Ailen Ji is a Chinese poker player based in Melbourne, Australia, with more than $115,000 in recorded live tournament earnings. Also listed in tournament databases as Ji Yushun and Yushun Ji, he won the 2026 Australian Poker Cup at WPT Australia for AUD 83,740 ($60,293). Ji has also recorded results at the Aussie Millions, World Series of Poker and previous World Poker Tour festivals.

Career Earnings & Biggest Results

Ailen Ji has at least $115,031 in recorded live tournament earnings when his 2026 Australian Poker Cup victory is added to his previous results. His tournament records can also be found under his real name, Yushun Ji, with The Hendon Mob listing him as Ji Yushun.

Ji recorded the biggest result of his career in September 2026 by winning the AUD 1,150 Australian Poker Cup at WPT Australia 2026. He defeated a 441-entry field at The Star Sydney to earn AUD 83,740 ($60,293), an AUD 1,500 WPT Prime Championship seat in Las Vegas and the Australian Poker Cup trophy.

One year earlier, Ji finished third in the 2025 WPT Australia Mystery Bounty. He collected AUD 39,180 ($25,861) after finishing behind Thijs Hilberts and Ricardo Bono.

Ji also cashed twice during WPT Prime Gold Coast in 2024. He placed 15th in a Mystery Bounty event for AUD 5,642 ($3,649) and finished 38th in the festival’s opening event for AUD 2,045 ($1,344).

Additional results include 71st place in the 2025 Victorian Poker Championship Main Event for AUD 5,695 ($3,652) and 81st place in the 2026 Aussie Millions Opening Event for AUD 3,900 ($2,781). Ji has also recorded multiple World Series of Poker cashes, including an online bracelet event result in 2022.

Read the full story of Ailen Ji’s Australian Poker Cup victory.

Ailen Ji WPT Australia — Credit: The Star Sydney Poker

Biography & Poker Background

Ailen Ji is from China and is based in Melbourne, Australia. He has asked to be publicly known as Ailen Ji, although tournament databases record his results under the names Yushun Ji, YuShun Ji or Ji Yushun.

Ji’s recorded tournament history stretches back to at least 2018, when he finished third in a recurring No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Crown Melbourne. He later competed internationally, including appearances at the World Series of Poker and WPT Korea.

Ji became a regular presence in major Australian tournaments, recording cashes at WPT Prime Gold Coast, the Victorian Poker Championship, WPT Australia and the Aussie Millions before securing his biggest title at WPT Australia 2026.

Ji advanced from Day 1b of the Australian Poker Cup with 290,000 chips before reaching the nine-player final table. He began the final table with approximately 1.6 million chips and was among the shorter stacks, but survived several important hands before defeating Ross Coveney heads-up.

Following the victory, Ji said he was too excited to remember every key hand from his final-table run. He also revealed that he planned to take the tournament’s 19-kilogram trophy back to his home in Melbourne.

Play Style & Strategy

Ji’s Australian Poker Cup victory showed his willingness to make difficult calls and challenge aggressive opponents.

Discussing one of the biggest hands of the tournament, Ji explained that his opponent was the chip leader and had a wide range when playing from the small blind against the big blind. He believed that range could include hands such as eight-nine of diamonds, queen-ten and several bluffs.

Ji acknowledged that his bluff-catcher could have been beaten by a hand such as king-ten, but felt he could not allow his opponent to continue exploiting him. His read proved correct and helped move him closer to the title.

Ji also credited good fortune for part of his heads-up victory. He felt Coveney played well, but said he connected with more boards and regularly made hands that were slightly stronger than his opponent’s.

Online Presence & Further Reading

More information about Ailen Ji’s results and Australian Poker Cup victory can be found through these links:

The Best of Ailen Ji: Exclusive Poker Image Gallery