It's Time for the Big, Bad LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge!
This is it. It's time for the concluding event of the 2015 Aussie Millions, and boy what a grand event it will be.
The LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge is the biggest buy-in tournament in poker's history outside of the World Series of Poker's BIG ONE for ONE DROP that garner a $1 million buy-in. In 2015, there is no event planned that will even come close to this price tag, and it's all going down at Crown Melbourne. The weather may be overcast and rainy outside, but inside it's going to be the brightest of stars ponying up a quarter of a million dollars for some sizzling hot poker play.
This event took place for the first time in 2011, and it has been held every year since. The first year, Erik Seidel topped a field of 20 entries to earn the AU$2.5 million top prize, and then it was another poker juggernaut in Phil Ivey grabbing the title in 2012. Ivey scored a win of AU$2 million after beating a field of 16 entries. In 2013, Sam Trickett won AU$2 million for finishing in the number one spot from a field of 18 entries, and then 2014 saw a repeat winner in Ivey taking home the massive AU$4 million first-place score.
Last year, the field swelled to 46 entries, which included 30 unique players and 16 reentries. If that's not enough excitement to whet your poker appetite, we don't know what to tell you.
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool (AU$) | Winner | First Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | $5,000,000 | Erik Seidel | $2,500,000 |
| 2012 | 16 | $4,000,000 | Phil Ivey | $2,000,000 |
| 2013 | 18 | $4,500,000 | Sam Trickett | $2,000,000 |
| 2014 | 46 | $11,270,000 | Phil Ivey | $4,000,000 |
You can expect all three of the previous winners in the field for today's Day 1, and Ivey will be going for an unprecedented third win in this event. Others that are planned to be in action include Richard Yong, winner of the 2015 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge for AU$1.87 million, Ole Schemion, Isaac Haxton, Scott Seiver, Mike McDonald, Tobias Reinkemeier, and Tony Bloom. It's going to be hard to top the field size from 2014, but there are plenty of big names Down Under who will be firing away, especially with a similar reentry format as past years.
Here's a look at all of the players who have cashed in this event, how many times each has made the money, and their total earnings:
| Player | Cashes | Total Earnings (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Ivey | 2 | $6,000,000 |
| Sam Trickett | 2 | $3,400,000 |
| Isaac Haxton | 1 | $2,820,000 |
| Erik Seidel | 1 | $2,500,000 |
| Mike McDonald | 1 | $1,900,000 |
| Fabian Quoss | 2 | $1,550,000 |
| Daniel Negreanu | 1 | $1,250,000 |
| Tobias Reinkemeier | 1 | $1,250,000 |
| Patrik Antonius | 1 | $1,200,000 |
| David Benyamine | 1 | $1,100,000 |
| Gus Hansen | 1 | $800,000 |
| Igor Kurganov | 1 | $500,000 |
| Tom Dwan | 1 | $500,000 |
From that list of cashers, Daniel Negreanu, David Benyamine, Gus Hansen, and Tom Dwan have yet to be seen at the 2015 Aussie Millions, so they will likely not be in the field. Everyone else is here, though, and they all played in the $100,000 Challenge, which lends us to believe they will be playing today.
One player who could be brand new to the field is Alex Trevallion. The quiet online pro from Australia has taken the Aussie Millions by storm this year. First, he won the $25,000 Challenge for AU$645,150. Then, he placed 25th in the Main Event for AU$25,000. And third, he took eighth in the $100,000 Challenge yesterday for AU$310,000. We could very well see him stick with the momentum he's gathered and take a shot in this event, and it'll be very interesting to see how that goes if he opts to do so. A fourth cash in the largest event of the series would be an absolutely amazing feat.
The cards are schedule to be in the air at 2:30 p.m. local time, and each player will begin with 250,000 in chips. The levels on Day 1 of this two-day event will be 40 minutes long, and then tomorrow's Day 2 will have 60-minute levels. Registration and reentry will be available until the start of Level 10, which is the planned start of Day 2.