The Aussie Millions is without doubt the most highly anticipated tournament series in Asia Pacific each year, a roster of the worlds best poker players descend upon Melbourne, along with thousands of other hopefuls.
The schedule always offers a great balance of diversity, in the games on offer, and also the buy ins available. This year’s series has seen the introduction of two “shot clock” events, perhaps offering a glimpse into the future of tournament poker.
The usual “Challenge” High Roller events are all scheduled too, with the results of the AU$ 25,000 event already in – but more about that later.
Cards are in the air in Melbourne (Photo Kenneth Lim courtesy of Pokerstars)
AU$ 2,500 8-Game Mixed: Stephen Chidwick crowned champion
The 8 Game Event at this year’s Aussie Millions featured a AU$ 2,500 buy in fee, with many big names choosing to take their shot at glory. Mixed events provide an exciting test of all round poker ability, and in truth, it was a surprise that more notable names from this field of 64 players weren’t able to reach the final table. UK pro Stephen Chidwick, did reach the final table however, and did so in style, bringing the chip lead with him.
Chidwick has eleven scores above USD$100,000 in the last 3 years of his career alone, and eleven final tables in WSOP events to his name. He put his chips to good use in the final stages of this event, running the final table all the way to heads up where, despite losing the chip lead briefly, he went on to win the event, and AU$ 47,520 prize money. Australian national, Peter Aristidou took 2nd place.
Stephen Chidwick
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $47,520 |
| 2 | Peter Aristidou | Australia | $30,240 |
| 3 | Jarryd Godena | Australia | $20,160 |
| 4 | Oliver Gill | Australia | $15,840 |
| 5 | Richard Ashby | United Kingdom | $11,520 |
| 6 | Benjamin Benoit | Australia | $10,080 |
| 7 | Brian Yoon | United States | $8,640 |
AU$ 25,000 Challenge: Chance Kornuth wins the title
The $25,000 Challenge event also attracted some of the bigger sharks which are circling Melbourne this week, as Daniel Cates, Steve O’Dwyer, Igor Kurganov, and Erik Seidel were joined by Ben Tollerene, Antonio Esfandiari, John Juanda, Fedor Holz, and many others.
Given his fantastic recent form in High Rollers, the chip counts weren’t a surprise to anyone at the end of day 1, as Steve O’Dwyer led the way. He carried his form into day 2, and eventually made the final table, where he was joined by German stars, Dominik Nitsche, and Benny Spindler, along with Russian pro, Igor Kurganov, and Chance Kornuth.
Thailand national, Phanlert Sukonthachartnant managed 6th place, with Steve O’Dwyer taking an admirable 4th place, earning AUD $263,520 for his efforts. Kurganov and Kornuth eventually reached heads up play, with Kurganov holding a 6 to 1 chip lead at one point. Kornuth came storming back to win the title though, taking home AU$ 790,560 for 1st place. Kurganov took AU$ 541,680 for 2nd.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chance Kornuth | United States | $790,560 |
| 2 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | $541,680 |
| 3 | Jason Les | United States | $351,360 |
| 4 | Steve O’Dwyer | Ireland | $263,520 |
| 5 | Oliver Price | UK | $190,320 |
| 6 | Phanlert Sukonthachartnant | Thailand | $131,760 |
| 7 | Michael Egan | Australia | $109,800 |
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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