The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 27
Calvin Anderson won the $10K H.O.R.S.E. Championship on Sunday for his seventh WSOP bracelet and his second of this series -- both in $10K mixed game events, separated by four days. Abhishek Mhatre, a Canadian player with exactly two recorded live cashes on the Hendon Mob, won the $3K 6-Handed NLHE for $492,050 and his first bracelet by defeating 2014 Main Event champion Martin Jacobson heads-up in about ten hands. Zachary Gruneberg won the first-ever WSOP bracelet in Five Card PLO -- a brand new event -- late Saturday. And the Nine Game Mix result from late Saturday is in: Joey Couden caught a wheel on seventh street in Razz to deny Shaun Deeb his ninth bracelet, making Deeb a three-time runner-up in a single summer. The $50K PLO High Roller final table -- eight players, Naoya Kihara seeking his third bracelet of the series -- plays out today. And the $50K Poker Players Championship, the most prestigious mixed game on the calendar, fired this afternoon. Day 27.
Story 01 of 5
Calvin Anderson won Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for $413,580 and his seventh career WSOP bracelet, defeating Josh Arieh heads-up in a short match Sunday at Paris Las Vegas. Anderson entered the day as chip leader among 11 returning players and navigated a long, contentious three-handed match against Arieh and John Veltri that stretched nearly five hours before he finally pulled away. The decisive heads-up hand came in Seven Card Stud, when Arieh's straight ran into Anderson's flush. Full final table: Anderson ($413,580), Arieh ($275,620), Veltri ($190,150), Jobin ($134,350), R. Mizrachi ($97,270), Bach ($72,200), Milgrom ($54,990), Lin ($42,990). The 189-entry field generated a $1,422,900 prize pool with first place worth $413,580. Anderson's seventh bracelet makes him one of only 18 players in WSOP history to reach that total. His previous $10K event win in the Razz Championship came just four days earlier on June 17. He told reporters after: 'Not a lot of sleep, but it's been a blast. I feel like this is where I belong.' A friend on his rail said if Anderson cared about the total, he'd have 20 bracelets. Anderson's response: 'I don't think about those type of things, really. I just want to feel forward.' His next target is the $50K Poker Players Championship, which started Sunday afternoon.
Why it mattersTwo bracelets in a single week in two $10K mixed game championships -- Razz, then HORSE -- is the kind of run that does not happen by accident. Anderson's seven bracelets have come across Stud Hi-Lo, Razz (twice), mixed game formats, and now HORSE. The win moves him to second place in the 2026 POY standings. His friend and rail noted that the $10K fields are among the most stacked all summer, which makes consecutive wins in back-to-back $10K titles a legitimate statement about where Anderson sits right now among the world's best mixed game players. The HORSE final table included Josh Arieh (7 bracelets), Robert Mizrachi (5 bracelets), and David Bach (former HORSE champion) -- Anderson still converted a chip lead into a bracelet in less than a session.
Story 02 of 5
Abhishek Mhatre of Canada won Event #56: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em for $492,050 and his first WSOP bracelet Sunday, defeating 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson heads-up in approximately ten hands with a near 6:1 chip lead. Mhatre had only two recorded live cashes on The Hendon Mob before this result, making this more than ten times his previous largest live score. The field was 1,150 entries, generating a $3,075,500 prize pool. Mhatre entered heads-up with the chip lead and never let Jacobson find footing. Final table: Mhatre ($492,050), Jacobson ($327,370), Salem ($226,350), Loeliger ($159,050), Rand ($113,620), Vitch ($82,530), Lykov ($60,970). Naseem Salem had led after Day 1. Paulina Loeliger held the chip lead at multiple points during the final table after making what was called the call of the tournament -- a jack-high flush bluff-catch on Kevin Rand. Nick Schulman and 2024 Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo were both eliminated before the final table of seven. On winning, Mhatre said: 'It feels great, this is just for fun.' He noted he hadn't studied for tournaments 'ever,' and that his pre-tournament ICM estimate of a bracelet was 20-to-1.
Why it mattersThe player with two career live cashes defeating a former Main Event champion heads-up in a major event is the bracket poker stories are made of. Jacobson came in with a chip disadvantage but even catching up would have required cards that didn't arrive. Mhatre played a chaotic final table that included multiple lead changes, a chip bleed where he doubled two opponents in quick succession, and then a comeback flush to crack pocket queens that swung momentum back his way permanently. He had Kristen Foxen -- who gave him chips early in the tournament, as he acknowledged in his winner's interview -- to thank for her contribution. Loeliger's fourth-place finish was the best among the 'serious' final table contenders and she has nothing to be embarrassed about.
Story 03 of 5
Zachary Gruneberg won Event #53: $1,500 Five Card Pot-Limit Omaha for $271,552, claiming his third career WSOP bracelet and the first ever awarded in the Five Card PLO format, which made its debut on the 2026 WSOP schedule. The 1,319-entry field generated a $1,750,973 prize pool. Gruneberg defeated Hokyiu Lee (Hong Kong) heads-up in minutes when his turned wheel held. Lee was runner-up in this event and had also finished runner-up in a $1,500 PLO event just days earlier -- two heads-up losses in a single week. Final table: Gruneberg ($271,552), Lee ($180,230), Mossinger ($127,560), Mokhammad ($91,530), Cedolia ($66,610), Shankar ($49,160), Claushuis ($36,810). Gruneberg's previous two bracelets were both online in Hold'em events. After winning, he said: 'It means way more' than the online ones. He learned Five Card PLO in Pennsylvania home games and hopes the event becomes a permanent WSOP fixture. He also noted that an extra card in opponents' hands creates bluffing lines that don't exist in traditional PLO.
Why it mattersThis is literally a new bracelet -- no one had won one in Five Card PLO before. The first champion of any event is a permanent historical footnote. Gruneberg winning the inaugural means he gets to tell that story for the rest of his career. Lee's runner-up twice in one week is the kind of stretch that makes a player question what they did to deserve it. Mossinger's third-place finish pushed him past $200,000 in career earnings. The Five Card PLO format drew 1,319 entries at the $1,500 price point, which is a legitimate field size -- the WSOP has reason to bring it back.
Story 04 of 5
Joey Couden won Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix for $254,470 and his third career WSOP bracelet late Saturday night, defeating Shaun Deeb in a heads-up match that lasted three and a half hours. Deeb had entered heads-up play with an approximately 2:1 chip lead. The two players exchanged the lead multiple times before Couden seized control in Stud. The final hand was in Razz: Deeb was all-in on sixth street holding a made 8-7-3-2-A low. Couden was drawing to a wheel and caught a six on seventh street to make 6-5-4-2-A, the better low, to close it out. Deeb immediately left the tournament area. Couden -- who had been picked in the $25K Fantasy draft earlier this summer -- celebrated with a large rail. Final table: Couden ($254,470), Deeb ($166,540), Shirasawa ($111,610), Taylor ($76,510), Li ($53,680), Onoufriou ($38,560), Bronstein ($28,390). The event drew a record 472 entries and generated a $1,260,240 prize pool. Deeb was runner-up in the Nine Game Mix last year as well, per Card Player. This is his third runner-up finish of the 2026 WSOP series.
Why it mattersDeeb had a chip lead entering heads-up -- the second time this summer he had a chip lead late in an event and did not convert. His third second-place finish of 2026 puts him in rare statistical company for the wrong reasons. Couden's bracelet is his third overall, all in non-Hold'em or mixed-game formats, and this win in a nine-game event spanning all the major formats is a legitimate test of range. His quote after: 'I just wanted it so bad.' The size of his rail apparently matched or exceeded the enthusiasm of the Deeb contingent, which by most accounts was also loud. Eli Elezra and Mike Gorodinsky were two notable names eliminated during the day by Couden before the final seven.
Story 05 of 5
The final table of Event #55: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha plays out Sunday with 8 players remaining from a 110-entry field. Robert Cowen of the United Kingdom leads with 9,060,000. Joao Simao (Brazil) is second with 6,985,000. Carlo van Ravenswoud (Netherlands) third with 6,300,000. Naoya Kihara of Japan sits fifth with 2,035,000. Also at the table: Venkat Chivukula (US, 4,700,000), Veselin Karakitukov (Bulgaria, 1,510,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil, 1,450,000), and Santhosh Suvarna (India, 1,185,000). First place: $1,368,700. Min cash: $152,020. The final table was streamed on a 2.5-hour delay Sunday. Negreanu was in the field on Day 2 according to Saturday coverage and was confirmed to have bagged chips heading into the final, but does not appear among the 8 remaining players at the final table -- his exit point not confirmed in available reporting.
Why it mattersKihara has already won two bracelets this summer with six additional cashes. Getting to another final table in a $50K field puts him in a unique category for this series. Cowen leads by more than 2,000,000 over second place. Dzivielevski is seventh but PLO is a game where chip stacks can evaporate in a single pot -- at $50K buy-in PLO with antes, there will be big hands. The $1.368 million first prize would be the largest of Cowen's career if he converts. The winner of this event gets confirmed in the next brief.
Three bracelets confirmed for Day 27 coverage (June 21): Anderson in $10K HORSE, Mhatre in $3K 6-Handed NLHE. One additional bracelet from late Saturday (June 20) not in yesterday's brief: Gruneberg in $1,500 Five Card PLO (inaugural). Nine Game Mix result from late Saturday also resolved: Couden over Deeb. $50K PLO High Roller winner not yet confirmed at brief publication time.
Seventh career bracelet. Second of the 2026 WSOP (also won $10K Razz June 17). Defeated Josh Arieh heads-up. 189 entries, $1,422,900 prize pool. Final hand: Anderson's flush beat Arieh's straight in Seven Card Stud. Moves to second in POY standings. Former 8-Game Mix champion (two years ago). One of 18 players in WSOP history with 7+ bracelets.
First career bracelet and largest live cash by more than 10x. Second recorded live tournament cash per Hendon Mob. 1,150 entries, $3,075,500 prize pool. Defeated 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (Sweden) heads-up with a 6:1 chip lead. Final hand: Mhatre's ten-nine out-flopped Jacobson's jack-nine. Entered heads-up as overwhelming chip leader and match lasted approximately ten hands.
Third career bracelet. First-ever WSOP bracelet awarded in Five Card PLO format (new 2026 event). 1,319 entries, $1,750,973 prize pool. Defeated Hokyiu Lee (Hong Kong) heads-up when turned wheel held. Lee runner-up in two PLO events in one week. Gruneberg's prior two bracelets were online Hold'em.
Third career bracelet. Defeated Shaun Deeb heads-up in 3.5 hours after trailing 2:1 in chips. Final hand: Razz -- Couden caught a six on seventh street to make 6-5-4-2-A wheel vs. Deeb's made 8-7-3-2-A. Record 472 entries, $1,260,240 prize pool. Deeb's third runner-up of the 2026 series.
$50K PLO High Roller final table chip counts as of bagging Saturday night. $50K Poker Players Championship Day 1 chip counts not yet available (event started Sunday afternoon). Millionaire Maker Day 2d in progress Sunday.
Notable exits from events covered in today's brief.
Seven-time WSOP bracelet winner fell just short of 8. Held big lead at various points in three-handed play. Eliminated when his straight ran into Anderson's flush in Seven Card Stud heads-up. Was denied what would have been a historically significant bracelet number.
Three-handed battle against Anderson and Arieh lasted nearly five hours. Was reportedly involved in a heated exchange with Anderson after a disputed raise ruling. Eliminated in third when Anderson made a straight in Stud Hi-Lo.
Five-time bracelet winner. Arieh spiked an ace on seventh street to bust him.
2014 WSOP Main Event champion from Sweden. Entered heads-up as an approximate 6:1 chip underdog. Could not mount a comeback. Eliminated when his jack-nine was outflopped by Mhatre's ten-nine, which paired on the flop.
Held the chip lead multiple times during the final table and made the call of the tournament -- a jack-high flush bluff-catch on Kevin Rand. Eliminated fourth when her jack-eight suited jam was called by Mhatre's jack-nine, which held.
Third runner-up finish of the 2026 WSOP. Had a 2:1 chip lead entering heads-up. In the final Razz hand, had a made 8-7-3-2-A low but Couden caught a wheel on seventh street. Deeb left the tournament area immediately after the hand. His 17th career WSOP heads-up appearance; now 10 runner-up finishes all-time.
Made two PLO event final tables in one week, losing heads-up in both. Also finished runner-up in Event #35: $1,500 PLO. Total from both runner-ups: $326,000+. Runner-up curse apparently format-agnostic.
Anderson's $10K HORSE win on Sunday moves him to second in the 2026 POY standings per PokerNews. His two bracelets this summer came in back-to-back $10K mixed game championships -- the Razz (June 17) and now HORSE (June 21). He entered the $50K Poker Players Championship Sunday afternoon as a clear favorite by form alone. Updated POY standings not confirmed.
Kihara has won two bracelets this summer and cashed six additional times. He's now at the final table of the $50K PLO High Roller seeking a third bracelet. His exact POY position not confirmed in available reporting, but the volume of cashes and two bracelet wins puts him firmly in the conversation.
Foxen was the presumptive POY leader entering Sunday. His position was not updated in today's sources but Anderson's two-bracelet week means Foxen's lead has narrowed or evaporated. Updated standings not confirmed.