button in SafariVictor Dai Leads Final 42 of Aussie Millions Main Event
The story of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet continued to unfold in another action-packed day that saw 176 returning players get cut down to just 42 hopefuls. Day 3 saw the the money bubble burst, big names hit the rail, and several players surge up the counts heading into Day 4.
Emerging atop the counts at the end of the night was Victor Dai, who bagged a towering stack worth 3,225,000 after a late-night heater that included eliminating Sooriya Rajeswaran with a rivered flush and then applying maximum pressure in one of the final pots of the evening against Callum Gordon.
Andrew Hinrichsen took the second spot overall with 2,400,000 and will bring a wealth of experience with him as he seeks his second final table in the Aussie Millions Main Event. Hinrichsen, who boasts over $2,300,000 in live tournament earnings, placed third in the 2019 iteration of the event after a three-way deal and is in great shape to make another final table run.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Dai | Australia | 3,225,000 | 161 |
| 2 | Andrew Hinrichsen | Australia | 2,400,000 | 120 |
| 3 | Dejan Boskovic | Australia | 2,240,000 | 112 |
| 4 | Graham Cowan | Australia | 2,080,000 | 104 |
| 5 | Malcolm Trayner | Australia | 1,995,000 | 100 |
| 6 | Mishel Anunu | Australia | 1,915,000 | 96 |
| 7 | Hengrui Zhang | China | 1,700,000 | 85 |
| 8 | Sam Higgs | Australia | 1,640,000 | 82 |
| 9 | Tom McMahon | Australia | 1,575,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Stephen Woodhead | United Kingdom | 1,500,000 | 75 |
Other notables armed with above-average stacks include WSOP bracelet winners Malcolm Trayner (1,995,00) and Sam Higgs (1,640,000), Day 1a chip leader Tom McMahon (1,575,000), and $1,500 Shot Clock Terminator Champion Antonio Seremet (1,350,000)
Day 3 Action
The 176 survivors returned to Crown Casino with one immediate goal in mind — to secure a spot in the money. But with only enough room for 95 to get paid, plenty of heartache ensued as players fell short. Among the unfortuante who busted early on Day 3 were JP Rounce-Sue, Rachel Carolan, Zhengshan Hao, and Ehsan Amiri, who made an ill-timed shove into quads a bit short of the bubble.
Hand-for-hand play itself produced several dramatic moments two spots off of the money. Michael Gathy survived a huge all-in against Didier Guerin after cracking kings with a turned straight, while Kok Foo Chai doubled through Ricky Vikas after spiking an ace on the turn with ace-queen against pocket kings. Rajeswaran ended up bursting the soft bubble when he cracked Aditya Rao’s pocket kings with a rivered straight draw to leave Rao eliminated just shy of the money.
A few hands later, Joshua McSwiney became the tournament’s official bubble boy. McSwiney moved all in with king-jack suited after being three-bet by Jackson Young, only to run into pocket jacks and fall one spot short of a payday. The elimination locked up a min cash of $20,020 AUD for the remaining players.
Once the bubble burst, eliminations came quickly as familiar names began to fall. WSOP Main Event Champion and Aussie Millions ambassador Joe Hachem exited late in the night, while other notable eliminations included Najeem Ajez, Robert Salter, Cole Swannack, Jennifer Cassell and Timothy Jenkins.
Hengrui Zhang, who entered the day among the leaders, remained firmly in contention after eliminating both Paul Murray and Liu Yang in a massive three-way all-in in the last level of the day.
Each of the remaining 42 players has already locked up $27,720 (AUD), but the ultimate goal lies in the $1,667,050 first-place prize—stemming from a $7,700,000 AUD prize pool—that goes along with the right to be called an Aussie Millions Main Event Champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (AUD) | Place | Prize (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,667,050 | 10-11 | $154,000 |
| 2 | $1,001,000 | 12-14 | $77,000 |
| 3 | $635,250 | 15-17 | $60,830 |
| 4 | $466,620 | 18-23 | $48,510 |
| 5 | $346,500 | 24-29 | $41,580 |
| 6 | $269,500 | 30-35 | $34,650 |
| 7 | $211,750 | 36-39 | $30,800 |
| 8-9 | $154,000 | 40-42 | $27,720 |
Day 4 is set to begin on Saturday, May 9 at 12:30 p.m. local time. Action will resume with 30 minutes left on Level 20, which features 10,000/20,000 blinds with a 20,000 big blind ante. Tables will become six-handed once the field reaches 36 remaining and the plan is to play down until a final table of seven before bagging and tagging for the day.
With just 42 players remaining, the race toward the Aussie Millions final table is now well and truly on. Be sure to stick with PokerNews for ongoing live updates, chip counts, and all the biggest moments from the tournament floor until a new Aussie Millions champion is crowned.