The Aussie Millions Awaits!
The prelims of the Aussie Millions start next week. Action will get underway with the $1,150 Opening Event on Jan. 11. The Main Event starts Jan. 22, preceded by the $25,000 Challenge and followed by the $100,000 and $250,000 Challenges. PokerNews will once again be your one-stop shop for all the updates from Down Under.
The Aussie Millions goes way back: People were playing it well before most tournaments in Europe and the States were even initiated. Back in 1998, it was Alex Horowitz who won what was then referred to as the "Australian Poker Championships." Horowitz won the championship playing limit hold'em and bought in for just $1,000. He walked away with a quarter of the $74,000 prize pool.
The buy-in remained $1,000 in 1999 but the game was changed from limit hold'em to the more popular pot-limit hold'em. In the year 2000, the buy-in was upped to $1,500 and the game transitioned to no-limit hold'em. The game would stay no-limit hold'em from there on out but the buy-in would drastically increase over the years. While it was still a $1,500 in 2001, things sped up from there on, as the 2002 edition demanded players to buy in for $5,000. Only a year later, in 2003, it was doubled to $10,000.
In 2007, none other than Gus Hansen reigned supreme, besting a field of 747 to walk away a $1.5-million winner. His run to Aussie gold was televised and featured in a popular television show. Hansen himself wrote down every single hand he played and wrote them all up in his famed book Every Hand Revealed. The next year, the Aussie Millions attracted its biggest field to date with 780 players. Russian player Alexander Kostritsyn beat a field of 780 players to take home $1,650,000. Kostritsyn would become one of the most feared online players as he ruled the Full Tilt Poker tables as "PostFlopAction" and today just about runs PokerStars under his screen name "joiso."
The Aussie Millions is without a doubt the Southern Hemisphere's most prestigious poker tournament. Last year, while part of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour, the tournament attracted a massive field of 732, just about unprecedented for a $10,000 event outside of Las Vegas. This year, the Aussie Millions operates once again as a standalone event.
Below is a historical table of the event, dating all the way back to 1998:
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool (AU$) | Winner | First Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 74 | $74,000 | Alex Horowitz | $25,900 |
| 1999 | 109 | $109,000 | Milo Nadalin | $38,150 |
| 2000 | 109 | $173,500 | Leo Boxell | $65,225 |
| 2001 | 101 | $151,500 | Sam Korman | $53,025 |
| 2002 | 66 | $330,000 | John Maver | $150,000 |
| 2003 | 122 | $1,220,000 | Peter Costa | $394,870 |
| 2004 | 133 | $1,330,000 | Tony Bloom | $426,500 |
| 2005 | 263 | $2,630,000 | Jamil Dia | $1,000,000 |
| 2006 | 418 | $4,180,000 | Lee Nelson | $1,295,800 |
| 2007 | 747 | $7,470,000 | Gus Hansen | $1,500,000 |
| 2008 | 780 | $7,758,500 | Alexander Kostritsyn | $1,650,000 |
| 2009 | 681 | $6,810,000 | Stewart Scott | $2,000,000 |
| 2010 | 746 | $7,460,000 | Tyron Krost | $2,000,000 |
| 2011 | 721 | $7,210,000 | David Gorr | $2,000,000 |
| 2012 | 659 | $6,590,000 | Oliver Speidel | $1,600,000 |
| 2013 | 629 | $6,290,000 | Mervin Chan | $1,600,000 |
| 2014 | 668 | $6,680,000 | Ami Barer | $1,600,000 |
| 2015 | 648 | $6,480,000 | Manny Stavropoulos | $1,385,500 |
| 2016 | 732 | $7,320,000 | Ari Engel | $1,600,000 |
Big things are expected this year and PokerNews will be there to cover it all. PokerNews will bring all the live updates, quality photos and a PokerNews-hosted livestream commentated on by Jason Somerville. Find the schedule of events PokerNews will cover on the floor below.
Over on AussieMillions.com you can find the entire schedule of events as PDF. Check the 2017 Aussie Millions landing page for everything you need to know about the Aussie Millions.
| Day | Tournament | Buy-In |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 20 | $25,000 Challenge - Day 1 | $24,000 + $1,000 |
| Jan. 21 | $25,000 Challenge - Day 2 | $24,000 + $1,000 |
| Jan. 22 | Main Event - Day 1 Flight 1 | $10,000 + $600 |
| $100,000 Challenge Day 1 | $98,000 + $2,000 | |
| Jan. 23 | Main Event - Day 1 Flight 2 | $10,000 + $600 |
| $100,000 Challenge Day 2 | $98,000 + $2,000 | |
| Jan. 24 | Main Event - Day 1 Flight 3 | $10,000 + $600 |
| Jan. 25 | Main Event - Day 2 | |
| Jan. 26 | Main Event - Day 3 | |
| Jan. 27 | Main Event - Day 4 | |
| Jan. 28 | $100,000 Challenge - Final Table | |
| Jan. 29 | $250,000 Challenge - Day 1 | $245,000 + $5,000 |
| Main Event - Final Table | ||
| Jan. 30 | $250,000 Challenge - Day 2 |
