WSOP 2026 Poker Players' Championship: How It Went

The $50,000 Poker Players' Championship is arguably the second most significant tournament of the World Series of Poker after the Main Event. First, because of its complexity — to win it, you need to be a master of nine different games. And second, because of the trophy named after Chip Reese, who passed away just a few months after winning this championship 20 years ago. This year's PPC had its share of failures, unexpected successes, and tears of joy from a new champion.

The Defending Champion's Collapse

Photo: Jess Beck

In 2025, Michael Mizrachi achieved an outstanding feat, winning both the Poker Players' Championship and the WSOP Main Event, for which he was immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, his attempt to defend the title turned out inglorious.

Mizrachi busted on the very first day of the championship, whose rules don't allow re-entries. The eight-time champion rode a rather unpleasant rollercoaster, winning and losing big pots along the way.

Fatal for Mizrachi were the razz hands at the final level of the first day. He first lost to Chino Rheem and was left with 20,000 in chips. He put his entire remaining stack in on the very next hand against five-time WSOP champion Brad Ruben. The Grinder finished his run in 69th place. "Say bye to the cameras," Chino Rheem said as an entire film crew left the table along with Mizrachi.

Photo: Eloy Cabacas

Among the first to bust from the tournament was the former champion's brother, Robert Mizrachi, who finished 85th. In addition, the Poker Players' Championship lost a number of multi-bracelet winners already on the first day. Jeremy Ausmus, Scott Seiver, and João Vieira all finished in the 80s. And star heads-up specialist Daniel "jungleman" Cates finished 76th.

Minus Several Champions, Plus Two Phils

Photo: Regina Cortina

In a tournament packed with stars, there was less and less room left each day even for the most famous poker players. Day two also saw a series of high-profile eliminations. Among the first to bust was legendary online grinder Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who lost a hand against Daniel Negreanu and Dylan Weisman. We covered the Swede's crazy runs and losses in a special piece.

However, Negreanu himself didn't last much longer after that. The Canadian regular, who won the PPC in 2024, lost his last chips in a seven-card stud hand against Weisman and Kane Kalas. Negreanu didn't complete either a straight or a flush, while Kalas made an ace-high flush already on sixth street.

Right before Negreanu, Esther Taylor was eliminated from the championship; she had made it to third place in 2025. And shortly after the Canadian, the tournament also lost eight-time WSOP champions Shaun Deeb and Nick Schulman, Hall of Famer Eli Elezra, as well as Naoya Kihara and Calvin Anderson, who had both won two bracelets at this year's World Series.

Photo: Regina Cortina

However, for some star players the event was only just beginning. Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth, who managed to recover from COVID in time, both took advantage of late registration. Both Phils finished the day in the middle of the chip counts. Hellmuth ended up in 16th, while Ivey sat in 22nd place out of 39 remaining participants.

The Long Bubble and the Run of Two Russians

Besides the array of superstars, two Russian players also made it through day two — Alexander Kostritsyn and Maxim Pisarenko. However, only Pisarenko managed to advance further. Kostritsyn, though he outlasted multiple champions Yuri Dzivielevski and David "ODB" Baker, still failed to reach the ITM, busting in 30th place. Payouts started from 18th place.

Pisarenko, meanwhile, actively climbed up the chip counts, personally eliminating opponents. In a razz hand, the Russian knocked out James Tilton, and in PLO he beat Brian Tate. Pisarenko would end up finishing the day in 15th place, making the money.

Brian Rast — the last remaining player in the field who had previously won the PPC — fell just short of the money. The seven-time WSOP champion busted in 20th place, losing his last chips in an Omaha hand against Benny Glaser.

Photo: Eloy Cabacas

After Rast's elimination, only two spots remained before the ITM zone, and this bubble dragged on. Over the next 37 hands, only Robert Wells busted, and the bubble boy was three-time WSOP bracelet winner Bryce Yockey. He was forced to go all-in but could only make a pair of sixes against Nick Guagenti's full house.

The last "victim" of day three was Matt Glantz, who had been the chip leader after day one and was sitting fifth after day two. The American regular, holding a pair of threes, ran into Jesse Lonis's trip kings and busted in 16th place, taking home $102,474.

Final Days

Photo: Jess Beck

Although only 15 poker players remained in play after three days, the battle for the title continued for two more days. After day four, the field was down to six players. Maxim Pisarenko failed to make that cut, busting out first of all.

After the Russian's elimination, Phil Hellmuth's dream of an 18th bracelet was also shattered. The record holder for WSOP titles lost to Benny Glaser in a lowball hand and finished 14th, earning $109,459. Hellmuth reacted good-naturedly, telling Glaser "nice hand, buddy" and wishing all his opponents luck.

After him, the oldest player in the event, Roy Thung, ended his impressive tournament run. The 82-year-old player lost to Max Coleman in Omaha Hi-Lo, but made the money in the Poker Players' Championship for the first time in his career and set a new personal career-best cash.

Photo: Regina Cortina

Chris Brewer, Chris Hunichen, Jesse Lonis, Alex Livingston, and Nick Guagenti — who had never before advanced this far in the Players Championship — also fell short of the final table. Jason Mercier started the final table as the short stack and, despite two double-ups, was eliminated in seventh place.

The 6-max play moved quickly. First to go was Christopher Tong, who had been among the leaders throughout the tournament. Max Coleman sent Paul Volpe to the rail in fifth place, but then busted himself, running into Josh Arieh's full house.

Arieh, Phil Ivey, and Benny Glaser made up the star-studded final three. Ivey made it to the Poker Players' Championship final table for the fifth time in his career and was aiming for his 12th bracelet. However, his stack was wiped out within a few pots. The decisive hand for Ivey was a lowball hand in which Arieh made the better combination.

A Dominant Champion

Photo: Regina Cortina

Josh Arieh and Benny Glaser met in the heads-up. The British regular had steamrolled through the tournament before that. Glaser was second in chips after day one and day two, then took over the lead and never gave it up to anyone. True, the Brit started the heads-up with a slight deficit, but he quickly wiped it out.

"I didn't expect the match to be this one-sided. Honestly, I thought I'd have an edge, but I also just got really lucky in a lot of the heads-up hands. It was a quicker battle than I expected given how deep the stacks were, but I'm happy with how I played," Glaser said about his showdown with Arieh after the tournament.

Arieh's stack shrank to 2 big blinds over two levels of play, but the seven-time champion managed to double up in a seven-card stud hand. However, this local success didn't fuel a comeback for the American. The next two Omaha Hi-Lo hands both went Glaser's way.

After winning, Benny Glaser couldn't hold back his emotions and shed tears, crouching down and staring at the (now his own) Chip Reese trophy. The Brit put to rest any questions about his status as an elite mixed-games specialist. The 37-year-old poker player won his ninth WSOP bracelet in 11 years, having earned most of them precisely in mixed-game disciplines. Glaser had previously won in Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Dealer's Choice, Mixed Omaha, and H.O.R.S.E.

"It's just a dream, the pinnacle of achievement in mixed games, and a truly special tournament for me. I am incredibly grateful for this win."

There have been both joys and disappointments throughout this World Series. I'll be honest. Given the exhaustion and some health issues this summer, it was emotionally tough for me to cope with the situation. I really tried to pull myself together. I was burning out, so it was pretty hard.

Second place in the Limit Hold'em Championship was quite painful, especially given how it happened. Sure, it's a good result, and I had other good results this summer, so I had mixed feelings. But this win outweighs any disappointment by a huge margin," Glaser shared his emotions after claiming the trophy.

Photo: Regina Cortina

Benny Glaser earned $1,343,764 for winning the Poker Players' Championship and, most importantly, wrote his name into history. The Brit now stands alongside Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Michael Mizrachi, and Chip Reese himself, who had won the Players Championship before. In addition, he tied Johnny Moss for number of bracelets. Only Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Phil Hellmuth have won more WSOP titles.