Players have just returned from their second break of the day in the $5,000 Challenge.
The tournament clock shows 106 players remaining from a field of 464. Just 55 places will be paid, with a min-cash worth $10,245.
You can stay updated with our live event coverage by clicking here.
Tournament officials have confirmed 55 places will be paid in the $5,000 Challenge with a min-cash worth $10,245. A place at the final table nets a player $43,755 with the winner taking home $482,405.
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | $482,405 |
| 2 | $290,280 |
| 3 | $188,895 |
| 4 | $141,725 |
| 5 | $108,855 |
| 6 | $87,510 |
| 7 | $72,570 |
| 8 | $57,630 |
| 9 | $43,755 |
Satellites are running to the Main Event of the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Presented by CrownBet every day here at the Crown Melbourne, and today is no exception.
Today's $550 Main Event satellite had ten entries guaranteed, but over 500 entries has seen approximately 25 seats awarded.
Phase 2 and Phase 3 Milestone satellites are scheduled to take place this afternoon, with the next direct entry satellite scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday May 3 at 9:10 p.m. The $240 buy-in tournament has one seat guaranteed.
It's been over six years since Kahle Burns was inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.
Four days after that, he won his first Aussie Millions title in the $100,000 Challenge, defeating Alex Foxen heads-up to win A$1,746,360. The figure remains the third-largest cash of Burns' career.
Now, with the Aussie Millions back on the calendar in Melbourne, Burns says he's been looking forward to playing poker "in his backyard."
"It's a great place to play poker," he told PokerNews. "So much has changed since 2020. I'm a dad now, so that's probably the biggest change. I'm also playing less poker than before, but the Aussie Millions is in my backyard, so yeah why not come and play?"
Burns is currently in action in the massive $5,000 Challenge, which has attracted a field of 442 players.
"I was expecting the event to get maybe 70% of the runners for stuff they'd had previously. Just because it's in a different slot, with the January slot really popular.
"I feel like this year has been a bit of a test to see how popular the Aussie Millions still is, and that's gone really well."
While also cashing in recent years at the WSOP, including a final-table performance in the 2025 $10,000 8-Game Championship, and nine cashes at Triton Jeju just over a year ago, Burns' recent cashed have come closer to home. With poker interest in Australia booming, Burns says that the Aussie Millions has been on everyone's radar.
"Whether there was as much advertising as before, I'm not sure. But everyone in Australia was excited for it. I thought maybe there would be less international interest or even knowledge that it's happening. It's exceeded my expecations in runners."
Whether the Aussie Millions will return to its "traditional" January timeslot, Burns is uncertain.
"People liked coming here in January with the Australian Open on in the summer. I don't know what they're gonna do, but they're gonna need more tables and dealers next time for sure!"
The final number of entrants in the $5,000 Challenge has been confirmed, with the tournament clock currently showing 442 entries with 202 remaining.
You can read live updates of this tournament right here on PokerNews
Action starts bright and early today at the Aussie Millions with the last chance for players to satellite into the $5,000 Challenge, which resumes at 12:10 p.m.
Yesterday saw 353 entries in that event, with late registration open for one more level. Initially a two-day event, this is guaranteed to head into a third day on Sunday, and you can catch all the action right here on PokerNews.
| Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|
| 10:10 AM | $5K Satellite | $550 (500+50) |
| 12:10 PM | Event #8: $5K Challenge Day 2 | $5,000 (4,600+400) |
| 12:30 PM | Main Event Satellite – 10 Seats GTD | $550 (480+70) / $200 Add-on |
| 3:10 PM | $25K Challenge Satellite (1 in 10) | $2,600 (2500+100) |
| 4:10 PM | AM Phase 2 Satellite | $280 (230+50) |
| 7:10 PM | AM Phase 3 Satellite | $1,150 (1,060+90) |
| 7:10 PM | 8-Game Satellite | $550 (500+50) |
Weiran Pu moved all in on the button and was snap-called by Diego Ponce in the big blind to put Pu at risk.
Weiran Pu: 6♥6♦
Diego Ponce: 10♥10♣
Pu ran into the bigger pocket pair, and couldn’t improve as the board ran out 3♦7♥8♠9♠J♦ to give the pot and title to Ponce.
Action folded to Diego Ponce in the small blind who moved all in, and the big blind Josh Chen called for his stack of 2,500,000 to put himself at risk.
Josh Chen: J♦10♣ 
Diego Ponce: 8♥7♥
Chen was ahead with his jack high, which was still best after the 2♣K♠K♣ flop and 3♥ turn. But the river bright the 8♠ to give Ponce the pot and knockout Chen in third place.
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