This article first appeared in the Mar/Apr 2015 issue of WGM.
The Aussie Millions has long been one of the most prestigious events on the annual poker calendar and despite the tyranny of distance, the world’s best tournament players inevitably make their way to Crown Melbourne each January.
But it was a local who would be last man standing in 2015 with Melbourne’s own Manny Stavropoulos outlasting a field of 647 players to win his first major trophy and almost AU$1.4 million in prize money. A regular on the cash tables at Crown as well as on the local APPT and ANZPT tournament circuit, Stavropoulos crept under the radar for much of the Main Event amid a host of big names running deep but as he began his surge towards victory a huge crowd of fellow Aussies gathered to cheer him home.
Phil Ivey and Richard Yong
Ironically, he had been one of the short stacks the previous day when 30 players returned to play down to the final table and there was no shortage of talent to contend with either given those still in contention. They included the great Phil Ivey, Mike McDonald, defending Aussie Millions champion Ami Barer, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Rast and 2011 Macau Poker Cup champ Raiden Kan.
But after doubling early Stavropoulos watched on as his rivals tumbled around him and he eventually found himself on his way to the final table. Joining him in the final seven were Rast and another accomplished American pro in Richard Lyndaker but both exited early with Lyndaker out in seventh and Rast in fifth.
Stavropoulos continued to keep a low profile as the field was whittled down and when he entered heads-up play with Germany’s Lennart Uphoff found himself facing a 2 to 1 chip deficit. It wasn’t long though before he had drawn level and after the two agreed to do a deal it was the Melbourne local who would find himself on the right end of a cooler to claim victory when he rivered a Jack-high straight to Uphoff’s 10-high straight.
Manny Stavropoulos
Stavropoulos now joins an elite group of players to have won the Aussie Millions and he also more than quadrupled his career earnings in the process.There was also a win for Macau at this year’s Aussie Millions courtesy of high-stakes regular Richard Yong. The colorful Macau businessman has come close to a breakthrough victory in the past but finally claimed his first live tournament trophy as he beat a field of 70 players to win the AU$100,000 Challenge and pocket a tidy AU$1.87 million.
Yong’s victory was particularly impressive given the size and quality of the field – the final table alone boasted combined career earnings of over US$57 million with Erik Seidel, Scott Seiver and Justin Bonomo among them.
And Phil Ivey continued his stunning record in the Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge, defending the title he won last year and pocketing another AU$2.2 million in the process. This Super High Roller event has now been held five times with Ivey winning three of those and given they also happen to be the three biggest individual cashes of his career it was no surprise to see him tweet “I love Australia” soon after this latest success.
The 25-player field created a prize pool of more than AU$6 million with five players making the money including runner-up Mike McDonald who also finished third to Ivey last year. Fourth-placed finisher Seiver and fifth-placed Seidel ensured their trip Down Under was a profitable one, making it two cashes from two high roller events at this year’s Aussie Millions.
