Johan Lees Lifts the Platinum Players Championship Trophy After Stunning Heads-Up Comeback

Johan Lees turned pressure into diamonds on the final day of the , surviving a 1,000-player minefield to walk away with the title, the trophy, and a career-best A$252,300 payday.

Held at the iconic Club Marconi inside Doltone House Western Sydney, the three-day event generated a massive A$1,300,000 prize pool and a finale that had the room holding its breath. Lees’ heads-up battle with Daniel Neilson was pure theatre—momentum swings, deep-level strategy, and one unforgettable moment where Lees stared down a massive bluff, nearly pulled the trigger, but let it go.

That hand could’ve broken him—but instead, it lit the spark. Lees regrouped, shifted gears, and mounted a fearless comeback to seal the win in thrilling fashion.

2025 PPC Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Johan Lees moments after taking down the 2025 Australian Poker Open Platinum Players Championship. “It’s crazy. You run deep and quite often it’s pretty rare you actually get it done, so [I’m] feeling pretty stoked,”.

It had been a tough stretch recently for Lees, who admitted, “I had a few moments, even in this series and lately, just had some self-doubt or just been self-critical in a few spots. So it’s good to sort of move on and get a few results,”.

He credited an early final table double with pocket eights against Hai Kee‘s jacks as an important turning point. “That was a pretty nice start to sort of get away from the bottom of the pack… just the cooler and lucky you that hand,”.

Of course, the moment everyone was talking about was his dramatic tank-fold during heads-up play. “Yeah, that was a crazy hand. I don’t know how long I went in the tank for, maybe five or ten minutes. I sort of opened the door for Daniel, who’s very confident and capable of going for a bluff… if it was me, I would be over-bluffing that spot as well, like he did. Hence why I was thinking so long to call. But yeah, I know, it’s just one of those spots where if you call wrong you just feel like an absolute idiot. I was razor thin. I was so close to calling there. But it worked out in the end. Otherwise, if I folded that and lost, it would be quite painful, to be honest,”.

Facing off against Neilson made the victory even sweeter. “It adds to the story of just playing someone who’s so accomplished and competent… and a lot of trash talk too, which is a lot of fun. That, to me, just makes a heads-up so much more fun and satisfying—even though my chance of winning the same is more than almost anyone else in the field,”.

While the A$252,300 payday marked the biggest score of his career, Lees downplayed the financial aspect. “To be honest, the money is very nice. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but the money isn’t what matters most to me. It’s the competition and coming out on top. It’s more of a scoreboard… just very satisfying to win the tournament,”.

As for what’s next? “I’m taking it easy after APO. I’m going to Europe—just some family things—for a couple of months in Sweden and Spain. So no poker for a couple of months after APO,”.

Lees was full of praise for the Australian Poker Open and the team behind it. “It’s just one of the best, most well-run poker series that we have in Australia. We’re spoilt for choice in Australia—it’s like a series every single week—but APO definitely is the golden standard. So definitely will be here every year if I’m around,”.

And yes, the win came with a fantasy sweat too. “It is [Team Jinxed]. I think the whole team is doing quite well. Ironically, I have a team of my own, and so I’m sort of killing my own team, but doing well for someone else—working for a different boss and not myself,” he joked.

As for how he planned to celebrate the moment? “I’m not too sure, just try and take it easy—one beer at a time,”.

Final Table Fireworks

With the unscheduled Day 3 kicking off at 3 p.m., the Australian poker community turned its focus to the final table of the PPC, where Jennifer Cassell and Neilson sat atop the chip counts and looked poised to make a run at the title. Neilson struck early, snatching the chip lead within a few hands after Reece Bedot picked the wrong moment to bluff.

A massive turning point came for the eventual champion in the early goings when he turned a set of eights to crack Kee’s pocket jacks, sending himself soaring up the leaderboard. Kee, now on fumes, managed to ladder after Zac Vigar busted in ninth, but followed shortly after in eighth. Jason Brown was next to go in seventh.

Neilson continued to apply pressure and built a commanding stack, holding roughly half the chips in play by the time Dustin Tran fell in sixth. Lees, still short, clung on—and found the lifeline he needed when his pocket queens held against Bedot’s ace-seven for a critical double.

Cassell’s run ended in fifth when she shoved jack-five from the small blind, and Neilson light-heartedly slowrolled from the big with pocket aces. With four remaining, Lees picked up another key pot when his king-jack rivered a pair to beat Anthony Xu’s ace-nine, leaving Xu crippled.

Moments later, Lees finished the job—his king-four flopping top pair to outdraw Xu’s pocket queens and send him out in fourth. From there, Lees found another surge when his queen-eight turned a flush against Bedot’s nine-seven, which had also turned a weaker flush. Lees got full value and left Bedot short.

Bedot was eliminated soon after, with Lees’ ace-seven far ahead of his opponent’s ace-deuce to send him out in third—and set the stage for the final duel.

From the Brink to the Throne

Neilson entered heads-up play with a three-to-two chip lead, and a fascinating pot soon widened the gap—stretching his advantage to four-to-one and putting him within reach of the title.

Lees opened with queen-nine, and Neilson defended with jack-four. On a king-high flop, Neilson check-called a small bet, and both players checked the turn. The river brought a nine, and Neilson led out before Lees raised. Neilson then moved all in, sending Lees deep into the tank. After around seven agonizing minutes, he folded—and Neilson’s bluff got through.

But Lees wasn’t done. He clawed his way back with a massive double-up, his eight-deuce flopping two pair against Neilson’s queen-ten, which turned a ten. The river bricked, and for the first time during the final table, Lees held the lead.

Then, in the very next hand, it was over.

Lees limped, Neilson raised, and Lees called. On an ace-high flop, Neilson bet, then fired again on the turn. Lees called both streets. On the river, Neilson shoved—but Lees quickly called with ace-four for top pair. Neilson revealed king-high, and just like that, Lees closed it out.

In the span of two hands, Lees flipped the script, completed the comeback, and was crowned the 2025 APO PPC champion—taking home the trophy and a career-best A$252,300.