$100,000 Challenge
Day 2 Completed
$100,000 Challenge
Day 2 Completed
For two days, poker's biggest names battled one another in the 2014 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge. The tournament has a rich history, but this year it was taken to a whole different level as 39 unique players accounted for 37 reentires for a total field of 76 entries! That was up considerably from the 22 entries the year before.
It took two full days of play, but eventually Yevgeniy Timoshenko defeated Mike "Timex" McDonald to capture the title and AU$2,000,000 first-place prize.
Day 2 began with 29 players, then ten more players joined the fun, bringing the total field size to 76. Isaac Haxton, who fired his sixth and final bullet, was the first player to bust on the day, losing a race with against Patrik Antonius' . Scott Seiver and Gus Hansen, who also entered at the start of the day, busted soon after Haxton.
The eliminations continued to be fast and furious as Tobias Reinkemeier, Viktor Blom, Justin Bonomo, and Marvin Rettenmaier all busted during the first level of play.
The German high-stakes pros normally crush these big buy-in events, but on this day they were unable to secure so much as a min-cash. Ole Schemion was eliminated by Timoshenko; Igor Kurganov was done in by his fellow countryman Fabian Quoss; Philipp Gruissem ran pocket fours into Erik Seidel's pocket kings; and Quoss stone bubbled.
Quoss, who won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller, called a five-bet shove from Doug "WGCRider" Polk. Quoss' was racing against Polk's , and the American took the lead on a flop of . Gruissem received no help on the turn () or the river (), and exited the tournament empty handed.
It took two hours at the final table for there to be an elimination, and it happened when Martin Jacobson was eliminated in eighth place. The Swede was all in and at risk preflop with , but was dominated by by Timoshenko's and couldn't improve.
David Steicke exited soon thereafter, getting his short stack in preflop with against Seidel's , and he was followed out the door by Daniel Negreanu in sixth place.
After getting crippled with against Antonius' , "Kid Poker" moved all in for less than two big blinds with , and McDonald called with . The board ran out and Negreanu "earned" AU$550,000 for his performance, though the Canadian was in for five bullets.
Despite the knockout out Negreanu, Antonius was the next to go. The Finn moved all in on a flop of with , and McDonald called with . The turn and river bricked , respectively, and Antonius was eliminated in fifth place.
Polk entered the final table with the chip lead, but as the hours passed he was unable to maintain his big stack and was eliminated in fourth place. On his final hand he three-bet all in from the small blind with , and Seidel, the original raiser, called with . The wired pair held up, and Polk was off to collect the largest live tournament score of his career.
Seidel, an eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, lost a massive race in Level 21, leaving him with around six big blinds. A few hands later his money went in with , and he actually dominated Timoshenko's . However there was a six on the flop, Seidel found no help on the turn () and river (), and he was eliminated from the tournament in third place.
Timoshenko and McDonald began heads-up play nearly even in chips, and it proved a back-and-forth affair. Eventually Timoshenko doubled in a massive hand, and a short time later he finished off his opponent. You can read the final hand by clicking here.
Here's a look at the final table results:
Finish | Player | Prize (AUD) |
---|---|---|
1 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,000,000 |
2 | Mike "Timex" McDonald | $1,500,000 |
3 | Erik Seidel | $1,076,000 |
4 | Doug Polk | $860,000 |
5 | Patrik Antonius | $700,000 |
6 | Daniel Negreanu | $550,000 |
7 | David Steicke | $450,000 |
8 | Martin Jacobson | $350,000 |
Congratulations to Yevgeniy Timoshenko, winner of the 2014 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge! That does it for our coverage from the $100,000 Challenge, but on Sunday we'll bring you the conclusion of the AU$10,000 Main Event as well as the start of the $250,000 Challenge.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko had the button to start what would be the final hand of the tournament, and he opened with a raise to 240,000. Mike Donald reraised with a tall stack of green T25,000 chips for what looked to be 600,000 total or so. Timoshenko then moved all in, and McDonald quickly called.
Timoshenko showed the , and McDonald had the .
The flop came down , and Timoshenko's hand stayed in front. The on the turn added an interesting sweat to the hand by giving McDonald a straight draw, but the on the river wasn't what he was looking for.
With that, Timoshenko won the hand and the tournament, while McDonald was eliminated in second place for a payday of AU$1,500,000.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko |
7,600,000
1,650,000
|
1,650,000 |
|
||
Mike McDonald | Busted | |
|
Level: 23
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 10,000
Players are now on a ten-minute break.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko |
5,950,000
1,600,000
|
1,600,000 |
|
||
Mike McDonald |
1,650,000
-1,600,000
|
-1,600,000 |
|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko opened for 225,000 from the button and was met by a three-bet to 525,000 by Mike McDonald. Timoshenko made the call and then called a bet of 375,000 on the flop. After the dealer burned and turned the , McDonald bet 600,000, Timoshenko called, and the completed the board on the river.
McDonald announced that he was all in and Timoshenko snap-called off for 1.6 million. McDonald showed for top pair but it was no good as Timoshenko held the for a flush. Ship the double to Timoshenko.
Mike "Timex" McDonald limped in from the button, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko raised to 275,000 from the big blind. McDonald called, and the flop came down . Timoshenko led with a bet of 250,000, and McDonald called.
On the turn, the was added to the board. Timoshenko fired again, this time for 325,000. McDonald took his time, and even tossed in a time-bank chip for some extended thought. Then, he shoved all in for 1.1 million. Timoshenko tank-called.
Timoshenko showed the for top pair, but that was behind the for McDonald. The river completed the board with the , and McDonald doubled up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko |
4,350,000
-1,850,000
|
-1,850,000 |
|
||
Mike McDonald |
3,250,000
1,850,000
|
1,850,000 |
|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko limped the button and Mike McDonald exercised his option with a raise to 275,000. Timoshenko sprung to life with a pot-sized check-raise, McDonald moved all in, and Timoshenko called.
McDonald:
Timoshenko:
Both players held an ace, but McDonald's kicker made him a big favorite. The flop was interesting as it put out a lot of chop outs, of which the turn was one of them. The river was the and the dup chopped the pot.
Level: 22
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 10,000
Mike McDonald raised on the button to 160,000, and then Yevgeniy Timoshenko reraised from the big blind to 450,000. McDonald called, and the flop came down . Timoshenko led with a bet of 380,000, and McDonald called.
The turn card was the , and Timoshenko checked. McDonald also checked, then the completed the board on the river. Timoshenko checked, and McDonald checked behind.
Timoshenko showed for two pair, eights and fours, and McDonald mucked his hand.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Yevgeniy Timoshenko |
6,200,000
1,450,000
|
1,450,000 |
|
||
Mike McDonald |
1,400,000
-1,450,000
|
-1,450,000 |
|