2015 Aussie Millions Main Event Day 3: Ivey, Barer Chasing Raiden Kan with 30 Left
The 2015 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Main Event field has been whittled down from 668 to 30 after three days on the felt. Raiden Kan (pictured) leads the way with 1,775,000 in chips, but two other names dominate the headlines.
Ami Barer is looking to do the improbable and defend his title, while the legendary Phil Ivey, who has won the AU$250,000 Challenge two out of the last three years, looks to add an Aussie Millions Main Event title to his résumé. Barer and Ivey bagged 443,000 and 439,000, respectively, on Day 3.
Others still in contention for the AU$1,600,000 first-place prize are European Poker Tour regular Andrew Chen (1,165,000); two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Brian Rast (1,156,000); online star Richard "nutsinho" Lyndaker (943,000); Australian poker pro Grant Levy (471,000); and World Poker Tour champ Jonathan Roy (467,000).
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raiden Kan | 1,775,000 |
| 2 | Andrew Chen | 1,165,000 |
| 3 | Brian Rast | 1,156,000 |
| 4 | Gerald Karlic | 1,085,000 |
| 5 | Richard Lyndaker | 943,000 |
| 6 | Lennart Uphoff | 796,000 |
| 7 | Joel Douaglin | 765,000 |
| 8 | Terence Clee | 750,000 |
| 9 | Calvin Ho | 720,000 |
| 10 | Jason Les | James Rann |
Day 3 began with 135 players looking to claim a portion of the AU$6,480,000 prize pool by cracking the top 72. Among those to leave empty handed were Liam O'Rourke, Angel Guillen, Day 1b chip leader Ian Wassell, Stephen Chidwick, Jarred Graham, Ismael Bojang, Tony Bloom, Jay Kinkade, Gary Benson, Simon Deadman, Philipp Gruissem, and last year's third-place finisher Jake Balsiger.
The money bubble took a while to burst, but eventually it did in the first hand back from the dinner break. It happened in Level 16 (2,500/5,000500) when James Kennedy, who was extremely short, called all in from the small blind after Victor Teng had raised from under the gun. Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang and one other player called as well but folded after Teng continued for 22,000 on an A♠3♣2♦ flop.
Teng: A♥K♥
Kennedy: Q♥J♥
The hand was over by time the 6♣ came on the turn and applause rang out around the room as the remaining players guaranteed themselves AU$15,000.
From there the in-the-money eliminations began to mount and included Benny Spindler (70th – AU$15,000), Kane Kalas (62nd – AU$15,000), Eoghan O'Dea (60th – AU$15,000), Dylan Honeyman (56th – AU$20,000), Billy "The Croc" Argyros (53rd – AU$20,000), Terrence Chan (49th – AU$20,000), Huang (48th – AU$20,000), and 2014 WSOP Main Even runner-up Felix Stephensen (43rd – AU$20,000).
Stephensen fell in Level 18 (4,000/8,000/1,000) when hisJ♦9♦ couldn't overcome the J♠J♥ of Ivey on the final board of 9♥6♦6♠6♥10♠. Just like that the Norwegian was gone from the 2015 Aussie Millions Main Event.
The remaining players will return for Day 4 action at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday and play down to the final table of seven. Will Ivey navigate his way to the final table? Will Barer's title defense continue? Join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team then as we bring your all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor.
While you wait, check out this video of Sarah Herring chatting with Phil Ivey on Day 3:
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