Joe Hachem: 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion and WPT Winner
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Joe Hachem became one of the most recognizable figures in Australian poker when he won the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event for $7.5 million. The Melbourne-based player followed that breakthrough with a World Poker Tour championship in 2006, proving that his Main Event victory was only the beginning of a tournament career that has now produced more than $13 million in recorded live earnings.
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Who Is Joe Hachem?
Joe Hachem is an Australian poker player and the 2005 WSOP Main Event champion. Born in Lebanon in 1966, Hachem moved to Australia with his family as a child and later made Melbourne his home.
Before becoming internationally known through poker, Hachem worked as a chiropractor. PokerNews reports that he began playing poker during the 1990s and became a regular at Crown Melbourne before eventually testing himself against international tournament fields.
Hachem's recorded live tournament results stretch back to 2000. His early results came primarily in Australia, but his career changed permanently when he traveled to Las Vegas for the 2005 World Series of Poker.
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Joe Hachem's 2005 WSOP Main Event Victory
Hachem's defining poker achievement came in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event at the 2005 World Series of Poker.
The tournament attracted 5,619 entries, an enormous field for the era and more than twice the turnout of the previous year's Main Event. Hachem survived the field and eventually faced American player Steve Dannenmann heads-up for poker's world championship.
Hachem won the tournament and collected $7.5 million, which remains the largest live tournament cash of his career. The World Series of Poker's 2005 tournament archive records Hachem as the Main Event champion.
The victory also gave Hachem his first and, as of August 25, 2026, only WSOP bracelet.
Hachem's championship carried particular significance in Australia. His rail became known for loud displays of Australian support during the final stages of the tournament, and his victory helped give Australian poker a highly visible champion during the global poker boom of the mid-2000s.
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Hachem Proves Himself After the Main Event
Winning the Main Event can instantly define a player's career, but Hachem continued producing major results after becoming world champion.
At the 2006 WSOP, he finished second in a $2,500 short-handed No-Limit Hold'em event for $256,800. Later in the same series, he reached another final table and placed fourth in a $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for $90,482.
Those results gave Hachem two more deep WSOP runs only a year after his Main Event championship and established that he could continue competing successfully after his career-changing victory.
His biggest post-Main Event statement arrived before the end of 2006.
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Joe Hachem Wins the 2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic
In December 2006, Hachem won the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
The tournament drew 583 players. Hachem navigated a field filled with established tournament professionals and reached a final table that also included Daniel Negreanu, who finished third.
Hachem defeated Jim Hanna heads-up to claim the title. The World Poker Tour's official event archive lists Hachem's first-place prize as $2,182,075.
The victory gave Hachem a major championship on a second premier poker tour less than 18 months after his WSOP Main Event triumph. He remains a WSOP Main Event champion with both a WSOP bracelet and a WPT title on his résumé.
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Major Poker Accomplishments
Hachem's career is anchored by two of the most important victories available in live tournament poker, but his record extends well beyond those wins.
2005 WSOP Main Event champion
One WSOP bracelet
2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic champion
One WPT title
$7.5 million career-best live tournament cash
More than $13 million in recorded live tournament earnings as of August 25, 2026
Multiple additional WSOP final-table appearances
Inaugural Australian Poker Hall of Fame honoree
Continued live tournament cashes through the 2026 season
The combination of a WSOP Main Event championship and a WPT title places Hachem among a relatively small group of players to have won signature championships on both tours.
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Career Earnings and Tournament Record
According to the Hendon Mob tournament database, Hachem had $13,110,650 in recorded live tournament earnings as of August 25, 2026.
Hendon Mob lists his $7.5 million WSOP Main Event victory as his largest live cash and ranks him third on Australia's all-time live tournament money list as of that date.
Tournament earnings databases change whenever new results are recorded, so Hachem's career total and rankings should be treated as time-sensitive statistics rather than permanent figures.
The WSOP lists Hachem with one bracelet and no WSOP Circuit rings. His WPT record includes one championship, the 2006 Five Diamond victory.
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Success Beyond No-Limit Hold'em
Although Hachem is best known for two major No-Limit Hold'em championships, his tournament record shows experience across several poker variants.
His first recorded Hendon Mob cash came in Pot-Limit Omaha at the 2000 Crown Australasian Poker Championships. He later produced results in Pot-Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, mixed games and other formats.
In 2009, Hachem won an eight-game tournament during EPT London for £42,400. A decade later, he finished third in the 2019 WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship for $201,041.
Those results make it more accurate to describe Hachem as a versatile live tournament player than as someone whose career has depended exclusively on No-Limit Hold'em.
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Joe Hachem and Australian Poker
Hachem's importance to poker in Australia extends beyond his tournament earnings.
When he won the 2005 Main Event, Australia already had a strong poker community and several internationally successful players. Hachem's championship, however, arrived during a period when televised poker was expanding rapidly and the WSOP Main Event had become a global spectacle.
His victory gave Australian fans a world champion at the center of that growth.
In 2009, Hachem was among the inaugural honorees recognized by the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. PokerNews' coverage of the induction ceremony reported that Hachem was also selected for the special Australian Poker Legend distinction.
That recognition reflected not only his results but also his position as one of the country's best-known poker figures.
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Joe Hachem's Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Assigning a simple label such as tight, loose or aggressive to a player with a tournament career spanning more than two decades can be misleading. Hachem's documented results provide a more objective picture of his poker strengths.
His record shows success in large-field No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, high-profile championship events and several non-Hold'em formats. He has reached major final tables shortly after becoming world champion and has continued recording cashes many years after his most famous victories.
That longevity and range are more useful measures of his tournament reputation than an unsupported stylistic label.
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Is Joe Hachem Still Playing Poker?
Yes. Hachem remained active in major live tournaments during 2026.
At the 2026 Aussie Millions in Melbourne, he recorded three cashes. He finished 191st in the Opening Event, 23rd in the A$5,000 Challenge for A$15,580 and 50th in the A$10,600 Main Event for A$24,640.
He then returned to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Hendon Mob records a cash in the 2026 WSOP $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event and an 803rd-place finish in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event for $22,500.
Those results confirm that Hachem remained an active live tournament participant as of the 2026 season rather than simply appearing in poker through his status as a former world champion.
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Why Joe Hachem Matters in Poker
Hachem's place in poker history begins with his 2005 WSOP Main Event championship, but the rest of his career gives that victory additional weight.
He followed the $7.5 million breakthrough with multiple WSOP final tables and then captured a major WPT championship at Bellagio. He has competed successfully in several poker variants, accumulated more than $13 million in recorded live tournament earnings and continued appearing in major tournaments more than two decades after his earliest recorded cash.
His influence is especially significant in Australian poker. Winning the Main Event made Hachem an internationally visible representative of the country's poker community during one of the game's fastest periods of growth.
More than 20 years after becoming world champion, Joe Hachem remains defined by one of poker's most prestigious victories while maintaining a tournament record that extends far beyond a single summer in Las Vegas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Joe Hachem have?
Joe Hachem has one WSOP bracelet. He won it by capturing the 2005 WSOP Main Event.
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How much did Joe Hachem win in the 2005 WSOP Main Event?
Hachem earned $7.5 million for winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event. It remains the largest recorded live tournament cash of his career.
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How much has Joe Hachem won in live poker tournaments?
The Hendon Mob listed Joe Hachem with $13,110,650 in recorded live tournament earnings as of August 25, 2026. Tournament earnings totals can change as new results are added.
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Has Joe Hachem won a World Poker Tour title?
Yes. Hachem won the 2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio. The World Poker Tour lists his first-place prize as $2,182,075.
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Does Joe Hachem have any WSOP Circuit rings?
No. The WSOP lists Hachem with one bracelet and no WSOP Circuit rings as of August 2026.
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Is Joe Hachem still playing poker?
Yes. Hachem recorded cashes at both the 2026 Aussie Millions and the 2026 World Series of Poker, including a cash in the WSOP Main Event.
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Where is Joe Hachem from?
Hachem was born in Lebanon in 1966 and moved to Australia as a child. He is an Australian player associated with Melbourne, where he developed his poker career.
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What is Joe Hachem's biggest poker achievement?
Hachem's biggest achievement is winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event. He defeated a field of 5,619 entries and earned $7.5 million along with poker's world championship and his WSOP bracelet.