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The penultimate day of the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship series started with fireworks, as action was fast and furious for the 43 returning contenders in the $2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event. It finished with the final nine players standing, looking to finish the week with a trophy at Crown Melbourne.
The tournament drew a total of 715 entries, generating an impressive prize pool of AUD 1,573,000. That left the field battling for the top prize of AUD 350,000, while a spot at the final table was worth AUD 30,500.
After three days of play, the top position on the leaderboard belongs to Hun Wei Lee (9,955,000) who scored a series of knockouts to bag up almost a quarter of the chips in play. Sitting in second spot is Bobby Zhang (8,455,000), who scored the last knockout of the night to bag up 70 big blinds for the final day.
Headlining the remaining field is Joe Hachem (2,735,000), sitting in seventh position as the 2005 WSOP Main Event champion looks to add another title in his home country. Hachem caught a big double early in the day, vaulting him up the counts where he was able to remain for the rest of the day.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jyrki Hilakari | Australia | 1,435,000 | 12 |
| 2 | Bobby Zhang | Australia | 8,455,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Hun Wei Lee | Australia | 9,955,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Ben Richardson | Australia | 4,545,000 | 38 |
| 5 | Michael Tomeny | United States | 4,010,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Nektarios Dimitrakis | Australia | 4,130,000 | 34 |
| 7 | Joe Hachem | Australia | 2,735,000 | 23 |
| 8 | Zac Miravet | Australia | 2,430,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Higor Seibel | Brazil | 5,125,000 | 43 |
Day 3 Action
The first two hours of play saw plenty of big pots and eliminations, as 12 players hit the rail before the first break of the day. The final hand of the level saw Ruben Padilla flop quads to take out Andrew Kyriakou. That gave Padilla one of the bigger stacks in the room, but he was unable to build any more momentum and finished in 20th place.
It then took a little more than two further levels to reach the final two tables, before action slowed as the pay jumps began to grow. Start of day chip leader Higor Seibel (5,125,000) remained near the top of the leaderboard, but was caught by Lee after a double knockout on Level 25.
Shortly after, Anthony Hachem hit the rail in 14th position, unable to hold on the river against Lee.
The last hand of the night saw Naz Sibaei flop a set after moving all in, but Zhang made a flush to burst the final table bubble.
Players will return at 2:00 p.m. local time, when cards go back in the air with 20 minutes left in Level 28. Blinds will continue at 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante, and levels will remain 60 minutes in duration with breaks after every two hours of play.
Three additional time bank cards will be handed out at the start, and all of the action will be broadcast on the Crown Resorts YouTube channel on a 30-minute delay.
The first elimination of the day will trigger a $7,500 pay jump, with the top three finishers earning six-figure scores.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 |
| 2 | $210,000 |
| 3 | $135,000 |
| 4 | $90,000 |
| 5 | $72,500 |
| 6 | $58,000 |
| 7 | $47,500 |
| 8 | $38,000 |
| 9 | $30,500 |
Just one day remains at Crown Melbourne, so be sure to follow along as the PokerNews team will continue to provide full coverage until the final hand is dealt.
