Nick Petrangelo Wins the Aussie Millions $100K Challenge
The 2017 Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $100,000 Challenge attracted a field of 18 entries, which was whittled down to seven after the first day of play. Just three places would get paid.
After a short five hours of play, Nick Petrangelo came out on top, beating Mike Watson heads up. Fedor Holz, who'll return to center stage tomorrow for the final table of the Main Event, was the only other player to cash. Sam Trickett bubbled the event, going out in fourth place.
| Position | Player | Country | Prize in AU$ | Prize in US$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | AU$882,000 | $666,311 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | Canada | AU$529,200 | $399,787 |
| 3 | Fedor Holz | Germany | AU$352,800 | $266,524 |
With seven players battling it out for the AUD$882,000 first-place prize, action was rapid from the get-go. Not only because the remaining players were all seasoned professionals boasting millions of dollars in winnings between them, but also because the shot clock was once again instated. Like on Day 1, players had just 30 seconds to act on their hand with three time-breaker chips, which granted them an extra minute to think about their decision.
David Steicke wouldn't use any of them as he was the first one out the door. While he doubled in the third hand after spiking two pairs with king-queen to Steffen Dontheimer's ace-king, four hands later he was a goner. He lost a huge flip with queens to Watson's ace-king and dusted off the remainder with king-three to Trickett's ace-four.
Start of day chipleader Steffen Sontheimer didn't have his day.
It took another 30 hands or so before the next player hit the rail. 2016 GPI Player of the Year David Peters flopped best with queen-ten but didn't see the backdoor straight of Watson coming. By the time the river was out, the ten was third pair for Peters and he needed a time breaker chip to make up his mind after getting put in by Watson. Peters called it off but had to surrender upon being shown the straight.
Start of day chipleader Steffen Sontheimer didn't have his day. Not only did he double Steicke early on, he lost some more hands to get to the position of one of the shorter stacks five-handed. Finding pocket sevens, he opened only to be three-bet by Watson. Sontheimer called out of position and check-raised all in after having flopped an open-ender. Watson called with pocket tens and sent Sontheimer packing after blanks on the turn and river.
With four players remaining and three getting paid, one might expect a slower pace. While the bubble was a massive AUD$352,800, a hefty sum even for the highest of high rollers, play continued on at a high pace. In fact, the bubble only lasted five hands as Trickett moved all in for his last 15 big blinds with queen-nine. Watson would again do the dirty work, calling with ace-jack. No queen or nine appeared on the board and Trickett departed in fourth place, officially becoming the bubble of the 2017 Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $100,000 Challenge.
“I wouldn’t call this versus most people, but I think I’m calling versus you.”
The three that remained were guaranteed AUD$352,800 at this point, but the real money was up top. Holz, the German wunderkind with just about the best year in poker ever last year, was next to go. Petrangelo raised the button with ace-eight and Holz shoved pocket fours.
“I wouldn’t call this versus most people,” Petrangelo said, “but I think I’m calling versus you.”
And so Petrangelo did and the big flip fell his way. An ace on the flop and turn left Holz just two outs for the river. While Holz had been very fortunate all week, this time no four popped up on the river and Holz had to bow out in third place.
The heads-up was as fierce and competitive as they come with Watson and Petrangelo having at it. Watson started out with a healthy lead but Petrangelo would soon take over as commander in chips, partly because of several over-bet bluffs that saw Watson fold the best hand.
What could've been a long heads-up because they started out quite deep, finished relatively quickly. With the chip lead now in the hands of Petrangelo, Watson went for a big bluff that saw him raise all in on the river with nothing but ace-high. Petrangelo called with top two pairs and sent Watson to the rail in second place.
And just like that, after only five hours of actual play, a winner had been determined. Nick Petrangelo from Boston, Massachusetts walked away with the AUD$882,000 first-place prize and the coveted Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery ring.
