$10,600 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2018 Aussie Millions
$10,600 Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 Aussie Millions
Buy-in
10,600 AUD
Prize Pool
8,000,000 AUD
Entries
800
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000
Toby Lewis Leads Final Seven in 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
It took six days to bring the record-breaking field of 800 in the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event down to its final table. 36 hopefuls that started the day were whittled down to seven over the course of seven levels. Each of the seven has already secured a massive cash of A$235,000 but all eyes will be on the first-place prize of A$1,800,000, which will be awarded to the victor in Crown Casino on Sunday, February 4.
Biggest story coming into the day was another deep run by former champions Ari Engel (2016) and Ami Barer (2014). No player has ever won the Aussie Millions Main Event twice, and it won't happen in 2018 as Barer (36th) and Engel (10th) both missed out on the final table.
England's Toby Lewis will start the final table as the chipleader with 5,835,000 in chips. The 28-year old from Southampton is easily the most recognizable name left in the field, and with $3,2 million dollar in lifetime winnings already amassed, including an EPT-title, the odds-on favorite to claim the prestigious title and ANTON Jewellery bracelet that's up for grabs.
Lewis' biggest hand of the day was a massive coin flip against the man who will come back second in chips: Espen Solaas (5,680,000). While Solaas may not have Lewis' pedigree coming into the final table, the Norwegian showed relentless aggression during Day 4 and is a dangerous contender. Solaas sat on top of the chip counts for most of the day and will have more than 100 big blinds to work with on the final day.
The Brit and Norwegian headline an international final table, as no less than six nationalities are represented among the final seven. Joining Lewis and Solaas are Ben Richardson (4,870,000), Mike del Vecchio (3,065,000), Stefan Huber (1,975,000), Chul-Hyon Park (1,670,000) and short stack Johan Schumacher (955,000). Boisterous rails were aplenty in the packed poker room of Crown Casino, with the rowdiest supporters cheering for Huber (the Germans) and Richardson (the local Aussies). All players and their supporters will return on Sunday, February 4, in what will no doubt be one of the loudest cheered final tables in recent memory.
Final table seating and chip counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espen Solaas | Norway | 5,680,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Johan Schumacher | Belgium | 955,000 | 19 |
| 3 | Mike Del Vecchio | United States | 3,065,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | 5,835,000 | 116 |
| 5 | Chul-Hyon Park | Australia | 1,670,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Stefan Huber | Switzerland | 1,975,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Ben Richardson | Australia | 4,870,000 | 97 |
Day 4 action
While the aforementioned seven can take a day’s rest before returning for the final on Sunday, February 4, for 31 others their shot at Aussie Millions glory ended on Day 4. Coming into the day, the biggest story was the unlikely deep run of not one, but two former champions: both Ari Engel (2016) and Ami Barer (2014) had a chance to win the prestigious Main Event for the second time.
It wasn't meant to be, though, as each of them failed to make it through to the final table. Barer was the first of them to go and finished in 36th place. After losing all-ins with fours against queens, then with queens himself against ace-jack, Barer was left short. Nine big blinds went in with queen-jack but he couldn't catch up against Schumacher's ace-trey, ending his attempt.
Engel made it through to the final ten, where he met his demise at the hands of Solaas. Holding pocket jacks, Engel was all in and ahead against Solaas' king-ten but a king on the turn ended his another attempt at Aussie Millions glory. Engel finished in 10th place and received A$120,000.
Other notables that busted out during the penultimate day were Daniel Nelson, Anthony Hachem, Tobias Hausen, who finished 3rd last year, and Day 2 chipleader Najeem Ajez. Two of the most accomplished pro's in the field bowed out in 15th and 14th place, respectively. After a raise from Lewis, Artur Koren shoved 27 big blinds in the middle with pocket deuces. Unfortunately for Koren, Lewis held kings and knocked the Austrian out. Aaron Lim, a two-time APPT champion, shoved king-jack into the pocket jacks of Richardson in a blind-on-blind confrontation and couldn't catch up to bust shortly after Koren.
Tu Lan, Kim Au and Ross Grammer busted next and had to settle for A$120,000 in prize money. Next to go was up-and-coming star Kahle Burns. The Australian Poker Young Achiever Award winner was short stacked with the final nine players. With ten-seven suited, he found himself at risk against ace-eight and bowed out after an ace hit the flop.
With eight players left, one more player had to bust out before the official final table was set. It took three hours before Chen An Lin finally became the one to succumb. It was a classic setup - ace-king against the aces of Richardson - to deny Lin the final table.
The final table will commence on Sunday, February 4, at 12:30 p.m. local time. The final table will be live streamed on Twitch.tv, powered by runitup, and will be broadcasted with holecards up on a 30-minute security delay. There will be 23 minutes left in level 26 with blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a running ante of 5,000.
The final table will commence on Sunday, February 4 at 12:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. CET / 20:30 p.m. EST on Saturday 3) and will be livestreamed on Twitch.tv, powered by runitup. The broadcast with hole cards up will shown on a 30-minute security delay. There will be 23 minutes left in Level 26 with blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a running ante of 5,000 to start. Besides the final table, the $100,000 Challenge will also kick off on Sunday in the biggest casino of the Southern hemisphere. Follow the PokerNews live updates and don't miss any of the action from these two tournaments as the 2018 Aussie Millions comes to a close!
End-of-Day Chip Counts
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,835,000 | -145,000 |
|
5,680,000 | -100,000 |
|
4,870,000 | |
|
3,065,000 | 150,000 |
|
1,975,000 | -90,000 |
|
1,670,000 | -330,000 |
|
955,000 | -145,000 |
Chen An Lin Eliminated in 8th Place (A$175,000)
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
In a limped battle of the blinds the flop on the outer table showed 
and Ben Richardson bet 55,000, which Chen An Lin called. On the 
turn, Richardson made it 130,000 to go and Lin called once more before the 
river completed the board. Richardson's third bet was worth 300,000 and Lin reluctantly called, then mucked when the Aussie flipped over 
for kings and sevens.
The next hand, Chul-Hyon Park raised to 125,000 and Lin shoved the small blind to force a fold.
Right after, it was Richardson that raised to 105,000 first to act and Lin moved all in for the second hand in a row. Richardson snap-called and both players were about to table their cards before realizing that the feature table was still in a hand. Once that was finished, the cards were indeed turned over and Richardson's rail started cheering.
Chen An Lin: 
Ben Richardson: 
After the 
flop, some "ohhhh's" followed from the rail as Lin had picked up a straight draw. The 
turn gave him some more outs with a king to double and a ten to chop. However, the 
on the river failed to improve Lin and he was eliminated in 8th place for A$175,000.
All remaining seven players will now bag up their chips and bag for tonight, the live-streamed table will take place on Sunday February 4th, 2018. A recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,870,000 | 1,070,000 |
|
Busted |
Schumacher in the Highest Gear
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Johan Schumacher raised to 105,000 on the button and Ben Richardson defended his big blind. On a 
, Schumacher put the pedal to the metal with bets of 90,000, 210,000 and 420,000.
Richardson called each bet with slightly more time in between, with around a minute of thought on the river. Schumacher looked at his hand, then mucked it face down, which elicited loud cheers from the Australian rail. Richardson showed the 
and collected the sizable pot.
"I like you Belgian, you're a nice guy, but I like him more!" one of Richardson's railbirds cheered.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,800,000 | 1,100,000 |
|
|
1,100,000 | -605,000 |
Del Vecchio Bluffs Lewis
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Mike Del Vecchio completed with 
and called 100,000 more from Toby Lews, who had 
. Del Vecchio checked-called 100,000 on 
and checked the 
. Lewis checked back, bringing a 
. Del Vecchio bet 265,000 and Lewis folded after about 30 seconds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,980,000 | -160,000 |
|
|
2,915,000 | 210,000 |
Quads for Park
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Johan Schumacher called a raise to 100,000 by Chul-Hyon Park to see a flop of 
. The Belgian checked and called a bet of 100,000 before checking again the 
turn. Park fired a second barrel for 200,000 and again Schumacher called.
With the 
river, Schumacher checked the third street in a row and Park bet 275,000. It took just brief consideration before Schumacher called and he mucked instantly when Park flashed 
for quads.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,000,000 | 800,000 |
|
|
1,705,000 | -545,000 |
Solaas Folds the Best of it
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Toby Lewis opened for 100,000 on the button with 
and Espen Solaas defended big blind with 
. Solaas check-called 75,000 on . On the turn, Lewis barreled his gutter again and Solaas folded quickly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,140,000 | -125,000 |
|
|
5,780,000 | 220,000 |
Action From the Outer Table
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Chul-Hyon Park raised to 125,000 first to act and was called by Ben Richardson on the button and Johan Schumacher in the big blind. The flop of 
was checked through and Schumacher bet the turn for 250,000 to win the pot uncontested.
Chen An Lin made it 105,000 to go and Richardson defended his big blind. After check-calling a bet of 150,000 on the flop, Richardson checked again the turn and folded when Lin bet 180,000.
Richardson raised to 105,000 and Lin three-bet to 300,000. Richardson was having none of it and four-bet to 775,000 in order to force a fold.
Schumacher raised to 100,000 and Richardson called in the big blind. On the 
flop, the Aussie checked and called a bet of 70,000. No betting action followed on the 
turn and river and Schumacher raked in the pot with 
for a pair of jacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,700,000 | 195,000 |
|
|
2,250,000 | -50,000 |
|
|
1,450,000 | -80,000 |
|
|
1,200,000 | -600,000 |
Lin Pays Park
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Chen Lin raised to 100,000 on the button and Chul-Hyon Park called in the big blind. Park check-called 110,000 on the 
flop and both checked the . When the hit, Park bet 100,000 and Lin called, losing to 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,800,000 | 795,000 |
|
|
1,530,000 | -155,000 |