Action was heads-up to the 9♦8♦5♦6♦ turn, with around 7,000 already in the middle. Troy Bell led out from the small blind, sliding forward a bet of 1,200.
Jay Chan took a moment in the big blind before letting his hand go, and Bell collected the pot.
Leo Boxell opened to 600 in early position, and Helena Wong called on his immediate left. Bryce Vanderwal came along in the small blind, and Jyrki Hilakari defended his big blind to the A♣K♣6♥ flop.
All four players declined to bet, and the 7♥ turn hit the table. Action checked again to Boxell, who slid out a bet of 1,200. Wong and Vanderwal called, while Hilakari got out of the way.
The 9♠ river led to another round of checks, and Boxell tabled K♥J♠ to claim the pot.
The first 22 players are in their seats, and action is underway for Day 1b.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
After a strong opening flight of the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event, a new group of players will enter Crown Melbourne looking to earn a bag and advance at the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship.
The first flight of the week attracted 91 entries to push the early prize pool above $200,000, while just 32 survivors remained after the first 12 levels were completed. Action will resume with Day 1b at 12:10 p.m. local time, as the slate is wiped clean for a second chance to book a spot in Day 2.
This tournament features a single reentry for each starting flight, plus an additional entry available prior to the end of late registration one level into the second day of action.
Tom McMahon (392,000) grabbed the early lead by setting the pace on Day 1a, followed by Jeapeng Kang (342,500) and Shouzheng Hu (323,000). With more chips expected to be in play during the second flight, those marks will be challenged later tonight.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom McMahon | Australia | 392,000 | 98 |
| 2 | Jeapeng Kang | Australia | 342,500 | 86 |
| 3 | Shouzheng Hu | Australia | 323,000 | 81 |
| 4 | Domenico Zappia | Italy | 307,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Hossein Ahwazi | Australia | 272,000 | 68 |
| 6 | Martin Nicol | Australia | 265,500 | 66 |
| 7 | Matthew Wakeman | Australia | 253,000 | 63 |
| 8 | Andrew Freer | Australia | 235,000 | 59 |
| 9 | Michael Tomeny | United States | 232,000 | 58 |
| 10 | Akram Marcus | Australia | 220,000 | 55 |
The event schedule for today also includes Event #14: $500 VPC Hyper, along with the opening day of Event #15: $10,000 Super High Roller. You can follow all of the action from those events on our Daily Tournament Highlights page, updated throughout the day before final results are available.
The Main Event will once again begin with all players receiving 60,000 chips upon registration, and all Day 1 levels will be 40 minutes long. Blinds will start at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, working their way upwards through 12 levels of action. Breaks will occur after the completion of every three levels, and and players may reenter each flight once.
Time clocks will be in play from the start of the event, with all players starting with four time bank cards after joining their first table. Additional time banks will be issued at the start of Day 2 on Sunday, October 25, and then again after the tournament has reached the final table.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 2 | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 3 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 4 | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 9 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
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Don't miss any of the exciting action, as the PokerNews team will be inside the ropes bringing you full coverage until a champion is determined early next week.
$2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event
Day 1b Started
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