The prestigious Aussie Millions AU$100,000 Challenge wrapped up on Saturday with Cary Katz adding another high roller title to his resume.  Katz, the founder of Poker Central, bested the 42-entrant field to take home the AU$1,481,760 ($1,074,658 USD) prize and ANTON Championship ring.

Although Katz would eventually end up with all the chips, he was in need of some serious help earlier in the tournament after limp-shoving pocket kings against eventual runner-up Johannes Becker’s pocket aces. A king hit the board and Katz doubled through. He then used that bit of good fortune to stay alive and press on to win the fifth seven-figure score of his career.

The final table of nine needed three eliminations before players found themselves in the money. Germany’s Manig Loeser fell in ninth place, followed by American Michael Soyza in eighth. Then Alex Foxen, who celebrated his birthday just one day prior, received the unkind gift of being the official bubble boy, busting in seventh place when his couldn’t spike against Becker’s .

With six players remaining, Kristen Bicknell shoved her 15 big blinds in from the button holding . Rainer Kempe made the call from the small blind with the . The flop came giving Kempe some backdoor outs plus two overs to bust Bicknell, who just needed to hold. The turn left Bicknell in need of an ace however the river was no help. Bicknell’s run ended in sixth place for AU$288,100.

It wasn’t long before the next elimination. Katz opened from under the gun with only to be shoved on by Jack Salter who held . Katz went into the tank, but eventually made the call. The flop gave Katz a commanding lead and left Salter searching for one of the final eights in the deck. The turn was the and the river sending the UK pro to the rail in fifth place for AU$329,280.

Four-handed play took place for nearly an hour before Kempe and countryman Abraham Passet clashed in a big hand. Passet raised small from under the gun with and was called by both Katz and Becker. Kempe, in the big blind, pushed all in with his . Passet then reshoved, forcing both Katz and Becker out of the hand. The pair of Germans saw a board of keeping it clean for Passet’s pocket kings. Kempe, the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl Champion, bowed out in fourth place for AU$452,760.

The final three, eager to continue play, shortened their dinner break and pressed on with Passet in the chip lead and Katz sitting on the short stack. However, over the course of the next hour, Katz began chipping up and finally turned the tables. He found double through Passet holding pocket aces versus Passet’s pocket sixes, sending Katz into a chip lead he would not relinquish.

Eventually, Passet’s tournament came to an end when Becker’s only called the small blind with prompting a shove from Passet with . The flop fell giving Passet some backdoor straight options along with his single overcard. The turn was the and the river was the . Passet took home AU$617.400 for his third-place finish.

Once heads-up play began, Katz went on a run that had him eliminating Becker in just under an hour of play. After winning a series of hands, Becker was crippled and the final hand had the pair get all the chips in the middle with Katz holding against Becker’s . The flop was clean for Katz. The turn offered some extra outs for Becker but the river sealed his fate and the German finished in second place for AU$946,680.

Katz earned AU$1,481,760 for the victory, his first ever result at the Aussie Millions. It marks his second major $100K Super High Roller win having also taken down the 2018 PCA $100K for $1,492,340.

Katz now sits at #25 on the All-Time Money List with over $18.3 million in earnings.

Aussie Millions AU$100,000 Challenge Payouts