Over the past year, Australian poker pro Joseph Antar has quietly accumulated one of the strongest records in the country.
Since April 2025, Antar has achieved a series of impressive results, including winning The Centurian event at the APLPT (AUD 39,835), taking the Trojan event at the 2025 Australian Poker Open (AUD 250,000), and winning the Sydney Championship High Roller event (AUD 113,823).
More recently, Antar also finished as runner-up in the Poker Palace Christmas Cup (AUD 50,000) and third in The Titan event at the 2026 Australian Poker Open (AUD 45,000).
However, this wave of success reached new heights at the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Tournament presented by CrownBet. Antar participated. After three days of intense competition, [player name] emerged victorious from a field of 464 participants in the 5,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Challenge, winning [title] ***The champion received a prize of AUD 482,405 and his first Aussie Millions title.
Aussie Millions $5,000 Challenge Final Table Results
| Ranking | player | country | Prize money (Australian dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Antar | Australia | $482,405 |
| 2 | Jennifer Cassell | Australia | $290,280 |
| 3 | Michael Tomeny | United States | $188,895 |
| 4 | Kahle Burns | Australia | $141,725 |
| 5 | Michael Gathy | Belgium | $108,955 |
| 6 | Vincent Wan | Australia | $87,510 |
| 7 | Xiaosheng Zheng | China | $72,570 |
| 8 | Troy Sweet | Australia | $57,630 |
| 9 | Thijs Hilberts | Netherlands | $43,755 |
Champion's reaction
This victory represents the biggest prize of Antar's career, achieved amidst a field brimming with poker talent. Antar ultimately triumphed over all opponents, including Kahle Burns, Vincent Wan, Joe Hachem, and Jennifer Cassell, who prevailed in a hard-fought heads-up match, to secure the title and solidify his status as a top professional on the Australian Championship Tour.
"That's why you participate in the tournament—to win the trophy."
Despite his major victory, Antar remained calm after the win and reflected on its significance to him.
“I mean, it means everything. That’s what you’re in for in tournaments—to win trophies,” Antar said. “So, yeah—very exciting. Excited about my performance, I played pretty well. But all in all, it’s really cool.”
While many players might point to a key moment or turning point in the deeper rounds, Antar attributes his success to a solid, methodical strategy and a focus on the process rather than the result.
When asked if there was ever a moment when he felt the championship was his for the taking, Antar replied, "No, actually. I just felt like I was playing really well, but I never try to get too fixated on the idea that 'I'm going to win,' because poker is just that unpredictable. I just try to stay clear-headed about the situation and what's going on."
Antar attributes his recent success to his shift from cash games to tournaments over the past two years.
“I’m primarily a cash game player, but I’ve been studying tournaments for the past few years, which has helped me a lot,” he said. “I think my cash game background gave me an advantage in the early stages—I felt very comfortable in those situations. Then, everything just fell into place. And I’ve also had a lot of luck.”
Finally, Antar took the time to emphasize the importance of the return of iconic events like Aussie Millions to players in the region.
"I think this is actually very important because these tournaments were what motivated me to start playing poker. Playing in bigger tournaments is everyone's dream. When I started playing poker in bars, I hoped that one day I could play in these tournaments. So, yes, it's great that it's back. Hopefully, there will be more and bigger tournaments in the Aussie Millions in the future."
Day 3 Results
Only 26 players hoping to advance to the final table and become the latest Aussie Millions champion entered Crown Casino, with Luke Martinelli leading by an overwhelming chip lead.
Ehsan Amiri got off to a hot start, doubling up his chips three times in the first two levels. In one hand, he defeated Day 1 chip leader Corey Kempson in a coin toss, leaving his opponent with only two big blinds. Kempson was unable to mount a comeback and became one of the first players eliminated.
Aussie Millions ambassador and WSOP Main Event champion Hachem was also eliminated earlier in the day. He entered the day with a small chip stack and went all-in pre-flop with suited Aces. Hachem ultimately ran into Ehsan's pocket Jacks and failed to improve his hand, resulting in his elimination.
After their first break, Antar started to pick up the pace, eliminating Billy Argyros, Linus Goh, and Jian Ting Cai in succession. Antar called when they went all-in pre-flop, and ended up losing regardless of whether his opponents were behind or ahead.
The elimination pace then stabilized, with Wan surging his chip stack by eliminating Romain Morvan and Rehman Kassam. Surprisingly, Martinelli failed to eliminate anyone on Day 3, as all his pre-flop all-in duels ended with his opponents doubling up. Despite a significant chip lead at the start, Martinelli ultimately finished in a disappointing 11th place. He went all-in against Burns with AQ against pocket eights, only to lose in a coin toss.
Despite Amiri's initial good fortune, he became the final table bubble boy in a coin toss duel with Antar. Amiri, with JJ against Antar's KQ, hit trips on the flop, but Antar eventually made a "Broadway" straight, taking the tournament to the final nine-player table.
At the start of the final table, Thijs Hilberts was the only clearly short-stacked player, and he soon fought back with pocket eights against Antar's A-9 flush. Antar eventually hit an Ace on the board, and Hilberts became the first player eliminated.
Antar wasted no time using his new chips and extracted a meager value from Troy Sweet, leaving him short-stacked. Sweet couldn't recover and was eliminated in eighth place, followed closely by Xiaosheng Zheng in seventh.
Defending Aussie Millions Main Event champion Wan was the next player eliminated. He faced Burns in a huge pot, where Burns hit Wan's top pair on the river to make a straight. Wan couldn't escape the predicament and, after calling Burns' all-in and seeing his opponent show a strong hand, could only accept sixth place.
Despite Burns' well-timed aggressiveness in extending his chip lead, Michael Gathy couldn't hold on and was eliminated in fifth place. Then, the usually low-key Michael Tomeny unexpectedly took the chip lead. He flopped AK against Burns' pocket Jacks all-in and hit a pair of Kings on the river, dealing a heavy blow to Burns. From that point on, Burns went from a favorite to fourth – he went all-in with 7 points and was flopped by Antar's 10-2.
Another key hand for Antar came after he saw through Tomeny's daring bluff. Tomeny, now low on chips after the risky move, went all-in pre-flop with K-10, only to be outplayed by Antar's 9-7, setting up a heads-up match between Antar and Cassell.
At the start of heads-up play, Antar held a 2.5:1 chip advantage over Cassell, but Cassell remained highly motivated. After falling behind 3:1 in the very first hand, Cassell fought back fiercely, winning a series of pots and narrowing the gap.
Cassell then lost a large pot after Antar made top pair on the turn and captured two streets of value, but Cassell refused to give up easily. After winning several more medium pots, Cassell narrowed the gap between himself and Antar to within 20 big blinds, and the game became a close contest.
However, just a few hands later, Antar got pocket aces and raised from the button. Cassell defended with A-7 in the big blind and called his bets on both the flop and turn, then a 7 fell on the river, giving her a pair.
After checking, Cassell faced an all-in from Antar, which caused her to fall into a long period of contemplation. She eventually put her remaining chips into the pot, but received bad news.
This call decided her fate, and just like that, Antar was crowned champion.
This concludes PokerNews' coverage of this event. For more live coverage of the $25,000 Challenger and Main Event, please click here to visit our live news center.
Common Mistakes Review: Why Do You Keep Losing? The Problem Lies Here
Most players lose money not because of luck, but because they repeat the same mistakes.
These debriefings will help you identify the most common mistakes and understand how to correct them:
Why does constantly calling cause you to lose money?
[Bluff Imbalance] What are the costs of excessive bluffing?
Why do you always lose on the last street? [Never fold]
[Slow Play Error] Why do I lose big pots when I play slowly?
What's the problem with betting too small?
Why do people lose money when they bet too much?
[Emotional Issues] How do emotions affect your decision-making?
[Range Misjudgment] Analysis of Errors Caused by a Lack of Understanding of Range
[Location Ignore] What are the consequences of ignoring location?
[Misinterpreting People] The Impact of Misinterpreting an Opponent's Behavior
Avoiding mistakes is more important than learning new skills. By reviewing these common mistakes, you can quickly identify your weaknesses, correct your decision-making habits, and reduce unnecessary losses.
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