AU$50,000 Challenge Returns for Day 3 with Toby Lewis Leading
Welcome back to the 2019 Aussie Millions for Day 3 of Event #12: AU$50,000 Challenge live from Crown Melbourne.
In 2017, this event was added to the schedule due to player's request, and it would be Mikita Badziakouski taking down the title defeating the six-player field. In 2018, Sam Greenwood would capture the crown when he topped the four-player field. In 2019, a whopping 62-entrant field was set that saw the prize pool tick over $3 million.
With the unprecedented increase to the field size, some of the World's best players took a seat in the AU$50,000 Challenge, and following a shortened Day 1, and then a near 13-level Day 2, five players still remain and are returning for an unscheduled Day 3.
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bjorn Li | Hong Kong | 847,000 | 53 |
| 2 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | 1,040,000 | 65 |
| 3 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | 464,000 | 29 |
| 4 | Manig Loeser | Germany | 605,000 | 38 |
| 7 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 144,000 | 9 |
Toby Lewis is yet to take a seat in the Aussie Millions Main Event to defend his 2018 title, but following his second-place finish in the AU$25,000 Challenge, he is currently the chip leader here after going on an upswing in the last two levels; mainly at the expense of dominant final table chip leader at the time - Manig Loeser.
Loeser remained calm even though several players put the pressure on him as he bagged the third biggest stack behind Bjorn Li who capitalized on the elimination of Tobias Ziegler in sixth-place and some aggressive play to be in reach of Lewis. Dominik Nitsche was the only player that wanted to play another level before the Tournament Director ruled that play would end, and he managed to end the day fourth overall. Austrian Thomas Muehloecker enters the day with the shortest stack and nine-big blinds.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -- | -- | $971,850 | $699,732 |
| 2nd | -- | -- | $618,450 | $445,284 |
| 3rd | -- | -- | $412,300 | $296,856 |
| 4th | -- | -- | $323,950 | $233,244 |
| 5th | -- | -- | $235,600 | $169,632 |
| 6th | Tobias Ziegler | Germany | $206,150 | $148,428 |
| 7th | Michael Zhang | United Kingdom | $176,700 | $127,224 |
Play resumes in the Event #12: AU$50,000 Challenge at 2 p.m. (AEDT) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team back to provide all the continued updates until a winner is crowned. So stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com as we crown the newest Aussie Millions Champion along with providing all the exclusive coverage of the remainder of the 2019 Aussie Millions.