The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 26
Three bracelets fell on Day 26 and the biggest was the most dramatic: Eelis Parssinen won the $25,000 PLO High Roller for $2,161,056 after flopping quads in the decisive heads-up hand against Levon Khachatryan's full house. Alex Anton, a 25-year-old who described himself as grinding 'in a cave' for five years, won the $10K Mystery Bounty for $678,300 and his first bracelet. Homan Mohammadi of Canada took the $1K Seniors Championship for $660,000 -- also a first bracelet -- over a 7,538-entry field that included Farzad Bonyadi, who entered the final day 10th in chips and did not make the final table. João Siqueira was kicked out of a WSOP event for smoking a cigarette at the table, getting drunk, and putting chips in his pocket. Nick Schulman called him a legend. The $10K H.O.R.S.E. Championship plays down to a winner Saturday with 11 players remaining. And Shaun Deeb was heads-up in the Nine Game Mix as of this writing hunting bracelet nine. Day 26.
Story 01 of 5
Eelis Parssinen won Event #47: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha for $2,161,056 and his second WSOP bracelet after defeating Levon Khachatryan heads-up in a match that turned on one enormous cooler. Khachatryan began heads-up with a narrow chip lead. In the decisive hand, both players trapped throughout and got it all in. Khachatryan confidently tabled a flopped full house -- only for Parssinen to show he had flopped quads. That cooler gave Parssinen an overwhelming chip lead and Khachatryan could not recover. The five-handed finale ended quickly: Jeremy Druckman was eliminated on the very first hand of the day, Aaron Mermelstein followed 15 minutes later, and Sergio Martinez Gonzalez -- who had finished runner-up in this same event at the 2022 WSOP -- was eliminated three-handed by Parssinen before heads-up began. Full final table results: Parssinen ($2,161,056), Khachatryan ($1,440,680), Martinez Gonzalez ($990,849), Mermelstein ($694,268), Druckman ($495,769), Costanzo ($360,930), Foxen ($267,993), Gryko ($203,027). Parssinen's first bracelet came in a Mixed NLH/PLO event in 2021. This is his second and his first in a pure PLO high roller. He currently sits second on Finland's all-time money list, behind Patrik Antonius by roughly $14 million.
Why it mattersParssinen is one of the most accomplished PLO specialists in the world and has spent over a decade building that reputation primarily as online phenom 'EEE27'. Winning the WSOP's premier $25K PLO event is the exact kind of title his resume was missing. Khachatryan, who came into heads-up with a chip lead, gets a $1.44M consolation prize and a bad beat story with a seven-figure punchline. Alex Foxen's seventh-place finish ($267,993) earns POY points for a deep run -- he entered Day 3 as the chip leader -- but no bracelet.
Story 02 of 5
Alex Anton won Event #51: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em for $678,300 and his first WSOP bracelet, defeating France's Julien Sitbon heads-up in roughly twenty minutes. Anton, 25, entered the final day as the chip leader among nine players and never relinquished control. He spiked an ace on the flop to crack Kent Stephens' queens (ninth), busted Gregor Sverko's kings with ace-nine by spiking another ace (seventh), turned a full house from bottom pair against Josh Reichard's top pair (third), and hit the nut straight on the turn in the final hand when Sitbon held pocket tens. The field was 558 entries, prize pool $3,515,400. 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). Gregor Sverko had pulled the event's largest $250,000 mystery bounty the previous day. Anton pivoted from online cash to live cash to tournaments over the past two years after playing poker daily since age 20.
Why it mattersAnton is 25 and this is his first major title. The field was competitive -- Sitbon is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, Reichard is a well-regarded tournament regular -- and Anton managed the chip lead wire-to-wire. For Sitbon, it's another deep run and $452,200 but no bracelet. For Anton, it validates years of grinding that his family and friends couldn't watch from the outside. His quote: 'In some ways, it's validating to family and friends.'
Story 03 of 5
Homan Mohammadi of Canada won Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship for $660,000 and his first WSOP bracelet, defeating Larry Quang heads-up after a 7,538-entry field and four days of play. Mohammadi entered Day 4 as the chip leader and maintained that edge through most of the finale. He scored back-to-back knockouts in seventh (Todd German) and sixth (Manfred Wolf), then eliminated Buck Bucceri -- who had been penalized for touching Farzad Bonyadi's shoulder during the Day 3 confrontation -- in fourth when ace-jack held against king-queen. Three-handed, he briefly fell to short stack before eliminating Bruce Diamond in third. Heads-up against Quang, he was one card away from closing when Quang hit a three-outer on the river to survive; Mohammadi closed it out in the next hand when ace-six held against king-seven. Full final table: 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). Total prize pool: $6,633,440. Mohammadi has a chess background and is a self-described 6-max specialist who said the Seniors format 'is a different beast.' A large bluff for his full stack the previous day reportedly put him 'in the zone.' Farzad Bonyadi, who entered Day 4 as 10th in chips (5,775,000), did not make the final table.
Why it mattersMohammadi converted a Day 4 chip lead into a bracelet in a 7,538-entry field, which is a significantly harder thing to do than it sounds -- most chip leaders don't. Bonyadi's absence from the final table after the Bucceri confrontation storyline from yesterday adds irony: the man he had words with made the final nine; Bonyadi did not. Bucceri's fourth-place finish earns him $254,000 and some inadvertent narrative satisfaction. Quang played well enough to hit a three-outer to survive late and push the match to another hand -- he just ran into a better-connected player heads-up.
Story 04 of 5
Brazilian poker player João Siqueira was ejected from Day 1 of Event #56: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em after attempting to smoke a cigarette at the table, refusing to stop when confronted by a floor supervisor, and subsequently being informed he was being removed for drinking excessively and putting chips in his pocket. The WSOP posted video of the confrontation on its official social media account. Siqueira argued with the floor while continuing to smoke -- indoor poker room smoking has been prohibited in U.S. card rooms since 2003 -- while security was called. Another player at the table requested 'at least' a one-round penalty. Nick Schulman posted on X calling Siqueira a 'legend.' Siqueira was removed without further incident, was not banned from Caesars properties, and is expected to return to the series on Saturday. His identity was confirmed by Brazilian outlet Mundo Poker.
Why it mattersThe WSOP's decision to post official video of the incident is a content and communications choice -- amplifying a rules enforcement moment for reach. The chip-in-pocket accusation is the most serious element: pocketing chips during play is grounds for disqualification and potential property banning. The fact that neither consequence was applied suggests the amount was small or evidence was ambiguous. Schulman's 'legend' characterization was not an endorsement of the behavior so much as an acknowledgment that this person now permanently exists in WSOP lore.
Story 05 of 5
Shaun Deeb entered Day 3 of Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix as the dominant chip leader and continued his run through the field on Saturday. By mid-afternoon he had reached heads-up play. His opponent was not confirmed in available reporting at brief publication time. A winner would be crowned from this event on June 20. First place is $254,470. A win would be Deeb's ninth WSOP bracelet -- he won his eighth at WSOP Europe last year. The Nine Game Mix drew 472 entries and has a $1,260,240 prize pool.
Why it mattersNine bracelets would be an extraordinary total for any active player at the Las Vegas summer series. Deeb's breadth across multiple formats in a nine-game event gives him a structural edge that his chip stack advantage only amplifies. He arrived at this final day with more than twice the chips of anyone else. His summer was largely quiet before this. If he wins, the narrative arc of going from zero cashes to bracelet nine in one event is its own story.
Three bracelets confirmed on Day 26 (June 20): Parssinen in $25K PLO High Roller, Anton in $10K Mystery Bounty, Mohammadi in $1K Seniors Championship. Nine Game Mix result not confirmed at brief publication time. Running total estimate: 50+ through Day 26.
Second career bracelet. First in 2021 Mixed NLH/PLO. Defeated Levon Khachatryan ($1,440,680) heads-up. Decisive hand: Parssinen flopped quads over Khachatryan's flopped full house. 451 entries. Known online as 'EEE27'. Second on Finland's all-time money list behind Patrik Antonius.
First career bracelet and largest live score. 558 entries, $3,515,400 prize pool. Defeated Julien Sitbon ($452,200) heads-up in ~20 minutes. 25 years old. Led the final table chip-to-wire. Previous career: online cash to live cash to tournaments in last two years.
First career bracelet. 7,538 entries, $6,633,440 prize pool. Defeated Larry Quang ($450,000) heads-up. Entered Day 4 as chip leader and converted. Chess background. Self-described 6-max specialist. Quang hit a three-outer late in heads-up to survive one hand before Mohammadi closed.
Nine Game Mix and HORSE Championship both ongoing Saturday. $50K PLO High Roller Day 1 in progress. Chip counts not available for in-progress events at brief publication time.
Notable exits from Day 26 events.
Began heads-up with a narrow chip lead. Flopped a full house in the decisive hand. Parssinen had flopped quads. Could not recover. Runner-up.
Eliminated on the very first hand when five-handed play resumed for the final day.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner. Went heads-up vs. Anton down 4:1 in chips. Hit a straight in the final hand but was drawing dead when it fell. Runner-up.
Briefly held the chip lead during the final table. Eliminated when Anton turned a full house from bottom pair against his top pair and moved all-in.
Entered Day 4 as 10th in chips at 5,775,000 with 25 players remaining. Did not make the nine-player final table. Exact finish and prize not confirmed at brief publication time. Received a one-round penalty during Day 3 for an on-table confrontation with Buck Bucceri.
The player who received a penalty for touching Bonyadi during their Day 3 confrontation finished fourth. Eliminated by Mohammadi when ace-jack held against king-queen.
Brazilian player ejected for smoking at the table, excessive drinking, and putting chips in his pocket. Not banned from Caesars properties. Expected to return Saturday. Nick Schulman tweeted 'legend.' WSOP posted video of incident on official social media.
Foxen entered Day 3 as chip leader and was eliminated seventh by Parssinen (covered in yesterday's brief). Today's final table results confirm his seventh-place finish at $267,993. POY points for a 7th in a $25K event are meaningful. He is the presumptive leader heading into Saturday but exact updated standings not confirmed.
Schulman confirmed in Day 2 of the $10K H.O.R.S.E. Championship with 11 players remaining. He already won the $1,500 HORSE bracelet earlier this summer. A deep run or win here would significantly close the gap with Foxen in POY. He also found João Siqueira legendary on Twitter, which costs zero POY points.
Deeb was heads-up in the Nine Game Mix as of brief publication. A win would be his ninth WSOP bracelet and a significant POY haul. His pre-summer POY position was 8th. Updated standings not confirmed.