Event #12: $100,000 Challenge Dia 2 | 2016 Aussie Millions

2016-01-25 22:51 UTC+10

Ben "Ben86" Tollerene Leads Final Six; Final Table to Resume Saturday

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Nível 16 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Day 2 of the 2016 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge saw 18 players from a 37-entry field return to action, but thanks to late registration and reentries open until the end of the Level 9, four more jumped in to bring the total field up to 41 entries (30 unique + 11 reentries). That created a $4,018,000 prize pool that will be distributed to the top six players, with the eventual winner taking home AU$1,446,480 (~$1 million USD).

The player best position to make a run at the top prize is the online pro Ben "Ben86" Tollerene, who leads the final six with a stack of 1.522 million. Interestingly, Tollerene, who has won countless millions online, is guaranteed the largest live score of his career no matter where he finished (his previous best was $112,663 for 10th in the EPT12 Barcelona Super High Roller).

Others still in contention for the title include Connor Drinan, Fabian Quoss, Sam Greenwood, Fedor Holz, and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier.

At the start of the day, everyone was wondering if Phil Ivey, who busted in the last level of Day 1, would opt to reenter. He had an hour to do so, but there was no sign of him in the Crown Poker Room on Monday. Meanwhile, Igor Kurganov, who busted four times on Day 1, exited early and rebought for a fifth time, falling shy of Isaac Haxton's record of six entries in this event set two year ago.

Unfortunately for Kurganov, who was two days removed from finishing runner-up in the $25,000 Challenge for AU541,680, the fifth time was not the charm as he soon found himself on the rail. Others joining him there in the early goings were Steve O'Dwyer, Erik Seidel, and Pratyush Buddiga.

Not long after, a surprise turn of events saw both Brian Rast and Stephen Chidwick – who began the day tied for the chip lead – hit the rail. The former ran ace-king into Tollerene's pocket kings to bust, while the latter was crippled after losing a big flip to Martin Jacobson.

Jacobson had a big stack, but before too long picked a fight with Holz, who won a monster flip to bust the 2014 World Series of Poker champ and vault into the chip lead. From there, Jeff Rossiter, Byron Kaverman, Paul Newey, and Mike "Timex" McDonald all hit the rail before the final table of nine was established.

Play was originally scheduled to stop at that point, but the players opted to play to the money, which led to the eliminations of David Peters and former champ David Steicke in ninth and eighth place respectively.

The bubble lasted for quite some time, but eventually Jason Koon was the last to leave empty handed, the result of running ace-king into the pocket aces off Drinan.

The Final Table

Seat	Player	Country	Count
1	Connor Drinan	USA	943,000
2	Fedor Holz	Germany	192,000
3	Jason Mercier	USA	508,000
4	Sam Greenwood	Canada	458,000
5	Fabian Quoss	Germany	478,000
6	Ben Tollerene	USA	1,522,000

To allow for the players to participate in the Aussie Millions Main Event, the final table will be on hiatus until Saturday, Jan. 30. On that day, the final six will return at 2:10 p.m. local time to play down to a winner, and of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to capture all the action, which will also be live streamed on Jason Somerville's runitup.tv.

Tags: Ben Tollerene

2016-01-25 22:50 UTC+10

Jason Koon Bubbles the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship $100,000 Challenge

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Nível 16 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Ben Tollerene opened for 45,000 from middle position with and his next door neighbor Connor Drinan in the hijack flatted with .

Drinan's little plan worked; he must had hoped for one of the shorter stacks behind him to squeeze all in, and that was exactly what happened. Jason Koon in the cutoff found a real big hand with and shoved his last 246,000 in.

The button, both blinds and initial raiser Ben Tollerene all folded but, as one might expect, it was Connor Drinan with the quick call.

It was an unfair match up to begin with and it never got exciting. The flop left Koon nothing but some runner runner possibilities to hope for, but it was already all over by the time the hit the turn. As the dealer was completing the board with the , Koon was already wishing the remaining 6 players good luck in their quest for Aussie Millions gold.

Jason Koon out in 7th place, the remaining 6 players are in the money and guaranteed AU$281,260.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Connor Drinan	943,000	342,000
Jason Koon	Eliminado

Tags: Jason Koon Connor Drinan Ben Tollerene

2016-01-25 20:45 UTC+10

David Steicke Eliminated

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Nível 14 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

David Steicke shoved all in for his last 52,000 holding under the gun plus one. His neighbor Sam Greenwood made the call with and all other players folded.

"The hand that always makes a pair versus the hand that always makes a set" Fedor Holz commented with a smile.

This time neither happened as the board ran out .

David Steicke eliminated in 8th place. The remaining 7 players are now on the bubble as 7th place pays nothing, while the top 6 is guaranteed earning AU$281,260.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Sam Greenwood	438,000	82,000
David Steicke	Eliminado

Tags: David Steicke Sam Greenwood

2016-01-25 20:27 UTC+10

David Peters Eliminated

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Nível 14 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

Action folded to Fedor Holz on the button and he opened to 28,000 with . Jason Mercier folded his small blind but David Peters in the big blind shoved all in for 148,000 with .

Peters knew soon enough he was in trouble as Holz called immediately.

The flop came and by the time the hit the turn it was all done for Peters. He had no way of improving anymore and made his exit, leaving the tournament room with hanging shoulders.

Down to 8 players, 2 to the money.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Fedor Holz	1,080,000	152,000
David Peters	Eliminado

Tags: David Peters Fedor Holz

2016-01-25 17:06 UTC+10

Holz Busts Jacobson in Monster Pot to Jump Up the Counts

[user153638]

Nível 12 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante

Fedor Holz raised to 16,000 from the button and was met by a three-bet to 50,000 by Martin Jacobson in the small blind. Jeff Rossiter folded from the big, Holz four-bet to 121,000, and Jacobson five-bet hammed for 455,000. Holz, who barely had him covered, made the call and seemed a bit squeamish upon seeing the cards.

Holz:
Jacobson:

It was a big flip, but not after the flop gave Holz a set. The turn left Jacobson drawing dead, and he made a hasty exit from the tournament floor after the was put out on the river.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Fedor Holz	920,000	450,000
Martin Jacobson	Eliminado

Tags: Martin Jacobson Fedor Holz

2016-01-25 16:11 UTC+10

Start-of-the-Day Chip Leader Eliminated

[user153638]

Nível 11 : 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante

Stephen Chidwick began the day tied for the chip lead with Brian Rast, but things did not go his way. He lost the majority of his stack after losing a flip to Martin Jacobson, and despite doubling in betweem, he was just finished off by the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event champ.

It happened when Chidwick shoved for roughly 80,000 from the hijack and Jacobson called from the cutoff. The rest of the field folded and the cards were turned up.

Chidwick:
Jacobson:

Chidwick needed a lot of help to crack Jacobson's cowboys, but he didn't even get a sweat as the board ran out an uneventful .

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Martin Jacobson	435,000	45,000
Stephen Chidwick	Eliminado

Tags: Martin Jacobson Stephen Chidwick

2016-01-25 14:53 UTC+10

Drinan Finishes Off Seidel

[user153638]

Nível 10 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante

A short-stacked Erik Seidel open-shoved for approximately 25,000 from the button and Connor Drinan called from the small blind.

Seidel:
Drinan:

The Poker Hall of Famer was in bad shape, but the flop gave him both a pair and an open-ended straight draw. Unfortunately for him, he would receive no further help as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Connor Drinan	395,000	23,000
Erik Seidel	Eliminado

Tags: Erik Seidel Connor Drinan

2016-01-25 14:34 UTC+10

Holz Busts After Flopping Flush; Promptly Reenters

[user153638]

Nível 9 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

Brian Rast raised to 9,000 under the gun holding the and Fedor Holz called from the button with the . Jason Mercier then three-bet to 24,500 from the big blind with the , both his opponents called, and an action flop came down in the .

Mercier bet 23,000, Rast called with top pair, and Holz tanked, even using one of his time extensions, before moving all in for 48,500. Mercier then shoved all in over the top for 97,000, and Rast hit the tank. Rast used both of his time bank chips — which won't refresh today — before making the call.

Holz was ahead in the main pot, while Mercier led the side. The turn was of no consequence, but the river was as Mercier spiked a bigger flush to scoop both pots.

Holz was eliminated on the hand but opted to reenter straight away.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Jason Mercier	320,000	176,500
Brian Rast	292,000	-86,500
Fedor Holz	100,000	100,000

Tags: Fedor Holz Jason Mercier Brian Rast

2016-01-25 11:11 UTC+10

Day 2 of the $100,000 Challenge Starts at 2:10 p.m.

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Yesterday, a total of 29 players signed up for the 2016 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge. The action didn't stop there, as eight reentries were made, making for a total of 37 entries. Registration is still open, however, so that number might just grow a bit more. Play starts at 2:10 p.m. local time, and players are still able to sign up or reenter till the end of the first level of play.

The first level to be played is an hour long and will see 2,000/4,000 blinds with an ante of 500. Signing up now will get players a crisp 100,000-chip starting bank and two fresh time-breaker chips.

Some players had to get a bit used to the shot clock yesterday, but soon enough everyone had the hang of it. With just 30 seconds to act on every decision, the tournament sometimes looked more like a limit event than a no-limit hold'em tournament. Even players that are known to take their time in normal tournaments got used to the fast-paced action.

The chip lead is in the hands of Stephen Chidwick and Brian Rast, who both bagged the exact same 387,500 (97 big blinds) on their first bullet. Igor Kurganov reentered no less than three times and made it through on his fourth bullet with 120,500 in chips (30 big blinds).

The short stack coming into the day is Paul Newey, who brings 59,500 (15 big blinds).

Today's plan is to play down to a final table. Jason Somerville is there to witness it all and talk you through it on the Aussie Millions live stream over on RunItUp.tv. The live stream starts at 2:30 p.m. with hole cards up on half-hour delay. The table that is featured will be randomly selected, and each and every break switched out for a new table.

PokerNews.com will be here to bring you updates from the first preflop raise till the last river card, and we'll be bringing you payout information as soon as registration closes after the first level of play. Stay tuned.