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From Mexico to Canada, Diego Ponce has enjoyed a busy start to 2026, notching nine cashes. But his tenth has seen him secure only his second career poker title, and the second-largest cash of his entire career.
WPT Global Ambassador Ponce defeated a field of 342 entries at the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Presented by CrownBet to win Event #7: $2,500 NLH. He took home A$179,665 (US~$130,000) after defeating Weiran Pu heads-up.
Pu, a WSOP bracelet winner from 2023 with over $3.8 million in career earnings, had started the final table as the short stack and successfully navigated his way to heads-up, but would have to settle for second place.
Aussie Millions Event #7: $2,500 NLH Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Payout (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diego Ponce | Mexico | $179,665 |
| 2 | Weiran Pu | China | $108,115 |
| 3 | Josh Chen | New Zealand | $69,870 |
| 4 | Jordan Tentori | Australia | $53,480 |
| 5 | Ronan Hanley | Australia | $39,245 |
| 6 | Sang Hong | Australia | $31,550 |
| 7 | Dean Blatt | Australia | $26,165 |
| 8 | Banipal Babana | Australia | $21,160 |
| 9 | Lachlan Crilly | Australia | $16,930 |
Bubble Bursts
Just 49 players returned on Day 2, with 44 players paid, and the bubble burst in brutal fashion.
Ponce himself was involved, calling a three-bet shove from Sascha Manns to put his opponent at risk. Ponce held 2♥2♣ but was way behind the K♣K♦ of Manns. However, the 4♦7♠4♥A♣2♦ runout saw Ponce river a full house to burst the bubble and send Manns home empty-handed.
Final Table Action
Fast-forward to the final nine, and it was Ponce who sat in the lead ahead of Josh Chen. However, Chen would put on a final table masterclass, eliminating a slew of opponents to sit with double his nearest competitor at one point.
After Lachlan Crilly was eliminated in ninth place, Chen sent Banipal Babana and Dean Blatt to the rail. Ponce doubled through Chen as the stacks began to level out, but he would bounce back to eliminate Sang Hong with aces versus ace-queen to regain the chip lead, which had been held by Jordan Tentori.
Chen then spiked an ace with ace-ten to crack the pocket tens of Ronan Hanley to eliminate yet another player.
Weiran Pu had started the final table as the shortest stack, but an early double left him relatively safe, and he ultimately moved into the lead with the elimination of Jordan Tentori in fourth place, before Ponce eventually got rid of the lively Chen in third place to hold a 4:1 chip lead into heads-up.
It was a relatively short heads-up battle, with Weiran Pu eventually shoving with 6♥6♦ from the button for his last eight big blinds and Ponce calling with 10♥10♣. There was no help for Pu on the runout and he was eliminated, with Ponce celebrating with his rail.
You can watch the full final table below:
Managing Editor