Kazuhiko Yotsushika leads star-studded $25,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions

The world's very best gathered once again at the Crown Casino, Melbourne, to take home the A$960K first prize.

The Aussie Millions is well-underway with several small-stakes events already crowning champions [3], and the first day in the $25,000 Challenge just ended. The event attracted the sharpest poker minds from all around the world.

Some of the favorites have already been busted, with the likes of Dominik Nitsche, Mustapha Kanit, Thomas Muehloecker, Andras Nemeth, and Manig Loeser.

However, the remaining field is still filled with a chunk of sharks. Lesser known Kazuhiko Yotsushika of Japan ended the day on the top of the leaderboard with 538,500, but household names follow, like Toby Lewis (487,500), Jack Sinclair (432,500), Chino Rheem (381,000), the Germans Rainer Kempe (354,000), and Koray Aldemir (347,000), Kitty Kuo (287,500), or Vojtech Ruzicka (206,000) will all return with a comfortable stack for Day 2.

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The field is 13 spots away from the money, as only the top 17 will receive a prize with the lowest being an A$63,420 payout. It's safe to say though, that these guys (or girls) are all aiming at the A$960,360 first-place prize.

Payouts

End of Day 1 Chip Counts