Suchanek Leads Aussie Millions H.O.R.S.E Final Table; Karamalikis, Lybaert and Harwood Bag Opening Event
Table Of Contents
Today was another exciting day at the 2020 Aussie Millions with another flight in the $1m guaranteed Opening Event and the start of Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
As always, PokerNews was on hand to get you all the action, latest highlights and more from the Crown Casino in Melbourne, including an interview with H.O.R.S.E. defending champion Daniel Mayoh.
More Players Advance from Aussie Millions Opening Event Flight 2
There were a total of 255 entries in the second flight of the Millions Opening Event, bringing the overall number so far to 497.
The tournament comes with a $1,000,000 guarantee, and with three flights to go, they are well on their way to surpassing that amount and perhaps even challenge the record of 1,752, set last year when Muhammad Asad won the largest 1k tournament in the Southern Hemisphere for A$219,980 (US$158,385) after a three-way deal.
From Flight 2, just 38 advanced bringing the total number of players through to Day 2 at 66. Notables advancing include 2019 Australian Poker Hall of Fame Inductee Jonathan Karamalikis (65,900), last year's fifth-place finisher Pierce McKellar (54,100), Kristy Arnett (50,400), Bart Lybaert (49,900), 2018 Opening Event champion Benedikt Eberle (47,700) and Loni Harwood (30,200).
Here is a full list of the 38 advancing:
End of Day Chip Counts
| Player | Chip Counts |
|---|---|
| Izuchukwu Oparaocha | 169,400 |
| Amir Minagar | 139,600 |
| Egor Bulychev | 122,100 |
| Daniel Gabriel | 112,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 111,000 |
| Xingwei Tong | 109,000 |
| Simon Burns | 99,500 |
| Bridges Roe | 96,700 |
| Weichung Auyong | 88,200 |
| James Gilbert | 87,700 |
| Andrew Yates | 83,200 |
| Ivan Deyra | 80,300 |
| Glen Marshall | 79,900 |
| Jarrod Holmes | 78,300 |
| En-ching Wu | 76,200 |
| Joshua Mcswiney | 69,900 |
| Christopher Ozer | 66,700 |
| Jonathan Karamalikis | 65,900 |
| David Kelly | 59,600 |
| Pierce Mckellar | 54,100 |
| Wan Gan | 52,700 |
| Teresaann Natoli | 52,400 |
| Kristy Arnett | 50,400 |
| Bart Lybaert | 49,900 |
| Steven Morris | 49,900 |
| Samuel Deering | 49,000 |
| Benedikt Eberle | 47,700 |
| Tolly Sakellariou | 47,100 |
| Sarkiss Osalian | 43,200 |
| Peter Lai | 39,400 |
| Philipp Kampf | 39,000 |
| Ante Kutlesa | 37,500 |
| Loni Harwood | 30,200 |
| Raymond Ou | 28,800 |
| Gino Provenzano | 26,900 |
| Jim Giannoukos | 25,100 |
| Alexander Everitt | 23,200 |
| Stevan Krmpotic | 15,100 |
Chip leader Izuchukwu Oparaocha bagged 169,400 ahead of Amir Miniagar (139,600) and Egor Bulychev (122,100), but the trio are well behind the 213,800 of yesterday's chip leader Zack Lowrie.
Tomorrow sees two starting flights in the Opening Event. The first (Flight 3) gets underway at 12:10 pm and the second (Flight 4) starts at 6:10 pm.
Players will receive 15,000 starting chips and have twelve 40-minute levels to navigate if they want to make it to Day 2.
Mayoh Hopes for More Mixed Game Success at 2020 Aussie Millions
Just before the start of the H.O.R.S.E event, we spoke with Daniel Mayoh who is hoping that an extra year of work at the poker table will go a long way to helping him defend his title here at the 2020 Aussie Millions.
Despite coming in as defending champion, Mayoh admitted that it would have been an achievement just to cash in what is consistently one of the toughest fields at the festival.
"There's not a lot of recreational players in this field," said Mayoh. "I'll know all of the Melbourne regulars, and actually over the last twelve months, there has been a lot more mixed games being played here in Melbourne.
"There's a good dozen of us who have got a lot more experience than we did this time last year. We'll see if that translates today!
As well as winning his first championship ring here in Melbourne, last year saw Mayoh head to Las Vegas for the first time to take part in the World Series of Poker.
"I was only there for the first two weeks, playing a few of the $1,500 Mixed Game events. I was a little put off by some of the Americans. They're very...insulting, or condescending if they think you're playing badly they'll insult you for it, even though they want bad players at their table! I really didn't get it.
"If I go back this year I'll do it with a thicker skin and just put headphones on and ignore it a bit more!"
With the experience under his belt, Mayoh said he has also been putting in the work in cash games here in Australia too.
"I played a lot of mixed cash games at the World Series and that was great, it's just harder to get those games up here. It's all about getting the games spread that we want, so when we do it it's a really great chance to play. Now I'm ready for the Aussie Millions!
"I've just been really looking forward to this, to have a chance to defend my title."
Sadly, Mayoh bust short of the final table here on Day 1.
Suchanek Leads H.O.R.S.E. Final Table
From a starting field of 42 players, Event #2: A$2,500 H.O.R.S.E. has reached a final table. As expected, plenty of big names have made it this far including New Zealand's Jan Suchanek, who will start as chip leader with eight remaining, ahead of former Aussie Millions Main Event champion Ari Engel.
Suchanek has a highly impressive record here at the Aussie Millions, with a championship ring and three second-place finishes in 8 Game events between 2012 and 2014. He also has a third and a second place finish in the H.O.R.S.E. in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
France's Julien Sitbon and Poland's Dzmitry Urbanovich are the only other non-Australians at the final table. Australia is naturally well-represented, with 2017 runner-up Rainer Quel joined by Alan Wilson, Simon Chahine and Vasco Zapantzis.
Final Table Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 81,200 |
| 2 | Rainer Quel | Australia | 72,500 |
| 3 | Alan Wilson | Australia | 34,800 |
| 4 | Ari Engel | Canada | 88,100 |
| 5 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 76,000 |
| 6 | Simon Chahine | Australia | 74,200 |
| 7 | Vasco Zapantzis | Australia | 83,900 |
| 8 | Jan Suchanek | New Zealand | 119,300 |
Players who busted today included 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell, 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem, Phil Hui, Bryce Yockey, Benny Glaser, Billy 'The Croc' Argyros, and Oliver Gill.
The remaining eight players are not yet in the money, with only the top six guaranteed a payout of A$6,615.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Payout (AUD) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $34,020 | $23,474 |
| 2 | $21,735 | $14,997 |
| 3 | $14,175 | $9,781 |
| 4 | $10,395 | $7,173 |
| 5 | $7,560 | $5,216 |
| 6 | $6,615 | $4,564 |
The final table resumes at 1 pm on January 6, with a winner set to be crowned later in the evening. Stay tuned to PokerNews for the full reaction and winner's recap.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
