2013 Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge Day 1: Fabian Quoss Heads Final Table
It was a long, strenuous day for players at the 2013 Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge, but after more than 12 hours, five players were left. Fabian Quoss, the chip leader with 504,500, will have to shake off three friends and Erik Seidel to claim the title tomorrow. Nothing has been decided just yet, except that each of the five remaining players have locked up AU$51,000 in prize money.
$25,000 Challenge Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igor Kurganov | 293,000 |
| 2 | Philipp Gruissem | 126,000 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | 120,000 |
| 4 | Fabian Quoss | 504,500 |
| 5 | Niklas Heinecker | 455,000 |
The day began slowly with only eight players starting players in the field — including Antonio Esfandiari. The World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop winner ran the show for the first six hours of play until he ran his stack into the ground. Niklas Heinecker and Ole Schemion profited from Esfandiari's missteps later on, and the two Germans remained atop the leaderboard for quite some time as the field size grew.
In all, the event saw 30 entries from 27 players. Vanessa Selbst, Joe Hachem and Fabian Quoss all put up AU$50,000 for this event, which only worked out well for Quoss, who is now chip leader.
Other players who failed to impress were WSOP Main Event runner-up Jesse Sylvia, Grant Levy and Jeff Rossiter. All were knocked out fairly quickly.
With the final table in sight, the field said goodbye to Mark Teltscher and Jonathan Karamalikis in ninth and eighth place, respectively. Schemion — who looked as though he might run away with the tournament at one point — went next in seventh place. The young German played very aggressively, but his opponents seemed to catch on to his moves and did not shy away from his antics.
Then, the last remaining Australia player, Daniel Neilson, was knocked out on the bubble. Neilson ended up all in preflop against Heinecker with six players left and the top five spots paying out. The blinds were 3,000/6,000/500, and Neilson had approximately 120,000 chips left when he shoved for the last time. He showed the A♦9♦ versus Heinecker's K♦K♥. The board ran out 7♣7♦8♣4♣9♠, and Neilson was relegated to the rail as the bubble boy. With his elimination, the five remaining competitors locked up a minimum of AU$51,000.
Once again at the 2013 Aussie Millions, the Germans seemed unstoppable, and Seidel is the only one left who can ruin the party. Here is what the remaining five players will be playing for tomorrow as the final table kicks off at 5 p.m. local time:
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | AU$275,000 |
| 2 | AU$187,000 |
| 3 | AU$125,000 |
| 4 | AU$85,000 |
| 5 | AU$51,000 |
The final five should be a fabulous one to watch, and you won't want to miss the coverage so be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews. Until then, follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
