The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 36
Benny Glaser won the $50,000 Poker Players Championship to claim the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and his ninth WSOP bracelet, beating Josh Arieh heads-up in a final hand that fell in Omaha 8 or Better. Phil Ivey finished third for his fifth PPC final table appearance and still no title. Elsewhere, Taylor Atchison claimed his first bracelet in the Stud Hi-Lo after overcoming a 6-to-1 chip deficit heads-up against Daniil Fedunov. The $10K PLO Championship is now three-handed with Michael Mizrachi sitting on 80% of the chips in play and hunting bracelet number nine.
Story 01 of 5
Benny Glaser won Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, taking down the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and $1,343,764 to earn his ninth career WSOP bracelet. He defeated Josh Arieh heads-up in a match that was not particularly close once they got short-handed. The final hand came in Omaha 8 or Better: a queen on the turn gave Glaser the better two pair and Arieh had no outs on the river. Full final table results: 1st Benny 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. The field was 108 entries with a $5,130,000 prize pool. On the final day, Tong fell first in sixth when Glaser won a race. Coleman eliminated Volpe in fifth, then busted himself in fourth when Arieh made a boat in PLO. That left Glaser, Arieh, and Ivey three-handed, and Ivey's 7.2 million chips evaporated in a handful of pots before he exited in third. Glaser said the win 'erases any disappointment for the summer by a very long way,' referring to a painful runner-up finish in the Limit Hold'em Championship earlier in the series. The Chip Reese Memorial Trophy champions now include Glaser alongside Michael Mizrachi, Brian Rast, Daniel Negreanu, Dan Cates, John Hennigan, David Bach, Scotty Nguyen, and Chip Reese himself.
Why it mattersNine bracelets places Glaser alongside Johnny Moss on the all-time list. Only Hellmuth, Ivey, Brunson, Seidel, and Chan have more. What makes this particularly striking is the rate: Glaser won three bracelets in three weeks at the 2025 WSOP, then added this one in 2026. The PPC is eight games over multiple days and draws exclusively from the deepest mixed-game talent pool on the planet. Winning it is the defining credential in that world. The fact that he beat Arieh and Ivey to do it - two of the best mixed-game players alive - makes it harder to argue with. Glaser said he doesn't like claiming to be number one. The trophy says otherwise.
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Phil Ivey finished third in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $600,698, marking his fifth PPC final table appearance and his fifth time leaving without the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Ivey returned to the final day with over 7.2 million chips and was part of a legitimate three-handed battle with Glaser and Arieh. His chips evaporated in a small number of pots before he was eliminated in third. Earlier in the day, a PokerNews report noted that Daniel Negreanu was simultaneously playing a final table at a separate WSOP event at the same time as Ivey at the PPC - exact event and result for Negreanu not confirmed at press time.
Why it mattersIvey has 11 WSOP bracelets, a Poker Hall of Fame plaque, and the general consensus that he is one of the greatest players who ever lived. He has now reached the final table of the hardest event on the schedule five times and left without the one prize that would make an already extraordinary resume feel complete. Glaser beat him. The gap between being at the PPC final table and winning it is not trivial, but Ivey knows what the table looks like and has earned his seat repeatedly. The Chip Reese Trophy is the one that keeps him coming back.
Story 03 of 5
Taylor Atchison won Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $159,276 and his first WSOP bracelet at his first WSOP final table. He began heads-up against Daniil Fedunov as the massive chip underdog - a 6:1 deficit - and won the bracelet anyway. The final hand: Atchison made sixes full of fives to beat Fedunov's flush. PokerNews described the final table as comical, with short stacks surviving all-in confrontations more than ten times in a row, and Atchison himself swinging wildly throughout - holding 70% of all chips at one point before shrinking back to short stack before anyone was even eliminated. David Bach, the four-time bracelet winner who entered the final table as a contender in sixth at 1,025,000, was eliminated in sixth after losing a sizable pot. Once Bach was out, a new name was guaranteed to win the bracelet. Atchison then ran it up from his short stack to close it out.
Why it mattersA first final table win in Stud Hi-Lo - one of the more specialized games on the schedule - is an unusual way to break through. The field is small, the game is old-school, and the kind of player who makes a Stud Hi-Lo final table is usually someone who has been grinding mixed games for years. Atchison won it on his first shot. According to PokerNews, the win quadrupled his Hendon Mob earnings. Bach getting sixth is the rough part of the story - he had the resumé and the stack to compete but couldn't convert.
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Event #70: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship has reached its three-handed stage with Michael Mizrachi sitting on approximately 40,225,000 chips - roughly 80% of all chips in play - against Zarvan Tumboli (5,550,000) and Michael Hahn (4,450,000). The winner takes $1,350,203 from a $7,774,800 prize pool drawn from 730 entries. Players eliminated at the final table include: Martin Zamani in 4th ($446,008), Ian Matakis in 5th ($320,763), Raj Vohra in 6th ($235,073), Jesse Lonis in 7th ($175,233), and Toby Joyce in 8th ($132,908). Mizrachi became chip leader in a memorable hand on Day 3 when he rivered a flush to eliminate two players simultaneously - Tsz Shing's pocket kings and Kai Yang's pocket aces both lost to Mizrachi's suited king-queen-jack-nine catching a ten-high flush on the river. Sam Soverel was also in the event and did not cash in the top spots.
Why it mattersMizrachi busted the PPC before the final table, which cleared his schedule for a full PLO focus. He entered Day 3 as chip leader and has now converted that into a commanding position three-handed with 80% of the chips. A bracelet here would be his ninth career and first in PLO - adding to a resume that already includes the 2025 Main Event and defending POY. The bigger the chip lead three-handed, the harder it gets to blow it, but PLO can move fast. Tumboli and Hahn are both still in it at roughly 10% of chips each.
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Before the PPC points are updated, the WSOP POY standings show Alex Foxen leading at 2,721 points, with Nick Schulman second at 2,550, Josh Arieh third at 2,524, and Benny Glaser fourth at 2,460. Benny Glaser's PPC bracelet win will add a substantial point haul to his total - a $50K event win counts among the highest-weighted results on the schedule. Arieh's runner-up finish also earns him points. Martin Zamani's fourth-place finish in the PLO Championship moved him into the top 10 at approximately 2,154 points. Shaun Deeb sits ninth at 2,019. Glaser's updated total, once calculated, is expected to push him toward the top of the standings.
Why it mattersThe $1 million POY prize means every tournament result in the back half of the summer carries real stakes beyond the bracelet. Glaser winning the PPC - a high-prestige, high-buy-in event - is one of the bigger single-result point swings possible at the WSOP. If Foxen doesn't add to his total while Glaser collects PPC points, the lead could flip. Arieh is also still alive in the race despite the heads-up loss. Schulman's eighth bracelet win earlier in the series keeps him competitive. The POY race is now a three-to-four player battle with 65+ events still on the schedule.
Two confirmed bracelets from the June 29-30 overnight window. Ciro Gonzalez also won Event #65 ($1,500 Freezeout) per a PokerNews report published approximately 21 minutes before press time - full details pending.
Ninth career WSOP bracelet. Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Beat Josh Arieh heads-up in O8 - queen on the turn, better two pair. Joins Johnny Moss at 9 bracelets all-time.
First WSOP bracelet at his first WSOP final table. Overcame 6:1 chip deficit vs. Daniil Fedunov. Sixes full of fives in the final hand. Dedicated to wife and son per PokerNews.
Jewelry maker wins a WSOP bracelet. PokerNews headline: 'Jewelry Maker Strikes Gold.' Full table results pending.
Three-handed chip counts from PLO Championship final table. No chip counts yet from Mini Main Event Day 1 flights (Event #72, underway today).
Eliminations from PPC final table, Stud Hi-Lo final table, and PLO Championship final table. All confirmed.
Heads-up vs. Glaser. Final hand in O8 - Glaser rivered the better two pair on a queen turn. Arieh had Glaser nearly even going into heads-up but momentum was with the Brit from the start. Seven bracelets, runner-up in the PPC. Still earns major POY points.
Fifth PPC final table. Still no Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Returned to the final day with 7.2 million chips and saw them evaporate in a handful of pots three-handed. Eleven bracelets, zero PPC titles.
Eliminated by Arieh's PLO boat over three-of-a-kind. Had previously eliminated Volpe in 5th.
Eliminated by Maxx Coleman. Entered as the clear short stack on the final day.
PLO Championship final table. 4th place finish moved him into the top 10 of the POY standings at approximately 2,154 points.
PLO Championship final table.
Four-time bracelet winner entered the final table in sixth with 1,025,000 chips. Lost a sizable pot about an hour in to become the short stack and was next out. Once Bach was gone, the field was guaranteed a new champion.
Led 6:1 heads-up against Atchison. Lost the final hand when Atchison made sixes full of fives over his flush.
Foxen holds the lead at 2,721 points ahead of Glaser's PPC points being added. His fourth bracelet win earlier in the series (Event #36: $10K Super Turbo Bounty) remains his high-water mark. If Glaser's PPC win pushes past him, Foxen will need a deep run in a remaining event to reassert the lead.
Was fourth at 2,460 points before the PPC win. A $50K event bracelet win is among the highest-weighted outcomes on the schedule. Glaser's updated total could push him to the top or second place once official points are posted.
Eighth bracelet winner (Event #32: H.O.R.S.E.) keeping pace. No confirmed deep run in recent days but still positioned within striking distance.
Runner-up in the PPC earns substantial points. Arieh is also a Poker Hall of Fame candidate - the PokerNews article noted he 'could prove voters wrong at PPC final table.' He didn't win the bracelet, but second place in the PPC is an elite result.
Defending POY sitting on a dominant chip lead with two players left in the PLO Championship. A bracelet here plus any other deep run would significantly move the needle for his POY defense.