Australian pro Cooper Feltham has won the WPT Prime Australia Championship at The Star Sydney, collecting A$187,793 after a heads-up deal and a timely river card against Ling Liu. The A$1,500 event was one of two championship tournaments on the World Poker Tour's Sydney schedule this month, and Feltham's win gives the festival a home-grown champion ahead of the A$5,000 Main Tour event.
Feltham arrived with more than US$1 million in career live tournament earnings. This is one of the biggest results of his career.
How the final hand played out
The title came down to Feltham and Liu, who agreed to a heads-up chop before playing on for the trophy and the remaining money. Feltham held a lead of nearly 3-to-1 when the decisive hand arrived.
Liu moved all in preflop with A♠7♥ and got the call she wanted from Feltham's A♦2♥. She was ahead, holding the better kicker with both players sharing an ace.
The 4♦J♦4♥ flop kept Liu in front, though it gave Feltham backdoor draws. The 3♠ turn added a gutshot: any five would give Feltham a wheel straight. The 5♠ river did exactly that, and Liu had to settle for second place and A$161,127.
It is the kind of finish that sums up late-stage tournament poker. Feltham was a clear underdog when the money went in, and a four-out draw on the river decided the title. Because of the deal, the swing in prize money between first and second was small; the trophy and the title were what the final card decided.
Final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooper Feltham | $187,793 |
| 2 | Ling Liu | $161,127 |
| 3 | Liu Yang | $99,000 |
| 4 | Sasha Skalrud | $74,000 |
| 5 | Kenta Ito | $56,500 |
| 6 | Jinyu Wang | $43,000 |
| 7 | Louis Luo | $33,000 |
| 8 | Jiaxu Chen | $26,000 |
| 9 | Daniel Francis | $22,000 |
The final table reflects the international mix WPT Australia attracts. Alongside local players there were finalists from across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan's Kenta Ito in fifth.
A two-championship festival in Sydney
This year's WPT Australia festival at The Star Sydney runs through September 30 and has been built around two championship events rather than one:
- WPT Prime Australia Championship — A$1,500 buy-in, the event Feltham won
- WPT Australia Championship — A$5,000 buy-in, a WPT Main Tour event with three Day 1 flights
The structure mirrors what the WPT has done at several of its international stops: a lower-cost Prime event aimed at recreational and regional players, then a Main Tour event with higher stakes and a WPT Champions Club title on the line.
The A$5,000 event got underway as the Prime final table finished. Alan Pham is the defending champion after winning last year for A$558,211.
Australia's place on the WPT map
The World Poker Tour's presence in Australia has grown steadily. The festival has moved between venues over the years, and this year's return to Sydney gives the tour a stop in the country's biggest city, with a schedule that also included a Poker Cup event and multiple side events. Rob Damelian already picked up two trophies earlier in the festival.
For the WPT, Australia is part of a broader Asia-Pacific push that has also seen stops in Cambodia, where Ari Engel won a championship event in August, and other regional destinations. Those events feed players and storylines into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December, the tour's flagship festival.
Feltham's career in context
Crossing US$1 million in live earnings is a milestone that puts a player among the more accomplished in the Australian tournament scene. Feltham reached that mark before this win and has now added a meaningful sum on top. A WPT Prime title gives him a trophy with international recognition.
Winning with ace-deuce against ace-seven isn't how anyone draws it up. But reaching heads-up with a near 3-to-1 lead reflects the work done before the final hand, and that lead is what gave him room to call.
Liu's strong run
Ling Liu deserves credit too. Reaching heads-up in a field of this size and turning her tournament into a A$161,127 payday is a major result. Her all-in with ace-seven against a much larger stack was a reasonable move, and she was ahead when the chips went in. Short-stacked heads-up, players have to take their chances with hands like that, and she found a spot where her hand was best. The river simply didn't cooperate.
The deal-making question
Feltham and Liu agreed a heads-up chop before finishing the tournament. Deals are common at the final stages of live events, especially where the gap between first and second is large and stacks are uneven.
For players, the key question is how to judge a fair deal. The two common methods are:
- Chip-chop — splits remaining money in proportion to chip stacks, which tends to favour the chip leader
- ICM deal — uses the Independent Chip Model to estimate each stack's real-money equity, which usually gives the shorter stack a bit more
A player with a near 3-to-1 lead, as Feltham had, would normally get a noticeably larger share under a chip-chop than under ICM. Knowing both numbers before you negotiate is the easiest way to avoid leaving money on the table.
What this means for players
Prime events are an accessible route to WPT titles. At A$1,500, the WPT Prime Australia Championship was a fraction of the Main Tour buy-in, yet it paid a winner nearly A$190,000. Players who aren't ready for A$5,000 events can still compete for a WPT trophy. Our tournaments guide covers how to pick events that suit your bankroll.
Know your outs. Feltham's winning draw was a four-out gutshot on the turn — roughly a 9% shot with one card to come. Understanding pot odds and equity helps you recognise when a call makes sense and when you're relying on luck. Try the spots yourself with our poker odds calculator.
Online satellites cut the cost. Many WPT events run online qualifiers, and US-facing sites run satellites to major live events. See our list of US poker sites for current options, including Americas Cardroom.
The WPT Australia Championship continues in Sydney this week, with Feltham's win setting a high bar for Australian players in the Main Tour event.