Aussie Millions Main Event: Day 1B Done, Dan Smith Wins $100,000 Challenge
187 players sat down for the second day 1 flight of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event, with James Dempsey leading the survivors. Elsewhere, Dan Smith makes a name for himself in the $100k challenge.
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| Dan Smith, image courtesy of PokerNews.com |
The second day 1 of the $10,000 Aussie Millions Main Event is in the books, and we have a winner in the $100,000 Challenge.
Dan Smith wins $100,000 Challenge
Day 2 of the $100,000 Challenge started with Gus Hansen leading a pro packed final table. The Great Dane could not continue the good form he brought over from Macau, bubbling in 5th place, but the two biggest names in Australian poker industry, Tony G and Joe Hachem, managed a 4th and 3rd place finish respectively.
This left American pro Dan Smith and Mikhail Smirnov of Russia to do battle in a swingy heads-up match, which lasted several hours, and saw the lead change hands several times.
Eventually, the pocket deuces of Smith were enough to see off a crippled Smirnov holding queen-six suited, giving him the title and a AUD$1,012,000 pay day.
Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge
Final Table Payouts
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| Place | Name | Payout | ||
| 1st | Dan Smith | AUD$1,012,000 | ||
| 2nd | Mikhail Smirnov | AUD$616,000 | ||
| 3rd | Joe Hachem | AUD$330,000 | ||
| 4th | Tony G | AUD$242,000 | ||
| | Players: 4 (22) | Prize pool: AUD$2,200,000 |
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$10,000 Main Event day 1B highlights
• 187 players for Day 1B - For the second day in a row, we have a lower attendance year on year, than the last three years of this event. 187 players in total bought in for day 1B, and last year that figure was 209, in 2010 it was 243, and in 2009 it was 202.
• $5k Chinese Poker Event - Even though it is one of the most popular side games in poker, Chinese poker is not a format that has really taken off in the tournament arena. Today was a rare opportunity for this to change, as the Aussie Millions hosted a $5,000 Chinese Poker Event. Daniel Cates, Barry Greenstein, Sam Trickett, Jeff Lisandro, and Sebastian Ruthenberg were among the players who rushed to play in this one.
• James Dempsey Leads Day 1B - A lot of big names have made it through to day 2, including Tom Dwan, JP Kelly, Kenna James, Annette Obrestad, and former champions Stewart Scott and Tyron Krost (The latter using the first of his life-time allowance of Aussie Millions Main Event buy-ins - won this week in the Tournament of Champions).
But, leading them all is the in-form James 'Flushy' Dempsey of England. Just last month he took down the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Classic for $821,612, and in 2010 captured a WSOP bracelet. He had a roller coaster of a day which saw him sitting on the top of the day 1B chip counts, of the 104 survivors.
Aussie Millions Main Event
End of Day 1B Chip Counts |
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| Place | Name | Chips | ||
| 1st | James Dempsey | 189,000 | ||
| 2nd | Ilir Beluli | 182,700 | ||
| 3rd | Kenna James | 151,400 | ||
| 4th | Nabal Edgtton | 148,300 | ||
| 5th | Paul Wilde | 146,500 | ||
| 6th | Octavian Vogele | 120,000 | ||
| 7th | Emad Maaree | 112,500 | ||
| 8th | Tom Dwan | 107,400 | ||
| 9th | Dennis Huntly | 88,000 | ||
| 10th | Chris O'Donnell | 71,500 | ||
| ... | ||||
| 14th | Tyron Krost | 56,400 | ||
| 17th | JP Kelly | 44,100 | ||
| ... | Stewart Scott | 38,400 | ||
| ... | Annette Obrestad | 28,300 | ||
| Blinds: 400/800/100 | Players: 104 (187) | |
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Here are some videos from day 1B of the Aussie Millions Main Event, courtesy of PokerNews.com:
