Aussie Triumphs In Australian Poker Open Platinum Players Championship

The 2025 Australian Poker Open is now in full swing at Club Marconi in Sydney, with 30 events slated from April 14-27. The largest event of the first week was the $1,500 AUD no-limit hold’em Platinum Players Championship, which sported a $1,000,000 AUD guarantee.

A total of 1,000 entries were made across the tournament’s five starting flights, topping the guarantee by $300,000 AUD. In the end, the largest chunk of that haul was awarded to Johan Lees. The resident of nearby Manly, Australia earned $252,300 AUD ($161,472 USD) as the champion.

This was the largest recorded tournament score yet for Lees, who has now won three titles in 2025. He took down a $400 side event at the World Poker Tour Cambodia series back in February, then triumphed in a $1,150 AUD buy-in at the WPT Prime Gold Coast stop in March. His lifetime earnings have now surpassed $300,000.

Lee’s latest victory came with 960 Card Player Player of the Year points. His three POY-qualified wins have moved him into 60th place in the 2025 standings, with 1,575 total points.

The top 126 finishers made the money, with all of them returning for day 2 with the plan being for action to continue until a champion was decided. In the end, an unscheduled day 3 was needed in order to determine a winner.

Jennifer Cassell bagged up the chip lead, with Lees in the middle of the pack. Cassell went on to finish fifth for $36,992.

The final heads-up battle for the title pitted Lees against Daniel Neilson, an accomplished live circuit regular with nearly $5 million in career cashes. Neilson added $94,272 to his tally with his runner-up showing. The 2023 World Series of Poker Paradise main event third-place finisher’s last hand saw him bluff shove the river after missing a flush draw, only to run into the top pair of aces held by Lees.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: Australian Poker Open Facebook account.