A$10,600 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2020 Aussie Millions
A$10,600 Main Event
Day: 4
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
After more than 14 hours of poker action in the poker room of the Crown Casino complex in Melbourne, the seven-handed final table of the 2020 Aussie Millions A$10,600 Main Event has been set in the second-biggest field of 820 entries. Players from six different countries will return to the feature stage at 12.30 p.m. local time on Friday, January 24th, 2020, to play down to a champion and Erik Seidel headlines the final table line-up.
With over US$37 million in lifetime earnings, it's no secret that Seidel is more accustomed to final tabling Super High Rollers than 800-player fields. Just last week, he finished eighth in the Aussie Millions A$50,000 Challenge for A$198,850, and says that the Main Event field is very different to the High Roller scene.
"I'm used to playing these guys who are just the best players in the world," Seidel told PokerNews, "This is very different. There's this mixture of amateur players, with those who've got in through satellites. It's really a vacation for me to play in these fields where I'm not always feeling up against it because they're the best players in the world"
Seidel has been a vocal critic on Twitter of the length of the Main Event days, with the final seven battling an almost 15-hour day to secure a seat at the final table.
I love #AussieMillions but no one wants to play 13+ hours a day. Tournaments shouldn’t be endurance contests
— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel)
"I'm thrilled to get a day off," said Seidel. "I do think they should add a day or if they can't, maybe shorten some levels because I really needed this day off."
Seidel currently sits second in the all-time money list at Crown Melbourne, and a victory would get him within very close reach to none other than Phil Ivey.
Top Five in Cashes at Crown Melbourne
| Rank | Player | Country | Cashes (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Ivey | United States | $ 8,132,084 |
| 2 | Erik Seidel | United States | $ 6,707,142 |
| 3 | Sam Trickett | England | $ 5,004,286 |
| 4 | Mike McDonald | Canada | $ 4,455,466 |
| 5 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | $ 2,749,641 |
An advantage of the structure with 90-minute levels throughout the entire tournament is a deep-stacked final table in which Seidel, who sits in the middle of the pack with 3,975,000, has 68 big blinds at his disposal for the first full level of the showdown.
2020 Aussie Millions Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds (25k/50k) | Big Blinds (30k/60k) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nino Ullmann | Germany | 5,500,000 | 110 | 92 |
| 2 | Gareth Pepper | New Zealand | 2,465,000 | 49 | 41 |
| 3 | Vincent Wan | Australia | 4,150,000 | 83 | 69 |
| 4 | Erik Seidel | United States | 4,050,000 | 81 | 68 |
| 5 | Ngoc Tai Hoang | Vietnam | 1,875,000 | 38 | 31 |
| 6 | Nicolas Malo | Canada | 1,975,000 | 40 | 33 |
| 7 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 4,475,000 | 90 | 75 |
Nino Ullmann, who already led the field into Day 4, sits at the top of the leaderboard with a stack of 5,500,000 and he is followed by fellow German Oliver Weis with 4,475,000 and local cash game player Vincent "wonky" Wan (4,150,000). Wan is dubbed by staff as one of the luckiest players in the casino as he has already won the Royal Flush jackpot twice when a six-figure prize was up for grabs.
New Zealand's Gareth Pepper (2,465,000), Nicolas Malo from Canada (1,975,000) and Vietnam's Ngoc Tai Hoang (1,875,000) are the remaining three finalists in contention for the top prize of A$1,850,000 and have locked up a payday of A$240,080 thus far. There will be 2:41 remaining at blinds of 25,000/50,000 and a big blind ante of 50,000 when the action is set to recommence after a day off.
Del Vecchio Comes Just Short of Making History
One of the stories of the penultimate day in Melbourne was the quest of Mike Del Vecchio to reach an unprecedented third consecutive final table and the American poker pro came narrowly close once more. Especially early on, Del Vecchio was able to build his stack consistently and he was among the bigger stacks when the final three six-max tables were reached.
However, after bagging on 11 out of 11 consecutive tournament days, Del Vecchio was eventually sent to the rail in 10th place. After dropping to a short stack, he doubled with a full house over full house and it then took the biggest of setups in No-Limit Hold'em to end his amazing run. Del Vecchio held pocket kings and Vincent Wan tabled pocket aces, an ace on the flop all but sealed the fate and the turn paired the board.
Del Vecchio's Incredible Aussie Millions Run at a Glance
| Year | Final Position | Entries | Payout (AUD) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10th | 820 | A$123,000 | $84,663 |
| 2019 | 2nd | 822 | A$1,272,162 | $914,304 |
| 2018 | 5th | 800 | A$370,000 | $299,033 |
Other big names that came up close to reaching the final table were Nick Pupillo, mixed game specialist Bryce Yockey, Goran Mandic, Manig Loeser, and Fabian Quoss. Among the early casualties on Day 4, which saw 37 players return to the action, were familiar names such as Pete Chen, Scott Margereson, Randy Lew and Matthew Wantman.
Lew's hope of an even deeper run vanished when his flopped top pair and top kicker along with the nutflushdraw turned two pair, as Dingxiang Ong held a set of eights to leave Lew with a mountain to climb. Ong finished the job he had started the very next hand and Lew had to settle for 28th place.
One of the most spectacular hands of the day then took place on the final two tables and it represented a turning point for Oliver Weis, who is one of many German poker pros that call Vienna their home base these days. In three-way action, Weis got it in with a gutshot and flushdraw to find himself up against the nut flush draw of Michael Sideridis and the set of Vincent Wan. Weis hit a miracle straight for the triple up and Sideridis was ousted in 11th place.
It took another two hours from there on to determine the seven finalists, who now get to enjoy a day off in preparation of the big showdown.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Payout (in AUD) | Payout (in USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A$1,850,000 | $1,273,381 |
| 2 | A$1,125,000 | $774,353 |
| 3 | A$661,000 | $454,976 |
| 4 | A$480,160 | $330,501 |
| 5 | A$378,660 | $260,637 |
| 6 | A$307,820 | $211,877 |
| 7 | A$240,080 | $165,250 |
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
A full recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,500,000 | |
|
||
|
4,475,000 | |
|
4,150,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
4,050,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
||
|
2,465,000
-185,000
|
-185,000 |
|
1,975,000
325,000
|
325,000 |
|
1,875,000
-25,000
|
-25,000 |
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Oliver Weis raised to 1,200,000 in the small blind. Nick Pupillo was in the big blind and called and was all in for 980,000.
Oliver Weis: 
Nick Pupillo: 
The board ran out 
and Pupillo was eliminated bubbling the final table and taking home A$178,080.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,475,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
After defending his big blind against a raise by Gareth Pepper, Nino Ullmann checked the 
flop and called a bet of 175,000 by Pepper. The turn paired the board and Ullmann made it 200,000 to go, which Pepper called.
The 
appeared on the river and Ullmann now bet 735,000. Pepper was sent into the think tank and he released his cards into the muck after more than two minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,500,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,975,000
-225,000
|
-225,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,650,000
-550,000
|
-550,000 |
|
|
1,900,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Nino Ullmann raised to 115,000 and was called by Gareth Pepper. Erik Seidel made it 500,000 to go from the big blind and Ullmann four-bet to more than 1.4 million, which won the pot right there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,850,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,200,000
-200,000
|
-200,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,200,000
-250,000
|
-250,000 |
|
|
1,500,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Over on the outer table, Bryce Yockey and Erik Seidel once again tangled with the former raising to 125,000 and the latter making the call. On the 
flop both players invested 200,000 and the 
fell on the turn. Yockey bet 200,000 and Seidel splashed in a lot of T-100,000 to give Yockey the option to fold or call all-in.
Yockey opted for the former and the cards were turned over.
Bryce Yockey: 
Erik Seidel: 
Yockey needed the board to pair or hit a seven or six, instead it came the 
on the river to send the mixed game specialist to the rail in 9th place for A$178,080. The remaining eight players will now play hand-for-hand on the final table bubble on two four-handed tables.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,400,000
1,075,000
|
1,075,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Erik Seidel opened from under the gun to 115,000 and was called by Bryce Yockey in the big blind. On a flop of 
, Yockey check-raised from 90,000 to 300,000 and Seidel stuck around to see the 
on the turn. Yockey continued for 550,000 and Seidel called with around 900,000 behind.
The 
on the river delivered a possible four card flush and Yockey checked. Seidel moved all-in and Yockey tank-folded after he asked for a count and it was deemed to be for 890,000 total.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,375,000
-225,000
|
-225,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,450,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
3,325,000
1,350,000
|
1,350,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,775,000
-1,050,000
|
-1,050,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,400,000
-240,000
|
-240,000 |
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Nick Pupillo opened to 125,000 and Mike Del Vecchio called on the button. Vincent Wan three-bet to 425,000 in the small blind and Pupillo folded ().
Del Vecchio four-bet all in for 915,000 and Wan called.
Mike Del Vecchio: 
Vincent Wan: 
It was a cooler deep in the Main Event, with Wan flopping a set and rivering a full house on a 
runout, to deny Del Vecchio an historic third consecutive final table here at the Aussie Millions.
He is eliminated in tenth place for A$123,000.
"I chipped up in every single spot that I could and and then ran kings into aces," said Del Vecchio. "This really hurts. When you go deep in these tournaments there's so much emotion to it.
"I felt like I could have made a crazy piece of history, even if I just top sevened. It would have been so nice. It was going so well at the bginning of the day, and it felt like my dream was going to come through.
Del Vecchio explained that he had a flight booked for tomorrow, and that earlier he was looking forward to having to reschedule it. Now, however, his plans have changed.
"I'm going to be on a 15-hour flight on stone-tilt," said a visibly frustrated Del Vecchio. "The ramifications of this bustout are brutal."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,520,000
1,240,000
|
1,240,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
A raise to 115,000 by Erik Seidel in the cutoff was called by Nino Ullmann on the button and Gareth Pepper in the small blind. The flop brought 
and the action checked to Ullmann, who bet 170,000. Pepper was the only caller and they opted to check down the 
turn.
Pepper then bet the river for 200,000 and Ullmann paid it off to get shown for nines and fives.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,600,000
-690,000
|
-690,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,350,000
775,000
|
775,000 |
|
|
1,975,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
|
||