Hero-call gone wrong. Saaskilahti's key mistake in the Main Event heads-up

Perhaps the most important heads-up hand of the WSOP 2026 Main Event happened shortly after Lauri Saaskilahti doubled up. With stacks of about 70 BB each, the Finn wanted to land a second big double, but made a serious mistake.

Lucas Jumalon opened for 8,000,000 with ♠️♦️, and Saaskilahti called with ♦️♦️. On the ♣️♠️♠️ flop the Finn check-called a bet of 4,000,000. On the ♠️ turn the American raised to 40,000,000 and got a call again. On the ♠️ river Jumalon nearly doubled the pot, betting 180,000,000.

After such a big bet, Saaskilahti went into the tank. The Finnish player tried to pick up tells from his opponent, even said he had a jack, and thought out loud: "Hero or not hero?" He was also under pressure from Jumalon's rail, who loudly cheered on their player. In the end Saaskilahti decided his opponent was bluffing and called the bet. Jumalon showed a flush and took a pot of 232,000,000, dropping the Finn's stack to 8 BB.

📰 Follow Pokerflow