Sam Trickett wins 2013 aussie millions 250k challenge for $2million

[Goldenjaguar]

Each of the last fifteen days of the 2013 Aussie Millions has brought with it moments that will last a lifetime. The atmosphere in the Crown Poker Room has been electric throughout as we’ve seen new superstars emerge, new champions crowned and millions in prize money awarded. Yet Day 16 was something special. They were three and four deep on the rail as the Main Event reached the final stanza, while upstairs in Aussie Millions HQ, the high rollers battled for a first prize of $2 million. What more could you ask for? Day 4 of the Main Event started with West Australian Ray Ellis leading a field of 36 players in the quest for the elusive Aussie Millions final table. There were plenty of big names in contention with Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Dan Shak and Brandon Adams leading the international charge as the Asia-Pacific was represented by Celina Lin, Jay Tan, James Obst, Josh Pan Ang and Poker Asia Pacific blogger Daniel Laidlaw. The railbirds were thinned when the immortal Phil Ivey was eliminated in 30^th place. After being crippled at the hands of Daniel Laidlaw, Ivey got his final chips in on a flop of holding pocket sixes but was notched by the pocket sevens of James Obst. The board bricked and Ivey fans were disappointed to see their hero elimination. Ivey himself would’ve also been rather annoyed after skipping the $250k event last night to focus on the Main Event. Other eliminations included a coolered Stevan Chew (36^th), Sean Karita (33^rd) and last year’s runner-up Kenny Wong who was unlucky to bust in 28^th place when his pocket jacks were cracked by James Obst’s pocket tens when a ten hit the flop. Another big name in the Asia-Pacific was the queen of Macau in Celina Lin. After battling hard for several hours on the short stack, Lin eventually succumbed in 24^th place. Brandon Adams departed in 22^nd while Dylan Honeyman’s Royal Flush draw bricked to see him end a fantastic Aussie Millions series in 21^st place. However one of the biggest talking points was the fall of Australian gun James Obst. After being responsible for several eliminations during the day, and commanding a very big stack for most of the tournament, Obst got a little frisky with pocket sixes on a flop but couldn’t force a fold from Mervin Chan’s pocket eights. Obst fell in 19^th place and would be pretty disappointed to get so close to the Aussie Millions title. Macau regular Kitty Kuo was out in 17^th place before overnight chip leader Ray Ellis was bundled out in 13^th to form the final two tables. At the time of writing, 12 players remained with Dan Shak holding the chip lead with Joe Cabret and Patrik Antonius close behind. We’ll have a further update later in the evening. For a full list of payouts from the Main Evetn, head to our Aussie Millions Prize pool and Payouts page. The other major event of the day was the final table of the $250,000 Challenge which was filmed for television up at Aussie Millions HQ in the newly-developed West End of Crown. Seven would return with only four reaching the money – the $500,000 bubble one of the biggest the game of poker has ever seen. Richard Yong and Erik Seidel missed out, before a prolonged three-hour bubble saw Winfred Yu the unlucky victim in 5th place. With the bubble out of the way, the pace picked up with Igor Kurganov and Fabian Quoss quickly to the rail, to see high-rolling specialist Sam Trickett (pictured) take on Tobias Reinkemeier. With the blinds high, it was all over quickly with Trickett's holding against Reinkemeier's to take the title and $2 million in prize money. Trickett's love-affair with high roller events continues, after winning the Aussie Millions $100k in 2011, and runner up results at the Aussie Millions $250k in 2011 and the Big One For One Drop in 2012. He now moves into 2nd place on the all-time tournament money earners list. $250,000 Challenge Results 1st Sam Trickett - $2,000,0000 2nd Tobias Reinkemeier - $1,250,000 3rd Fabian Quoss - $750,000 4th Igor Kurganov - $500,000