Victorian Champs 2026: $2,500 Main Event Kicks Off With First Starting Flight

The biggest event of the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship is now live. Day 1a of Event #12, the A$2,500 Victorian Champs Main Event, began today inside the Crown Melbourne tournament room, opening the first of four starting flights.

Day 1a Live Snapshot

At the time of writing, 80 entries had registered for Day 1a, with 51 players still in their seats during Level 8 (blinds 600/1,200 with a 1,200 big blind ante). The average stack sat at around 94,118 chips.

These numbers are live and will change as play continues through the evening.

Main Event Schedule

Day	Date	Details
Day 1a	Wed, Oct 21	First starting flight
Day 1b	Thu, Oct 22	Second starting flight
Day 1c	Fri, Oct 23	Third starting flight
Day 1d	Sat, Oct 24	Final starting flight
Day 2	Sun, Oct 25	All survivors combine
Final Day	Tue, Oct 27	Winner crowned

Tournament Structure

• Buy-in: A$2,500
• Starting stack: 60,000 chips
• Opening blinds: 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante
• Level length: 40 minutes on Day 1, increasing to 60 minutes from Day 2
• Breaks: Every two hours of play
• Day 1 length: 12 levels per flight
• Re-entry: One re-entry allowed per Day 1 flight, plus one more on Day 2
• Late registration: Open until the end of the first level on Day 2 (October 25)

Players get four time bank cards when they sit down, four more at the start of Day 2, and an extra three on reaching the final table.

After Day 2, the remaining field will play down to the final nine before the champion is decided on October 27, which is also the closing day of the whole series.

Joe Hachem Adds Another Title

The series has already produced one of its feel-good stories. Australian poker legend Joe Hachem won Event #9, the A1,250LimitOmahaHi-Lo,beatingChiTroungheads-uptotopa48-playerfield.ThewinearnedhimA16,000 and marked only the seventh title of his long career. Billy “The Croc” Argyros was also at that final table.

Event #9: A$1,250 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo – Final Table

Place	Player	Prize (AUD)
1st	Joe Hachem	$16,000
2nd	Chi Troung	$10,300
3rd	Perry Jeffs	$6,700
4th	Michal Jalc	$5,200
5th	Jim Chahoud	$4,100
6th	Simon Chahine	$3,600
7th	Billy Argyros	$3,100
8th	Benjamin Pockett	$2,600

About the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship

• Dates: October 12–27, 2026
• Venue: Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, VIC
• Main Event: A$2,500 Victorian Champs, October 21–27
• Other highlights: A1,000MiniMainEventandtheA700 Closing Event NLHE

Players still hoping to get in cheaply can use the daily satellites, which start from A$240.

Results and Updates

This article will be updated after each starting flight with entries and survivors, and after October 27 with the champion, prize pool and final table results.

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