Toby Lewis Leads Final 5 in AU$50,000 Challenge; AU$971,850 for the Winner
After nearly 13 levels of tournament poker, the Event #12: AU$50,000 Challenge has concluded for the evening with just five players remaining from yet another record-setting field here at the 2019 Aussie Millions
Following a shortened day yesterday that saw 23 players survive from the 37-entrants, an immediate influx of returning players and new entrants started Day 2 as the tournament swelled to final number of 62-entrants. International tournament veterans such as Chino Rheem, Bryn Kenney, Mustapha Kanit, Alex Foxen, Jack Salter, Kristen Bicknell, Cary Katz, and Maria Ho were a handful of the names in the field alongside local players Kahle Burns, Rory Young, Sam Higgs, and Luke Martinelli.
Unfortunately those players all found themselves on the rail throughout the day as just five players would bag chips and enter the unscheduled Day 3 on Tuesday, January 29 at 2 p.m. (AEDT).
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bjorn Li | Hong Kong | 847,000 | 53 |
| 2 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | 1,040,000 | 65 |
| 3 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | 464,000 | 29 |
| 4 | Manig Loeser | Germany | 605,000 | 38 |
| 7 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 144,000 | 9 |
Defending Aussie Millions Champion Toby Lewis is the current chip leader with 1,040,000 fresh off his second-place in the AU$25,000 Challenge. Bjorn Li sits second in chips after eliminating Tobias Ziegler in sixth-place, while Manig Loeser held the chip lead for the majority of the final table until he slipped late and finished third overall. Dominik Nitsche and Thomas Muehloecker round out the final two chip counts.
The final five players will all be looking to capture their lion's share of the over AU$3 million prize pool, and with the title of an Aussie Millions Champion, and the ANTON Championship awaiting the eventual winner, here is how the payouts sit for the remaining players:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -- | -- | $971,850 | $699,732 |
| 2nd | -- | -- | $618,450 | $445,284 |
| 3rd | -- | -- | $412,300 | $296,856 |
| 4th | -- | -- | $323,950 | $233,244 |
| 5th | -- | -- | $235,600 | $169,632 |
| 6th | Tobias Ziegler | Germany | $206,150 | $148,428 |
| 7th | Michael Zhang | United Kingdom | $176,700 | $127,224 |
Play resumes in the Event #12: AU$50,000 Challenge at 2 p.m. (AEDT) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team back to provide all the continued updates until a winner is crowned. So stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com as we crown the newest Aussie Millions Champion along with providing all the exclusive coverage of the remainder of the 2019 Aussie Millions.
and there was a pot of almost 200,000 already in the middle of the table. 
for a full house and took down the pot after Loeser mucked his hand in disbelief.
before Li moved all in. Ziegler called off for his remaining chips. 
and 
.
and Zhang was eliminated in seventh-place for a AU$176,700 payday.
seeing him flop a pair to take down the pot.
and Loeser made a four-card flush and eliminated Lim as the AU$50,000 Challenge bubble boy in eight-place.
to see Loeser spike a king on the flop rewarding him the pot and sending Burns to the rail in 10th place.
