Joe Hachem’s Poker Comeback Hits River Card Heartbreak in Australia

A huge reason why Australian poker is so big is because of Joe Hachem. The 2005 WSOP Main Event champion ignited poker on the other side of the globe just two years after Chris Moneymaker’s historic victory, setting off a chain reaction that helped mainstream poker go global.

Hachem plays a lot less poker these days, mostly sticking to Australia, New Zealand, and a week or two each year in Las Vegas around Main Event time. While he doesn’t play the big stuff as much as he used to, Hachem still has plenty of game in him.

At the 2026 Victorian Poker Championship Main Event, an A$2,500 ($1,760) tournament that featured 715 entries and a prize pool of more than $1.1 million, Hachem finished in second place for $147,000, losing heads-up in brutal fashion to fellow WSOP bracelet winner Hun Wei Lee. Lee won the $1,050 PLO bounty tournament during the 2020 WSOP Online series, adding an online poker title to his resume.

Hachem, one of the highest-earning poker players in Australian history, had ace-five against Lee’s pocket jacks. While Hachem flopped an ace, the river brought a jack to give Lee a set and the win. Hachem’s brother, Tony Hachem, notably finished in 14th place.

Hachem adds Omaha victory to big week

It was a phenomenal week for Hachem, as the former WSOP Main Event champion also won Event No. 9, the A$1,250 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, for A$16,000 after defeating a 48-player field.

Hachem wasn’t the only big winner Down Under, as Chenyang Huang pulled off a miraculous double, winning the A$1,250 Opener for $90,000 and the A$600 Terminator for $10,450.

2026 Victorian Poker Championship final table results