Entries
58/235
Total Chips
9,400,000
Average
162,069
We've been featured in
The remaining 58 players are heading for another 15-minute break. The plan is to play through another four 40-minute levels, or until 30 players remain, whichever comes first.
Somuchpoker will provide the survivor list and end-of-day chip counts before cards get in the air for Day 1b of the WPT Prime Championship.
That concludes today's coverage. Be sure to tune back in on Friday, September 18, for chip counts and updates from the second flight of the event.
Roberto DamelianElsewhere at WPT Australia 2026, while Day 1a of the WPT Prime Championship Event continues to play out, Australian poker veteran Roberto Damelian has just added another title to his resume after taking down the two-day Outback Survivor Bounty.
The tournament attracted 148 entries, with Damelian battling back heads-up to secure the victory, the AUD 24,975 top prize and the event's WPT boomerang trophy.
Damelian is no stranger to success on the Australian circuit, having amassed more than $1.45 million in live tournament earnings across a career stretching back more than 15 years. His latest victory adds another trophy to an already extensive list of results on home soil.
Final TableDamelian didn't quite finish the job in time to hop into Day 1a of the WPT Prime Championship Event, but with three more starting flights still to come, he will have plenty of opportunities to try and run up a stack for Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
PV Peter Vrljic ![Australia [AUS]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/au.svg "Australia [AUS]"){kind=small} Australia | 200,000 | 160,000 |
SY Steven Yahko Australia | 198,000 | 158,000 |
CB Craig Blight Australia | 192,000 | 70,000 |
BS Bryan Suasono ![New Zealand [NZL]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/nz.svg "New Zealand [NZL]"){kind=small} New Zealand | 183,000 | 30,700 |
JP Jim Pizanias Australia | 175,000 | 135,000 |
SP Sam Pantos Australia | 170,000 | 130,000 |
NB Nicholas Bovey Australia | 170,000 | 130,000 |
SJ Simon Javor Australia | 165,000 | 125,000 |
MO Michael O'grady 1 Australia | 145,000 | 105,000 |
Player of the Festival and Team of the Festival TrophyAfter 12 events at WPT Australia 2026, the races for Player of the Festival and Team of the Festival are beginning to take shape.
Ailen Ji, who is listed as Yushun Ji in the standings, currently leads the Player of the Festival race with 600 points after taking down the Australian Poker Cup, the first major tournament of the series. Thomas Lee is close behind with 585 points, thanks to a first and runner-up finish, while Simon Javor sits third on 530.
The eventual Player of the Festival will receive their own trophy along with an AUD 5,000 WPT Passport, which can be put toward future WPT tournaments.
Player of the Festival StandingsIn the Team of the Festival race, 'Not A Hobby' leads the way with 1,005 points, ahead of 'Value-Regs' on 925 and Team 'GoldBet' on 340.
'Not A Hobby' is captained by Zac Vigar, who has contributed 405 points thanks to a deep run in the opening event and a victory a few days ago. Alongside Vigar on the teamsheet are Nick Lee (275), Troy Sweet (150), Jack Sweet (125), and Joshua Baraba (50).
Current Team of the FestivalThe top three teams will receive cash prizes, with AUD 7,500 going to the winning team, AUD 4,500 to the runners-up, and AUD 3,000 to the third-place finishers. More importantly, the winning team will also take home the Team of the Festival trophy.
Team of the Festival StandingsWith 24 events still to be tallied, there are plenty of points still up for grabs in both races. That leaves ample opportunity for players who have yet to even appear on the leaderboard to leapfrog their way up the standings and challenge for the top spot.
With Day 1a of the Prime Championship here at WPT Australia 2026 having already breached 200 entries, here is a look at some of the notable chip stacks from the field.
Late registration remains open until roughly 9:45 p.m. at the start of Level 10, so that number is expected to grow even further.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
BS Bryan Suasono New Zealand | 152,300 | 75,300 |
TO Travis O'Grady Australia | 137,800 | 44,300 |
CB Craig Blight Australia | 122,000 | 31,500 |
KD Ken Demlakian Australia | 85,600 | 33,000 |
EA Ehsan Amiri Australia | 68,700 | 30,500 |
TK Todor Kondevski Australia | 62,100 | -7,900 |
JL Johan Lees Australia | 45,300 | 5,300 |
AJ Ailen Ji Australia | 40,000 | -48,300 |
MM Matthew Maks Australia | 37,500 | -2,500 |
NW Nicholas Woodhams ![United Kingdom [GBR]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/gb.svg "United Kingdom [GBR]"){kind=small} United Kingdom | 33,000 | -7,000 |
The players are taking a 45-minute dinner break and will return around 7:33 p.m. When play resumes, blinds will be 5,000/1,000 wth a big blind ante of 1,000.
Late registration remains open until the start of Level 10, which will be at approximately 9:45 p.m.
Ehsan AmiriEhsan Amiri has been seated in the WPT Prime Australia Championship since almost the start of play and is certainly one to watch as the day progresses. The Sydney-based Australian professional is a regular on the international circuit and has amassed over $2,200,000 in live tournament earnings, placing him 30th on Australia's all-time money list.
Amiri's biggest result came at EPT Barcelona in 2022, where he finished runner-up in the €10,300 High Roller for $332,696. Amiri has since recorded results across major tours, including the WSOP, WPT, and Triton Poker Series, regularly competing at some of the biggest buy-ins
Ehsan Amiri raised to 1,500 from middle position, with the cutoff and small blind making the call.
After it checked to Amiri on the K♥ Q♦ T♣ flop, he continuation-bet for 2,500, which only the cutoff called.
A board-pairing K♠ came on the turn and Amiri slid out a second barrel, this time for 6,000. Again, Amiri's opponent called.
The 6♥ completed the board and Amiri wasted no time in pushing his entire stack of 21,000 into the middle. The cutoff was visibly agonized by the spot he was in and, after deliberating for around three minutes, reluctantly folded giving up the pot to Amiri.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
EA Ehsan Amiri Australia | 43,100(72 BB) | 4,900 |
Deborah AnWith Day 1a of the WPT Prime Championship underway and attention turning to the second major event of the festival, now is also a good time to catch up on everything that's happened over the past couple of days at The Star Sydney, as the opening week of WPT Australia 2026 comes to a close.
Deborah An was among the latest winners after taking down the WPT Ladies Australian Championship, with four other trophies also awarded over the past two days. Catch up on all the latest action and results from WPT Australia, as well as what's still to come on the schedule, on Somuchpoker's homepage.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
WM Wade Mccarroll Australia | 155,000 | 115,000 |
TO Travis O'Grady Australia | 93,500 | 53,500 |
CB Craig Blight Australia | 90,500 | 50,500 |
AJ Ailen Ji Australia | 88,300 | 48,300 |
BS Bryan Suasono New Zealand | 77,000 | 37,000 |
TK Todor Kondevski Australia | 70,000 | 30,000 |
KD Ken Demlakian Australia | 52,600 | 12,600 |
EA Ehsan Amiri Australia | 38,200 | -1,800 |
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
DA Dane Alwright Australia | 40,000 |
JB Joshua Baraba Australia | 40,000 |
CB Craig Blight Australia | 40,000 |
CB Callum Blinco Australia | 40,000 |
EB Elie Boustany Australia | 40,000 |
BC Barrington Calia Australia | 40,000 |
SC Sam Capra Australia | 40,000 |
JC Jian Cen Australia | 40,000 |
VC Vincent Chung Australia | 40,000 |
AF Andrew Fisher 1 Australia | 40,000 |
MF Michael Flanagan Australia | 40,000 |
DF Daniel Francis (2) Australia | 40,000 |
HH Hussein Hassan Australia | 40,000 |
DH David Hirst Australia | 40,000 |
LH Lachlan Hoenig Australia | 40,000 |
SJ Simon Javor Australia | 40,000 |
AJ Ailen Ji Australia | 40,000 |
FK Fahri Kaplan Australia | 40,000 |
TK Todor Kondevski Australia | 40,000 |
KK Kenkou Kudo Australia | 40,000 |
RL Romel Lazar Australia | 40,000 |
JL Johan Lees Australia | 40,000 |
DL Daniel Lei ![United States of America [USA]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/us.svg "United States of America [USA]"){kind=small} United States of America | 40,000 |
LM Ljudevit Marinic Australia | 40,000 |
WM Wade Mccarroll Australia | 40,000 |
FM Frank Mikletic Australia | 40,000 |
BH Bac Ha Nguyen ![Viet Nam [VNM]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/vn.svg "Viet Nam [VNM]"){kind=small} Viet Nam | 40,000 |
PP Paul Pederson New Zealand | 40,000 |
DP Dimitrios Pizanias Australia | 40,000 |
MR Matthew Rolfe Australia | 40,000 |
PS Pankaj Sadana Australia | 40,000 |
TS Tolly Sakellariou Australia | 40,000 |
SS Sasha Skalrud Australia | 40,000 |
BS Bryan Suasono New Zealand | 40,000 |
TS Troy Sweet Australia | 40,000 |
The second major tournament of WPT Australia 2026 gets underway today at The Star Sydney, with Day 1a of the AUD 1,500 WPT Prime Championship Event taking center stage from 2:30 p.m.
Four starting flights will take place across the next four days. Each Day 1 flight will see players begin with 40,000 chips and play up to 16 40-minute levels, with play ending earlier if the field is reduced to 12.5% of the starting entries. Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 10, with unlimited re-entries available.
The survivors from all four starting flights will combine for Day 2 on Monday, September 21, when levels increase to 60 minutes in length and remain that way through the final day on Tuesday. The nine-handed final table will also be streamed on a delay across the WPT's Facebook and Twitch channels.
Somuchpoker will be on the tournament floor throughout the event, bringing you live updates from Day 1a and all four starting flights through to the conclusion of the tournament.