The final day of the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship is upon us, and with that comes the final day of the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge. After 15 entries were generated on Sunday's Day 1, 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year Byron Kaverman finished atop the advancing 12 players.
Kaverman bagged up 705,000 in chips. Most of Kaverman's chips came in a clash with Erik Seidel when the two got all the money in on the flop. Kaverman had the for top pair and a flush draw, and Seidel had an overpair with the . Because Seidel had the queen of diamonds in his hand, he was still a favorite, but it wasn't by much. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Seidel was 54% to win the hand versus Kaverman's 45% chance. The on the turn kept Seidel in front, but the on the river delivered Kaverman a flush.
Fedor Holz finished in second place, but he's in the event for two bullets thanks to an early elimination at the hands of Paul Newey. Holz went on to bag 440,500 in chips, and along the way he busted Jason Mercier with pocket nines. Mercier had the and couldn't find what he needed to stay alive.
Newey finish in third place on the leaderboard with 395,500 in chips.
Bringing up the rear was a player with no shortage of success in the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge, Phil Ivey. Ivey wasn't exactly burning down the house on Day 1 this year, but he did advance to Day 2. He did get crippled on the last hand of the night by Steve O'Dwyer and will now only take 52,500 in chips into the final day of play. In the five previous times the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge has been held, Ivey won three, and could make it three wins in a row if he claims victory this year. His other victory was in 2012.
With late registration and reentries open until the start of Day 2, the field size could increase a tick or two more. Right now, the prize pool stand at AU$3.675 million.
Day 2 of the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge will commence at 2:30 p.m. local time on Monday — a day that also happens to be Ivey's 39th birthday. Stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com for continued coverage and check out our video interview with Ivey while you wait.
We wrote that same headline on Day 1 early on in Level 2. Holz opted to reenter, and his second bullet seemed to go well as he bagged a big stack. Surprisingly, Holz became the first player to bust today.
It happened when Phil Ivey raised to 13,000 from the hijack and Holz called from the button. David Peters came along from the big blind and three players saw a flop of . Two checks saw Holz bet 16,000, Peters called, and Ivey got out of the way.
After the dealer burned and turned the , Peters checked and Holz bet again, this time 28,000. Peters woke up with a check-raise to 80,000 and Holz thought long and hard before making the call.
Peters then shoved all in for 240,000 on the river and Holz, who barely had him covered, hit the tank for more than two minutes before making the call. Peters rolled over the for the flopped straight, which bested the of Holz, who was left with just 17,000 after the hand.
In the very next hand, Holz moved all in from the cutoff and Sam Greenwood called from the big blind.
Greenwood:
Holz:
The board ran out to give Greenwood two pair, and just like that Holz was the first to hit the rail.
Despite getting an early triple up to get back to a six-figure stack, Phil Ivey's 2016 Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge has come to an end.
Ivey check-raised all in on the flop with the against Ben Tollerene, who made the call with the . The turn was the , which helped Ivey pick up a couple more outs with a straight draw, but the river missed him completely with the and Tollerene won the hand.
With that, Ivey's run at back-to-back-to-back titles in this event has come to an end.
Igor Kurganov raised to 18,000 under the gun. Brian Rast then three-bet all in for 67,000 when action folded to him in the small blind, and Kurganov called to put him at risk.
Kurganov:
Rast:
Rast got it in good, but he fell behind on the flop. Neither the turn nor river helped him, and Rast was eliminated in 10th place. The final nine players will now combine down to a single table.
In the last hand of the level, Byron Kaverman opened for 18,000 from early position holding the and David Peters called from middle position with the . The rest of the field folded and it was heads-up action to the flop.
Kaverman checked top pair, Peters checked back, and then action repeated itself on the turn. When the spiked on the river, Kaverman bet 35,000 and Peters, who took the lead with a set, thought for a bit before raising to 96,000. Kaverman spent many minutes in the tank, and ended up paying off his opponent.
Paul Newey opened for 22,000 with the in the hijack. Connor Drinan then three-bet to 55,000 from the cutoff with the , Steve O'Dwyer cold called from the big blind with the , and Newey got out of the way.
Both players checked the flop and then O'Dwyer bet 63,000 on the turn. When the completed the board on the river, O'Dwyer led out for 140,000 and Drinan hit the tanks for several minutes before making the call.
O'Dwyer tabled his tens and seemed a little surprised to see Drinan roll over pocket rockets for the win.
Sam Greenwood opened for 30,000 from middle position and action folded to Byron Kaverman, who three-bet to 78,000 from the small blind. Greenwood responded by four-betting all in for 358,000 and Kaverman called, which left him with just 26,000 behind.
Kaverman:
Greenwood:
It was a big flip for both players, and while Greenwood paired up on the flop, Kaverman also found a set. The turn left Greenwood drawing dead, and he was eliminated from the tournament in ninth place after the was run out on the river.
Igor Kurganov opened for 37,000 only to have Ben Tollerene three-bet all in for 267,000 from the cutoff. Byron Kaverman then called from the big blind, Kurganov folded, and the cards were turned up.
Kaverman:
Tollerene:
Tollerene had a kicker problem, which came into play when both player paired their jack on the flop. Neither the turn nor river helped Tollerene, and the $100,000 Challenge runner up hit the rail in eight place.
Byron Kaverman raised to 35,000 from early position, and when action reached Igor Kurganov in the small blind, he three-bet all in for 208,000 total. Paul Newey folded from the big blind and Kaverman snap-called.
Kaverman:
Kurganov:
It was a bad spot for Kurganov, and he watched helplessly as the board ran out a useless to send him home emptyhanded in seventh place.
After David Peters opened the button for 50,000 with the , Steve O'Dwyer three-bet to 150,000 from the small blind with the , and Fabian Quoss called off for 60,000 from the big blind holding the . Peters folded and it was O'Dwyer vs. Quoss with the latter at risk.
The flop was no help to Quoss, and he was left drawing dead on the turn. The river was meaningless, and Quoss, who was just two days removed from winning the $100,000 Challenge, exited in fourth place for AU$956,896
![[user68268]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop. Kaverman had the 
for top pair and a flush draw, and Seidel had an overpair with the 
. Because Seidel had the queen of diamonds in his hand, he was still a favorite, but it wasn't by much. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Seidel was 54% to win the hand versus Kaverman's 45% chance. The 
on the turn kept Seidel in front, but the 
on the river delivered Kaverman a flush.
and couldn't find what he needed to stay alive.
. Two checks saw Holz bet 16,000, Peters called, and Ivey got out of the way.
river and Holz, who barely had him covered, hit the tank for more than two minutes before making the call. Peters rolled over the 
for the flopped straight, which bested the 
to give Greenwood two pair, and just like that Holz was the first to hit the rail.
flop with the 
against Ben Tollerene, who made the call with the 
, which helped Ivey pick up a couple more outs with a straight draw, but the river missed him completely with the 
turn nor 
flop.
spiked on the river, Kaverman bet 35,000 and Peters, who took the lead with a set, thought for a bit before raising to 96,000. Kaverman spent many minutes in the tank, and ended up paying off his opponent.
turn left Greenwood drawing dead, and he was eliminated from the tournament in ninth place after the 
river helped Tollerene, and the $100,000 Challenge runner up hit the rail in eight place.
to send him home emptyhanded in seventh place.
, and Fabian Quoss called off for 60,000 from the big blind holding the 