2018 Aussie Millions

ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge
Day: 1
Event Info

2018 Aussie Millions

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j6
Prize
116,400 AUD
Event Info
Buy-in
50,000 AUD
Entries
4
Level Info
Level
4
Blinds
500 / 1,000
Ante
100

Sam Greenwood Wins ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge (A$116,400)

Level 4 : 500/1,000, 100 ante
Sam Greenwood
Sam Greenwood

The Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge at Crown Melbourn got off to a late start, but it proved to be an early finish.

That's because the tournament drew just four runners, and the players didn't waste much time before knocking each other out, wrapping things up in less than six hours. In the end, super high roller veteran Sam Greenwood was the last one standing and booked a win after doing a quick deal heads up with Jan Schwippert.

Greenwood pocketed A$116,400 while Schwippert banked A$77,600 for outlasting Alex Foxen and Koji Fujimoto.

The tournament got under way two hours late as players couldn't be lured in when just Greenwood was registered early and in his seat at the scheduled start time of 1:10 p.m. They agreed to reconvene a couple of hours later, but only Foxen and Schwippert ponied up the cash while a number of other players loitered around uncertainly, waiting to see if more runners would appear.

The battle got going, and the players certainly didn't waste much time or play deliberately slowly in an attempt to give others a chance to fire. After a short feeling-out period, the three pros started three-betting and four-betting each other aggressively, but nobody could open up a significant lead.

After the first break, Koji Fujimoto sat in, but that wasn't enough to draw anyone else's interest and populate the table. Four-handed play, along with raised blinds, proved to be a catalyst for action. Pots swelled quickly and Foxen became the first to fall when he took a beat at the hands of Schwippert, kings failing to hold preflop against ace-jack.

Fujimoto found basically no success and followed Foxen out the door minutes later after losing the last of his short stack.

Greenwood and Schwippert each had about double the starting stack and had a choice: lock in the prize pool now and play heads up to finish it or play heads up and allow registration to remain open, with an elimination meaning the tournament would be over and someone would claim the whole prize pool.

They opted for the former and Schwippert raced out to a 3-1 lead early before running fives into sevens and allowing a Greenwood double. It was essentially all Greenwood from there as he hammered Schwippert down to about 10 big blinds before allowing a couple of doubles.

However, the Canadian stopped the bleeding from there and ended the tournament when he check-raised on a bluff and backed into a flush while his opponent backed into a straight after missing his own flopped flush draw.

That put an end to a short $50K Challenge, and things will be focused all on the Main Event here for the next few days.

Tags: Sam Greenwood

Alex Foxen Eliminated

Level 4 : 500/1,000, 100 ante
Alex Foxen, pictured in an earlier event.
Alex Foxen, pictured in an earlier event.

Jan Schwippert opened for a raise to an unknown amount with three T1,000 chips and Alex Foxen three-bet to 7,100 in the small blind. Schwippert shoved and Foxen snap-called for roughly 38,000.

Schwippert: {a-Spades}{j-Diamonds}
Foxen: {k-Spades}{k-Hearts}

The board ran out {6-Hearts}{6-Spades}{a-Clubs}{7-Diamonds}{9-Spades}, leaving Foxen exiting his seat on the turn.

"Good luck," he said.

Player Chips Progress
Jan Schwippert de
Jan Schwippert
89,800 34,300
Alex Foxen us
Alex Foxen
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Alex FoxenJan Schwippert

Greenwood Rolling Ahead

Level 3 : 300/600, 75 ante
Sam Greenwood, pictured at a different event.
Sam Greenwood, pictured at a different event.

Sam Greenwood raised and got a pair of callers, and everyone checked the flop to bring a board of {8-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds}. Greenwood bet 1,500 and got called by his neighbor, Jan Schwippert on the button. Greenwood bet 1,500 again on the {6-Clubs} river and Schwippert paid it off but couldn't beat {k-Hearts}{q-Hearts}.

The next hand, Koji Fujimoto raised to 1,500 in the small blind and Greenwood defended the big. He called a continuation-bet on the {7-Spades}{5-Diamonds}{10-Hearts} flop and then 4,500 more on the {6-Diamonds} turn. The {8-Hearts} river brought a four-straight and a check from Fujimoto. Greenwood bet 9,000 and Fujimoto used his entire allotted time before mucking.

Player Chips Progress
Sam Greenwood ca
Sam Greenwood
WSOP 1X Winner
75,000 19,000
Jan Schwippert de
Jan Schwippert
56,000 -5,000
Koji Fujimoto jp
Koji Fujimoto
18,750 -10,750

Tags: Jan SchwippertKoji FujimotoSam Greenwood

First Big Pot to Foxen

Level 1 : 100/200, 25 ante
Alex Foxen, pictured in an earlier event.
Alex Foxen, pictured in an earlier event.

Alex Foxen and Sam Greenwood saw a {9-Spades}{a-Clubs}{8-Clubs} flop for the minimum, and Foxen check-called 200. He checked again on the {q-Diamonds} but Greenwood bet much bigger with 1,200. Foxen called again and the {k-Spades} fell. He checked and Greenwood fired big with 3,000. This time, Foxen put in a raise to 10,700.

Greenwood instantly folded.

Player Chips Progress
Alex Foxen us
Alex Foxen
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
55,000 5,300
Sam Greenwood ca
Sam Greenwood
WSOP 1X Winner
47,000 -5,500

Tags: Alex FoxenSam Greenwood

Welcome to the 2018 Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge!

Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge
Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge

At 1:10 p.m. local time on Sunday (3:10 a.m. CET, 9:10 p.m. EST on a Saturday), cards will be in the air for the 2018 Aussie Millions ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge. The $50K was a last-minute addition to the 2017 schedule, with Mikita Badziakouski from Belarus defeating Charlie Carrel heads-up to win A$176,400. This year, the tournament made its way to the regular programming schedule, alongside both the $25,000 and $100,000 Challenges.

Fresh off his victory in the $25,000 Challenge yesterday night, Ben Lamb will be one to watch coming into the day. Lamb received A$647,114 (~$524,764) after chopping with Jan-Eric Schwippert heads-up, who walked away A$597,765 (~$484,746) richer. Lamb's friend Chance Kornuth was on the rail to celebrate his buddy's victory and make it two for the team. Earlier this week, Kornuth won the $1,150 Six-Max event for A$134,850 to capture his second Championship ring here in Melbourne. Last year, the American won the $25,000 Challenge for A$790,560 and will no doubt hop in the field today to try and win a third title.

Kitty Kuo, Jack Salter, Claas Segebrecht and Mustapha Kanit are among those that cashed yesterday and can be expected to vie for a brand-new Championship ring. Some of Australia's finest, such as Michael Addamo, Jonathan Karamalikes, Kahle Burns, Rory Young and Martin Kozlov, have played the $25,000 Challenge and might also take a shot today to keep the trophy on home soil.

Another name that's up in the air is none other than that of Tom "durrrr" Dwan. The high-stakes legend is present in Melbourne and watched the women's final of the Australian Open yesterday, won by Caroline Wozniacki (who briefly dated Gus Hansen in the past). According to Dwan, he hasn't played much poker yet but just might grace the tables with his presence today.

The ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge is in a shot clock format, meaning that players will have 30 seconds to act on their hand. Players will be issued with two 'Time Breaker' buttons at the start of Day 1, Day 2 and the final table. They cannot be accumulated and are each worth an additional one minute of time when used.

Players will receive a 50,000 starting stack and levels will be 60-minutes long. Late registration and reentries are available until the end of Level 7. Cards are in the air from 1:10 p m, and Day 1 will end at the conclusion of Level 6. Players will play down to a final table on Day 2 before the tournament goes on a short hiatus, creating room for the contestants to jump into the Main Event. The final table will be played out on Saturday, February 3th.

Here is the structure for today:

LevelSmall BlindBig BlindAnte
1100200 
2200400 
3300600 
45001000 
55001000100
67001400200

The $50,000 Challenge is sponsored by ANTON Jewellery, partnering up with the Aussie Millions for the second year in a row. As the official jeweller of the 2018 Aussie Millions, ANTON Jewellery has produced 26 Championship Rings for all events and the coveted, diamond-encrusted Main Event Champion's bracelet, which together hold over $180,000 in total value. Founded in 1989, ANTON is one of Melbourne's most respected jewellers.

PokerNews will be Down Under the entire week to cover the ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge, the $10,600 Main Event and the $100,000 Challenge. Don't miss it!