Aussie Millions Main Event Day 1c: Saving the Biggest and the Best for Last
They say to save the biggest and best for last, and that seems to be the case in the Aussie Millions Main Event as traditionally Day 1c has attracted the biggest field In the 2013 edition, 157 and 196 players turned out for Days 1a and 1b respectively, and early estimates expect both of those numbers to be crushed in today’s final starting flight.
Satellites have been running nonstop to qualify players, and today will be there last chance to compete for one of poker’s most prestigious title. Right now there is even a 18-player satellite freeroll for those who qualified—like Josh “@procession” Bell and Jesse “@OnTheMac” McKenzie—through Crown Casino’s Twitter contest. Whether or not either of those players will get in remains to be seen.
Some other players we expect to see in action today are Phil Ivey; Antonio Esfandiari; Patrik Antonius; and Australian legend Shane Warne.
Also expected to make an appearance today is Andrew Robl, yesterday’s $100,000 Challenge champion:
All of these players, and many more for that matter, look to survive seven 90-minute levels of play and punch their ticket to Day 2 alongside the 175 combined survivors from Days 1a and 1b. They include Tyron Krost, Neil Channing, Jason Mercier, James Obst, Kevin Rabichow, Ayaz Mahmood and Phillip Willcocks. However, all of those players trail Day 1a chip leader Brian Payne (299,900) and Day 1b chip leader Frank Rusnak (165,100).
Who will be the next to add their name to this prestigious list of winners?
| Year | Winner | Prize | No. of Entries | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Oliver Speidel | AU$1,600,000 | 659 | AU$6,590,000 |
| 2011 | David Gorr | AU$2,000,000 | 721 | AU$7,210,000 |
| 2010 | Tyron Krost | AU$2,000,000 | 746 | AU$7,460,000 |
| 2009 | Stewart Scott | AU$2,000,000 | 681 | AU$6,810,000 |
| 2008 | Alexander Kostritsyn | AU$1,650,000 | 780 | AU$7,800,000 |
| 2007 | Gus Hansen | AU$1,500,000 | 747 | AU$7,470,000 |
| 2006 | Lee Nelson | AU$1,295,800 | 418 | AU$4,180,000 |
| 2005 | Jamil Dia | AU$1,000,000 | 263 | AU$2,630,000 |
| 2004 | Tony Bloom | AU$426,500 | 133 | AU$1,330,000 |
| 2003 | Peter Costa | AU$394,870 | 122 | AU$1,220,000 |
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing you updates throughout the Main Event, as well as the $250,000 Challenge, $25,000 Challenge and $1,000,000 Cash Game. Day 1c action in the Main is set to kick off at 12:30 local time, which is about an hour from now.