The April scheduling slot is deliberate. By shifting from its conventional January window, Crown avoids the WPT and PCA calendar congestion and owns a standalone place within the Southern Hemisphere autumn.
The timing additionally carries an unstated message. Having a reigning world champion and Corridor of Famer as the general public face of the relaunch is a legitimising sign for a venue that many inside Australian poker had privately doubted would ever host the collection once more.
What’s on the Schedule
The 2026 Aussie Hundreds of thousands is a leaner collection than its predecessor. The 2020 version ran 23 occasions throughout three weeks. This yr’s 18-event programme covers 17 days, with buy-ins from AU$1,500 to AU$25,000.
The remaining aspect occasions embody PLO, combined video games, a Shot Clock Terminator, Tremendous Turbo Bounty, Deep Freeze and a Groups Occasion. The complete schedule is obtainable on Crown Melbourne’s official Aussie Hundreds of thousands web page.
Crown bought 100+ Primary Occasion seats by mid-February, properly earlier than the collection started. With satellite tv for pc qualifiers trending above 300 and walk-up entries to come back, the Primary Occasion discipline might method or exceed the 820-entry benchmark set by Vincent Wan’s 2020 victory.
No On-line Satellites: The Hole within the Comeback
One element stands out within the 2026 relaunch: there isn’t any on-line satellite tv for pc companion. Each path to the Primary Occasion runs by means of reside qualification at Crown Melbourne or Crown Perth.
Crown’s reside satellite tv for pc ladder begins at AU$86 and feeds by means of AU$280 and AU$1,150 phases to a Primary Occasion seat. Nightly AU$250 Midnight Mega Satellites and AU$750 satellites awarding 10 assured seats spherical out the programme.
That could be a sharp departure from the pre-2017 period. Earlier than Australia’s Interactive Playing Modification Act compelled offshore poker rooms overseas, PokerStars ran weekly Aussie Hundreds of thousands packages price greater than AU$12,000 every.
Full Tilt, 888poker and bwin ran parallel campaigns on the time. These pipelines have been gone for practically a decade.
For gamers exterior Australia, WPT International’s Asia-Pacific satellite tv for pc programme doesn’t presently embody the Aussie Hundreds of thousands. GGPoker’s on-line qualifier ladder is equally absent, despite the fact that each rooms settle for gamers from New Zealand and key Asia-Pacific markets.
Australian-based gamers nonetheless have reside satellite tv for pc choices at Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth. For ongoing protection of the 2026 Aussie Hundreds of thousands, comply with our poker information part.
