Sam Trickett Wins Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge

The Aussie Millions’ $100,000 Challenge has been live poker’s most expensive buy-in event since it was originally introduced in 2006. In its first year, the unprecedented event only drew 10 players; that number jumped to 18 in 2007 then to 25 in 2008. Only 24 players ponied up in 2010, though, leading many to believe that the tide was turning. That prediction couldn’t have been more wrong.

Despite the PCA introducing a similar event this year, the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge still drew its largest field to date, and no one profited more from the increase than the eventual winner – British pro Sam Trickett. The reception to this year’s $100,000 Challenge was so enthusiastic that the tournament’s organizers had to delay the start of the event’s first day by an hour to allow late entries to be processed.

When all was said and done, 38 of poker’s most notable pros showed up to compete for the event’s top payout of more than AUD $1.5 million. It was an epic field, a who’s who of high stakes poker that included the likes of Chris Ferguson, Tony Bloom, Jeffrey Lisandro and Gus Hansen, and that was at just one table. Sorel Mizzi, Patrik Antonius, Howard Lederer, John Juanda, Daniel Cates, Masa Kagawa, Phil Ivey, Joe Hachem, David Oppenheim, Erik Seidel and Tom Dwan were also in contention, and that only accounts for half the field.

It was anybody’s game with that much talent at the tables, so making the final eight was an honor in and of itself. Here are the eight players that earned a seat at today’s final table: Sam Trickett, David Steicke, Erik Seidel, James Obst, Jeffrey Lisandro, David Benyamine, Tony Bloom and Chris Ferguson. The total prize pool was AUD $3.8 million; that translates to roughly $20,000 more than was offered at the PCA.

Up-and-coming British pro Sam Trickett has been posting impressive numbers for the last couple years and came off the 2010 season with more than $1 million in live tournament earnings. He made himself a clear contender early in the Day 1 action and was the first $100,000 Challenge player to pass the one million chip mark. His momentum rarely faltered at the final table, and he eliminated second place finisher Tony Bloom after only a half hour of heads-up competition. The first place AUD $1,525,000 payout will more than double Trickett’s lifetime earnings and proves yet again that the young Englishman can hold his own among the very best.

Related Entries