Aussie Millions 2019: Main Event Registers Record-Breaking 822 Entries; Aditya Sushant, Paawan Bansal & Vinod Megalmani Make Day 3

The 2019 Aussie Millions Main Event has smashed its predecessors’ records by attracting a total of 822 entries, generating A$8,220,000 in prize money.

Four Indian challengers had charged into Day 2, and three among them made the cut for Day 3. 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Aditya Sushant holds the biggest stack among the trio with 292,800 in chips. Paawan Bansal too bagged a very respectable 197,300 in chips, while Vinod Megalmani is the shortest of the lot with a stack of 29,500. Raghav Bansal was eliminated before play concluded for the day.

Dutch pro Pim De Goede, who is more renowned for his online exploits, bagged 413,000 in chips to take the pole position among the 169 survivors coming back on Day 3. Bjorn Ostby (386,300) and Ben Lai (378,000) are a distant second and third in chips.

Day 2 Recap

Just before the Day 2 proceedings got underway, Alex Lynskey received the Australian Poker Young Achiever Award for his WSOP International Circuit Sydney Main Event win, seventh place finish in the WSOP $10,000 Main Event and ninth place finish in the $5,300 Caribbean Poker Party Main Event. Proceedings then saw Jonathan Karamalikis getting inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.

Play began and 25 more participants joined the action on Day 2 taking the total field size to 822 entries, which eclipsed the record of 800 entries set last year. These late entrants came up against the 405 survivors who had made it to Day 2 through the three starting flights.

After late registration closed, the prize pool and payouts were announced. The Main Event champion this edition will take home a whopping A$1,850,000 in prize money. With 88 places assured a min-cash of A$15,600, the race to finish in the money intensified.

The Indian battalion went all guns blazing into Day 2 and while three contenders progressed to Day 3, Raghav Bansal fell short of the finish line. Incidentally, Bansal had the biggest stack among the four Indians who had qualified for Day 2, but while Aditya Sushant and Paawan Bansal managed to increase their stacks considerably, the other Bansal ran out of luck and busted out before the end of play.

Aditya Sushant who had started with a short-stack of 29,900, played quite well and wrapped up the day with a count of 292,800. He will be leading the Indian contingent on Day 3.

Paawan Bansal had an average stack of 49,000 initially and managed to convert it to a respectable 197,300.

Though Vinod Megalmani was able to advance to Day 3, his starting stack of 32,300 was further reduced to 29,500 by the time the bags were brought out.

Dutchman Pim De Goede took over the overnight chip lead with a stack of 413,000, even as Bjorn Ostby (386,300) and Ben Lai (378,000), round out the top three stacks.

Other notable stacks include Michael Egan (292,800), Michael Addamo (279,300), Corey Kempson (238,800), Matthew Wakeman (217,700), Rory Young (210,000) and Jackie Glazier (149,900).

With the money bubble looming, the 169 Day 2 survivors will return tomorrow where the first order of business for them will be to survive till the money bubble bursts.

Top 10 Chip Counts At the End of Day 2

1. Pim De Goede – 413,000

2. Bjorn Ostby – 386,300

3. Ben Lai – 378,000

4. David Yan – 363,300

5. Shane Moran – 346,900

6. Michael Soyza – 317,100

7. Dingxiang Ong – 316,300

8. Minh Nguyen – 315,700

9. Maxi Lehmanski – 314,000

10. Spiros Maroulis – 308,700

Content & Images courtesy: PokerNews/crownmelbourne.com.au

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