Erik Seidel at the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event final table

It was to take just over 14 hours to determine the final table of the Aussie Million A$10,600 Main Event 2020 at the Crown Casino poker room in Melbourne.

The participant field was with 820 Entries the second largest in the history of the Main Events. Seven players from six different countries will gather on Friday, January 24th at 12:30 pm local time to determine a champion. Erik Seidel is the most famous player to make it to the final table.

With tournament winnings over US$37 million, Seidel has the experience on his side. However, final tables are more common in super high roller tournaments than in 800-player events. Last week he finished the Aussie Millions A$50,000 Challenge in eighth place for A$198,850. Seidel says that the Main Event field is completely different than the high roller scene.

“I am used to playing with people who are among the best players in the world,” Seidel told PokerNews. “Things are different here. There’s a mixture of hobby players and those who made it to the event via satellites. For me, it’s almost like a vacation to play in a field where I don’t feel like I’m competing with the best in the world all the time.”

Seidel is one of the mid-size stacks at the deep stack final table with 3,9750,000 chips and 68 blinds. The American currently ranks second in the Crown Melbourne’s All-Time Money Leaderboard ($6,707,142). The win would put him dangerously close to none other than Phil Ivey, who has made more than $8 million in Australia.

2020 Aussie Millions Main Event – Final Table Seat Draw

Seat     Player                       Country               Chip Count          Big Blinds (25k/50k)            Big Blinds (30k/60k)

1            Nino Ullmann          Germany               5,500,000           110                                            92
2           Gareth Pepper          New Zealand        2,465,000           49                                              41
3           Vincent Wan             Australia               4,150,000            83                                              69
4           Erik Seidel                 United States       4,050,000            81                                              68
5           Ngoc Tai Hoang        Vietnam               1,875,000            38                                              31
6           Nicolas Malo             Canada                 1,975,000            40                                             33
7           Oliver Weis                 Germany              4,475,000            90                                              75

Nino Ullmann, who led the field of participants on the 4th day of play, has taken the lead with 5,500,000 chips. He is followed by his fellow German Oliver Weis with 4,475,000. Behind him, local cash game player Vincent “wonky” Wan (4,150,000) is waiting for his chance. Wan is considered the luckiest player in the Crown Casino, having already won the Royal Flush jackpot twice – both times he was paid a six-figure sum.

“For me, it’s almost like a vacation to play in a field where I don’t feel like I’m competing with the best in the world all the time.” – Erik Seidel

Gareth Pepper (2,465,000) from New Zealand, Nicolas Malo from Canada (1,975,000) and the Vietnamese Ngoc Tai Hoang (1,875,000) complete the final table. A$1,850,000 is waiting for the winner, and so far all players have secured A$240,080. There are about two and a half minutes left to play with blinds of 25,000/50,000 and a big blind ante of 50,000 when the players reconvene after their day off.

Del Vecchio about to make history

It was also exciting to watch Mike Del Vecchio on a penultimate day in Melbourne. The American poker pro was about to play himself to the third final table in a row. No one had ever done that before. At the start of the day, Del Vecchio was able to build his stack consistently. With only three six-max tables left, he was one of the larger stacks. In the end, it wasn’t quite enough.

Although he was able to bag chips after 11 of 11 matchdays, Del Vecchio finally had to give up in 10th place. As a short stack, he managed a double-up with a full house against another. Fittingly, it took one of the biggest setups in No-Limit Hold ’em to finish his run once and for all. Del Vecchio hoped to double up with a pair of kings, but Vincent Wan dashed his hopes with pocket aces. On the flop, an ace of all things was waiting to seal his fate.

Del Vecchio’s incredible run at the Aussie Millions

Year      Final Position          Entries        Payout (AUD)          Payout (USD)

2020      10th                           820              A$123,000              $84,663
2019       2nd                            822              A$1,272,162           $914,304
2018       5th                             800              A$370,000              $299,033

Pupillo, Yockey and Löser miss the final table

Other big names who should miss the final table include American WSOP circuit pro Nick Pupillo, mixed-game expert Bryce Yockey, Goran Mandic, Manig Löser and Fabian Quoss. Already at the beginning of the 4th game day, which 37 players had reached, well-known names like Pete Chen, Scott Margereson, Randy Lew and Matthew Wantman had to pack their bags.

One of the most spectacular hands came up at the last two tables. It was a turning point for Oliver Weis – one of many German poker professionals who has since settled in Vienna. In a 3-way pot, Weis went all-in with a Gutshot and Flush draw. Stupidly he had to defend himself against a groove flush draw from Michael Sideridis and a set from Vincent Wan. Weis caught the straight and made the triple-up perfect. For Sideridis the tournament was over on 11th place.

It should take another two hours until the seven finalists were found. The players have one day to prepare for the final table. No one is more excited about the day off than Seidel, who has already expressed on Twitter that he is concerned about the length of the Main Event matchdays. The last seven players had to hold out for almost 15 hours to secure a seat at the final table.

“I’m thrilled to have a day off,” said Seidel. “I think you should play one day longer or, if that’s not possible, cut a few of the levels because I needed that day off.”

Aussie Millions Main Event 2020 – The remaining prize money

Place    Payout (in AUD)         Payout (in USD)

1            A$1,850,000                 $1,273,381
2            A$1,125,000                 $774,353
3            A$661,000                    $454,976
4            A$480,160                    $330,501
5            A$378,660                    $260,637
6            A$307,820                    $211,877
7            A$240,080                    $165,250