The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 32
Benny Glaser put the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy in a British carry-on bag Friday, winning the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for his ninth WSOP bracelet and cementing himself as the best mixed-game player alive. Phil Ivey reached his fifth PPC final table and left with $600,698 and still no title. Eelis Parssinen won his third bracelet in six days - beating countryman Juha Helppi in the first-ever Finland vs. Finland heads-up in WSOP history - for $1,172,296 in the $25K PLO/NLH. In less prestigious but equally good news: a Mexican jewelry maker named Ciro Gonzalez busted the Super Seniors event, took a friend's advice to enter the $1,500 Freezeout instead, and won $449,067. Shiina Okamoto's three-peat bid in the Ladies Championship is over. Greg Raymer made 12th in the Super Seniors, meaning the 330-million-year-old fossil left Las Vegas unclaimed. Todd Brunson leads the final 11 of the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw and is chasing his second bracelet, 21 years after his first.
Story 01 of 6
Benny Glaser won the 2026 WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1,343,764 and his ninth WSOP bracelet, earning the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy - widely considered the most prestigious prize in mixed-game poker. Glaser had been chip leader since Day 1 and entered the final day of six holding 8,610,000. The final day played down quickly: Kristopher Tong fell sixth, Maxx Coleman eliminated Paul Volpe in fifth, then went out fourth himself. That left Glaser, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey as a star-studded final three. Ivey held 7.2 million chips at that point but lost them in a handful of pots, exiting third in a round of Limit 2-7 Triple Draw when his weaker eight-high lost to Arieh's better draw. Glaser and Arieh were even heading into heads-up. Glaser took an early lead, Arieh doubled once, but the comeback stalled. The final hand came in Omaha 8 or Better: Glaser's A-Q-7-4 found two pair on the K-4-3-Q-J board against Arieh's A-7-4-3. Arieh finished second for $895,837. Glaser told PokerNews: 'It does feel like a bit of a dream right now. I'm so happy. It is just the dream, it's just like the pinnacle of mixed games achievement.' He also acknowledged he had been dealing with health issues and emotional exhaustion this summer. 'This erases any disappointment for the summer by a very long way.' The final table: 1st Glaser $1,343,764; 2nd Josh Arieh $895,837; 3rd Phil Ivey $600,698; 4th Maxx Coleman $417,607; 5th Paul Volpe $301,405; 6th Kristopher Tong $226,172; 7th Jason Mercier $176,732.
Why it mattersNine WSOP bracelets puts Glaser alongside Johnny Moss on the all-time list. Only Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, and Johnny Chan stand ahead of him. Glaser is not yet 40. The PPC is the hardest title in the game - nine formats, no specialists, week-long grind - and its winners include Chip Reese, Scotty Nguyen, David Bach, John Hennigan, Dan Cates, Brian Rast, Daniel Negreanu, and Michael Mizrachi. Glaser joins them. Three bracelets in three weeks at the 2025 WSOP established him as the dominant mixed-game force of his generation. The PPC confirmed it.
Story 02 of 6
Eelis Parssinen won Event #64: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH for $1,172,296, his third WSOP bracelet and the second of this summer. Less than a week ago, Parssinen won the $25K PLO High Roller (Event #47). The final table included Daniel Negreanu (7th, $152,954), Lou Garza (6th, $203,041), Sean Winter (3rd, $540,754), and in a historically unique moment, Juha Helppi (Finland, 2nd, $781,500) heads-up against Parssinen. It was the first time in WSOP history that two Finnish players competed heads-up for a bracelet. Parssinen told PokerNews he had known Helppi for 19 years: 'When I started to play poker, he was probably the biggest name in Finland. He was already an established no-limit crusher.' The two-and-a-half hour match swung repeatedly before Parssinen closed it out when his A-K-J-5 double-suited held on an ace-high board against Helppi's double-suited jacks. The prize pool was $5,029,000 on 214 entries. Parssinen said he plans to play the $10,000 PLO Championship on Saturday and is now considering a trip to WSOP Paradise given his POY position.
Why it mattersTwo bracelets in six days, both from $25,000 high rollers, totaling over $2.2 million in prize money, makes Parssinen the runaway story of the 2026 WSOP's second half. He joins Naoya Kihara and Calvin Anderson as the only players this series to win multiple bracelets. He is now Finland's most decorated WSOP champion. The Finland vs. Finland heads-up is genuinely unprecedented in 57 years of WSOP history.
Story 03 of 6
France's Lionel Barracano won Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors for $355,263 and his first WSOP bracelet after 20 years of playing poker. Barracano, who came to Las Vegas to celebrate his 60th birthday and play the Super Seniors, beat Kevin Song (South Korea, $236,712) heads-up after recovering from a short stack at five-handed - hitting an ace on the turn to double through Song's pocket jacks. He entered heads-up with a slight chip deficit, ran his jacks into Song's ace-trey in an early all-in, held, and took a commanding lead. The final hand: Barracano's pocket fives flopped a set, pot closed. Barracano told PokerNews through a translator: 'It's every poker player's dream to win a bracelet, so I'm very happy to have done it, especially at my age.' He has been playing online and live poker in France for 20 years with no major results prior to this. He made 12th in the same event two years ago. The field was 3,323 entries with a $2,924,240 prize pool. Greg Raymer, who entered the day in 2nd place with 18 players remaining, finished 12th for $22,305. His 330-million-year-old Moroccan double amniote fossil returned to wherever Raymer keeps it between summers.
Why it mattersBarracano's win is a clean origin story: 20 years at the poker table, no five-figure scores, came to Las Vegas to mark his 60th birthday and left with a gold bracelet and $355,263. The Super Seniors field (3,323 entries, 60+ only) is one of the WSOP's most heartfelt events - the human backstories in this field are consistently exceptional. Raymer busted short of the final table. The fossil goes unclaimed for another year.
Story 04 of 6
Ciro Gonzalez of Cancun, Mexico won Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em for $449,067 and his first WSOP bracelet after a final table he described as feeling like a monster. Gonzalez had originally come to Las Vegas to celebrate his 60th birthday and play the Super Seniors (Event #61). He busted on Day 2. His friend - who was still alive in the Super Seniors - told him to go register the Freezeout instead. He did. Gonzalez entered the final day among the top five in chips, took the chip lead after the first elimination, and ran the table from there - personally eliminating six of the eight players he outlasted. He beat Kyle Lin heads-up when his hand won a flip. Gonzalez owns an artisanal jewelry business in Cancun and has been playing Texas Hold'em for 16 years, but had never posted a five-figure score before Friday. His first-place of $449,067 came out of a $3,474,067 prize pool from 2,617 entrants. 'The money is always good, and we play for that, but the bracelet is something special.' He dedicated it to his daughter.
Why it mattersGonzalez ran the table after one suggestion from a friend. He had never had a five-figure score. He came to Las Vegas for a birthday trip, not a World Series of Poker bracelet, and left with both. The event drew an international final table - Gonzalez (Mexico), Lin (USA), Julian Eibel (Germany), Octavio Borra (Argentina), Nethanel Cohen (France) in the top five. Gonzalez eliminated most of them. 'I feel like a monster,' he said.
Story 05 of 6
Two-time defending Ladies Championship champion Shiina Okamoto was eliminated from Event #68: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship on Day 2, ending her bid for an unprecedented three consecutive titles. PokerNews confirmed Okamoto's elimination in their live blog Friday. The Ladies Championship field is described as 'record-breaking' by PokerNews coverage. The tournament plays to a final table on June 28. Okamoto came into the event as the prohibitive favorite after winning in 2024 and 2025 - Japan's first female WSOP bracelet winner, over $1.2 million in career earnings, and a GTO-trained player who described her pre-tournament approach as 'I try not to let myself feel the pressure, but I do try not to let myself feel it.' The three-peat would have been historically unprecedented in the modern era of the event.
Why it mattersOkamoto won the Ladies Championship back-to-back and was playing for something that has never been done. She's out. The event is still live - a new champion will be named Sunday. The field being record-breaking means the prize pool and the winner's payday will be notable regardless of who takes it. But the specific story of the three-peat is over.
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Event #67: $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Championship is down to 11 players, with Todd Brunson leading the pack at 2,010,000 chips. Brunson won his only WSOP bracelet in 2005 and has been chasing a second for two decades. Justin Smith sits second in chips at 1,960,000. Koji Fujimoto (Japan) is third at 1,275,000. The final day resumes Friday at 1 p.m. at the Paris Gold Section. First place is $392,478.
Why it mattersTodd Brunson is one of the WSOP's most respected mixed-game players and Doyle Brunson's son. One bracelet in a career at this level is underachievement by some measures. With 11 left and chip lead, he has a legitimate shot at changing that Friday. The $10K 2-7 draws a short field of elite lowball specialists - getting to 11 remaining and leading is real.
Four confirmed bracelets from Day 32 action (June 26).
Event #67: $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw chip counts heading into Day 3, Friday June 27. 11 players remain.
Notable eliminations from Day 32 action.
Fifth PPC final table of his career. No Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Ivey's 7.2 million chip stack disappeared in a handful of pots three-handed. Eliminated in Limit 2-7 Triple Draw when Arieh drew better. Eleven bracelets, zero PPC titles.
Runner-up in the most prestigious mixed-game event in the world, weeks after being passed over for the Poker Hall of Fame. Lost to Glaser heads-up in Omaha 8 or Better. The HOF committee may need to rethink.
Made the final table, doubled once with a straight flush against Parssinen, then lost chips in the NLH round and was eliminated by Helppi in PLO with straight and flush draws that didn't get there.
Career-best live score. Lost to countryman Parssinen in the first-ever Finland vs. Finland heads-up in WSOP history. The two have known each other for 19 years. Helppi was the biggest name in Finnish poker when Parssinen started playing.
Was 2nd in chips with 18 players remaining heading into Friday's final day. Did not reach the final table. The 330-million-year-old Moroccan double amniote fossil left Las Vegas without a new owner. Douche bag clause never invoked.
Two-time defending champion eliminated on Day 2, ending the three-peat bid. Okamoto said before the event she had 'no idea' about her chances and tried not to feel pressure. Tournament continues to final table Sunday with a new champion to be crowned.
South Korean player lost heads-up to Barracano. Doubled once in the match with pocket aces but couldn't close the gap. Career-best live finish.
Still leads the race. No bracelet wins Friday. Margin narrowing as the second half of the series produces more multi-bracelet winners.
Locked in his position with Thursday's $2,500 NLH win. No action Friday. Watching the Parssinen surge from 2nd place.
Won Event #47 ($25K PLO) and now Event #64 ($25K PLO/NLH) in six days. The PokerNews article on his win explicitly listed him as entering the POY race. Exact point totals not confirmed at press time, but two $25K high roller victories in the same series put him in serious contention. Said he's now considering attending WSOP Paradise.
Third in the race. No movement Friday.
Two bracelets this series (Event #17 and Event #21). Watching the high roller action from the sidelines Friday.