It’s not usually {that a} poker participant will get to move Phil Hellmuth and declare a World Series of Poker report. But in successful the 2026 WSOP $10,000 razz championship, Calvin Anderson did simply that.
Anderson claimed his sixth profession bracelet and gained this championship for the second time, incomes a first-place prize of $357,026. This victory pushed Anderson previous Hellmuth because the winningest event razz participant in WSOP historical past, with $759,280 in complete earnings within the lowball stud variant. Anderson gained his second total profession WSOP bracelet within the $10,000 razz occasion in 2018, the primary of his three $10,000 buy-in blended recreation titles up to now. He can also be the 2024 $10,000 eight-game championship winner. Anderson’s total profession earnings now sit at $8,462,984.
“It’s a really cool thing to win the same thing again,” Anderson instructed PokerInformation after his win. “It kind of shows that it’s a testament to the skill set. Most people kind of shit on razz a little bit. I mean, almost the whole tournament everybody was like, ‘Oh, there’s no skill set in this and just all about getting lucky and all this stuff.’ That’s what you want people to think, right?”
Anderson joins Nick Schulman (eight), Yuri Dzivielevski (six), Kristen Foxen (six), and Adrian Mateos (six) in claiming main milestone bracelets in current weeks on the WSOP.
It was not a simple or fast path to a sixth profession WSOP victory. After two days of poker whittled the sphere from 155 all the way down to eight, it took nearly 12 hours in actual time to get from the eight-handed ultimate desk to the final hand of the event.
The Rise And Fall Of Leknes
Anderson held the chip result in begin the ultimate day of motion within the $10,000 razz occasion, although he was nearly tied with Eric Rodawig on the high. Those two gamers would ultimately battle heads-up for the title, but it surely was removed from a linear path from begin to end.
Shane Littlefield was the primary participant to fall, going out in eighth place ($36,395) by the hands of Max Kruse early within the day. After an prolonged stretch of seven-handed play, Tobias Leknes knocked out Philip Sternheimer in seventh place ($46,385), eliminating the Triton common and 2025 WSOP bracelet winner.
Kruse, who gained a bracelet at WSOP Europe in 2022, additionally fell to Leknes. On Kruse’s ultimate hand, his 7-4-3 to start out failed to enhance on all 4 ensuing streets, and Leknes’ made 8-6 low spelled Kruse’s finish in sixth place ($60,868). Leknes made it three straight eliminations as he battered Yuval Bronshtein in back-to-back pots, ending off the two-time bracelet winner in fifth place ($82,171) with a seven low, adopted by an eight low.
Leknes’ run of three straight eliminations could be his peak, although. He acquired chewed up by the seemingly inevitable run of Anderson, who made a six low and had Leknes drawing lifeless by sixth road. Leknes settled for fourth place ($114,032).
Anderson was seemingly positioned to steamroll his method to a title from there. He had 6.6 million, to Rodawig’s 1.9 million, and Todd Dakake’s 900,000. But it might take greater than 4 hours in actual time for the sphere to go from three gamers all the way down to heads-up.
A Three-Headed Marathon
Over the course of an extended three-handed session, all three gamers managed to spend a stretch because the chip chief. Dakake’s time as high stack was notably spectacular, contemplating he was all the way down to his previous few bets on a number of totally different events.
Despite his run to the highest, the underside ultimately fell out for Dakake. With the boundaries creeping up, he misplaced a giant chunk again to Anderson, after which Rodawig completed the job. By seventh road, Rodawig made a nine-eight low, and Dakake missed his draw at a nine-five low, ending Dakake’s event in third place ($162,551).
Anderson began heads-up play with a lead and by no means relinquished it to Rodawig from that time on. The chips went in on fifth road, with Anderson displaying a made eight-seven low, and Rodawig in hassle regardless of beginning with 5-4-2. He had hit a jack on fifth, which was adopted by a ten, after which a queen, which doomed Rodawig to a second-place end ($237,851).
For his win, Anderson earned 720 Card Player Player of the Year factors. His second qualifying results of 2026 places him in 335th place on the year-long leaderboard introduced by CoinPoker. Sternheimer, who tacked on 180 POY factors for seventh place, cracked the highest 50 and now sits in forty third total.
The $10,000 buy-in stage additionally certified Anderson for PokerGO Tour factors. His 357 factors for this razz win, mixed with a earlier PGT ultimate desk earlier within the yr, put Anderson in forty second place total within the excessive curler tour’s season-long standings.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Calvin Anderson | $357,026 | 720 | 357 |
| 2 | Eric Rodawig | $237,851 | 600 | 238 |
| 3 | Todd Dakake | $162,551 | 480 | 163 |
| 4 | Tobias Leknes | $114,032 | 360 | 114 |
| 5 | Yuval Bronshtein | $82,171 | 300 | 82 |
| 6 | Max Kruse | $60,868 | 240 | 61 |
| 7 | Philip Sternheimer | $46,385 | 180 | 46 |
| 8 | Shane Littlefield | $36,395 | 120 | 36 |
Photo credit score: WSOP / Dominic Iaquinto & Lennart Hennig
