$10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event
Day 1c Completed
$10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event
Day 1c Completed
As expected, Day 1c of the $10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event proved to be the largest of the starting flights, with an additional 320 entrants making their way inside the Crown Casino to chase poker glory in the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet.
When added with 200 from Day 1a and 186 from Day 1b, the Main Event is now up to 706 entries with two levels of late registration still available on Day 2. A last-minute surge could push this year's Main Event to over 800 entrants and will likely knock on the door of the 822-entry record set in 2019.
Leading the way of the 234 remaining players is Jordan Batis, who managed to end with 271,500 after six levels of play. He is followed closely by fellow Aussies Andrew White (252,900) and Dale Bryan (231,600) in second and third place, respectively.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Batis | Australia | 271,500 |
| 2 | Andrew White | Australia | 252,900 |
| 3 | Dale Bryan | Australia | 231,600 |
| 4 | Steven Zhou | Australia | 224,000 |
| 5 | Adrian Wenger | Australia | 218,000 |
| 6 | Jia Chi Li | Taiwan | 214,900 |
| 7 | Robert Salter | Australia | 213,100 |
| 8 | Gautam Dhingra | Australia | 195,300 |
| 9 | Stevan Chew | Australia | 190,500 |
| 10 | Song Ki Cho | Australia | 188,100 |
Several other notables who fared well on Day 1c include Troy Sweet (157,900), Timothy Jenkins (148,700), Kahle Burns (125,300), Tony Hachem (101,300), and David Yan (86,100).
Despite a somewhat muted start, typical of Day 1's with deep structures, Michael Gathy produced one of the most memorable hands of the day after flopping a straight flush with Q♣10♣ against Greg Sly. Gathy fast-played his monster holding and extracted a couple streets of value, but Sly folded on the river and Gathy couldn't help but show the goods. Gathy went on to have a stellar day and ultimately tripled his starting stack to 180,000 by the end.
Also faring well was $25k Challenge champion Andy Lee, who enjoyed a productive first six levels and bagged just outside the top ten with a stack worth 184,600. Following his victory, Lee explained it is his dream to win the Aussie Millions Main Event and is already off to a stellar start in pursuit of that goal.
Several former champions and high-profile pros remained active throughout the day, including Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda, who battled with a short stack for much of the evening. Juanda briefly extended his tournament life after rivering a pair to double through Batis in a dominated ace-versus-ace confrontation, but his comeback attempt ultimately fell short near the end of the night as he was eliminated before bagging.
Others notables who ran poorly and were eliminated before the end of play include Johan Lees, Luke Martinelli, John Perry, Michael Wang, Joseph Antar, Joe Sandaev, and Spencer Davies — who busted shortly before Day 1c ended after shoving with king-jack only to run into Ricky Vikas' Big Slick.
| Day | Date | Start Time | Level Duration | Late Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Thursday, May 7 | 12:30 p.m. | 90 minutes | Start of Level 9 |
| Day 3 | Friday, May 8 | 12:30 p.m. | 90 minutes | — |
| Day 4 | Saturday, May 9 | 12:30 p.m. | 90 minutes | — |
| Final Day | Sunday, May 10 | 2:30 p.m. | 90 minutes | — |
Day 2 is set to get underway on Thursday, May 7 at 12:30 p.m. local time, with the surviving players from all three opening flights returning to continue their Main Event run. Play will resume in Level 7, which features blinds of 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. Seven more 90-minute levels are scheduled to be played before Day 2 wraps up.
Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 9, meaning the field is expected to grow even further before the prize pool and official numbers are finalized. With 706 entries already recorded and the 822-entry modern-era record within reach, all eyes will now turn to whether the 2026 Aussie Millions Main Event can produce one of the largest fields in the festival’s storied history.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for continuing coverage of the Aussie Millions Main Event as the road to the final table rolls on.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
271,500
151,500
|
151,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
252,900
252,900
|
252,900 |
|
|
231,600
231,600
|
231,600 |
|
|
224,000
224,000
|
224,000 |
|
|
218,000
218,000
|
218,000 |
|
|
214,900
214,900
|
214,900 |
|
|
213,100
38,100
|
38,100 |
|
|
195,300
195,300
|
195,300 |
|
|
190,500
190,500
|
190,500 |
|
|
188,100
188,100
|
188,100 |
|
|
184,600
116,600
|
116,600 |
|
|
184,400
184,400
|
184,400 |
|
|
180,000
53,000
|
53,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
176,200
176,200
|
176,200 |
|
|
161,200
161,200
|
161,200 |
|
|
157,900
12,900
|
12,900 |
|
|
154,100
154,100
|
154,100 |
|
|
154,000
154,000
|
154,000 |
|
|
153,000
153,000
|
153,000 |
|
|
152,900
152,900
|
152,900 |
|
|
152,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
|
150,900
150,900
|
150,900 |
|
|
150,600
150,600
|
150,600 |
|
|
148,700
23,700
|
23,700 |
|
|
148,400
148,400
|
148,400 |
The remaining players are now all bagging and tagging for the evening.
Stay tuned for a recap of Day 1c.
The tournament director has just announced that five more hands will be dealt at each table before playing bag and tag for the evening.
Spencer Davies was already all in and at risk for hist last 15,700 from the small blind against Ricky Vikas, who had Davies covered.
Spencer Davies: K♠J♦
Ricky Vikas: A♦K♣
Davies stood up after seeing he was dominated, and the A♠K♥Q♠7♦7♥ runout left him second-best to be eliminated as Day 1c nears its end.
At another table, John Juanda was also eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
88,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Vincent Wan raised to 1,600 from under the gun and was called by Robert Salter in the cutoff. Unensaikhan Bolovson squeezed to 6,400 from the small blind, which got a fold from Salter and a call from Wan.
Bolovson continued for 3,000 on the A♥10♠7♦ flop and Wan quickly raised to 12,000. Bolovson called.
The 2♦ fell on the turn and Bolovson checked to Wan, who annoucned he was all in. Bolovson snap-called all in for his remaining 28,300 and hands were revealed.
Unensaikhan Bolovson: A♦10♦
Vincent Wan: A♠K♠
Bolovson had Wan crushed with two pair and a flush draw, and the 3♠ river changed nothing to award Bolovson a late-night double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
175,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
94,000
72,000
|
72,000 |
|
|
61,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
Johan Schumacher opened to 1,600 from middle position and was called by Robert Salter in the cutoff for a heads-up pot.
Schumacher check-called a 1,000 bet from Salter on the 6♦7♣8♠ flop and both players checked after the 5♠ turn brought four cards to a straight.
Schumacher bet 3,000 on the A♦ river and Salter quickly called.
Schumacher turned over KxKx, but his Cowboys were no good against Salter's 6♠6♥ for a set of sixes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000 | |
|
|
37,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
Troy Sweet opened to 1,800 from under the gun and called a three-bet of 5,000 from Joe Sandaev, who was in the cutoff.
Sweet check-called a 4,000 bet from Sandaev on the K♥6♠9♠ flop and then both players checked on the K♠ turn.
The 4♥ completed the board and Sweet took the initiative with a bet of 13,000. Sandaev went deep into the tank, but eventually landed on a fold to award Sweet the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
145,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
24,000
11,000
|
11,000 |