button in SafariFinal Opening Flight Kicks Off in $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event
It should not take long for a milestone to be reached today at the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship, as the fourth and final flight of the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event begins at 12:10 p.m. local time.
With more than 400 entries already registered this week at Crown Melbourne, the tournament prize pool is expected to surpass A$1,000,000 early on Day 1d. This marks the last chance to play the opening 12 levels and earn a bag for Day 2, where late registration will remain open through the end of Level 13.
The top three on the leaderboard thus far have all set the pace after their opening flights, with Samuel Cheng (420,500) the latest to claim the overall lead after topping Day 1c. That was the largest flight of the week with 188 entries, and that total will certainly be challenged today.
Sitting close behind is Day 1b leader Wadih Barbara (414,500), while Tom McMahon (392,000) led the opening flight and rounds out the top three.
Overall Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Cheng | Australia | 420,500 | 105 |
| 2 | Wadih Barbara | Australia | 414,500 | 104 |
| 3 | Tom McMahon | Australia | 392,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Chin Chan | Australia | 384,500 | 96 |
| 5 | Yixian Wang | Australia | 384,500 | 96 |
| 6 | Farhad Mohajerani | Australia | 373,000 | 93 |
| 7 | Mario Doria | Australia | 365,000 | 91 |
| 8 | Hongbo Ju | Australia | 354,000 | 89 |
| 9 | Jeapeng Kang | Australia | 342,500 | 86 |
| 10 | Shouzheng Hu | Australia | 323,000 | 81 |
Among the notable names already into Day 2 is Mario Doria (365,000), who bagged up a healthy stack to sit inside the top ten overall. Doria was joined on Day 1c by 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem (63,500), along with his son Anthony Hachem (145,000).
Other familiar faces to survive their opening flights include Michael Tomeny (232,000), Higor Seibel (245,000), Van Marcus (127,000), Matthew Wakeman (253,000), Chris Kokkinos (186,500), Amin Riyazati (115,500) and Randy Lew (168,500).
The last flight of the week will follow the same structure as completed ones, with players sitting down to starting stacks of 60,000 chips. The schedule calls for 12 levels to be played, each lasting 40 minutes with breaks after every two hours of play.
Blinds will begin at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, and time clocks will once again be in play from the start. All players will receive four time bank cards upon registration, worth an additional 30 seconds each.
All players that find a bag will then join the 151 survivors from the opening three flights, and the field will combine on Sunday, October 25 to resume the battle towards the money bubble.
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Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| October 24 | 1d | 12:10 p.m. |
| October 25 | 2 | 12:30 p.m. |
| October 26 | 3 | 12:30 p.m. |
| October 27 | 4 | 12:30 p.m. |
Don't miss any of the action from inside the Crown poker room, as the PokerNews team continues to provide full coverage as the last flight of the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event begins.