Yevgeniy Timoshenko Wins the 2014 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge for AU$2,000,000
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For two days, poker's biggest names battled one another in the 2014 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge. The tournament has a rich history, but this year it was taken to a whole different level as 39 unique players accounted for 37 reentires for a total field of 76 entries! That was up considerably from the 22 entries the year before.
It took two full days of play, but eventually Yevgeniy Timoshenko defeated Mike "Timex" McDonald to capture the title and AU$2,000,000 first-place prize.
Day 2 began with 29 players, then ten more players joined the fun, bringing the total field size to 76. Isaac Haxton, who fired his sixth and final bullet, was the first player to bust on the day, losing a race with 
against Patrik Antonius' 
. Scott Seiver and Gus Hansen, who also entered at the start of the day, busted soon after Haxton.
The eliminations continued to be fast and furious as Tobias Reinkemeier, Viktor Blom, Justin Bonomo, and Marvin Rettenmaier all busted during the first level of play.
The German high-stakes pros normally crush these big buy-in events, but on this day they were unable to secure so much as a min-cash. Ole Schemion was eliminated by Timoshenko; Igor Kurganov was done in by his fellow countryman Fabian Quoss; Philipp Gruissem ran pocket fours into Erik Seidel's pocket kings; and Quoss stone bubbled.
Quoss, who won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller, called a five-bet shove from Doug "WGCRider" Polk. Quoss' 
was racing against Polk's 
, and the American took the lead on a flop of 
. Gruissem received no help on the turn (
) or the river (
), and exited the tournament empty handed.
It took two hours at the final table for there to be an elimination, and it happened when Martin Jacobson was eliminated in eighth place. The Swede was all in and at risk preflop with 
, but was dominated by by Timoshenko's 
and couldn't improve.
David Steicke exited soon thereafter, getting his short stack in preflop with 
against Seidel's 
, and he was followed out the door by Daniel Negreanu in sixth place.
After getting crippled with against Antonius' 
, "Kid Poker" moved all in for less than two big blinds with , and McDonald called with . The board ran out 
and Negreanu "earned" AU$550,000 for his performance, though the Canadian was in for five bullets.
Despite the knockout out Negreanu, Antonius was the next to go. The Finn moved all in on a flop of 
with 
, and McDonald called with 
. The turn and river bricked 
, 
respectively, and Antonius was eliminated in fifth place.
Polk entered the final table with the chip lead, but as the hours passed he was unable to maintain his big stack and was eliminated in fourth place. On his final hand he three-bet all in from the small blind with , and Seidel, the original raiser, called with . The wired pair held up, and Polk was off to collect the largest live tournament score of his career.
Seidel, an eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, lost a massive race in Level 21, leaving him with around six big blinds. A few hands later his money went in with , and he actually dominated Timoshenko's . However there was a six on the 
flop, Seidel found no help on the turn () and river (
), and he was eliminated from the tournament in third place.
Timoshenko and McDonald began heads-up play nearly even in chips, and it proved a back-and-forth affair. Eventually Timoshenko doubled in a massive hand, and a short time later he finished off his opponent. You can read the final hand by clicking here.
Here's a look at the final table results:
Payouts
| Finish | Player | Prize (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,000,000 |
| 2 | Mike "Timex" McDonald | $1,500,000 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | $1,076,000 |
| 4 | Doug Polk | $860,000 |
| 5 | Patrik Antonius | $700,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Negreanu | $550,000 |
| 7 | David Steicke | $450,000 |
| 8 | Martin Jacobson | $350,000 |
Congratulations to Yevgeniy Timoshenko, winner of the 2014 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge! That does it for our coverage from the $100,000 Challenge, but on Sunday we'll bring you the conclusion of the AU$10,000 Main Event as well as the start of the $250,000 Challenge.