The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 26
Eelis Parssinen flopped quads over a flopped full house to win the $25K PLO High Roller for $2.16 million and his second bracelet. Alex Anton got off the computer and won the $10K Mystery Bounty for $678,300 in his first bracelet. Homan Mohammadi steamrolled the Seniors Championship final table and brought $660,000 back to Canada. That is three bracelets on the day before noon and Shaun Deeb still had 21-player action in the Nine Game Mix. Also: a Brazilian player lit a cigarette at the table, refused to put it out, pocketed his chips, and got ejected from the building. Normal Saturday at the 2026 WSOP. Day 26.
Story 01 of 5
Eelis Parssinen won Event #47: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha for $2,161,056, his second WSOP bracelet and the largest score of his career. He entered the day as the overwhelming chip leader and dispatched the five-handed field quickly: Jeremy Druckman was eliminated on the very first hand of the day, Aaron Mermelstein followed 15 minutes later, and Sergio Martinez Gonzalez was eliminated three-handed by Parssinen. Heads-up, Levon Khachatryan briefly held a narrow chip lead. The decisive hand: both players were trapping throughout, Khachatryan snap-called Parssinen's river all-in and confidently tabled a flopped full house -- only to see Parssinen flip over flopped quads. Parssinen took control, closed it out roughly thirty minutes later, and won $2,161,056. Final table results: Parssinen ($2,161,056), Khachatryan ($1,440,680), Martinez Gonzalez ($990,849), Mermelstein ($694,268), Druckman ($495,769). 451 total entries, $10,598,500 prize pool. Parssinen's first bracelet was in a Mixed NLH/PLO event in 2021.
Why it mattersParssinen is widely regarded as one of the best PLO specialists in the world and has been building that reputation for 15 years. He called his first bracelet the win of a part-time live player; this one, in the $25,000 High Roller, in the format he has made his career in, clearly meant more. He noted that Patrik Antonius leads Finland's all-time money list by about $14 million and said he is not chasing that particular stat -- he is just playing. The quads-over-boat cooler is exactly the kind of hand that makes PLO the format that rewards sustained excellence: even when Khachatryan played the hand perfectly, he lost. Parssinen confirmed he plans to keep showing up at live events, which is good news for anyone watching the high-stakes circuit.
Story 02 of 5
Alex Anton won Event #51: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em for $678,300, his first WSOP bracelet and the largest score of his career. Anton, 25, entered the nine-player final table as the chip leader and converted that advantage methodically. He spiked an ace to crack Gregor Sverko's kings in seventh (Sverko had already pulled the tournament's largest $250K mystery bounty the day before). He then ran eight-five into Josh Reichard's ace-deuce, flopped bottom pair, turned trips, and rivered a full house -- winning a massive five-handed pot that gave him roughly half the chips in play. After busting Reichard in third with pocket sevens, Anton entered heads-up against France's Julien Sitbon (seeking a second bracelet) with a 4:1 chip lead. The final hand: Anton completed with seven-six, called Sitbon's raise, called a flop continuation bet with an open-ended straight draw, made the nut straight on the turn, and Sitbon moved all in drawing dead. Full final table: Anton ($678,300), Sitbon ($452,200), Reichard ($313,400), Douglas ($220,950), Kenjic ($158,500), Miegel ($115,750), Sverko ($86,070), Lipauka ($65,190), Stephens ($50,310). 558 entries, $3,515,400 prize pool.
Why it mattersAnton described his poker life as 'grinding in a cave' -- playing online cash from age 20, transitioning to live cash, then tournaments about two years ago. He said his girlfriend is a singer-songwriter who is now playing arenas and that they have been building their careers together from zero. The bracelet, in his words, is 'validating to family and friends.' He specifically thanked his girlfriend Andrea. His ability to stay present at the table -- he mentioned consciously taking more time than in previous deep runs -- is a repeatable skill, not just a run-good story. Sitbon, meanwhile, finished runner-up for the second time in his career without converting a second bracelet. Josh Reichard also went in as a serious contender and finished third.
Story 03 of 5
Homan Mohammadi of Canada won Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship for $660,000, his first WSOP bracelet. He entered Day 4 as the chip leader from 25 remaining players and never relinquished control. He dispatched Todd German (7th) and Manfred Wolf (6th) back-to-back, then eliminated Buck Bucceri in fourth when his ace-jack held against Bucceri's king-queen. (Bucceri was the player who received a one-round penalty Thursday for calling Farzad Bonyadi 'pussy' during their verbal exchange.) Three-handed, Mohammadi briefly lost the chip lead but bounced back to eliminate Bruce Diamond when his top pair held. Heads-up against Larry Quang, Quang hit a three-outer on the river to survive once, but Mohammadi closed it out shortly after when his ace-six held against king-seven. Final table results: Mohammadi ($660,000), Quang ($450,000), Diamond ($337,000), Bucceri ($254,000), Salim ($193,000), Wolf ($148,000), German ($114,000), Moore ($88,000), Romer ($70,030). 7,538 entries, $6,633,440 prize pool.
Why it mattersMohammadi described having a chess background and treating poker as 'a combination of math, psychology, and sensing situations -- just like life.' He has been playing the Seniors for four years and credited that experience with helping him adjust to the field's playing style, which he noted is 'a different beast' than a $5K 6-max. He mentioned getting a large bluff through on Day 3 as the moment he entered 'the zone.' The chip-leader-wire-to-wire narrative at a 7,538-entry tournament is genuinely difficult to execute and he did it cleanly. Canada does not have a long list of WSOP Champions from this event, and the room was reportedly loud when he finished.
Story 04 of 5
Brazilian poker player Joao Siqueira was ejected from Event #56: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em on Day 1 after smoking a cigarette at the poker table. The WSOP posted a video of the incident on social media. Siqueira was seen arguing with a floor supervisor, refusing to extinguish the cigarette; another player at the table called for a one-round penalty 'at least.' Security was summoned. Siqueira was ultimately informed he was being removed from the tournament for two violations: drinking excessively and -- separately from the smoking -- putting chips in his pocket. He left without further incident. He was not banned from Caesars properties and was expected to return to the WSOP the following day. Nick Schulman, observing the chaos, referred to Siqueira on X as a 'legend.' The $3,000 6-Handed event had 342 entries at time of reporting; Jean-Robert Bellande, Bruce Buffer, and Jeremy Becker were in the field. No poker room in the United States has permitted smoking since 2003.
Why it mattersThe argument could be made that this incident is mostly noise -- a player misbehaved, got removed, end of story. But there are two threads worth noting. First: pocketing chips is a serious integrity violation that can affect the total count of chips in play, not just a minor breach of etiquette. It is the kind of offense that gets people permanently removed from events. The fact that Siqueira was allowed back the next day is notable. Second: the WSOP posting the video on its own social media account is an unusual choice that treats a discipline problem as content -- which says something about how the organization is currently thinking about its media presence.
Story 05 of 5
Shaun Deeb leads Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix heading into the Day 2 finale with 2,925,000 in chips, the largest stack among 21 remaining players. David Williams is second at 1,800,000, Mike Gorodinsky third at 1,750,000. Also advancing: Maximilian Schindler (1,350,000), Danny Noam (1,250,000), Kazuhiro Shirasawa (950,000), Richard Freitas (922,000), Antonios Onoufriou (900,000), Noah Bronstein (900,000), Jeff Madsen, and others. Day 2 was still in progress at time of reporting, with the field told 'four more hands' before the day concluded. Players eliminated on Day 2 include Thomas Zanot (bust to Deeb gutshot in PLO), Barbara Schindler and Yosif Nawabi (double knockout by David Williams in razz), Jeffery Taylor, and Oscar Johansson (bust to Gorodinsky in limit hold'em). Prize pool: $1,260,240. First place: $254,470. All 21 remaining players are guaranteed at least $9,040.
Why it mattersDeeb has been the dominant stack in this event since Day 1. With Madsen, Williams, and Gorodinsky all threatening to make a run, the finale is not a formality -- but Deeb's chip advantage is the kind that absorbs variance in a mixed-game format. A win is bracelet number nine. Deeb entered the summer with one cash and has now outlasted hundreds of players in this field. Williams at second is the 2004 Main Event runner-up, still chasing his first bracelet over two decades later.
Three confirmed bracelets awarded on Day 26 (June 20): Parssinen ($25K PLO), Anton ($10K Mystery Bounty), Mohammadi ($1K Seniors). Nine Game Mix still in play at time of writing. Running total estimated at 50+ through Day 26 -- exact count not confirmed.
Second career bracelet. Defeated Levon Khachatryan ($1,440,680) heads-up with flopped quads over Khachatryan's flopped full house. 451 entries, $10,598,500 prize pool. Previously won Mixed NLH/PLO in 2021. Considered one of the top PLO specialists in the world.
First career bracelet and largest live score. Defeated Julien Sitbon ($452,200) heads-up. Age 25. Entered final table as chip leader. Made nut straight on turn in final hand while Sitbon was drawing dead. 558 entries, $3,515,400 prize pool.
First career bracelet. Chip-led wire-to-wire from Day 4 start. Defeated Larry Quang ($450,000) heads-up -- Quang hit a three-outer on the river to survive once before Mohammadi closed out with ace-six vs king-seven. 7,538 entries, $6,633,440 prize pool. Chess background, six-max specialist.
Nine Game Mix Day 2 still in progress. Counts are from the most recent published chip update.
Notable exits from Day 26 confirmed events and Nine Game Mix Day 2 in-progress eliminations.
Held a narrow chip lead entering heads-up play. Flopped a full house in the decisive hand and snap-called Parssinen's river shove -- Parssinen had flopped quads. Eliminated approximately 30 minutes later after Parssinen took control.
Entered Day 2 hoping to improve on his runner-up finish in this same event at the 2022 WSOP. Could not close the gap on the two chip leaders. Eliminated by Parssinen.
France. Seeking his second WSOP bracelet. Entered heads-up with a 4:1 chip deficit. Pocket tens were drawing dead on the turn against Anton's made nut straight on the final hand.
Briefly held the chip lead five-handed. Lost a massive pot to Anton (Anton rivered a full house with eight-five vs Reichard's ace-deuce top pair). Eliminated in third by Anton's pocket sevens vs jack-ten.
United States. Hit a three-outer on the river to survive one elimination attempt. Lost the final hand with king-seven vs Mohammadi's ace-six.
Received a one-round penalty Thursday for calling Farzad Bonyadi 'pussy' during their verbal altercation. Eliminated fourth when his king-queen ran into Mohammadi's ace-jack.
Foxen's 7th-place finish in the $25K PLO High Roller adds POY points to his existing lead. He cashed $267,993. Updated standings not confirmed from today's sources, but he remains the presumptive leader heading into the weekend.
Schulman advanced to Day 2 of the $10K H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Already won the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. bracelet this summer. A deep run or win in the $10K would be a significant POY points swing. His current chip count not confirmed.
Leads the Nine Game Mix Day 2 finale with 2,925,000 chips and 21 players remaining. A win adds significant POY points. He is currently 8th in POY with 1,606 points. Bracelet nine would be the most by any player in the modern era of the nine-game format.