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Day 1b has begun with 44 entries on the clock, but the line is already out of the door.
Things are about to get BIG!
2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship
Daily Tournament Highlights
Day: live
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Good morning once again from Crown Melbourne, where the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet rolls into its second full day of action on Saturday, April 25 — ANZAC Day, one of the most significant national days on the Australian calendar.
ANZAC Day commemorates members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
Across Australia, the day is marked by dawn services, marches, and moments of remembrance. The parade in Melbourne this morning was a particularly eye-watering spectacle. And while the poker tables remain active inside Crown Melbourne, the significance of the day will not be lost on those in attendance.
Once the commemorations conclude, attention will turn back to the felt, where Day 1B of the AUS $1M GTD $1,500 Opening Event headlines a busy schedule that also includes the start of Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Strong Start for Opening Event as 403 Entries Turn Out for Day 1A
The Opening Event made an immediate statement on Friday, drawing 403 entries across Day 1A and putting the tournament well on track to eclipse its AUD $1,000,000 guarantee.
By the time play wrapped after 15 levels, just 56 players remained standing, each successfully navigating the first hurdle on the road to Tuesday’s final table.
Among those taking their shot in the opening flight was 2015 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Manny Stavropoulos, though the former titleholder was unable to find a bag at the end of the night. Australian high-stakes regular Matthew Wakeman also entered Day 1A but fell short of advancing.
When the dust settled, Xin Li emerged as the Day 1A chip leader after bagging an impressive 810,000, setting the early benchmark for the remaining starting flights.
Several others also built strong stacks heading into Day 2 contention, with multiple players surpassing the half-million mark.
Day 1A Chip Counts
One local player who did secure a return seat was Luke Martinelli, who bagged 212,000 (21 big blinds) at the close of play. Martinelli, like many in the room, spoke about the excitement surrounding the long-awaited return of the festival.
"Everyone's very excited," Martinelli said. "They've been running satellites all the way up and they've just been getting bigger and bigger numbers the whole way through. The first flight getting 400 runners, it's going to be huge. It's pretty exciting."
That sentiment was echoed by fellow player John Lane, who captured up the mood as he packed away his chips.
"It's great to have the Aussie Millions back."
Day 1B Headlines Today’s Schedule
Attention now shifts to Day 1B of the $1,500 Opening Event, which begins at 12:10 p.m. local time and is expected to attract another sizable field.
Players will again start with 40,000 chips and play 15 levels of 40 minutes, with late registration remaining open until the start of Level 10. Survivors will join the Day 1A qualifiers in Monday’s Day 2 session.
Also getting underway today is $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. at 2:10 p.m, alongside another wave of satellite events.
Today’s Schedule — Saturday, April 25
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Apr 25 | 12:10 p.m. | Event #1: Opening Event Day 1B – $1M GTD | AUD $1,500 (1,300+200) |
| Sat, Apr 25 | 2:10 p.m. | Event #2: H.O.R.S.E. | AUD $2,500 (2,250+250) |
| Sat, Apr 25 | 2:10 p.m. | AM Phase 2 Satellite (1 in 5) | AUD $280 (230+50) |
| Sat, Apr 25 | 4:10 p.m. | AM Phase 2 Satellite (1 in 5) | AUD $280 (230+50) |
| Sat, Apr 25 | 7:10 p.m. | AM Phase 3 Satellite (1 in 10) | AUD $1,150 (1,060+90) |
| Sat, Apr 25 | 9:10 p.m. | Main Event Rebuy Satellite – 1 Seat GTD | AUD $240 (200+40) / $100 rebuys |
PokerNews will once again be on the floor throughout the day, tracking entries, notable names, and the biggest stacks as Day 1B of the Opening Event unfolds.
Stay tuned to the PokerNews Highlight Blog to keep up with all the action as the 2026 Aussie Millions continues to gather pace.
Day 1A of the AUS $1M GTD $1,500 Opening Event is in the books, and if the first flight is anything to go by, the long-awaited return of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet is already delivering.
A total of 403 entries filled the Crown Melbourne poker room for the opening flight, with just 56 players managing to make it through 15 levels of play to bag and tag a stack for Day 2. It was a strong turnout to kick things off, and with three more starting flights still to come, the $1 million guarantee already looks firmly in the crosshairs.
One of those advancing was Australian poker regular Luke Martinelli, who continues to build on the momentum from a standout run late last year. Martinelli bagged 212,000, good for around 20 big blinds heading into Day 2, and looked more than content with where he finished.
"I bagged 212,000, so 20 big blinds going into Day 2, so I'm pretty happy with that," Martinelli told PokerNews after play wrapped up.
Martinelli has been enjoying a strong stretch over the past few months, highlighted by his 17th-place finish in the 2025 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, which earned him $415,000, the largest score of his career to date, surpassing his previous best — the A$356,250 ($256,668) he earned for winning the A$20,000 WSOP Circuit High Roller in Sydney back in 2018.
"It was a very, very big spot, very fun. I had a really good time," Martinelli reflected. "Unfortunately I went by myself, so I didn't really have anyone there to share the experience with, but when I came back everyone was really excited and really happy for me. It was great."
He also took down a AUS $300 tournament in January that yielded a AUS $56,095 ($37,439) prize. That result pushed his live tournament earnings to $1,785,369, according to The Hendon Mob.
The return of the Aussie Millions after a six-year hiatus has clearly brought energy back into the poker room, with players traveling in from across Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Martinelli said the buzz had been building in the weeks leading up to the festival.
"Everyone's very excited," he said. "They've been running satellites all the way up and they've just been getting bigger and bigger numbers the whole way through. The first flight getting 400 runners [sic], it's going to be huge. It's pretty exciting."
He also pointed out one of the things that makes the Aussie Millions special, the chance to reconnect with players you haven't seen in years.
"I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces. People from Sydney and the Gold Coast and a few of my friends from New Zealand. That's one of the best things about Aussie Millions. You get to see a lot of old faces that you haven't seen for a while, and it's been a while."
If the early signs hold, the Opening Event could comfortably smash its guarantee. Tournament Director Danny McDonagh was optimistic at the close of play, suggesting the event could reach as many as 2,000 entries, which would create a AUS $2,600,000 prize pool if his prediction comes to pass.
The mood around the room at bagging reflected just how much the series has been missed. After sealing up 325,000, John Lane summed it up simply as he packed away his chips.
"It's great to have the Aussie Millions back."
Day 1A Chip Counts
The sun may have set over Melbourne hours ago, but the action was still going strong deep into the night in the first starting flight of the AUS $1M GTD $1,500 Opening Event. Now, the curtain has officially fallen on the tournament’s opening flight.
From the initial 403 entries, just 56 players successfully cleared the first hurdle and secured a bag for Day 2.
PokerNews will have the full end-of-day chip counts Saturday morning, but in the meantime, here are some assorted chip counts.
| Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|
| Yuanting Wong | 563,000 | 56 |
| Stephen Quan | 510,000 | 51 |
| Kurt Burum | 500,000 | 50 |
| Rayan Zare | 490,000 | 49 |
| Prateek Datt | 461,000 | 46 |
| David Xie | 438,000 | 44 |
| Minh Tran | 423,000 | 42 |
| Zhenyi Lia | 410,000 | 41 |
| Josh Duce | 402,000 | 40 |
| Michael Zhang | 402,000 | 40 |
| Hayden Doughty | 396,000 | 40 |
| Luke Martinelli | 212,000 | 21 |
Day 1A of the Opening Event has entered Level 15, the final level of the night.
From the 403 entries, just 65 players remain in contention to bag and tag a stack for Day 2.
Luke Martinelli, who finished 17th in the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, still has chips in front of him.
Notables such as 2015 Aussie Millions champion Manny Stavropoulos and Matt Wakeman were in the field earlier in the session, but both appear to have been eliminated before the close of play.
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Late registration closed around 40 minutes ago, and the first starting flight of the Opening Event drew a healthy 403 entries.
With AUS$1,300 from each AUS$1,500 buy-in going into the prize pool, today’s prize collection reached AUS$523,900, meaning the race to the $1 million guarantee has already passed the halfway mark.
