Daniel Smiljkovic Bags $50K High Roller Chip Lead at the 2026 WSOP

Daniel Smiljkovic has made 16 career final tables across three continents, but none of them carried a $50,000 buy-in until July 11, when the German pro bagged the chip lead heading into the final table of Event #90 at the 2026 World Series of Poker.

Smiljkovic holds 6,650,000 in chips. He already owns one WSOP bracelet and one Circuit ring. His lifetime tournament earnings sit at $5,865,636. And yet, for a player with that kind of résumé, he remains largely unknown to the American poker audience.

That's about to change.

His lifetime tournament earnings sit at $5,865,636, and yet, for a player with that kind of résumé, he remains largely unknown to the American poker audience.

The Final Table Field

Smiljkovic isn't the biggest stack at the final table. That belongs to Austria's Daniel Rezaei, who bagged 10,725,000. Rezaei has one bracelet of his own, 14 career final tables, and $7,335,655 in lifetime earnings. He's the clear chip leader and the mathematical favorite to win from this position.

But Smiljkovic, in second place, sits well above the rest of the field.

Bryn Kenney is third with 3,525,000. The American has two bracelets, 29 career final tables, and $21,200,089 in lifetime tournament cashes. Jamie Dwan, a British player with one Circuit ring and $446,011 in career earnings, holds 3,300,000.

Then there's Daniel Negreanu. Eight bracelets. One Circuit ring. Ninety-eight career final tables. $36,262,616 in lifetime earnings. He sits fifth at the final table with 2,575,000. Negreanu's presence alone ensures that the rail will be packed, but he'll need to nearly triple up to catch Rezaei.

Why Smiljkovic Matters

The story here isn't just the chip count. It's the trajectory.

Smiljkovic built his career almost entirely in European high-roller circuits. His 16 final tables and nearly $5.9M in cashes came without the visibility that American grinders get from streaming, podcasting, or playing the Bellagio super-highroller series. He ground through EPT side events, European High Roller festivals, and WSOPC stops before arriving at the biggest open buy-in on this summer's WSOP schedule.

One bracelet and one Circuit ring suggest a player who can close. Sixteen final tables suggest a player who gets there with unusual consistency. The combination, paired with a $50K chip lead, suggests someone the broader poker world should have been watching earlier.

For context: Negreanu needed 98 final tables to accumulate $36.3M. Smiljkovic has $5.87M from just 16. The sample is small, but the average final-table result is striking.

What Happens Next

Nine players remain. The $50,000 High Roller 8-Handed event will play down to a winner from this final table, with Rezaei's 10,725,000 looming as the stack everyone has to navigate around.

Smiljkovic's 6,650,000 gives him real leverage in an eight-handed format where shorter stacks will feel pressure first. Kenney, Dwan, and Negreanu all need to find spots. Smiljkovic can afford to pick them.

A win here would be the largest single score of Smiljkovic's career by a wide margin and would push him past $7M in lifetime earnings. It would also confirm what the European circuit results have been hinting at for years: this is a player built for the biggest stages in the game.