Joseph Liberta Wins World Series Of Poker Millionaire Maker

Joseph Liberta has practically 200 recorded scores on the reside event circuit, with outcomes courting again 15 years. The 37-year-old’s very first money on the World Series of Poker got here just a few years into his profession, with a 537th-place exhibiting within the 2013 $1,500 no-limit maintain’em Millionaire Maker.

Thirteen years after that first in-the-money end for 537th place, the Berlin, New Jersey resident lastly broke by means of to seize his first WSOP bracelet in the exact same occasion. Liberta bested a large area of 11,769 entries within the 2026 Millionaire Maker to earn the {hardware} and the career-best rating of $1,250,000.

“It’s completely surreal. I’ve been here for a long time,” Liberta informed the WSOP‘s Jeff Platt after closing out the win. “I’m simply extraordinarily grateful.”

This payday was roughly ten occasions the dimensions of any earlier money for Liberta, whose earlier high rating was the $124,463 that got here with a win within the 2016 Parx Big Stax XVII $1,600 buy-in occasion. With this seven-figure windfall factored in, Liberta’s lifetime haul now sits at $3.1 million.

In addition to the cash and the {hardware}, this victory additionally got here with 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year factors. This was the second final-table end of the yr for Liberta, who additionally positioned sixth in a $1,100 turbo occasion on the Wynn Summer Classic. With 1,560 whole factors, he’s now ranked inside the highest 175 within the 2026 POY standings introduced by CoinPoker.

From Tens Of Thousands To A Final Table

This gigantic event started on June 17, with the primary of 4 beginning flights. Those had been matched with as many day 2 flights, earlier than the sphere lastly mixed on June 22 for day 3. The 11,769-entry turnout to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas made for a prize pool of $15,623,347.

Plenty of huge names made it all the way down to the enterprise finish of this occasion, with Matt Affleck (63rd), Will Givens (54th), Harrison Gimbel (thirty eighth), Robert Kuhn (thirty fifth), Scott Stewart (thirty first), Vincent Moscati (seventeenth), Mark Newhouse (sixteenth), and Ryan Eriquezzo (thirteenth) working deep.

Eriquezzo, a three-time bracelet winner, acquired his pocket kings cracked by the Ok♠J♣ of Alex Kim in a three-way all-in. Anthony Rubin’s A♥Ok♥ was additionally bested within the course of, with the ultimate runout of Q♣8♠5♠9♠J♠ giving Kim a profitable flush. Eriquezzo and Rubin had been each left on fumes, and shortly headed to the rail simply shy of the official last desk.

Michael Monroig held the chip lead when the ultimate 9 bagged up on the conclusion of day 4. Liberta was in third chip place, whereas Kim landed in fourth after profitable that vast three-way showdown.

Final Table Fireworks

The last day kicked off at 3:30 PM native time on June 24. Yifu He (ninth – $150,068) was the primary to fall, along with his last few massive blinds added to Monroig’s stack. Garry Gurevich (eighth – $190,000) quickly adopted, along with his Q♦2♣ unable to attach in a three-way all-in. Kim made a pair of nines on the river to take the pot and slender the sphere to seven.

Jacob Gagnon’s last hand was a rollercoaster. He was in danger with A♥5♦ trailing Bradley Gafford’s A♣Q♣, however the 7♠5♥2♥A♦ flop and switch gave him aces up and the lead. The 7♦ on the tip gave each gamers aces and sevens, with Gafford’s superior queen kicker taking part in to earn him the knockout. Gagnon earned a career-best rating of $245,000 because the seventh-place finisher.

“COUNTERFEIT CITY!”

With $1,250,000 awaiting the winner on the WSOP Millionaire Maker last desk, Gagon will get all of the chips in with A-5 in opposition to Gafford’s A-Q. The flop provides him hope, however the runout has different concepts. pic.twitter.com/4X53Bygmrs

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 25, 2026

Kim’s run concluded in sixth place ($315,000). His A♦7♥ was outrun by the J♥10♥ of Monroig after the chips went in preflop. Monroig hit a pair of tens on the flop and held from there to ship Kim to gather his largest rating but on the circuit.

Five To One

Joseph Baghdadlian’s Ok-10 suited bumped into the pocket jacks of Gafford to go away his stack in shambles. He picked up A♥J♠ quickly after and made his last stand, solely to run into A♠Ok♠ for Liberta. The board missed each gamers, and Baghdadlian headed to the rail in fifth place ($410,000).

Shortly after that, Liberta squared off in opposition to Halford Fairchild in a preflop race. His 9♥9♣ had been a slight favourite preflop in opposition to A♠Q♠, however the J♥J♣9♠ flop all however ended the hand. The 10♥ flip left Fairchild drawing useless. He earned $530,000 after the 3♣ rolled off on the tip.

Gafford’s last hand noticed the chips go in on a board of J♠10♦3♥Ok♦8♣. Gafford shoved with Ok♥10♥ for kings up, solely to get referred to as by Liberta’s Q♠9♦ for a turned king-high straight. Gafford took dwelling $750,000 for this podium exhibiting. The 2023 WSOP $1,000 mini principal occasion champion now has over $2 million in recorded scores to his identify.

With that, Liberta took greater than a 2.5:1 lead into heads-up play with Monroig. That hole widened within the early going earlier than a double-up with journey kings for Monroig roughly returned stacks to the place they had been initially of the ultimate battle.

Liberta prolonged his result in greater than 12:1 earlier than the ultimate hand of the event arrived. Monroig ripped his last handful of huge blinds with 10♦8♥ and Liberta referred to as with 8♣5♦ from the large blind. It was trying good for Monroig till the 5♠5♣2♠ flop gave Liberta journeys fives and a stranglehold on the title. The Q♥ flip rendered the 2♥ river a mere formality. Monroig earned $1,000,000 because the runner-up. Before this, his high rating had been a sixth-place end in a $1,000 on-line bracelet occasion in 2023 for $32,854.

Final Table Results

Photo credit score: WSOP / Dominic Iaquinto.