More First-Time Winners Bank Bracelets At World Series Of Poker

The 2026 World Series of Poker is roughly two-thirds of the way in which by means of its 100-bracelet schedule, with 66 dwell occasions accomplished to this point. Over 138,700 entries have been made throughout these occasions, with greater than $239.2 million in prize cash paid out alongside the way in which.

The champions of the completed tournaments alone account for over $41.1 million, with the 4 newest champions including simply shy of $1 million with their triumphs contained in the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

The 4 winners got here out on prime in three no-limit maintain’em occasions, however the tournaments have been separated by extra than simply value factors. Lionel Barracano took down the $1,000 tremendous seniors, which requires entrants to be a minimum of 60 years of age to play.

Ciro Gonzalez’s win got here within the $1,500 freezeout, one of many choose tournaments on the agenda to forego the trendy conceit of re-entry, making for an old style one-and-done strategy concerning event life. 

Finally, Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa took down the $1,000 tag crew occasion, which sees pairs of gamers take turns guiding their stack all through the event.

Here is a more in-depth have a look at how this trio of tournaments performed out.

Event No. 61 – $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Seniors

A complete of three,323 entries turned out for this 12 months’s tremendous seniors occasion, making for a prize pool of $2,924,240. This event, which first debuted in 2015, provides one other 10 years to the 50-year age requirement of the usual seniors championship.

The hefty turnout was kind of on par with the three,338 entries made in 2025. This 12 months, the highest 499 finishers made the cash, with a min-cash being simply over twice what gamers posted to take part.

In the tip, France’s Lionel Barracano got here away with the title and the highest prize of $355,263. The novice has been taking part in for 20 years, along with his first WSOP money coming in 2017. Before this victory, his prime rating on the dwell circuit had been a Twelfth-place end within the 2024 working of this identical event for $22,598.

Plenty of completed gamers joined Barracano in making deep runs, together with bracelet winners Antonin Teisseire (thirty ninth), Rob Hollink (twenty fifth), and Greg Raymer (Twelfth). The 2004 WSOP essential occasion champion made it to the fourth and remaining day on this event, however misplaced an important coin flip with pocket sevens in opposition to A-J to fall only a few spots in need of the ultimate desk.

Barracano defeated one other bracelet winner, Kevin Song, heads-up for the title. Song took out Donald Briggs in third place ($176,564) to enter the ultimate showdown with the lead, however Barracano gained an enormous conflict early with pocket jacks to earn a commanding chip benefit. The remaining hand pitted two pocket pairs in opposition to one another preflop, with pocket fives holding off pocket fours. Barracano flopped a set and turned a full home to shut out the win. Song earned $236,712 because the runner-up, the third-largest rating of his profession.

Final Table Results

Event No. 65 – $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout

While Barracano got here out on prime within the tremendous seniors, Ciro Gonzalez fared much less effectively within the event. He and a pal traveled to Las Vegas for the occasion to rejoice each turning 60. Gonzalez didn’t money in that event, however determined to hop into the $1,500 freezeout. It was a name that turned out to be fairly worthwhile.

The jewellery enterprise proprietor from Cancun, Mexico was the final participant standing from the two,617 that turned out for this throwback occasion, which eschewed the multi-entry and re-entry codecs in favor of a one-entry-per-player strategy. He earned $449,067 and his first bracelet for his efforts.

Before this breakthrough efficiency, Gonzalez’s prime outcome was the $5,672 he earned a number of days earlier with a Fifteenth-place end in a $3,000 five-card pot-limit Omaha bounty occasion on the Wynn Summer Classic. Now, he’s a WSOP champion.

“I have some results, right, but nothing like this. I’m so excited. But the bracelet is the most important for me. The money is always good, and we play for that, but the bracelet is something special,” Gonzalez instructed PokerInformation reporters.

In addition to the {hardware} and the cash, Gonzalez additionally scored 1,200 Card Player Player of the Year factors. This was his first POY-qualified rating of 2026, but it surely alone was sufficient to maneuver him inside attain of the highest 300 within the year-long standings, that are introduced by CoinPoker.

Among the notables who went deep on this occasion have been Martin Zamani (forty sixth), Jared Jaffee (thirty fourth), Nick Palma (twenty fourth), Martin Jacobson (18th), Antoine Labat (14th), and Aram Zobian (eighth).

Final Table Results

Event No. 66 – $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tag Team

The tag crew occasion drew 1,375 entries earlier than registration closed, making for a $1,210,000 prize pool within the diverting dual-player event.

For the second straight 12 months, it was a pair of Brazilians who got here out on prime. In truth, Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa are reportedly poker college students of the 2 winners from 2025, Kelvin Kerber and Peter Patricio, who provide teaching companies.

“It’s been seven years of hard work chasing this dream. We come here to live this dream, and now we are living it,” Drumond instructed PokerInformation by way of translation.

Drumond introduced some expertise taking part in heads-up for a bracelet to the desk, having positioned second in final 12 months’s $2,500 freezeout for $298,690. Lessa’s earlier prime rating noticed him take down a €2,700 buy-in on the 2025 European Poker Tour Barcelona cease for $471,510.

Japan’s Ruka Yamauchi and Shotaro Murase have been the runners-up. Notables who ran deep included Vincent Moscati, who completed seventh along with his teammate Jennifer Zewe, and bracelet winner Orson Young, who positioned fourth alongside Christine Brewer.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: WSOP / Alicia Skillman, Lennart Hennig, Dominic Iaquinto, Miguel Cortes