Record Crowds and First Champions Crowned at 2026 Aussie Millions

The trophies are already being handed out at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet, and it hasn’t taken long for the series to deliver big fields and record numbers.

Three champions have been crowned so far at Crown Melbourne, headlined by record turnouts in both the A$1,500 Opening Event and the A$2,500 H.O.R.S.E.. The $5K Six-Max — which plays to a winner day — also produced a record-setting entry-field.

Event	Entries	Prize Pool (AUS$)	Winner	Prize (AUS$)
Event #1: $1,500 Opening Event	2,144	$2,787,200	Josh Duce	$438,400
Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E.	64	$144,000	Sascha Manns	$34,508*
Event #5: $1,500 Hyper Turbo NLHE	138	$179,400	Joshua Cram	$46,640

_{*indicates three-way deal}

Josh Duce Wins Record-Breaking Opening Event

Josh Duce Wins Aussie Millions Opening Event

The headline story so far belongs to Josh Duce, who topped a massive field of 2,144 entries to win the A$1,500 Opening Event and take home A$438,400.

The tournament generated a prize pool of A$2,787,200, nearly tripling the A$1 million guarantee and marked the largest Opening Event field in Aussie Millions history.

The players flooded Crown Melbourne for the festival’s long-awaited return after a six-year hiatus and Duce navigated a packed field that included several well-known names.

When the dust settled, he stood alone as the first major champion of the series.

Sascha Manns Adds Another Mixed-Game Title

Mixed-game specialist Sascha Manns was the man to beat in Event #2: A$2,500 H.O.R.S.E., which also drew a record turnout for the format with 64 entries building a A$144,000 prize pool.

There was a three-way deal, and then Manns eliminated Van Marcus and Gary Benson for the victory and A$34,508. The win added another H.O.R.S.E. title to Manns list of accomplishments, as the win came just a few weeks after he took down the H.O.R.S.E. Championship at the Irish Open.