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"Dream Come True" as Hun Wei Lee Doubles Down at Crown
The final day of the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship began with a tough final day in the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event, but two names stood above the rest among the final nine contenders. In the end, a back-and-forth battle between Hun Wei Lee and Joe Hachem brought a memorable finish to the series.
After more than two hours of heads-up play, Lee got the better of his poker idol to claim another victory at Crown Melbourne just six months after his last. The Australian pro outlasted a field of 715 entrants to claim the largest share of the AUD 1,573,000 prize pool, earning the trophy and the title at one of his favorite places to play.
"I really love coming to Crown," Lee told PokerNews shortly after his latest victory. "We've been deprived the Aussie Millions for so long, and I hadn't been to Crown since COVID, and to be able to come back and win a couple of tournaments in the same year is a great experience."
$2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hun Wei Lee | Australia | $350,000 |
| 2 | Joe Hachem | Australia | $210,000 |
| 3 | Zac Miravet | Australia | $135,000 |
| 4 | Ben Richardson | Australia | $90,000 |
| 5 | Bobby Zhang | Australia | $72,500 |
| 6 | Nektarios Dimitrakis | Australia | $58,000 |
| 7 | Higor Seibel | Brazil | $47,500 |
| 8 | Jyrki Hilakari | Australia | $38,000 |
| 9 | Michael Tomeny | United States | $30,500 |
Another Crowning Victory
Lee took down the $25,000 Challenge during the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in May, but explained that this win means even more.
"I think this feels even better than the 25K High Roller win simply because I was playing Joe heads up and winning it. It was a tough battle too, we keep going back and forth, we exchanged the chip lead a couple of times and to be able to close it out, this one is at the top, for sure."
"Joe is the reason why I started playing poker to start with. He's the godfather of Australian poker, and to be able to play him heads up is really an honor. And to beat him is just icing on the cake, it's a dream come true, really."
Final Table Action
The final nine players returned to take their seats under the lights of the stream table, with Lee holding a firm chip lead to begin the day. It was a very slow start as all nine players survived the first three levels of action, and Lee's lead did not last long.
"I knew I had the chip lead, but I also knew that I had to be patient. To be honest, in the first level, I, I don't think I played very well, and I lost my chip lead. But I told myself it's ok, be calm, be patient and wait for the right spot, and that's what I did."
Part of Lee's descent came against Hachem, who found an early double with pocket kings to climb back into contention.
"I think losing, losing after calling Joe's all-in with pocket nines early on, that kind of set me back quite a bit because I knew straight away it was the wrong decision. But I told myself this is a spot where I have to be very, very patient. I just thought that my image was pretty bad at that moment and I wasn't playing particularly well, so just try to pick better spots."
Lee was a spectator to the first three eliminations, before a massive confrontation with Nektarios Dimitrakis earned his first knockout of the day while vaulting back into a big lead.
From there, Lee secured two of the next three eliminations to set up the duel with Hachem. The 2005 WSOP Main Event champion was down to two outs on the turn before spiking a six to stay alive, and followed that by doubling twice more as the pair traded the chip lead several times.
The final hand saw Hachem poised to survive yet again, but it was Lee's turn to spike a set on the river and defeat his poker inspiration to take down another major title.
That concludes coverage of the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship in Melbourne, but be sure to follow PokerNews for exclusive live reporting from around the poker world.