The 2026 Victorian Poker Championship is currently underway at Crown Melbourne. A total of 21 tournaments are scheduled through October 27, including the Main Event with a buy-in of 2,500 AUD, a 10,600 AUD Super High Roller, and several events featuring popular mixed-game variants. In Event #9, the Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Joe Hachem—a highly renowned poker pro—has now added his name to the list of winners.
48 entries in Event #9, the Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, created a prize pool of 51,600 AUD. The top eight players were set to cash. Hachem prevailed in the heads-up match against Chi Troung and can look forward to prize money of 16,000 AUD. According to Hendon Mob, Joe Hachem has already accumulated over $13 million in live winnings throughout his career. Among his greatest achievements are his victory in the 2005 WSOP Main Event and his title in the Main Event of the 2006 World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
Buy-ins for the Victorian Poker Championship range from 500 AUD to 10,600 AUD. Unlike many major poker festivals, the official tournament schedule does not list guaranteed prize pools for the individual events. The most important tournament in the series is the Victorian Champs Main Event, with a buy-in of 2,500 AUD. Players receive a starting stack of 60,000 chips. Four flights are scheduled for the opening phase, taking place from October 21 to 24. Day 2 continues on October 25, followed by Day 3 on October 26. The final table is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27.
Crown Melbourne is offering its own satellites to qualify for the Main Event, while the Australian Poker Tour, as the official satellite partner, is providing more than 50 Main Event seats through qualifying tournaments. The Victorian Poker Championship also has several highlights in store for players looking to compete in higher-buy-in events. The Super High Roller, with a buy-in of 10,600 AUD, will be held on October 22 and 23. In addition, two High Roller Challenges, each with a 5,000 AUD buy-in, are on the schedule: a No-Limit Hold’em event on October 20 and 21, and a Pot-Limit Omaha tournament on October 26 and 27. Other highlights include the Mystery Bounty with a 1,250 AUD buy-in, the Deep Freeze NLHE for 2,000 AUD, and the Mini Main Event with a 1,000 AUD buy-in to conclude the series.
In addition to the Hold’em tournaments, the Victorian Poker Championship also features a selection of mixed games. These include H.O.R.S.E., 8-Game, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, and 2-7 Triple Draw. Two special Pot-Limit Omaha events round out the lineup: a tournament with a 1,250 AUD buy-in and the 5,000 AUD PLO Challenge to close out the festival. Well-known poker personalities will also be participating. Crown ambassador Van Marcus will host a Special Feature PLO tournament, while Joe Hachem will host his own Special Feature event on October 25 and 26.
For more information, visit the Crown Melbourne website.
| Place | Player | Prize Money |
| 1 | Joe Hachem | $16,000 |
| 2 | Chi Troung | $10,300 |
| 3 | Perry Jeffs | $6,700 |
| 4 | Michal Jalc | $5,200 |
| 5 | Jim Chahoud | $4,100 |
| 6 | Simon Chahine | $3,600 |
| 7 | Vasilios Argyros | $3,100 |
| 8 | Benjamin Pockett | $2,600 |