Who Will Win the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event?
A record number of 800 players entered. Just seven of them are left standing. After six days of scintillating action, all-deciding all-ins and the "Fold of the Century", he stage is set for the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event to reach its conclusion.
At 12:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. CET / 8:30 p.m. EST/Saturday), cards are in the air for the seventh and final day of this prestigious and long-running event. All players have already locked up A$235,000 for their accomplishment but all eyes are set on the gigantic A$1.8 million first-place prize and the coveted ANTON Jewellery Main Event Champion bracelet that await the winner at the end of the night.
Final table seating and chip counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espen Solaas | Norway | 5,680,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Johan Schumacher | Belgium | 955,000 | 19 |
| 3 | Mike Del Vecchio | United States | 3,065,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | 5,835,000 | 116 |
| 5 | Chul-Hyon Park | Australia | 1,670,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Stefan Huber | Switzerland | 1,975,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Ben Richardson | Australia | 4,870,000 | 97 |
Leading the way is Toby Lewis from the UK, who will start with 5,835,000 in chips. The 28-year old, also known under his online moniker "810ofclubs", has already racked up over $3.2 million in lifetime cashes and will be the odds-on favorite coming into this. His biggest cash to date came by winning EPT Vilamoura in 2010, which boosted his bankroll with $594,568. A win here would skyrocket the popular Lewis into Great Britain's top 10 all-time money winners.
Another 28 year old, Espen Solaas, sits closely behind Lewis in second place (5,680,000). Solaas, whose bread-and-butter is PLO cash games, had a monster Day 4 that launched him to the top. The Norwegian already boasts a Champion ring from the Aussie Millions after winning last year's A$5,000 PLO event for A$100,815. Solaas is followed by local favorite Ben Richardson (4,870,000), although the Australian currently resides in Hungary to play poker for a living. This is Richardson's fourth final table at the Aussie Millions and he will have the advantage of playing a home match.
Rounding out the final table are Mike Del Vecchio (3,065,000), Stefan Huber (1,975,000), Chul-Hyon "Charlie" Park (1,670,000) and Johan Schumacher (955,000). Del Vecchio, the Day 3 chipleader, is fresh off a monster score of $752,196 and the Las Vegas resident is no stranger to playing under the limelight. Huber will be supported by the boisterous German rail, who already made their voices heard on Day 4. The Zurich-based pro has pledged at least part of his winnings to REG charity. Park is the only recreational player at the table and will be the underdog going in, but being on the run of his life he has nothing to lose. Last but not least, Schumacher starts as the short stack, but the young Belgian (28) has the experienced Thomas Boivin, among others, supporting him.
There are 23 minutes left in Level 26, with blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a running ante of 5,000. Levels will be 90 minutes for the remainder of the tournament, with 15-minute breaks scheduled after each level. Hole cards will be broadcasted face-up on the Twitch live stream of runitup, and will be on a 30-minute security delay. The blog updates will be delayed as to follow the stream accordingly and not spoil anything.
The PokerNews team will bring you start-to-finish coverage and updates from every hand until the Main Event has reached its conclusion. Don't miss a beat as we crown a new champion tonight!