Heidi May was cruising earlier on after she had run up her stack to around 80,000 which the table also pointed out in the chat as well, though, May was not there anymore when she clashed with Bob Sova in the most classic of preflop coolers.
Heidi May: K♦K♥ 
Bob Sova: A♣A♥
There was no escape on the J♦9♠2♦J♠3♦ to send May to the rail.
Maduka Perera opened to 1,200 from under the gun, and Dale Code promptly three-bet to 2,600 as next to act. Cameron Lawless then moved all in from middle position, and Perera let his hand go. Code made the call, leaving Lawless at risk.
Cameron Lawless: 5♥5♦
Dale Code: 10♠10♥
Code revealed the better pocket pair, and Lawless came up empty on the K♥3♠7♦3♦9♣ board to hit the rail.
Shem Goltz opened to 1,500 and was called once before Kieran Tapley three-bet to 3,700. Goltz four-bet to 9,500 and Tapley was the only caller.
On a flop of 9♣6♥2♠, Tapley bet 7,000 to get called and the same amount was wagered on the 6♦ turn for Golz to call. Tapley then bet the J♣ river for 17,000 and Goltz moved all-in. One of his three time banks disappeared before Tapley called with the 7♥7♣ and was shown the A♦A♣ by Goltz.
Early chip leader at the table is Mario Doria.
With an open raise to 1,100 and three callers, Mun Wong in the small blind made it 3,300 to go. Three opponents called including Bridges Roe and Dwain Lindsay.
The Q♥J♠8♣ flop saw Lindsay bet 3,500 and Wong was the only one to check-call. Both checked the 3♦ turn and 7♠ river for Lindsay to table his J♦9♦, Wong had the superior kicker with the A♥J♥.
Simon Healey bet the K♣10♣4♦ flop and was then raised to 6,200 by Xuiming Huang, which he opted to call after some confusion whether or not it was a legit raise. Huang then bet the 2♣ turn for 15,000 and called when Healey pushed for around 37,000.
Simon Healey: K♥Q♣
Xiuming Huang: K♠10♥
Healey needed another club or queen to stay in contention, but the 2♠ river ended his first entry on Day 1c while Huang fist-pumped.
In an already large pot to the K♦7♣6♣A♦ turn, Samuel Cheng bet 10,500 and then faced the shove by Rachel Carolan from the next seat.
"Oh fuck," Cheng sighed vividly and then tossed in a single chip for the call moments later.
Rachel Carolan: Q♣Q♥
Samuel Cheng: K♣K♥
The A♥ river was only a formality as Carolan departed first on this starting day.
Five-way action was down to three on the A♥9♦4♥ flop, where Chris Schumann led out from the small blind for 1,300. Adrian Digirolamo called in middle position before Sasho Andonovski raised to 3,000 in the cutoff. Schumann and Digirolamo called to the 2♦ turn, and both tapped the table.
Andonovski fired a bet of 8,000, with only Schumann coming along to the 7♥ river. Schumann checked again, and Andonovski tossed out 15,000.
Schumann made the call, and Andonovski showed 9♠9♣ for a set of nines. Schumann tabled J♥9♥ for a flush, good enough to take down a healthy pot.
The first two days of the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event have produced plenty of exciting action at Crown Melbourne, and the third of four opening flights should continue that trend today.
As two more champions will be crowned in other events at the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship later tonight, players will once again be battling for a spot in Day 2 and a shot at pieces of the growing prize pool. With 217 entries to this point, the total purse has climbed close to A$500,000 and will easily surpass that in the early levels of the day.
Action will begin at 12:10 p.m. local time, with another 12 levels on the schedule for Day 1c. That will be followed by the final flight on Saturday, October 24 before the remaining field combines the next day.
The two chip leaders from their respective flights sit atop the overall standings, led by Wadih Barbara (414,500) after pacing the field by a wide margin on Day 1b. Tom McMahon (392,000) collected the most chips on Day 1a, sitting in second place before play gets underway today.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadih Barbara | Australia | 414,500 | 104 |
| 2 | Tom McMahon | Australia | 392,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Jeapeng Kang | Australia | 342,500 | 86 |
| 4 | Shouzheng Hu | Australia | 323,000 | 81 |
| 5 | Jyrki Hilakari | Australia | 310,500 | 78 |
| 6 | Domenico Zappia | Italy | 307,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Brett MacDonald | Australia | 292,000 | 73 |
| 8 | Joshua Abady | United States | 282,000 | 71 |
| 9 | Hossein Ahwazi | Australia | 272,000 | 68 |
| 10 | Martin Nicol | Australia | 265,500 | 66 |
Several notable hometown names have already qualified for Day 2, including Matthew Wakeman (253,000), Michael Tomeny (232,000), Chris Kokkinos (186,500), Van Marcus (127,000) and Amin Riyazati (115,500).
Brazil's Higor Seibel (245,000) also earned a bag, alongside Randy Lew (168,500) after both advanced from Day 1b.
Starting stacks of 60,000 chips will be waiting at the tables for each player, as blinds begin at 100/200 along with a 200 big blind ante. Four time banks will also be distributed from the start, and additional 30-second cards available when contenders bag up for the night.
All opening flights see 40-minute levels being contested, extending to 60 minutes on Day 2. Breaks will occur after every two hours of play, and the clock will be pause to play the final hands once the end of Level 12 has been reached.
The final field of Day 1 survivors will join together on Sunday, October 25, battling into the money and determining a final table to be played out on Tuesday, October 27.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on poker's biggest stars or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you.
No subscriptions, no paywalls, just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most. It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
The PokerNews team continues to provide full coverage, so be sure to stay tuned and follow all of the action on the way to determining a champion at Crown Melbourne.
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