Phil Ivey Wins AUD$250,000 Aussie Millions Challenge ... Again!

Phil Ivey has ten World Series of Poker bracelets, has made the WSOP main event final table, and also has a World Poker Tour title, but his three most profitable poker tournament scores have all come from the same tournament in Australia.

The LK Boutique AUD$250,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions has only run four times, and Ivey has come out on top an incredible three times! In 2012, Ivey won the inaugural tournament for $2,058,948. Two years later, he again took the top prize, this time for a record $3,573,600.

Most recently, Ivey returned to Melbourne and again won it all, banking $1,713,285. The 39-year-old poker pro ranks third all-time in live tournament earnings with $22.8 million, and his cashes in this particular tournament make up a remarkable 32% of his total winnings.

“This is your tournament,” said fellow high-stakes poker pro Scott Seiver to Ivey. It’s hard to argue with that.

The Tournament: LK Boutique Challenge at Aussie Millions
Buy-In: AUD$250,000 ($218,850) • No. of Entries: 25 • Places Paid: 5

Hand No. 1 – Ivey Establishes Table Dominance With Early Day 1 Bluff Catch

The Action

Early on the first day of play after already building up a large stack, Phil Ivey raised the button to 7,000. Paul Newey called from the small blind and Pratyush Buddiga called from the big blind. The flop came down 10 8 4 and everyone checked. The turn was the 5 and again, everyone checked. The river was the 5 and Buddiga bet 12,500. Ivey called, and Newey folded. Buddiga showed down J 6 for jack-high and Ivey won the pot with A J for ace-high. Buddiga had been riding high after four high roller cashes in the last three months for nearly $1.85 million, but couldn’t get one past Ivey, who knew exactly where his hand stood.

Hand No. 2 – Ivey Busts Ike Haxton Just Short Of Money In Seventh Place

The Action

Doug Polk raised to 55,000 from under the gun and Phil Ivey called on the button. Isaac Haxton then reraised all in for his last 750,000 from the big blind. Polk folded and Ivey tanked for about a minute before calling with A K. Haxton showed K K, which made him a 65% favorite to double up and survive. However, he was outflopped, as the board ran out A J 6 A 6, giving Ivey the pot and chip lead with six players left. The pot not only gave Ivey the chip lead, but it removed one of the more dangerous players from the final table.

Hand No. 3 – Ivey Takes Out Richard Yong On The Bubble

The Action

Phil Ivey raised to 55,000 and Richard Yong moved all in from the big blind for his last 307,000. Ivey felt priced in and made the call holding Q J and Yong turned over A 2 for the best hand. Preflop, Yong was a slight favorite, as he was expected to win the pot 55% of the time. The flop was safe for Yong, coming K 8 3 and increasing his winning chances to 70%, but the Q on the turn left him drawing to three outs. The river was the 5 and Yong went out on the bubble in sixth place, securing the cash and an even bigger chip lead for Ivey. Although bubbling the event must have stung, Yong was comforted by the fact that he won the AUD$100,000 buy-in event days earlier for $1,452,803.

Hand No. 4 – Ivey Catches Doug Polk Bluffing To Increase Lead

The Action

High-stakes cash game phenom Doug Polk raised to 55,000 on the button and Phil Ivey called from the big blind. The flop came down 10 3 2 and both players checked. The turn was the 2 and Ivey bet 75,000. Polk called and the river was the 6. Ivey bet 200,000 and Polk raised to 580,000. Ivey thought it over for a few minutes, going back and forth on his decision, before finally making the call with 10 9 for top pair. Polk showed down A 4 for a missed wheel draw and Ivey took the pot, which gave him nearly 60% of the chips in play four-handed. Had Ivey folded, Polk would have taken the chip lead. Instead, Ivey had all the momentum to dominate four-handed play.

Hand No. 5 – Ivey Gets Lucky To Bust Mike McDonald And Claim Title

The Action

Mike McDonald raised to 100,000 on the button and Phil Ivey put him all in for a total of 1,300,000. McDonald snap-called with A Q and saw that he was in a dominating position to double up against Ivey’s K Q, expected to win the pot 70% of the time. However, the board ran out K 10 10 8 9 and McDonald was eliminated in second place, giving Ivey his third title in four years. It was McDonald’s third major final table appearance in Australia, after finishing second in the AUD$100,000 buy-in event and third in the AUD$250,000 buy-in event in 2014.

Final Tournament Results

1 Phil Ivey AUD$2,205,000 ($1,713,285)
2 Mike McDonald AUD$1,592,500 ($1,237,373)
3 Doug Polk AUD$1,041,500 ($808,857)
4 Scott Seiver AUD$735,000 ($571,095)
5 Erik Seidel AUD$551,000 ($428,127)