It’s now official. The Aussie Millions series of tournaments is taking the lead as the favorite event among poker enthusiasts. This year’s Aussie Millions went out with a bang with a total of 7,746 entries in all of the tournaments. An all-time high of 800 entrants descended on Melbourne to participate in the Main Event, which has become the most prestigious series of tournaments in the southern hemisphere.

Over $16 million in prize money was handed out to winners and to those that made it to the cash. Twenty six championship events were held, and saw action from some of the most visible players in the history of the game. Feder Holz, San Greenwood, Martin Jacobson, Kristen Bicknell, and Matt Salsberg were just a few of the big names that went after titles during the series.

The biggest draw took place with the Aussie Millions Main Event. The tournament has been held at the Crown Casino since 1998 when it only cost $1,000 for the buy-in and saw 74 players taking to the felt for the chance to win a piece of the prize pool. Alex Horowitz won that debut, pocketing around $20,000.

Fast forward to 2018. Twenty years later, the prize pool sat at $6.2 million, with the winner taking home a purse worth almost $1.4 million. It would become the largest prize pool in the history of the series, and first place would eventually go to Toby Lewis. The 28-year-old British player won $1.17 million and a custom diamond-laced gold bracelet.