Australia’s Alex Thompson won the 2026 WPT Australia Championship at The Star Sydney, outlasting a 527-entry field and an AUD $2,424,200 prize pool to claim AUD $450,900 (~$325,539) and his first World Poker Tour title.
Thompson entered the final table as the chip leader and never relinquished control, knocking out three of the final five players himself before closing out compatriot Filip Radic in heads-up play to secure one of the most dominant final-table performances in the event’s history.
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Who Is Alex Thompson?
Alex Thompson is an Australian poker player who arrived at the 2026 WPT Australia Championship with a modest tournament resume. His previous career-best cash stood at just $20,147, and his total recorded live earnings heading into the final table were around $100K on the Hendon Mob.
The WPT Australia title changed that in an afternoon. With AUD $450,900 landing in his account, Thompson’s career earnings surged to eclipse his previous lifetime total many times over, making this the kind of breakout result that defines a career. “I still can’t really comprehend how massive it is, for sure,” he said after the win, speaking to SoMuchPoker.
Alex Thompson Wins WPT Australia Championship for AUD $450,900
The 2026 WPT Australia Championship ran at The Star Sydney, drawing 527 entries to build an AUD $2,424,200 prize pool with 66 places paid. Australia’s Alex Thompson outlasted every one of them, entering the six-handed final table as the chip leader and closing out compatriot Filip Radic in heads-up play to claim the title, the trophy, and a first-place prize of AUD $450,900 (~$325,539) that includes a seat to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The win also inducted Thompson into the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
Thompson reached the final table with 8,615,000 chips, 144 big blinds, and more than two million clear of second-place Filip Radic. He wasted no time putting that advantage to work. New Zealand’s Ryan Henry was the first to fall in 6th, losing to Radic when Radic’s king-ten held against Henry’s queen-four.
Thompson took over from there. In 5th, Tingjia Huang paid off Thompson across three streets on one of the largest pots of the final day, calling a big river bet with a pair of tens into Thompson’s queen-high straight before the last of his chips went in and he was eliminated. Jack Sweet followed in 4th, his ace-four unable to crack Thompson’s pocket nines. Pranav Bhatt busted in 3rd, moving all-in with ace-queen only to run into Thompson’s five-four, which paired the four on the flop and held.
That left Thompson and Radic heads-up, and Thompson carried a commanding stack into the match. The end came when Radic moved all-in from the button for 3,000,000 with six-five suited. Thompson called from the big blind holding jack-ten, ahead before the flop. Radic flopped an open-ended straight draw but missed the turn and the river, and Alex Thompson was crowned WPT Australia champion.
“At the table I try and keep my emotions kind of the same,” he said to SoMuchPoker, “but there were definitely some internal fistbumps.”
AUD $5,000 buy-in | 527 entries | AUD $2,424,200 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alex Thompson | Australia | AUD $450,900 |
| 2 | Filip Radic | Australia | AUD $290,000 |
| 3 | Pranav Bhatt | Australia | AUD $214,000 |
| 4 | Jack Sweet | Australia | AUD $159,000 |
| 5 | Tingjia Huang | Australia | AUD $119,000 |
| 6 |  Ryan Henry | New Zealand | AUD $89,000 |
| 7 | Jun Wang | Australia | AUD $68,000 |
| 8 | Michael Zhang | Australia | AUD $53,500 |
| 9 | Joshua McSwiney | Australia | AUD $46,000 |
WPT Australia Championship FAQ
- Photos courtesy of The Star Sydney. Hand details and tournament information courtesy of World Poker Tour and SoMuchPoker.
