button in Safari$25,000 Challenge
Day 2 Completed
2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship
$25,000 Challenge
Day: 2
Players Left 9 / 98
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Final Table
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Sometimes in poker, everything just clicks.
That was certainly the case for Kei Tanaka, a Japanese actor and avid poker player who late-regged on Day 2 of the $25,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet. It took Tanaka just seven levels of play to grow his stack from 300,000 to 8,450,000 — more than twice that of his next-closest competitor Andy Lee (4,160,000).
Tanaka went on an absolute tear on the final level of the day. From flopping two pair against a dominated two pair to making three consecutive sets, he could seemingly do no wrong. Tanaka was even responsible for bursting the final table bubble and ending play for the day after winning a flip to eliminate YouTube personality Masato Yokosawa.
However, while Tanaka will be the clear favorite heading into the final table tomorrow with his mountain of chips, he will have a lot to contend with as plenty of poker talent will also be vying for the title. Sitting on Tanaka's direct left is Luke Martinelli (1,705,000) and Michael Egan (3,650,000) — two seasoned professionals with a combined $4,000,000 in live tournament earnings and extensive final table experience.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Egan | Australia | 3,650,000 | 61 |
| 2 | Trung Nguyen | Australia | 1,260,000 | 21 |
| 3 | Matthew Wakeman | Australia | 3,950,000 | 66 |
| 4 | Joe Sandaev | Australia | 2,300,000 | 38 |
| 5 | Andy Lee | Australia | 4,160,000 | 69 |
| 6 | Aaron Li | Australia | 2,080,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Josh Hutchins | Australia | 1,850,000 | 31 |
| 8 | Kei Tanaka | Japan | 8,450,000 | 141 |
| 9 | Luke Martinelli | Australia | 1,705,000 | 28 |
Each of the remaining finalists have already locked up a minimum payday of $75,265 AUD stemming from the $2,352,000 AUD prize pool, but everyone will be gunning for the $652,670 AUD first-place prize that goes along with the Aussie Millions trophy.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Payout (AUD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $652,670 |
| 2 | $405,720 |
| 3 | $264,600 |
| 4 | $209,330 |
| 5 | $162,290 |
| 6 | $132,890 |
| 7 | $111,720 |
| 8 | $92,905 |
| 9 | $75,265 |
Day 2 Action
Day 2 began with 26 returning players and that number quickly soared as 40 additional players found their way the registration line within the first level of play. Kitty Kuo and Michael Addamo were among the late registrants, but neither player lasted until the second break, seemingly unable to capture any real momentum.
Other notables who made an early exit include Kahle Burns, Weiran Pu, Angel Guillen, Ehsan Amiri, and Michael Wang — who ended up shoving with a dominated king into Martinelli a couple spots shy of the final two tables.
Meanwhile, Yokosawa, who entered Day 2 as one of the chip leaders, remained active and steadily grew his stack, including a hand where he made a nice call against Alex Lynskey to soar up the ranks.
Hand-for-hand play began two spots off the money bubble to ensure the two remaining tables were dealt the same amount of hands. Benjamin Pockett burst the soft bubble after an unfortunate cooler saw him pick up jacks against Joe Sandaev's pocket kings. Pockett was unable to improve and he was eliminated to set up the stone bubble.
Matthew Wakeman narrowly avoided becoming the bubble boy after shoving over a raise holding king-queen against Egan's pocket nines. Wakeman was one card away from elimination, but spiked a king on the river to double up instead.
Alex Trevallion found himself critically short stacked and committed his miniscule stack into the middle with jack-ten. He was called by Tanaka and Martinelli, who checked down only for Tanaka to hit a pair of sixes to eliminate Trevallion one spot shy of the money.
Najeem Ajez followed Trevallion out the door after almost immediately busting following the money bubble. Ajez committed his stack with an ace only to get called by Lee holding a dominating ace and holding.
Banipal Babana would be next to fall in 12th place after riding a short stack for much of the bubble period, and last lady standing—Yuxi Huang—bowed out in 11th place after shoving into Tanaka's pocket tens with a suited ace and failing to improve.
With no real short stacks in sight, the final table bubble would last for a significant period. It was about this time when Tanaka caught fire — first by coolering Martinelli with two pair over two pair and then by cracking Trung Nguyen's pocket aces with pocket fives.
Tanaka capped off his stellar Day 2 by winning a race against Yokosawa, eliminating his fellow countryman to set the final table of nine and bring play to a close.
Day 3 is set to begin on Tuesday, May 5 at 2:10 p.m. local time and play down to a winner. Play will resume on Level 18, which features 30,000/60,000 blinds with a 60,000 big blind ante. Levels will continue to last 60 minutes each and breaks will be held after every two levels.
Live stream coverage of the final table will be available on a 30-minute delay on the Crown Resorts YouTube page.
With plenty of play left and a stacked field chasing a $652,670 top prize, the stage is set for an epic finale. Be sure to stick with PokerNews for full coverage as the $25,000 Challenge plays down to a champion.
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
8,450,000 | |
|
||
|
4,160,000
1,140,000
|
1,140,000 |
|
3,950,000
1,150,000
|
1,150,000 |
|
3,650,000
1,250,000
|
1,250,000 |
|
2,300,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
|
2,080,000
520,000
|
520,000 |
|
1,850,000
270,000
|
270,000 |
|
1,705,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
1,260,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The final nine players are now bagging and tagging for the evening.
Stay tuned for a recap of Day 2.
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Masato Yokosawa opened to 120,000 on the button and it was folded to Kei Tanaka, who shoved from the big blind to put Yokosawa all in for 1,600,000 total. Yokosawa tanked a bit, but eventually decided to commit his stack into the middle.
Masato Yokosawa: A♦J♦
Kei Tanaka: 6♦6♣
Yokosawa was looking to improve and avoid bubbling the final table, but the 10♥6♠Q♣ flop improved Tanaka to a set for a commanding lead.
Yokosawa still had some hope with a draw to Broadway, however, it wasn't meant to be as the 4♦Q♠ runout left Tanaka best with a full house to end play on Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,450,000
2,215,000
|
2,215,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Trung Nguyen opened to 120,000 from under the gun and was called by Kei Tanaka in the small blind.
Tanaka check-called a 105,000 bet from Nguyen on the 5♣J♠7♣ flop and then both players checked on the 4♥ turn.
Tanaka bombed 600,000 into the pot after the J♦ filled out the board and Nguyen quickly called.
Tanaka showed 5♦5♠ for a full house and Nguyen showed he held A♦A♣ for cracked aces before they were sent into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,235,000
945,000
|
945,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,140,000
855,000
|
855,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Luke Martinelli raised to 120,000 first to act with A♠5♣ and Kei Tanaka defended his big blind holding A♦10♥ for a heads-up pot.
The 2♠10♠A♣ flop improved Tanaka to two pair and he check-called an 80,000 bet from Martinelli, who flopped top pair.
Tanaka then led out for 275,000 on the 4♠ turn and Martinelli called.
The 5♥ river improved Martinelli to a still second-best two pair and he fired 850,000 into the middle after being checked to.
Tanaka looked him up and Martinelli received the bad news after seeing he was up against a higher two pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,290,000
1,405,000
|
1,405,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,855,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Josh Hutchins raised to 120,000 from the cutoff and Trung Nguyen called in the big blind.
Nguyen check-called an 80,000 bet from Hutchins on the 6♦3♣K♣ flop and both players checked after the 7♦ fell on the turn.
Nguyen fired a hefty 425,000 bet into the middle on the Q♥ river and Hutchins quickly let his hand go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,120,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
1,995,000
505,000
|
505,000 |
Level: 18
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The remaining 10 players have been sent on a 15-minute break.
It was decided that play will conclude for the day once one more player is eliminated and the final table is established.
