Entries
138/329
Total Chips
13,160,000
Average
95,362
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Day 1d of the WPT Prime Championship has become the largest flight of the tournament and the only one to surpass 300 entries, with 329 players taking their shot at bagging a stack for Day 2.
With Day 1a attracting 235 entries, Day 1b 223, Day 1c 249, and today's Day 1d adding another 329, the WPT Prime Championship has drawn a total of 1,036 entries across its four starting flights.
So far, 97 players have secured their spots in Day 2, with that number set to increase once play concludes in Day 1d. The full prize pool and payouts will be announced before play begins on Monday, September 21, with the returning field expected to be right around the money bubble.
While the Prime Championship ticks towards its dinner break, there is action elsewhere inside The Star.
The Bondi Iceberg single day event has reached its final table with a top prize of AUD 8,963.
Josh Baraba, Gening Dai, and Edoardo Sforza are just a few of the names competing for the Boomerang!
1st - $8,963
2nd - $5,975
3rd - $4,051
4th - $2,849
5th - $2,081
6th - $1,582
7th - $1,253
8th - $1,036
9th - $896
WPT Prim Championship Event TrophyDay 1d of the WPT Prime Championship has just surpassed the 250-entry mark, making it the largest starting flight of the tournament so far.
With registration remaining open until the start of Level 10, around another two hours and 45 minutes from now, that number is expected to continue climbing as the overall field edges closer to 1,000 entries.
Flashback to yesterday's Day 1c, where stacks had become a little shallower after registration closed and a four-way all-in erupted, with surprisingly premium holdings across the board.
'VB', the small blind player and Rob Spano in the big blind were all at risk, while an early-position player had everyone covered with a mountain of chips.
'VB' had woken up with pocket kings, Spano and the small blind were both armed with ace-king, while the covering player had pocket queens and the chance to send three players packing in one fell swoop.
Would 'VB's' cowboys hold-up, sending two players to the rail and almost quadrupling his stack? Or would the deck have other ideas and leave him heading for the exit with nothing but a brutal bad beat story to tell?
Luckily, Somuchpoker had a camera rolling to catch the carnage and see who was left standing when the dust settled.
Martin WardA regular on the Australian poker circuit, Martin Ward, who also finished third in the WPT Mini Main Event at WPT Prime Gold Coast in 2023, was just sent to the cashier's desk to re-enter after finding himself on the wrong end of a brutal cooler.
With blinds at 400/800 on a flop of 5x 6x 7x, Ward and Sam Pantos got all of their chips into the middle, creating a pot of over 100,000 with Ward at risk.
Martin Ward: 4x 3x
Sam Pantos: 9x 8x
Both players had flopped a straight, but Pantos had the nuts, leaving Ward drawing only to a chop.
There was no rescue for Ward on the rest of the runout, sending him to the rail while Pantos dragged in the huge pot and climbed to one of the biggest stacks in the room.
Ward wasn't gone for long, though. He quickly headed to the cashier's desk, put up the entry fee, and is now back in with a fresh starting stack at a nearby table.
Sam Pantos| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
SP Sam Pantos ![Australia [AUS]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/au.svg "Australia [AUS]"){kind=small} Australia | 150,000(188 BB) | 107,000 |
MW Martin Ward (3) Australia | 40,000(50 BB) |
Ailen JiThe Player of the Festival and Team of the Festival standings have been updated as the race for both titles continues at WPT Australia 2026.
Ailen Ji remains at the top of the Player of the Festival standings with 750 points. Ji followed up his victory in the WPT Australian Poker Cup with a fourth-place finish in Event #15: One Shot Grind to strengthen his position at the top.
Sitting close behind is the man on fire at WPT Australia, Roberto Damelian, with 700 points. Damelian has produced two remarkable heads-up comebacks on his way to becoming the only two-time champion of the festival so far.
Rob DamelianDavid Hirst occupies third place with 630 points, having been denied a title by Damelian heads-up, while Thomas Lee is also firmly in the mix with 585 points following a victory and a runner-up finish.
In the Team of the Festival race, 'Not a Hobby' has begun to pull away from the other five teams with 1,305 points, but Damelian's two victories have helped propel 'Awesome 'Foursome +1' into second place with 1,010 points.
With an AUD 5,000 WPT Passport up for grabs for the Player of the Festival and an AUD 7,500 top prize awaiting the winning Team of the Festival, there is still plenty of time for movement in both races, especially with more points available for deep runs in the festival's major events.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
IL Ian Logan Australia | 75,000 | 35,000 |
AJ Ailen Ji Australia | 65,000 | 25,000 |
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 | 50,000 | 10,000 |
DT Daniel Tolomeo Australia | 50,000 | 10,000 |
SP Sam Pantos Australia | 43,000 | 3,000 |
MJ Matthew Jones 1 Australia | 40,000 | |
WT Weiming Tang Australia | 25,000 | -15,000 |
TE Travis Endersby Australia | 25,000 | -15,000 |
It has just been announced that the prize pool for the WPT Prime Championship Event has surpassed AUD 1,000,000.
With almost seven hours of registration still available in Day 1d, the fourth and final starting flight, that figure is expected to grow significantly before the field is finalized.
The official prize pool and full payout information will be announced shortly after registration closes.
The final chance for players to find a bag in the AUD 1,500 WPT Prime Championship Event plays out today with Day 1d.
Three flights have already been completed and the prize pool is creeping up towards the AUD 1,000,000 mark.
Players will once again begin with 40,000 chips and play up to 16 40-minute levels, or until 12.5% of the field remains, whichever comes first.
Somuchpoker will be on the tournament floor throughout the day, bringing you the numbers and chip counts as the WPT Prime Championship continues.