Meet the Last Four WPT Australia Champions

The World Poker Tour returns Down Under this month, with WPT Australia taking over The Star Sydney from September 10-30 for three weeks of tournament action.

The festival features 36 tournaments, but the biggest prize of all will be decided in the A$5,000 WPT Australia Championship, which runs from September 24-30 and concludes with a livestreamed final table.

Ahead of another name being added to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, PokerNews looked back at the players who have won WPT Australia over the last four years.

David Tang, Richard Lee, James Obst and Alan Pham have all lifted the trophy since 2022, with their victories producing everything from unlikely tournament runs to one of Australian poker’s biggest names adding another major title to his collection.

So, who will follow in their footsteps in Sydney this September?

The Last Four WPT Australia Champions

2025: Alan Pham Breaks Through the $1 Million Mark

Last year’s WPT Australia Championship saw Alan Pham come through a 600-entry field at The Star Sydney to claim his first WPT title and the biggest live tournament score of his career.

An all-Australian six-handed final table stood between Pham and the title, with Jordan Bautista beginning the day as chip leader and Pham sitting second.

Bautista scored the first two eliminations, but Pham soon got involved by sending Luo Ming Liu to the rail with pocket jacks. Bautista then eliminated Jarrod Thatcher in third place to set up the heads-up battle.

Pham began heads-up play behind but gradually chipped away at Bautista’s advantage before making a full house to move into the lead.

On the final hand, Bautista three-bet jammed with ace-high after Pham had flopped two pair. Pham called and had the title locked up by the turn.

“It feels surreal, it feels like a dream!” Pham told WPT anchor Lynn Gilmartin following his victory.

The A$588,211 payday also took Pham beyond $1 million in recorded live tournament earnings, comfortably surpassing what had previously been the biggest score of his career.

2024: James Obst Adds WPT Title to Poker Comeback

The year before Pham’s victory, James Obst added another chapter to his remarkable return to poker.

Obst had stepped away from the game in 2018 as he turned his attention towards pursuing professional tennis, and made only a brief appearance at the 2019 WSOP before returning to Las Vegas four years later.

Obst recorded nine cashes at that summer’s WSOP, including fourth place in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, and returned the following summer to capture his second WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Championship.And then a few months later, he became a WPT champion.

Obst entered the final nine of the 396-entry WPT Australia Championship with a huge 210-big-blind stack and was still in control when the tournament reached its official six-handed final table.

The field eventually came down to Obst and Travis Endersby, with Obst taking approximately a four-to-one chip lead into heads-up play. He needed just five hands to finish the job.

Endersby committed his stack with king-jack, but Obst had him dominated with ace-king. Both players paired their king, leaving Obst’s ace kicker to secure the title and A$585,359.

2023: Richard Lee Takes Control and Never Looks Back

Of the last four WPT Australia champions, Richard Lee walked away with the biggest first prize. The American topped a 600-entry field at The Star Gold Coast in 2023, earning A$854,890 and his first WPT title.

Lee doubled through Gary Lin with pocket kings against ace-eight, giving Lee a commanding chip lead that he would never relinquish. He then eliminated Lin in fourth place after his pocket jacks held against pocket nines.

Martin Kozlov took care of Nino Marotta in third to leave himself as the last player standing between Lee and the title, but their heads-up contest didn’t last long either. Just a few hands into the battle, Kozlov committed his remaining chips with queen-jack against Lee’s ace-ten. The board brought no help for Kozlov and Lee was crowned the 2023 WPT Australia champion.

His A$854,890 prize remains the largest awarded to a WPT Australia Championship winner over the last four editions.

2022: David Tang Almost Skips His WPT-Winning Trip

David Tang’s WPT Australia victory might have never happened. The Melbourne cash game player had originally wanted to cancel his trip to the Gold Coast so he could attend the AFL Grand Final back home. Unable to get a refund on his flight, Tang decided to make the journey after all.

“I wasn’t expecting to get this far,” Tang said after his victory. “To be honest I was actually trying to cancel my flight here because I wanted to watch the (Australian Football League) Grand Final in Melbourne, but they wouldn’t give us a refund on our flights so it just all worked out.”

Tang hadn’t played a live tournament since the 2020 Aussie Millions and entered the WPT Australia Championship with less than $100,000 in recorded tournament earnings. He then outlasted a 710-entry field.

Tang arrived at the six-handed final table fifth in chips and was still the short stack during a lengthy three-handed battle. A double through Po Ho kept his hopes alive before Tang eliminated Naj Ajez in third place.

On the final hand, Ho got his chips in with ace-eight of clubs against Tang’s king-ten of diamonds. Two diamonds arrived on the flop before a third hit the turn, completing Tang’s flush and leaving Ho drawing dead.

Tang collected A$647,470 and became the first player to win a WPT Main Tour title on Australian soil.

Who Will Win WPT Australia in 2026?

The next WPT Australia champion will be crowned at The Star Sydney later this month. The A$5,000 WPT Australia Championship gets underway with Day 1A on September 24, with two further starting flights following on September 25 and 26.

Survivors return for Day 2 on September 27, with the tournament then playing through to its livestreamed final table on September 30.

The full WPT Australia festival runs from September 10-30, with 36 tournaments filling the schedule. The A$1,500 WPT Prime Australia Championship is another of the major attractions and runs from September 17-22.

Other highlights include the A$1,250 Australian Poker Cup, A$500 Ladies Australian Championship, A$1,350 Mystery Bounty, A$10,000 WPT Australia High Roller, A$2,000 Mini Championship and A$5,000 Australian PLO Championship.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).