$25,000 Challenge
Day 1 Started
2018 Aussie Millions
$25,000 Challenge
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 Aussie Millions
Buy-in
25,000 AUD
Prize Pool
2,736,000 AUD
Entries
114
Level
21
Blinds
15,000 / 30,000
Ante
4,000
Players Ready for 2018 Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge
Welcome to the 2018 Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge at the Crown Casino Melbourne, the biggest casino in the southern hemisphere. Over the years this tournament has crowned six winners and given out over A$11,000,000 in prize money. In 2017 it was the turn of James Chen, who topped a field of 133 players to walk away with A$861,840 in prize money, the biggest result of his career so far.
Last year's final table also featured Brandon Adams, Antoine Saout, John Juanda, Ryan D'Angelo and Nick Petrangelo, with Mustapha Kanit and Pratyush Buddiga also making deep runs. Therefore, it is safe to expect another stellar field of tough names here in Melbourne.
The A$25,000 Challenge has had some big-name winners in previous years: Igor Kurganov has almost A$2m in Aussie Millions earnings, including his 2013 A$25,000 Challenge title, while Chance Kornuth has followed up his 2016 win with both EPT and WPT High Roller wins. The American poker pro earned his second title in Melbourne just two days ago in the 598-entry strong A$1,150 Six-Max Event #6 to claim the Anton Championship ring and a payday of A$134,850.
Here is a full list of previous A$25,000 Challenge winners:
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize in A$ | Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20 | A$500,000 | Dominykas Karmazinas | Lithuania | A$200,000 | $205,895 |
| 2013 | 30 | A$723,000 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | A$275,000 | $290,317 |
| 2014 | 65 | A$1,560,000 | Max Altergott | Germany | A$241,785* | $211,522* |
| 2015 | 104 | A$2,496,000 | Alexander Trevallion | Australia | A$645,150** | $521,835** |
| 2016 | 122 | A$2,928,000 | Chance Kornuth | United States | A$790,560 | $547,874 |
| 2017 | 133 | A$3,192,000 | James Chen | Taiwan | A$861,840 | $652,909 |
* denotes a 5-way deal with Dan Smith (2nd, A$278,414), Jason Mercier (3rd, A$265,538), Martin Jacobson (4th, A$285,921) and Scott Seiver (5th, A$265,538)
** denotes a deal with Tobias Reinkemeier (2nd, A$614,850)
Players entering this year's $25,000 Challenge will receive 50,000 in chips, with the blinds starting at 100/200. Levels are 40 minutes long for the first six levels, and 60 minutes thereafter. The tournament is scheduled to start at 2.10pm on Australia Day.
One re-entry is permitted per player, and late registration is available for eight levels. On Day 1 there will be 12 levels, with a 45-minute dinner break at the end of Level 8. Here is the full schedule for the day:
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| 3 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 4 | 300 | 600 | 75 |
| 5 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
| 6 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
| 7 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
| 8 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 9 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
| 10 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 300 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 400 |
| 12 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 500 |
The attendance in all tournaments has been up thus far, promising plenty of action in the days to come. PokerNews will be bringing you live coverage from multiple events from this year's Aussie Millions, starting with the A$25,000 Challenge. Stay tuned for updates from this tournament, as well as the prestigious A$10,600 Main Event, the ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge and the A$100,000 Challenge.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
$25,000 Challenge Field Starts to Fill
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
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50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
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50,000
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50,000
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50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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Locals on Board to Claim the Title
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
Among the very international field, some locals also stand out to claim the title on home soil. Besides Martin Kozlov, this includes Kahle Burns, Daniel Neilson and Jonathan Karamalikis. The latter ended up on the same table as former $25,000 Challenge winner Chance Kornuth and Alex Foxen.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |
Kornuth Starts Well
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
In a battle button versus big blind, Chance Kornuth's bet of 5,000 on the river of a king-high board was called and the former $25,000 Challenge winner turned over 
for a turned full house, sevens over queens, to boost his stack early on.
One table over, Felipe Ramos defended his big blind against a raise to 600 by Max Silver. Both players checked the 
flop and Ramos' bet on the 
turn won the pot right there. Ramos dropped some chips soon after when calling off a bet of 1,325 on the 
river and mucked when his opponent showed the 
for a pair of jacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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59,000
9,000
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9,000 |
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49,000
-1,000
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-1,000 |
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Early Table of Stars in the $25,000 Challenge
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
As is customary in these High Roller events, the early stages have thrown up a belter of a starting table.
Seat 1: Kitty Kuo
Kitty Kuo is no stranger to the international poker circuit, with the immensely popular player's biggest result came in 2016 here at the Aussie Millions where she finished 6th in the Main Event for A$270,000.
Seat 2: Antoine Saout
Two-time WSOP final tablist Antoine Saout is next up. Saout has previous in the Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge, finishing 3rd last year for A$383,040.
Seat 3: Steven van Zadelhoff
Big hair, big player! Steven van Zadelhoff took down the 2017 WCOOP Main Event for $1.6 million, and is looking to have a big 2018.
Seat 4: Jack Salter
No stranger to big buy-in events, Jack Salter has a resume full of poker success. One of his biggest scores came here at the Aussie Millions in 2014, finishing second for A$516,960. He also has three second-place finishes in Aussie Millions ring-events
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
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50,000
50,000
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50,000 |
2017 Aussie Millions Main Event Runner-up Ben Heath Eliminated
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
The very first "Seat Open" of the tournament was heard and we headed over to see Ben Heath standing looking dejectedly at his 
.
The board in front of him was 
meaning Heath had turned a full house. However, his opponent Dave Heskin, who satellited into the $25,000 Challenge last night, held 
for a rivered full house to knock out his opponent.
According to tablemate Max Silver, in a three-bet pot Heskin bet both flop and turn, with Heath calling. On the river Heskin bet and Heath raised. Heskin moved all in and Heath called and was shown the bad news.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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100,000
100,000
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100,000 |
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Busted | |
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Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 25
New Faces in the Field
Level 2
: 100/200, 25 ante
New faces in the field include Neill Farrell, Christian Christner, Manig Loeser, Dietrich Fast, Kristen Bicknell, Xixiang Luo and Jack Sinclair. The latter faces Martin Kozlov and Schwippert while Christner battles against Ludovic Geilich and Fast.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | |