Phil Ivey defeated an all-star roster at the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge in Melbourne to win $4 million and further cement his status as the greatest poker player in the world.

This is Ivey’s second victory in the quarter-million dollar buy-in high roller event, having won in 2012 for $2.13 million, and his biggest single tournament score to date.

This year Ivey ran through a final table that included Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Mike “Timex” McDonald and Fabian Quoss, ultimately defeating Isaac Haxton heads-up to clinch the win.

Haxton pocketed $2.82 million for his runner-up finish.

Ivey was one of 46 players to cough up the $250k buy-in, and unlike a few of his opponents, he only bought in once.

The prize pool was an astounding $11,270,000 AUD and paid out the top six spots.

Erik Seidel, who won this event in 2011, was the unlucky bubble boy after getting all-in bad for roughly 15 big blinds with pocket jacks against Fabian Quoss’s pocket kings.

Amazingly both Mike McDonald and Daniel Negreanu bought into this event three times each and still managed to turn a profit, finishing fourth and third, respectively.

Here are the official payouts for the 2014 Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250k Challenge:

• 1. Phil Ivey – $4,000,000
• 2. Isaac Haxton – $2,820,000
• 3. Mike McDonald – $1,900,000
• 4. Daniel Negreanu – $1,250,000
• 5. Fabian Quoss – $800,000
• 6. Tom Dwan – $500,000

Isaac Haxton Saves Expensive Aussie Millions

Isaac Haxton finished second in the $250k Challenge and managed to turn a profit on what was up until that point a very costly Aussie Millions.

Isaac Haxton

The American high-stakes pro played the $25k High Roller, the Main Event and bought in an astounding six times to the $100,000 Super High Roller, racking up over $1.15 million in tournament buy-ins.

His $2.82 million score in the $250k Challenge turned that around in a big way.

While Phil Ivey is most commonly thought of us as the greatest poker player in the world there is a large group of people who would put Haxton at the top of that list.

The pro from Syracuse, New York has amassed over $5.7 million in live tournament scores since his breakout performance at the 2007 PCA where he finished runner-up to Ryan Daut.

Haxton has since earned a spot on Team PokerStars Online, not to mention the respect of poker’s top players.

Further Reading

• Top Deposit Options for Poker in Australia & New Zealand: POLi Poker