Players Ready for 2018 Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge
Welcome to the 2018 Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge at the Crown Casino Melbourne, the biggest casino in the southern hemisphere. Over the years this tournament has crowned six winners and given out over A$11,000,000 in prize money. In 2017 it was the turn of James Chen, who topped a field of 133 players to walk away with A$861,840 in prize money, the biggest result of his career so far.
Last year's final table also featured Brandon Adams, Antoine Saout, John Juanda, Ryan D'Angelo and Nick Petrangelo, with Mustapha Kanit and Pratyush Buddiga also making deep runs. Therefore, it is safe to expect another stellar field of tough names here in Melbourne.
The A$25,000 Challenge has had some big-name winners in previous years: Igor Kurganov has almost A$2m in Aussie Millions earnings, including his 2013 A$25,000 Challenge title, while Chance Kornuth has followed up his 2016 win with both EPT and WPT High Roller wins. The American poker pro earned his second title in Melbourne just two days ago in the 598-entry strong A$1,150 Six-Max Event #6 to claim the Anton Championship ring and a payday of A$134,850.
Here is a full list of previous A$25,000 Challenge winners:
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize in A$ | Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20 | A$500,000 | Dominykas Karmazinas | Lithuania | A$200,000 | $205,895 |
| 2013 | 30 | A$723,000 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | A$275,000 | $290,317 |
| 2014 | 65 | A$1,560,000 | Max Altergott | Germany | A$241,785* | $211,522* |
| 2015 | 104 | A$2,496,000 | Alexander Trevallion | Australia | A$645,150** | $521,835** |
| 2016 | 122 | A$2,928,000 | Chance Kornuth | United States | A$790,560 | $547,874 |
| 2017 | 133 | A$3,192,000 | James Chen | Taiwan | A$861,840 | $652,909 |
* denotes a 5-way deal with Dan Smith (2nd, A$278,414), Jason Mercier (3rd, A$265,538), Martin Jacobson (4th, A$285,921) and Scott Seiver (5th, A$265,538)
** denotes a deal with Tobias Reinkemeier (2nd, A$614,850)
Players entering this year's $25,000 Challenge will receive 50,000 in chips, with the blinds starting at 100/200. Levels are 40 minutes long for the first six levels, and 60 minutes thereafter. The tournament is scheduled to start at 2.10pm on Australia Day.
One re-entry is permitted per player, and late registration is available for eight levels. On Day 1 there will be 12 levels, with a 45-minute dinner break at the end of Level 8. Here is the full schedule for the day:
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| 3 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 4 | 300 | 600 | 75 |
| 5 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
| 6 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
| 7 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
| 8 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 9 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
| 10 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 300 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 400 |
| 12 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 500 |
The attendance in all tournaments has been up thus far, promising plenty of action in the days to come. PokerNews will be bringing you live coverage from multiple events from this year's Aussie Millions, starting with the A$25,000 Challenge. Stay tuned for updates from this tournament, as well as the prestigious A$10,600 Main Event, the ANTON Jewellery $50,000 Challenge and the A$100,000 Challenge.