After six years, the Australian Million Poker Championship, once regarded as the benchmark event in the Asia-Pacific poker scene, has finally rung the opening bell again at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The 2026 season officially kicked off on April 24 and will continue until May 10, spanning 17 days with a total of 18 championship events and an estimated total prize pool of 14 million Australian dollars. The organizers have positioned this comeback as a significant gathering for the global poker community, and the newly renovated Crown Poker Room provides a brand-new physical stage for the event. The opening highlight is the curtain-raiser with an entry fee of 1,500 Australian dollars and a guaranteed prize pool of 1 million Australian dollars, which starts with multiple groups, giving players ample opportunity to enter. This long-awaited poker festival not only marks a return on the competitive level but also brings back the tradition of the charity challenge, which had already raised 25,000 Australian dollars for a street medical organization through a celebrity invitational before the main event began.
From the curtain-raiser to the main event, the tournament structure intensifies step by step
The design of the curtain-raiser sets a fast-paced tone for the entire poker festival. Day 1A kicks off first, with each player receiving 40,000 chips, completing 15 levels of intense competition, each level lasting 40 minutes, with a break every three levels, and late registration closing at level 10. Day 1B, Day 1C, and an accelerated format Day 1D will take place during the opening weekend, with survivors advancing to Day 2 for deeper 60-minute levels, culminating in the crowning of the first champion of the event on April 28. The poker festival's tier covers a wide buy-in range from 1,500 to 25,000 Australian dollars, catering to both the participation of the majority of ordinary players and providing a high-stakes platform for top players. The main event, with a buy-in of 10,600 Australian dollars, will take center stage from May 4 to 10, when the most significant champion of this edition of the Australian Million will be determined.
Legendary faces and new generation players compete together
The lineup of players for the 2026 event spans multiple generations in the poker world. Defending World Poker Tournament main event champion Michael Mizrachi, 2005 Australian WSOP champion Joe Hachem, and Poker Hall of Fame member Van Marcus all attended as ambassadors of the event. More notably, NBA player Josh Giddey has also been confirmed to participate in this edition, adding a cross-disciplinary topic to the poker table. In the charity challenge, Andrew Bassat defeated Tom Hawkins to win the championship, Joe Hachem was eliminated early, while James Hachem and Antonia Hachem both made it to the final table, with James finishing in fifth place. This intergenerational and cross-disciplinary player structure perfectly reflects the comeback momentum accumulated by the Australian Million during its six-year hiatus.
PASA official website continues to track the dynamics of the linkage between the Asia-Pacific poker tournaments and the gambling entertainment industry, noting that the restart of the Australian Million after a six-year gap means much more than just the return of a championship tournament. As the Asia-Pacific poker landscape reshuffles post-pandemic, whether Melbourne can reclaim its position as the regional poker center with the revival of this old-brand event will be one of the most intriguing suspense on the poker tables in the coming weeks.
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