Lucas Jumalon, 22 years and four months old, went wire to wire at the final table to win the 2026 WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000 and the gold bracelet, edging Finland's Lauri Saaskilahti heads-up on the night of August 5 at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. He is now the second-youngest Main Event champion behind Joe Cada in 2009 and the first Main Event winner born in Washington state.
From 9,208 entries to a $10M closer
The $10,000 buy-in tournament opened on July 2 with 9,208 entries. By Day 11, Jumalon had turned a Day 10 chip lead into a heads-up advantage of 328 million against 225 million. Saaskilahti, whose lifetime live earnings coming in totaled only $138,000, had already delivered the story of the summer by outrunning a field that included half the best players in the world.
The hand that ended it
The deciding pot was one for the highlight reels. Jumalon limped the button with Q♠5♦, flopped a flush draw with A♠K♠4♣, turned a royal-flush draw on the J♠ and completed his queen-high flush on the 6♠ river. He bet 180 million into a 100 million pot. Saaskilahti tanked for eleven minutes with J♦3♦, then called. The 460 million-chip pot handed Jumalon the tournament.
Youth is served at one of the most spirited final tables of all time. The broadcast reminded us why we love this game and the people who play it.
Ty Stewart, WSOP CEO
Final table payouts
Jumalon banked the $10 million top prize, Saaskilahti collected $6 million for second, Greg Mueller took $3.75 million in third, Michael Gagliano earned $2.75 million in fourth, and Han Feng cashed for $2.25 million in fifth. Sources: PokerNews, WSOP.com, Casino.org.
