Australian Poker Hall of Fame member Van Marcus will host two events in his own name over the next month – the first at the upcoming APT Melbourne Champs and the second as part of the Victorian Poker Championship.
Both series are taking place at Crown Melbourne.
The APT Melbourne Champs run from 30 September to 11 October 2026 at Crown Metropol, with Van’s Vault listed as one of the feature events. Featuring a $2,000 buy-in and a $100k guarantee, plus a number of satellite opportunities in the days prior, Van’s Vault focuses on providing players with a positive experience by way of a generous 80k starting stack and a deep structure.
“We put a lot of time into going through the structure and the ticketing fee and seeing what was viable,” Marcus told PokerMedia Australia.
“This is probably one of the lowest fees for a higher buy-in, deep stack poker event. It will offer, plenty of play time so, you know, it suits the player that wants to play real poker instead of just going all-in.”
The APT Melbourne Champs offers a massive 56 events across the 12-day schedule, with the $1,650 Melbourne Champs Main Event kicking off on Sunday 4 October with the first of five Day 1 flights.
There will also be multiple opportunities to satellite into the Victoria Poker Championship Main Event during the APT Melbourne Champs Series, with buy-ins at $300.
The Victoria Poker Championship itself runs from 12 to 27 October, featuring 21 events across the 16-day schedule. The $2,500 Main Event, offering a single re-entry, gets underway from Wednesday 21 October with the first of four flights.
Event 6 is the Van Marcus Special Feature Pot Limit Omaha, featuring a $1,250 buy-in and 40k starting stack.
“The buy-in is right in that sweet spot where a lot of people can afford to come in and play,” Marcus explained.
“My forte has always been mostly PLO, especially online, and I play a lot so it’s nice to have that feature event.”
Now a sponsored player of the APT and an ambassador of both the Aussie Millions and the Victorian Poker Championship, keen observers would have noticed Marcus bursting back onto the local scene in recent times after a number of years away in Sweden, which he now calls home.
Asked about his return, the local legend said, “I was away for a while because of my kids – I wanted to be there in their lives watching them grow. It’s difficult when you’re travelling so much and away from family.
“But I feel Australian poker is pumping right now with the Aussie Millions coming back I thought it would be a fantastic time to get back on the scene and build up my brand again, build up the old reputation that I used to have and compete again at these levels.
“We all saw at the Aussie Millions how healthy the scene is and the appetite players have for it, and it’s same with the Vic Champs. It’s just nice to have that back on the scene and part of the Australian calendar every year.”
Marcus laughs that he was also closest to picking the size of the Aussie Millions Main Event field in the “Billy the Croc Challenge,” which came in at an impressive 770 starters, and is confident of doing the same for the Victorian Poker Championship. So, what’s his prediction?
“I’m estimating for there to be 1,400 to 1,500 players coming in to play the main, because there are multiple Day 1 flights it’s not a high point buy-in so you’ll get some huge numbers there,” he says.
“That will make for a pretty decent prize pool too.”
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