elimination within moments of the opening of play. Boeree would soon follow after him, getting her final chips in at an inopportune moment against Patrick Crivell. Boeree’s pocket eights was no match for Crivell’s pocket Jacks on a 7-7-A-3-6 board as Boeree left the tournament in 28th place.
The other top names in the field didn’t fare much better than Boeree. Duhamel would find the end of his tournament in 25th place from the 668 player field and John Juanda had his Aces cracked by Andrew Phaedonas’ pocket tens on a 2-10-4-K-K board to exit in 23rd place. Ami Barer would take care of two players in the midst of the carnage, Craig McCorkell (21st) and Mercier (18th) to put his name at the top of the table.
As play continued on two tables, there was still a chance for some notable names to break into the final table. Sorel Mizzi dispatched the start of day chip leader Fazzino in 14th place to enhance his chances at the Aussie Millions title, but Jeff Rossiter (13th) and Erik Seidel (10th) weren’t able to make it there. Once Eoghan O’Dea’s Big Slick couldn’t outrun former “November Niner” Jake Balsiger’s pocket eights, the Irishman was gone on the final table bubble in eighth place after 12 hours of poker to set up Sunday’s final table lineup:
1. Ami Barer, 6.57 million
2. Vincent Rubianes, 3.865 million
3. Sorel Mizzi, 2.83 million
4. Jake Balsiger, 2.385 million
5. Darren Rabinowitz, 2.365 million
6. Andrew Phaedonas, 1.105 million
7. Scott Seiver, 855,000
Although Barer is absolutely crushing it at this point, the pack behind him is hungry for the Aussie Millions title. Mizzi, in particular, has Tweeted heavily about his desire to take down this title and he has the track record in the past to whet that appetite. In 2009, Mizzi finished 16th in this tournament and since then has gone on to finish third (2010) and tenth (2012). Don’t overlook Balsiger, though; he came thisclose at the 2012 WSOP Championship Event before falling in third place to Jesse Sylvia and eventual champion Greg Merson, so he is well prepared for the final table pressure.
The seven men vying for the title will have tomorrow off in Melbourne and come back Sunday to determine the champion. The victor will truly enjoy the spoils, especially since it is a $1.6 million (Australian) payday.
$100,000 Challenge
If there wasn’t a revolving door on the cashier’s cage at the Crown for Friday’s $100,000 Challenge, there probably should have been. Undaunted by the large buy in for the tournament, 66 entries were racked up through Day 1 play, which finished with Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald on top of the 22 men remaining in the field.
Although there were 66 entries in the event, they came from only 40 players, so many of those who didn’t find their fortune decided to pony up another one (fortune, that is) for a re-entry shot. In fact, two players – Isaac Haxton and Daniel Negreanu – each fired five bullets at taking down the championship, but only Negreanu would survive his final bullet with slight double the chips (221,500) than what he started with. It is conceivable that, to make back that $500,000 investment, Negreanu’s going to have to win the tournament to make it worth his while!
McDonald has the “usual suspects” you would find in a high roller tournament hot on his heels:
1. Mike McDonald, 468,500
2. Paul Newey, 428,500
3. Richard Yong, 379,500
4. Antonio Esfandiari, 364,000
5. Phil Ivey, 341,500
6. Tom Dwan, 323,000
7. Igor Kurganov, 310,000
8. Winfred Yu, 301,000
9. Max Altergott, 288,500
10. Paul Phua, 274,000
Looking beneath the Top Ten such players as two-time World Poker Tour Alpha8 champion Philipp Gruissem (258K), defending World Champion Ryan Riess (208,500), Global Poker Index Player of the Year Ole Schemion (202K) and Patrik Antonius (151K) lurk.
At this point, the final prize pool hasn’t been determined because the late registration process doesn’t close until the start of Day 2 play on Saturday. Although they have the Aussie Millions Main Event final table on their minds, both Sorel Mizzi and Scott Seiver may be using their day off to get in the tournament and other players are either rumored to be looking at re-entering or taking one shot at the event. It should make for an exciting Day 2 on Saturday as the prize pool stands at $6.6 million (roughly what the Main Event drew in) and the first place prize should be at least as large as what the Main Event is paying ($1.6 million).
