Ailen Ji’s King-High Hero Call Fuels AUD 83,740 Win in Australian Poker Cup

Ailen Ji began the final table of the Australian Poker Cup as one of the shortest stacks. A few hours later, he was trying to work out where to put a handcrafted crystal trophy weighing more than 16 kilograms.

The Chinese-Australian player defeated Ireland’s Ross Coveney heads-up to win the opening event of WPT Australia 2026 at The Star Sydney .

Ji collected the AUD 83,740 ($60,293) top prize and the enormous trophy. His victory also came with an AUD 1,500 WPT Prime Championship seat in Las Vegas.

The AUD 1,150 Australian Poker Cup attracted 441 entries to create a AUD 441,000 ($317,520) prize pool, with 56 players finishing in the money.

#1 Australian Poker Cup (1,150 AUD)

Total Prize USD

$317,520

Total Prize

441K AUD

Entries

441

ITM

56

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	A$83,740 $60,293	AJ Ailen Ji Australia
2	A$53,000 $38,160	RC Ross Coveney Ireland
3	A$39,000 $28,080	DH David Hirst Australia
4	A$29,000 $20,880	FR Filip Radic Australia
5	A$22,400 $16,128	SP Sam Pantos Australia
6	A$17,000 $12,240	YA Yoad Agmon Australia
7	A$13,100 $9,432	GL Gongli Li Australia
8	A$10,200 $7,344	DT Daniel Tolomeo Australia
9	A$8,700 $6,264	MM Matthew Maks Australia

Check the 56 Payouts & Results ...

Ailen Ji: “Maybe I Was Just Luckier”

Ji gave his winner interview to Somuchpoker in Chinese, with his answers translated into English.

“Very excited,” he said when asked how he felt immediately after the victory.

“Overall, I was quite lucky throughout this tournament. I had around 1.6 million chips when we reached the final table, and there were several key hands. I can’t really remember them right now because I’m too excited.”

One hand will almost certainly return to his memory once the excitement settles down.

With four players remaining, Ji made an extraordinary call for his tournament life with king-high against Filip Radic.

Radic raised from the small blind with queen-ten and Ji defended the big blind with king-four. Ji called on an ace-jack-six flop before calling another bet when a deuce arrived on the turn.

The river was a five, leaving Ji with king-high and a very expensive decision. Radic moved all-in, putting Ji to the test for his remaining 2,900,000.

Ji used a time bank before making the call. Radic could only show queen-high, sending the huge pot across the table to Ji.

“He was the chip leader in that hand. It was small blind against big blind, so I thought his range was very wide,” Ji explained.

“He could have hands such as eight-nine of diamonds or something like queen-ten. My biggest concern was that my bluff-catcher might not be strong enough, especially if he had king-ten.”

“Apart from that, I thought I couldn’t allow him to keep exploiting me like that. I believed he still had a lot of bluffs.”

He was right, and the call sent him into the chip lead.

Ji Climbs From Seventh To First

Ji began the nine-handed final table seventh in chips with 1,595,000, worth 27 big blinds. Coveney held the overnight lead with 5,660,000, more than 20 big blinds clear of his closest challenger.

Matthew Maks was the first player eliminated, finishing ninth for AUD 8,700. Daniel Tolomeo followed in eighth for AUD 10,200.

Gongli Li departed in seventh for AUD 13,100, while Yoad Agmon collected AUD 17,000 for sixth place.

Sam Pantos, who finished second in the counts on Day 2, then saw his challenge end in fifth, earning AUD 22,400.

Ji’s king-high call left Radic trying to rebuild. Radic eventually moved all-in with pocket nines against Coveney’s ace-ten, but an ace on the flop put Coveney ahead. He improved to two pair on the turn, sending Radic out in fourth for AUD 29,000.

Pocket Fours Bring Ji Another Huge Pot

Ji found himself on the fortunate side of a bad situation against David Hirst with three players remaining.

Hirst three-bet from the big blind with pocket jacks before calling Ji’s four-bet shove. Ji held pocket fours and remained behind on an ace-eight-deuce flop.

A four on the turn completely changed the hand, giving Ji a set and leaving Hirst searching for one of the two remaining jacks. A king completed the board, sending Hirst to the rail in third place for AUD 39,000.

That left Ji heads-up against Coveney with a narrow advantage, but the early pots went the Irishman’s way. Coveney soon pulled the stacks level before Ji began moving ahead again.

Ji reclaimed the lead after calling a preflop three-bet with ace-seven. Neither player connected with the board, allowing Ji’s ace-high to beat Coveney’s king-queen at showdown.

The tournament’s most painful river for Coveney followed shortly afterwards.

Coveney held ace-eight and flopped trip eights on an eight-jack-eight board. Ji had jack-nine and called the flop before leading when a ten arrived on the turn, giving him an open-ended straight draw.

A seven completed Ji’s straight on the river. He bet almost the pot and Coveney used several time banks before making the call with his trips.

The pot gave Ji a commanding lead, although the eventual champion felt fortune had played its part throughout the heads-up battle.

“Yes, although I think my opponent also played very well,” Ji said when asked whether he felt he had an edge heads-up.

“Maybe I was just luckier. I kept connecting with the board while he didn’t, and my hands were always slightly better than his.”

One Final Race For The Australian Poker Cup

Coveney completed from the button and Ji raised to 500,000 in the big blind. Coveney responded by moving all-in for 5,800,000, and Ji immediately called with his first chance to end the tournament.

Coveney held pocket jacks, while Ji went into the final race with ace-queen of clubs.

A four-four-ten flop kept Coveney ahead, but a queen on the turn paired Ji’s overcard. Coveney also picked up a diamond flush draw, giving him several ways to stay alive.

A deuce completed the board and changed nothing, confirming Ji as the Australian Poker Cup champion.

Coveney earned AUD 53,000 ($38,160) for his runner-up finish, while Ji completed his rise from seventh at the start of the final table to first at the end.

There was just one problem left to solve.

Organizers wanted the Australian Poker Cup trophy to make the festival opener feel as special as the Championship Events. Their answer was a fully handcrafted crystal cup weighing more than 16 kilograms and standing 48 centimetres tall.

Asked where he planned to put it, Ji already had a destination in mind.

“I’ll put it in my home in Melbourne.”

Getting it there might require its own strategy.

All images courtesy of Star Poker.

Follow Us