The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 20 Edition
The big buy-ins finally paid out their winners, and the setups we left hanging two days ago all resolved with the chip leaders losing. Yuri Dzivielevski won the $100,000 High Roller for his sixth bracelet and $2,841,432, beating Teun Mulder heads-up after Christopher Nguyen, who cracked Martirosian's aces to grab the lead, could not finish the job. Nathan Gamble became the most decorated PLO Hi-Lo player in WSOP history with his third bracelet in the format, denying Justin Liberto and his 60 percent chip lead. Dong Chen beat Benny Glaser heads-up in the $10K Limit Hold'em Championship, denying Glaser a ninth bracelet at a final table that also held Gus Hansen, playing his first WSOP final table in 15 years. Omar Zazay beat Jean-Robert Bellande heads-up to take the $3K NLH. And today the $250,000 Super High Roller, the biggest buy-in of the summer, plays toward a champion with Daniel Negreanu among the survivors. The Colossus closed registration at a massive 16,269 entries.
Story 01 of 6
Yuri Dzivielevski of Brazil won Event #36: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em for $2,841,432 and his sixth career WSOP bracelet, his first in No-Limit Hold'em. He defeated Teun Mulder of the Netherlands heads-up; Mulder collected $1,894,282 for second. Christopher Nguyen, who entered the final table as chip leader at 17,200,000 after cracking Artur Martirosian's aces with K-Q to send Martirosian to the bubble, did not close out the win despite leading the final nine. The 115-entry field built an $11,040,000 prize pool, and the nine finalists carried more than $191 million in combined live tournament earnings into the final day.
Why it mattersDzivielevski is one of the best mixed-game and Omaha players of his generation, and his five previous bracelets came in non-hold'em disciplines. Winning a $100K open No-Limit Hold'em field for his sixth is a meaningful broadening of an already elite resume, and it pushes him squarely into the Player of the Year conversation. The final table was as deep as any open event of the summer, and the chip leader entering the day did not win, which is the kind of result that says more about variance at the top than anything else.
Story 02 of 6
Nathan Gamble won Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $767,395 and his third WSOP bracelet, becoming the only player in WSOP history with three bracelets in PLO Hi-Lo. He defeated Justin Liberto heads-up, flopping top two pair on a king-high board against Liberto's aces and nut flush draw. Liberto, who had entered the final five with roughly 60 percent of the chips in play, settled for second and $511,580 and remains without a bracelet.
Why it mattersThree bracelets in a single discipline is a record, and PLO Hi-Lo is one of the deepest specialist fields at the series. Gamble taking it in a $10,000 Championship cements him as the format's defining modern player. For Liberto, holding 60 percent of the chips five-handed and not winning is a reminder that big-bet split-pot poker can erase a commanding lead faster than almost any game on the schedule.
Story 03 of 6
Dong Chen won Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship for $285,200 and his second WSOP bracelet, beating Benny Glaser heads-up. The win denied Glaser, one of the most accomplished mixed-game players in the world, a ninth career bracelet. The final table was a murderers' row that also included Gus Hansen, who reached his first WSOP final table in 15 years, along with Jesse Lonis and Jeremy Ausmus.
Why it mattersLimit Hold'em Championship final tables draw the game's sharpest old-school technicians, and this one was loaded. Glaser hunting a ninth bracelet and losing heads-up is a story on its own. But the bigger nostalgia hit is Gus Hansen, the 'Great Dane' and one of the most famous aggressive players of the televised poker boom, making a deep run at a WSOP final table for the first time since 2011. The faces at this table spanned 20 years of poker history.
Story 04 of 6
Omar Zazay won Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $538,158 and his first WSOP bracelet, defeating Jean-Robert Bellande heads-up. Bellande had led the final three entering the day chasing his second career bracelet. The decisive hand saw Zazay call Bellande's all-in with A-2 against J-10; the board ran out 7-6-2-Q-K to give Zazay a pair of deuces and the title. The event drew 1,300 entries.
Why it mattersBellande is one of the most recognizable personalities in poker, better known for high-stakes cash games and a long-running social media presence than for tournament hardware. A second bracelet would have been a genuine career milestone. Instead a first-time winner in Zazay closed it out, which is the more common story in a 1,300-runner field than the famous name finishing the job.
Story 05 of 6
Event #41: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, the largest buy-in event of the 2026 WSOP, drew 41 entries on Day 1 for a prize pool of $10,045,000, with late registration still open into Day 2 today. Samuel Mullur of Austria led the Day 1 survivors with 4,315,000, ahead of high roller regulars Brandon Wilson (4,295,000) and Christoph Vogelsang (4,220,000). Daniel Negreanu bagged the fourth-biggest stack at 2,970,000. The 31 returning players, a group that also includes Sean Winter, Artur Martirosian, Jason Koon, Stephen Chidwick, Martin Kabrhel, and recent $25K High Roller winner Kristen Foxen, come back at noon local time today, with the money bubble expected to burst during the session.
Why it mattersA quarter-million dollars a seat is as concentrated as elite tournament poker gets, and the field reads like a who's-who of the highest-stakes circuit. Negreanu sitting fourth with a deep stack gives the broadcast a marquee storyline as the bubble approaches, and only the top nine get paid. With more late entries to come on Day 2, the prize pool and the top prize will both climb before a champion is crowned.
Story 06 of 6
Event #34: $500 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em finished its registration flights with a final total of 16,269 entries, generating a prize pool of $6,751,635. The fourth and final Day 1 flight, Day 1D, was the largest of the event, adding 6,028 entries on its own. As the surviving Day 2 flights consolidated, Justin Smith led the Day 2C field with 9,800,000, ahead of Bennett McLaughlin (8,265,000) and Kentaro Okawa (7,100,000). Patrick 'Pads' Leonard, whose pre-series patch dispute with the WSOP went viral, bagged a top-ten Day 2C stack at 4,200,000. The remaining 86 Day 2C players join the combined Day 3 field on Monday, June 15.
Why it mattersThe Colossus is the WSOP's signature volume event, and 16,269 entries confirms the low-buy-in recreational engine of the series is running strong in 2026. The field is large enough that the eventual champion will navigate a true gauntlet, and the prize pool comfortably clears the symbolic numbers that make the event a marketing centerpiece. Patrick Leonard quietly bagging a big stack after his very public clash with the WSOP over patches is its own small subplot.
35 of 100 bracelets awarded through Day 19 (June 13), per PokerNews and WSOP.com. Recent winners listed below; older winners from earlier briefs not all repeated. Two more bracelets expected today (Day 20): Event #40 $1,500 Razz, where Jon Turner leads the final six, and Event #44 $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty.
Sixth bracelet, first in No-Limit Hold'em. Beat Teun Mulder heads-up. Chip leader Christopher Nguyen did not win.
Third bracelet. Now the most decorated PLO Hi-Lo player in WSOP history. Beat Justin Liberto, who held 60% of chips five-handed.
Second bracelet. Denied Benny Glaser a ninth. Final table included Gus Hansen, Jesse Lonis, Jeremy Ausmus.
First bracelet, in his first-ever PLO cash.
First bracelet. Beat Jean-Robert Bellande heads-up, A-2 vs J-10. 1,300 entries.
Third bracelet, all in $25K+ high rollers. First Indian with 3 live WSOP bracelets.
Fourth bracelet at 28. Later bubbled the $100K with aces cracked twice.
Sixth bracelet.
One half of Kihara's back-to-back $10K championship double, the series' first double winner.
First bracelet. Series opener.
Chip counts from the $250K Super High Roller Day 1 (live today), the $1,500 Razz final six (live today), the $10K Big O Championship end of Day 1, and the Colossus Day 2C. Counts per the WSOPLive app via PokerNews.
Notable runner-up and near-miss finishes from the events that resolved on Days 18-19 (June 12-13).
Lost heads-up to Yuri Dzivielevski. Had earlier rivered a straight with J-10 to crack Martirosian's aces on the bubble.
Entered the final table as chip leader at 17,200,000 after cracking Martirosian's aces with K-Q, but did not close out the title.
Held roughly 60% of chips five-handed. Ran aces and the nut flush draw into Nathan Gamble's flopped two pair heads-up. Still seeking a first bracelet.
Lost heads-up to Dong Chen, denied a ninth career WSOP bracelet.
Led the final three. His J-10 lost to Omar Zazay's A-2 on a 7-6-2-Q-K board. Still has one career bracelet.
Won the $100K High Roller for $2,841,432 and a sixth bracelet, his first in NLH. A massive points-and-cash haul that vaults him into the POY conversation.
Third PLO Hi-Lo bracelet for $767,395 makes him the most decorated player in the format's WSOP history. Strong specialist POY points.
The series' first double bracelet winner bagged a stack in the $10K Big O Championship, still chasing a third bracelet of the summer.
Won the $50K High Roller on June 11, his third bracelet, all in buy-ins of $25K or more. Says his only remaining goal is the Main Event.