Column

The Bracelet Hunt

Running narrative coverage of WSOP, Triton, and major tour storylines. Named characters, tension, stakes.

Joshua Arieh Leads the $25K H.O.R.S.E. — Chasing Bracelet No. 8

The seven-time bracelet winner is the chip leader at 18 players in one of the summer's most prestigious mixed-game events, and he hasn't won a mixed-game title since 2004.

Jul 15 · 3 min read

Scott Seiver Is 91 Players Away From Eight-Bracelet Company

The seven-time WSOP champion is still alive in Event #99, chasing a milestone that would put him alongside Erik Seidel and Phil Ivey.

Jul 15 · 3 min read

Robert Mizrachi Leads 23 Left in $3,000 PLO, Chasing Bracelet No. 6

The five-time bracelet winner holds 1,080,000 chips in Event #96, stalking a milestone that fewer than 20 living players have reached.

Jul 14 · 3 min read

The $32K Nobody Leading the WSOP Main Event at 18

Evagoras Evagorou has less in lifetime tournament earnings than most Main Event min-cashes, and he's sitting on the second-biggest stack with two tables left.

Jul 13 · 3 min read

Rogen Chhabra Owns a 2x Chip Lead With 18 Left in the $3K Mid-Stakes Championship

A $351K career grinder is making his deepest WSOP run in the most expensive tournament he's ever gone deep in.

Jul 13 · 3 min read

Florian Pesce Is Punching Up at the $10K 6-Handed Championship

The French grinder has six career final tables and a Circuit ring, but every one of those results came at buy-ins of $1,500 or less — and now he's alive at 86 in the most prestigious short-handed event of the summer.

Jul 12 · 3 min read

Phil Hellmuth Is Alive at 99 Left in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E., Hunting Bracelet 18

The all-time bracelet leader is back in a mixed-game format where five of his 17 wins were forged, and the field just crossed below 100.

Jul 11 · 3 min read

Michael Macchia's $395K Résumé Met a $50K Field. It Ended 19th.

In the most expensive open event still running at the 2026 WSOP, the least credentialed player to reach two tables ran into a wall of bracelet winners and nine-figure résumés.

Jul 11 · 3 min read

Darrell Blodgett Is the Best Player at This Final Table. That's the Story.

One Circuit ring and $178K in lifetime earnings make Blodgett the most credentialed player alive in WSOP Event #478, the $250 Seniors Deepstack.

Jul 9 · 3 min read

The Gun! Has 31.1 Million Chips and Zero Known Cashes

A player registered under a nickname with no lifetime earnings on file sits second in chips with 26 left in WSOP Event #86.

Jul 9 · 3 min read

$2,776 and a Final Table at the World Series of Poker

Lowell Sarrade's entire tournament résumé wouldn't cover a tasting menu on the Strip — and he just sat down eight-handed in WSOP Event #468.

Jul 8 · 3 min read

$50 Buy-In, $10,000 Dream: David Grant Is Six-Handed at the WSOP

A player with zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings is one of six left in the cheapest event in the entire 2026 WSOP.

Jul 7 · 3 min read

Zero Earnings, Zero Rings, Zero Bracelets — Edith Oakes Leads the $400 Deepstack

A player with no recorded tournament history of any kind is chip leader of WSOP Event #453 with 19 left at the Horseshoe.

Jul 7 · 3 min read

Antonio Subire Has $3,200 to His Name. He's Chip-Leading a WSOP Bracelet Event.

A Spanish player with almost no tournament résumé is dominating Event #85's $1,000 NLH as two tables remain on Final Day.

Jul 5 · 2 min read

Zero Bracelets, Zero Résumés: Event #434's Final Table Is a Ghost Town

Nine players remain in the $1,100 NLH Turbo Landmark Mega Satellite — and not one of them has ever won a WSOP bracelet.

Jul 5 · 3 min read

Naoya Kihara's Bid for Bracelet No. 4 Runs Into a 20-Million-Chip Wall

The three-time bracelet winner from Japan reached the $5,000 Super Turbo Bounty final table but busted 10th as Taiwan's Yenhan Chen stacked a commanding lead.

Jul 4 · 3 min read

Alex Foxen Leads the 8-Game Championship With 18 Left

Four bracelets, $29.4 million in lifetime earnings, and a commanding chip lead in the WSOP's most demanding mixed event — Foxen is hunting number five.

Jul 3 · 3 min read

Dennys Luis Ramos Has $1.87M and Eight Final Tables. Zero Bracelets.

The Brazilian grinder just reached the WSOP Event #72 MINI Main Event final table, still chasing the one thing money can't buy.

Jul 2 · 3 min read

Jason James Has the Résumé. Now He Wants the Second Bracelet.

The Canadian grinder is one of nine left in the $1,000 MINI Main Event, and he's the only player at the final table with WSOP gold on his shelf.

Jul 2 · 2 min read

Carlo Van Ravenswood Is the Cheapest Stack at the $100K PLO Final Two Tables

A Dutchman with $476K in lifetime earnings and zero bracelets is alive among 16 players in the most expensive open event of the 2026 WSOP — and the résumés surrounding him are absurd.

Jul 1 · 3 min read

Kyle Montgomery Has $25K to His Name and 2.6 Million Chips

The cheapest résumé at the top of the most expensive open event still running at the 2026 WSOP.

Jun 30 · 2 min read

Jordan Siegel Had the Chip Lead. Then He Didn't.

A million dollars in lifetime cashes, four WSOP final tables, zero bracelets — and the 8-Game Mixed just handed him another test.

Jun 30 · 3 min read

Steve Billirakis Has 950K Chips and a Three-Bracelet Problem

The two-time winner leads the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet final table — but a three-bracelet champion and $3.2M grinder are sitting to his left.

Jun 29 · 3 min read

The Ghost Leading the $10K PLO Championship

Michael Hahn has zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings — and he's sitting with 2.785 million chips at the final two tables of the WSOP's premier Pot-Limit Omaha event.

Jun 28 · 3 min read

Hengsheng Tao Has No Resume and All the Chips at WSOP Event #354

A player with zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings leads the $400 Daily Deepstack with 21 players left at the Horseshoe.

Jun 28 · 3 min read

Paul Fehlig Is the Only Résumé at This Final Table

A one-ring Circuit grinder with $700K in lifetime earnings sits down at the $400 Daily Deepstack final table surrounded by players who have, collectively, almost none of that.

Jun 27 · 3 min read

Alan Ledford Has 1.4M Chips and No WSOP History. He Leads a $10K Championship.

The chip leader of the Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship has zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings.

Jun 26 · 2 min read

Todd Brunson Has 1.58 Million Chips and a Family Legacy on the Line

The son of Doyle leads the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship with 15 players left, chasing a second bracelet in the game his father helped define.

Jun 26 · 3 min read

The $952 Man: Timothy Garner Is Nine-Handed for a WSOP Bracelet

Event #61's Super Seniors final table features a chip leader with less than $1,000 in lifetime tournament earnings and a field where even the biggest names barely have a résumé.

Jun 25 · 3 min read

Valentin Oberhauser's Entire Career Is Worth Less Than First Place

A French player with $61K in lifetime earnings leads the WSOP Event #65 final table, a freezeout where every survivor earned their seat on a single bullet.

Jun 25 · 3 min read

Nick Schulman Is 16 Players From Bracelet No. 9

The eight-time champion sits among the final two tables of the $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed, hunting hardware that would put him deeper into WSOP royalty.

Jun 25 · 3 min read

Daniel Hachem Is 14 Players From a Bracelet His Father Never Chased

Twenty-one years after Joe Hachem won the Main Event in No-Limit Hold'em, his son Daniel is alive at the final two tables of the $1,000 PLO — a game that runs in a completely different gear.

Jun 24 · 3 min read

Zachary Gruneberg Hunts Bracelet No. 3 at the Final Two Tables of Event #62

The two-time bracelet winner and eight-time Circuit ring holder leads 17 survivors in the $2,500 NLHE with 1.5 million chips — and 91 career final tables worth of experience.

Jun 24 · 3 min read

Zero Bracelets, Zero Rings, 10 Million Chips: Allen Lanier Leads the Salute to Warriors

A player with no recorded tournament earnings sits second in chips with 15 left in the WSOP's most emotionally charged bracelet event.

Jun 23 · 3 min read

Kristopher Tong Leads the $50K Poker Players Championship Final Table

A one-bracelet winner with $1.07M in career earnings sits atop a final table stacked with mixed-game royalty and $15.5M in combined lifetime cashes.

Jun 23 · 2 min read

$10M Guarantee at the Wynn: The Biggest Non-WSOP Tournament of the Summer

The $10,400 Wynn Summer Championship fires Day 1C on June 23 with a $10 million guarantee, putting it in direct competition with the bracelet schedule at the Horseshoe.

Jun 22 · 3 min read

Dylan Weisman Reaches the $50K High Roller PLO Final Table at the WSOP

The two-time bracelet winner sits down nine-handed in the most expensive PLO event of the summer — alongside Naoya Kihara, Daniel Negreanu, Sean Winter, and Ka Lau.

Jun 21 · 3 min read

Robert Mizrachi Is Short-Stacked and Chasing Bracelet No. 6 at the H.O.R.S.E. Championship

Five bracelets, 31 career final tables, and the smallest stack at a nine-handed final table loaded with mixed-game killers — Mizrachi has work to do.

Jun 20 · 3 min read

Yarron Bendor Reaches PPC Mega Satellite Final Table With $50K Seat on the Line

Three prior WSOP final tables, zero bracelets, and now the chip leader's rank in a satellite where the prize isn't cash but a seat in poker's most exclusive event.

Jun 20 · 3 min read

Joshua Arieh Is 18 Players From Bracelet No. 8

The seven-time champion sits with 275,000 chips at the two-table mark of the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship — poker's most grueling mixed-game title.

Jun 20 · 3 min read

Josh Reichard Has 17 Rings and Zero Bracelets. He's the Chip Leader.

The most decorated WSOP Circuit player in history reaches the $10,000 Mystery Bounty final table with a commanding stack, chasing the one trophy that's eluded him for his entire career.

Jun 19 · 3 min read

Elliot Smith Leads the $2,500 Freezeout Final Table. His Résumé Says He Shouldn't.

A Canadian with $146K in lifetime earnings sits on the biggest stack at a final table that includes Chino Rheem and two-time bracelet winner Marco Johnson.

Jun 18 · 3 min read

Dario Sammartino's One-Bracelet Problem Just Got 25 Players Smaller

The Italian has $15.2M in career earnings and 49 WSOP final tables, but only one bracelet to show for it. He's alive in the $10K Mystery Bounty.

Jun 18 · 2 min read

Tyler Willse Leads the Final Nine in the $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. Mega Satellite

A one-ring mixed-game grinder with $252K in career earnings holds the chip lead at a final table where a Landmark bracelet-event seat is worth more than a third of his lifetime cashes.

Jun 18 · 3 min read

Mizrachi Has 835K Chips and a 16-Year Bracelet Drought

Michael Mizrachi is among the biggest stacks with 97 left in the $2,500 Freezeout, chasing his first gold since 2010.

Jun 17 · 3 min read

Daniel Buckley Has 13 WSOP Final Tables and Zero Bracelets. He Leads Event #45.

The mixed-game grinder with $1.04 million in career earnings is the chip leader with 26 left in the $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo/Stud Hi-Lo — the most niche format on the 2026 schedule.

Jun 16 · 3 min read

Ofer Gutman's 6.8M Stack and a Shot at His First Bracelet

An Israeli grinder with zero WSOP hardware sits fourth in chips with 20 left in the $800 8-Handed Deepstack.

Jun 15 · 3 min read

Gary Herstein Leads $5K Seniors High Roller With 16 Left and Zero Bracelets

Seven WSOP final tables, $344K in lifetime cashes, and not a single piece of gold — but Herstein holds a commanding chip lead heading into the business end of the most expensive seniors event ever offered.

Jun 14 · 3 min read

Bruce Turner Has No Resume. He Might Leave Vegas With a Bracelet.

A player with zero recorded WSOP cashes leads the seven-handed final table of the cheapest bracelet event on the 2026 schedule.

Jun 14 · 3 min read

Mike Takayama Chases Bracelet No. 2 in the Cheapest Event on the Schedule

The first Filipino bracelet winner in WSOP history reached the final table of a $400 Daily Deepstack at 5:35 AM in Las Vegas, hunting for gold at the lowest buy-in the series offers.

Jun 13 · 2 min read

The $24K Man Leading a WSOP Final Table

Jonathan Nebbout's lifetime earnings wouldn't cover two buy-ins at most Aria cash games, but he's sitting on the biggest stack at the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. final table.

Jun 12 · 3 min read

Sam Soverel Leads the $100K High Roller With 5.775M at 17 Left

The four-bracelet winner holds the biggest stack in the summer's richest open event, and he's pulling away.

Jun 11 · 2 min read

The $10K PLO Hi-Lo Chip Leader Has $34,816 in Lifetime Cashes

Yuhong Liu tops 27 survivors in the WSOP's Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship with 1,870,000 chips and a résumé that fits on a Post-it note.

Jun 11 · 2 min read

Zero Bracelets, Zero Public Earnings, 462,500 Chips: Christopher Carlson Leads the $10K PLO Hi-Lo Championship

An unknown chip leader, a two-time bracelet winner 1,000 chips behind him, and one of the summer's most demanding final tables — the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship is set.

Jun 10 · 3 min read

Andrew Moreno's 20 Final Tables, Zero Bracelets — and One More Shot

The $4M career earner reaches the Monster Stack final table chasing the one thing his résumé is missing.

Jun 10 · 3 min read

John Holley Has 12 Rings and Zero Bracelets. He Leads the Event #28 Final Table.

The most decorated Circuit grinder at the WSOP final table is nine players away from the one piece of hardware he's never won.

Jun 9 · 3 min read

Braxton Dunaway Has the Chips to Hunt Bracelet No. 2

The $5.3M career earner leads 18 players in Event #26, chasing a second piece of WSOP gold that 78% of winners never get.

Jun 9 · 2 min read

Kevin Kendrick Has No Resume and All the Chips in the $1,500 Big O

An unknown American with zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings leads 18 survivors in one of the WSOP's strangest events.

Jun 8 · 3 min read

Naoya Kihara Is Eight-Handed for a Second Bracelet No Japanese Player Has Ever Won

Japan's only WSOP bracelet winner sits second in chips at the $10,000 Stud Championship final table, chasing history.

Jun 7 · 2 min read

James Cook Has No Resume and 875K Chips at the Horseshoe

A grinder with zero bracelets, zero rings, and no recorded lifetime earnings leads the $200 Daily Deepstack final table with a commanding stack.

Jun 7 · 3 min read