The Aussie Millions Poker Championship has established itself as one of the largest poker series to be taking place on an annual basis. And the festival certainly is the largest one to be running in the Southern Hemisphere. Every year, it offers a little something for both local and international players, for both poker pros and newbies, and for fans of both lower buy-in and higher buy-in action.
And speaking of high buy-in events, the Aussie Millions annually features several of them with fees varying from A$25,000 to A$250,000. It is exactly the A$250,000 tournament we are keen on talking a little more about today. It was first held in 2011 and has distributed more than A$30 million in prize money since then. The paragraphs below represent a short and quick overview of the event’s six-year history. Who has entered it? Who has won it over the years? More can be read below.
Erik Seidel – 2011
Seidel had his name recorded in the Aussie Millions history by becoming the winner of the inaugural A$250,000 Super High Roller event. The tournament attracted 20 entries and generated A$5 million in prize money in 2011. Seidel scooped half of the prize pool and other two players – Sam Trickett and David Benyamine – took A$1.4 million and A$1.1 million, respectively.
Seidel has performed quite well in the Aussie Millions over the years, although it would not be an exaggeration to say that he performs more than well in whatever event he appears. In 2011, several days before his Aussie Millions Supper High Roller victory, the player finished 3rd in the A$100,000 Challenge – another exciting tournament to be annually taking place as part of Australia’s most popular poker series. Over the years, Seidel has also made several Aussie Millions Main Event final tables.
Phil Ivey – 2012, 2014, 2015
Ivey is the absolute record breaker in the not-so-long history of the A$250,000 buy-in event. The player has won the tournament not once, not twice, but three times. What is more, he is the only player to have scored back-to-back wins.
Ivey’s first triumph came in 2012, when the A$250,000 Challenge was held for the second time. The event drew 16 entries and featured a prize pool of A$4 million. Ivey’s share totaled A$2 million. Two more players got paid that year – Patrik Antonius, who collected A$1.2 million, and Gus Hansen, who took home A$800,000.
Super High Roller title number two came two years later. The 2014 edition of the tournament was much larger in scale. It attracted 30 unique runners and 16 re-buys. The prize pool amounted to A$11,270,000 and was distributed to the top six finishers.
Ivey received A$4 million as the event’s champion. Isaac Haxton finished runner-up in 2014 to collect A$2.82 million. Mike McDonald, Daniel Negreanu, Fabian Quoss, and Tom Dwan were the other four players who got paid. They collected A$1.9 million, A$1.25 million, A$800,000, and A$500,000, respectively.
As mentioned above, Ivey managed to defend his title in 2015. That year, the A$250,000 buy-in event was entered by 25 players who generated a prize pool of A$6,105,000. Ivey’s share of the money totaled A$2,205, 000. Mike McDonald, Doug Polk, Scott Seiver, and Erik Seidel were the other four players to receive a share of the prize money. Their payouts amounted to A$1,592,000, A$1,041,000, A$735,000, and A$551,000, respectively.
Sam Trickett – 2013
Trickett may have failed to scoop the A$250,000 Challenge title in 2011, but he did that in 2013. The third-ever edition of the tournament drew 18 entries from around the world to generate a A$4.5 million prize pool. The money was split among the top four finishers. Being the winner, Trickett took home A$2 million. Tobias Reinkemeier, Fabian Quoss, and Igor Kurganov were the other three players to leave the tournament with payouts, those totaling A$1.25 million, A$750,000, and A$500,000, respectively.
Steve O’Dwyer – 2016
O’Dwyer won the event’s most recent edition for a first-place prize of A$1,051,959. The 2016 A$250,000 Challenge featured overall prize pool of A$3,920,000. The event was entered by 16 runners. David Peters (A$889,236), Connor Drinan (A$1,021,909), and Fabian Quoss (A$956,896) were the other three players to get paid.
Originally, the top three players were to receive a payout from the tournament, but a deal was reached between the last four hopefuls, which secured them all with around a million in prize money.
Note: This year’s edition of the A$250,000 Challenge is scheduled to take place on January 29-30 at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
