As expected, the poker room has been busy already in the opening level of Day 1d. The tournament clock shows more than 50 entries already, as new tables have opened. The prize pool has now grown past the AUD 1,000,000 mark.
Four ways in a three-bet pot, the flop showed 9♥4♠2♦ and it was checked to Bobby Oparaocha who made it 3,600 to go. After forcing two folds, Oparaocha then received a single caller in George Kyritsis.
The 8♣ followed on the turn and Kyritsis check-folded to a bet of 7,200.
Following a raise to 400 and a call, German Marchese in the big blind squeezed to 2,500. Only Andrew Kyriakou called and then also called a bet worth 2,100 on the K♦4♥2♦ flop. They checked the 3♣ turn to the A♣ river and Marchese bet 5,000, Kyriakou folded.
Patrick Vo opened to 400 in early position, and Luke Edwards made the call in the hijack. Mun Wong came along in the small blind, with Halil Bozdugan defending his big blind.
Wong and Bozdugan checked the 9♠2♣2♥ flop, and Vo followed with a check of his own. Edwards tossed out a bet of 1,000, and Wong let his hand go.
Bozdugan then check-raised to 2,000, producing folds from Wong and Edwards to claim the pot.
Juan Gomez won one of the first pots of the day over on table 13 when he bet the J♣10♦2♥4♣ turn for 500 and forced a fold from Tony Polzella. Up next, Bruno Portaro and Dean Blatt took a seat and the former limped in, Blatt raised to 800 next to act and Portaro called.
On the A♥10♦10♣ flop, Portaro check-called for 800 and the 2♥ turn was checked. Portaro led the 10♠ river for 2,500 and while Blatt was tanking, Portaro jokingly said "put it in the muck" with a smirk on the face.
Blatt eventually folded indeed and both chatted about it for a second. "I had king queen of clubs," Blatt mentioned and Portaro replied "you are raising me up with that shit?"
The fourth and final starting flight is underway in the poker room on the first floor at Crown Melbourne and according to the clock, there are already 25 players registered which points towards a very promising and busy day at the tables. The button is in seat eight and the cards are in the air.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
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.
| 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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| 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.
$2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event
Day 1d Started
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