AU$25,000 Challenge Day 1 | 2019 Aussie Millions

AU$25,000 Challenge

Day 1 Completed

01-26-2019 02:22 UTC+11

Record Field in AU$25,000 Challenge; AU$960,360 Awaits the Winner

Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

Kitty Kuo is Looking for Back-to-Back Final Tables in the AU$25,000 Challenge

The 2019 Aussie Millions AU$25,000 Challenge is a record-breaking one. Attracting a total of 151 entries, it beat the mark of 133 set in 2017 to become the largest AU$25,000 Challenge in history.

Plenty of big names jumped into the field, including former Main Event winners Ami Barer and Toby Lewis, along with 2019 Aussie Millions ring-winners Bart Lybaert, Muhammad Asad and Michael Gathy.

Just 29 players remain and are in with a shot of following in the footsteps of the following players, and taking down one of the most prestigious events at the Aussie Millions:

Year	Winner	Field	Payout (AUD)
2018	Ben Lamb	114	$738,720
2017	James Chen	133	$861,840
2016	Chance Kornuth	122	$790,560
2015	Alexander Trevallion	104	$645,150
2014	Max Altergott	65	$241,785
2013	Igor Kurganov	30	$275,000
2012	Dominykas Karmazinas	20	$200,000

Former international cricket Shane Warne had satellited into this event but didn't last long as he was one of the early eliminations along with Jonathan Karamalikis, Michael Addamo and Jake Schwartz.

Other eliminations today included Sam Higgs, 2018 $100,000 Challenge winner Michael Lim, 2018 Main Event runner-up Stefan Huber, Maria Ho, Bryn Kenney, Mustapha Kanit, Dominik Nitsche, Kenny Hallaert and Sorel Mizzi.

Toby Lewis moved into the chip lead midway through the day after doubling up with aces, but a late double for Jiachen Gong through the 2018 Main Event winner put pay to his chances of finishing as the overall chip leader.

That honour goes to Kazuhiko Yotsushika. The Japanese player cashed in this event last year, finishing 12th for AU$68,400. Yotsushika managed to hold off all others and bag 538,500, just ahead of Toby Lewis (487,500).

Other players to bag up over 400,000 were Martijn Gerrits (447,000), Jack Sinclair (432,500) and Adam Lee (414,500).

Another player who cashed in this event last year was Kitty Kuo, who final tabled and finished fourth for AU$242,240.

"Today feels super good compared to last year. The field is good," said Kuo. "A lot of big names, but my table draw has been pretty good. I've had four Asians on my table all the time which is really good.

"I was surprised at a lot of Japanese and Chinese players. All the regulars I know that they're going to play, but there are a lot of Asian players in this field.

Tournament Floor — The 2019 AU$25,000 Challenge had a record 151 entries

"I will always try to make A$25,000 final table because I want to prove I'm not a Main Event girl, I can win a High Roller as well. So I will always try!"

A record field comes with it a record first prize, with the winner of the 2019 Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge set to walk away with almost a million dollars in prize money, with A$960,360 and the ANTON Championship Ring awaiting the winner.

Place	Payout (AUD)
1st	$960,360
2nd	$652,320
3rd	$416,760
4th	$308,040
5th	$217,440
6th	$154,020
7-8th	$117,780
9-10th	$99,660
11-12th	$81,540
13-17th	$63,420

Play resumes in the AU$25,000 Challenge on Saturday 26th January at 2:30 pm, so stay tuned to PokerNews for all the live updates as we see who will be the latest recipient of an Aussie Millions ANTON Championship Ring.

Tags: Ami Barer Bart Lybaert Bryn Kenney Dominik Nitsche Jack Sinclair Jiachen Gong Kazuhiko Yotsushika Kenny Hallaert Kitty Kuo Maria Ho Martijn Gerrits Michael Addamo Michael Gathy Michael Lim Mustapha Kanit Sam Higgs Shane Warne Sorel Mizzi Stefan Huber Toby Lewis

01-26-2019 01:49 UTC+11

End-of-Day 1 Chip Counts (full)

Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Kazuhiko Yotsushika	538,500 -21,500	-21,500
Toby Lewis	487,500 -2,500	-2,500

Martijn Gerrits	447,000 20,000	20,000
Jack Sinclair	432,500 156,500	156,500

Andy Lee	414,500 24,500	24,500
Chino Rheem	381,000 6,000	6,000

Rainer Kempe	354,000 14,000	14,000
Koray Aldemir	347,000 71,000	71,000

Luke Marsh	312,000 109,000	109,000
Kitty Kuo	287,500 7,500	7,500

Gautam Dhingra	286,000 71,000	71,000
Jack O'Neill	278,500 -121,500	-121,500
Hideki Izutsu	276,500 -63,500	-63,500
Elliot Smith	272,000 37,000	37,000
Sosia Jiang	252,500 82,500	82,500
Najeem Ajez	248,000 -27,000	-27,000
Jack Salter	244,000 24,000	24,000
Vojtech Ruzicka	206,000 -2,000	-2,000
Jiachen Gong	202,000 2,000	2,000
Vishal Maini	199,500 199,500	199,500
Taylor Black	161,000 161,000	161,000

Robert Heidorn	155,000 155,000	155,000
Matthew Wantman	144,500 144,500	144,500

Michael Zhang	137,000 -68,000	-68,000
Tsugunari Toma	97,000 -123,000	-123,000

Read full

01-26-2019 01:42 UTC+11

Gong Denies Lewis Overnight Chip Lead

Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

Toby Lewis opened and Jiachen Gong three-bet all in for 92,500 from the small blind. Lewis called and the cards were turned over.

Toby Lewis:
Jiachen Gong:

The flop had something for everyone, giving Gong top set and Lewis a flush draw. That flush draw became irrelevant, however, when the came on the turn and Gong filled up.

The river was the and Lewis, whose stack had been approaching the 600,000 mark which would have been good enough for the overnight chip lead, was pegged back to less than 500,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Toby Lewis	490,000 -90,000	-90,000

Jiachen Gong	200,000 107,500	107,500

Tags: Jiachen Gong Toby Lewis

01-26-2019 01:37 UTC+11

Two More Hands

tRaMSt0p

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

The tournament director has announced that there will be just two more hands remaining in play.

01-26-2019 01:36 UTC+11

Ruzicka Doubles Through Mizzi

tRaMSt0p

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

Sorel Mizzi opened to 8,000 in the cutoff and Vojtech Ruzicka three-bet to 26,000 from the big blind.

Mizzi responded with a shove, and Ruzicka snap-called for his 101,500.

Mizzi:
Ruzicka:

The board ran out and Ruzicka doubled.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vojtech Ruzicka	208,000 73,000	73,000
Sorel Mizzi	70,000 -83,000	-83,000

Tags: Vojtech Ruzicka Sorel Mizzi

01-26-2019 01:35 UTC+11

Yotsushika Adds Another Elimination

Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 2,000/4,000, 3,000 ante

Marc Macdonnell got his last chips in with against Kazuhiko Yotsushika's pocket nines and would need to win a flip to stay alive in the A$25,000 Challenge.