Braxton Dunaway Has the Chips to Hunt Bracelet No. 2

Braxton Dunaway won his first bracelet with $5.3 million already on his résumé, and now, sitting on 1,425,000 chips with 18 players left in Event #26, he's in position to join the 22% of bracelet winners who ever collect a second.

The $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em field has been ground down to two tables at the Horseshoe. Dunaway isn't the overall chip leader. That distinction belongs to someone whose path to this point looks nothing like his. But with three WSOP final tables on his ledger and more than $5.34M in lifetime tournament cashes, Dunaway is the most credentialed player still stacking chips.

Dunaway isn't the overall chip leader, but with three WSOP final tables and more than $5.34M in lifetime cashes, he's the most credentialed player still stacking chips.

The Stack That Matters Most

Dunaway's 1,425,000 is second among the named stacks at these final two tables. Ahead of him sits Sami Bechahed, the French three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner who has built a tower of 1,725,000. Bechahed carries $1.19M in lifetime earnings and 11 career final tables. He's never won a bracelet, but he has more final-table reps than anyone else in the field besides Dunaway.

The largest stack in the room, though, belongs to Ioannis Kapnopoulos of Greece. His 3,610,000 is more than double Dunaway's count and roughly triple the next-closest competitor. What makes the matchup fascinating: Kapnopoulos has just $69,580 in lifetime tournament earnings. This is, by every available measure, the biggest moment of his poker career. Whether that's an advantage (nothing to lose, no scar tissue) or a liability (no reps at this altitude) will play out over the next few hours.

The Field Around Him

Beyond the top three stacks, the landscape thins quickly. Kimon Fountoukidis holds 610,000, a workable but not comfortable position with blinds climbing. Jonathan Lawson sits on 595,000 with just $1,318 in prior lifetime earnings. For Lawson, a min-cash here would multiply his career total many times over.

That contrast tells the story of this final stretch. Dunaway is hunting legacy. Kapnopoulos and Lawson are hunting a life-changing score. Bechahed is hunting the one piece of hardware that has eluded him across 11 final tables and three Circuit rings.

Why the Second Bracelet Is the Hardest

Charlotte's historical analysis of WSOP results shows that 78% of players who win a bracelet never win another. The sample isn't small. Across thousands of unique winners in the WSOP's 57-year history, the vast majority go one-and-done. Getting to a second requires sustained excellence over years, plus a healthy dose of run-good at exactly the right moments.

Dunaway has the résumé to suggest he's not a one-hit outlier. Three final tables. More than $5.3M in earnings. A track record that predates the bracelet, not one that depends on it.

But résumés don't play poker. Chip stacks do. And right now, Kapnopoulos holds 3.61 million of them.

Eighteen players remain. Two tables. One bracelet. Dunaway has the credentials and the chips to take it. The question is whether a Greek player with $69K in lifetime earnings and the biggest stack in the room has a different plan entirely.