Joris Michl Secures Career-High Score with APO 2026 Platinum Victory

The Platinum Player Championships at the Australian Poker Open (APO) 2026 has been in the history books at Doltone House Western Sydney, as the Netherlands’ Joris Michl outlasted the sizeable field to become the champion and win his very first APO trophy.

The event attracted 1,002 entries across six opening flights, creating a huge AUD 1,302,600 prize pool, with 125 players paid. Michl outplayed a strong final table that included Australian pro Vincent Wan, who has nearly $1.5 million in lifetime earnings, and fellow Australian Liam Jehu, who has almost $1 million in total live earnings with four APO cashes recorded, and successfully navigated his way to the title.

Final Table Results

*𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦

Michl's Take on the Win

A couple of days after his victory at Doltone House, Michl was still taking stock of what he'd achieved. "It's pretty cool to win a massive amount of money," he said of his AUD 225,500 ($159,300) score. "I think I bested my previous best by like 20k or 30k... my highest score ever, so that's very nice."

The road to the trophy was anything but smooth. Day 1 went to plan, but Day 2 opened with a rough patch — a few lost pots before he found his footing again. "I was able to grind it up a little bit," he recalled, eventually doubling his stack without needing a showdown on the way to the final two tables.

The key moment came eight-handed. After flopping trips on an 8-8-10 board against an opponent's two pair, Michl deployed a deliberately "bluffy" river sizing to induce a call. "I knew I was going to win the hand, and if he calls, I'm also moving into chip lead," he said. From there, he used his stack to apply what he described as "enormous ICM pressure" on the remaining field.

Michl also reserved a mention for friend and fellow competitor Neng, whom he eliminated along the way. "Special shout-out to Neng for taking his lovely chips," he said jovially. "It's always nice to get his chips."

With a career-best score and his first APO title secured, Michl is already planning his next moves. "I will most likely go to Aussie Millions after this," he said, "and then I'll go to the WSOP."

Heads-Up Against Paawan Bansal

After the final duel against India’s Paawan Bansal, the Dutch pro claimed the title and the AUD 225,500 first-place prize. Michl’s victory not only earned him his maiden APO title but also set a new milestone in his poker career, as he recorded a career-high score and surpassed his previous best of $135,890 from the Korea Poker Cup Main Event.

As reported by Life of Poker, the final two players agreed to a heads-up deal, locking in the largest payouts while leaving the trophy to be decided. In the final hand, Michl’s king paired the board on the turn, beating Bansal, who finished as the runner-up.

This win pushed Michl up almost 30 places on the Netherlands all-time money list and leaves his APO 2026 run with a career-best title and growing momentum worldwide.

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All data, figures and images courtesy of Australian Poker Open.