Will the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge Launch Another Player's Career Year?
The Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge has been one of the most prestigious events on the poker calendar for the past six years.
It also gives one player a head start on a hot year. Sam Trickett and Erik Seidel experienced this in 2011 when they finished in first and third place respectively, with both going on to finish with the year with incredible results.
Likewise, last year Dan Smith defeated Mikhail Smirnov heads up for the title and A$1.012 million on his way to becoming the 2012 Global Poker Index Player of the Year.
Here’s a look at last year’s results:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | A$ 1,012,000 |
| 2 | Mikhail Smirnov | A$ 616,000 |
| 3 | Joe Hachem | A$ 330,000 |
| 4 | Tony G | A$ 242,000 |
Today another player will have the chance to jump out to an early lead in 2012, and while we don’t have a confirmed list of participants yet, we’ve do expect to see the following players in action: Joe Hachem, Tony Bloom, Tobias Reinkemeier, Andrew Robl, Sam Trickett, Vanessa Selbst, Philipp Gruissem, Fabian Quoss, Igor Kurganov, Dan Shak, Eric Lui, Winfred Yu, Tom Hall, Martin Finger, Mike Watson and Jason Mercier.
Will any of these big-names pros be able to add their name to this prestigious list of champions (click name to learn more about their victory):
| Year | Winner | Prize | No. of Entries | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dan Smith | A$1,012,000 | 22 | A$2,200,000 |
| 2011 | Sam Trickett | A$1,525,000 | 38 | A$3,800,000 |
| 2010 | Dan Shak | A$1,200,000 | 24 | A$2,400,000 |
| 2009 | David Steicke | A$1,200,000 | 23 | A$2,300,000 |
| 2008 | Howard Lederer | A$1,250,000 | 25 | A$2,500,000 |
| 2007 | Erick Lindgren | A$1,000,000 | 18 | A$1,800,000 |
The 2013 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge is set to kick off at 14:30 EDT (22:30 EST), and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on the ground at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia to bring you all the updates. Meanwhile, Day 1a of the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event is already underway, and you know we’re also bringing you live updates from that event. Just click here for those updates.
, and Shak announced that he was all in for a little under 100,000. Robl had slightly less than Shak, but the stacks were very close to even. After several long minutes in the tank, Robl made the call.
for just ace-king high. Robl had the best of it, flopping two pair with the 
.
to put Shak in front. The river completed the board with the 
, and that was it. Shak had won the hand and eliminated Robl as the first to go.
, which was out in front of Shak's 
.
turn gave Kagawa a set, but it was a bad card as Shak picked up a flush draw. Fortunately for Kagawa, the 
blanked on the river and he doubled through the chip leader.
.
, and Juanda was eliminated.
turn was no help, and Watson watched his chances of survival be cut in half to 15.91%. Unfortunately for him, that hit zero when the 
blanked on the river. The stack were verified, and then Watson made a hasty exit from the tournament floor.
and paired both players. The turn was the 
landed on the river and put Finger back in front. He won the pot, and Mercier was sent to the rail.
. Philipp Gruissem had bet 12,000 from the small blind, Masa Kagawa raised to 46,000 from the big, and Tony Bloom three-bet all in for roughly 152,000 from middle position. Gruissem got out of the way and Masa quickly called with 
, which was out in front of Bloom's 
turn added to those outs, but the 
, and Gruissem was eliminated in 10th place. The remaining nine players are now joining to one table.
. Kagawa improved to a flush to send Finger to the rail, which also vaulted him up to 600,000.
. Antonius had bet 7,200 from the under-the-gun position, only to have Shak raise to 20,000 from the hijack. Antonius thought for a moment before moving all in for about 70,000 more, and Shak made the call with 
for a flush draw, which he needed to hit in order to overcome the Finn's 
rolled off on the turn, though Antonius could still win if the board paired on the river. The dealer burned one last time and put out the