Ryutaro Suzuki Leads the $10K 2-7 Championship Final Table With Two Bracelets and a Score to Settle

Ryutaro Suzuki has 2.32 million chips, two WSOP bracelets, and seven players between him and a third — and the event is the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, the format's only five-figure buy-in.

The Japanese draw specialist enters the final day of Event #17 at the 2026 World Series of Poker as the chip leader, but just barely. Shaun Deeb — eight bracelets, $14.27 million in lifetime earnings, 55 career final tables — sits second with 1.85 million. The gap between first and second is less than half a million chips. In a game where a single pat hand can double a stack or destroy one, that margin is a rumor.

In a game where a single pat hand can double a stack or destroy one, that margin is a rumor.

The Field Behind Them

This isn't one of those final tables where the chip leader can coast. The eight remaining players carry a combined résumé that makes the $10K 2-7 Championship feel like what it is: a specialist's arena.

David Lin, a U.S.-based pro with $548,821 in lifetime cashes, holds 1.835 million — fifteen thousand chips behind Deeb. Lin has three career final tables and zero bracelets. A win here would rewrite his poker biography in a single session.

Per Hildebrand of Sweden is fourth with 1.495 million and brings seven career final tables and $900,971 in lifetime earnings to the felt. He's been deep before. He hasn't gotten hardware.

Then there's Daniel Shak. The American high-stakes veteran has $3.74 million in career cashes and 19 final-table appearances — but zero bracelets. He sits fifth with 1.32 million chips. Shak has been in these chairs before, grinding draw games against the best in the world. He's 0-for-19 in converting a final table to gold. Event #17 is another chance to fix that.

Why Suzuki Is the Protagonist

Suzuki's $936,550 in lifetime earnings doesn't jump off the page next to Deeb's $14.27 million. His six career final tables look modest beside Shak's 19. But Suzuki has something neither Deeb nor Shak can claim: he's already won two bracelets with a fraction of the volume.

Two bracelets from six final tables is a 33% conversion rate. That's not a player who stumbles into deep runs. That's a player who knows how to close.

The $10K 2-7 Championship is the crown jewel of lowball poker. It draws a tiny, specialized field — players who've spent years mastering a game where the best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 and the skill edge is enormous. This is not a 10,000-entry field where variance can carry an amateur to a title. It's a surgeon's table.

Suzuki also holds a WSOPC ring, making him three-for-three in the distinct trophies column: rings, bracelets, and now a shot at a third bracelet in the most elite draw event on the schedule.

The Obstacle: Deeb's Gravity

Deeb is the player everyone at this final table has to account for. Eight bracelets. Fifty-five final tables. Two WSOPC rings. The man has more WSOP hardware than some entire countries.

He's also sitting on 1.85 million chips — close enough to Suzuki that a single hand could flip the leaderboard. In no-limit 2-7, where pots can balloon on a single draw decision, the chip lead is a suggestion, not a guarantee.

Deeb doesn't need the money. He doesn't need the résumé line. What he wants is bracelet number nine, and this is exactly the kind of niche, high-buy-in, skill-intensive event where he's been most dangerous across his career.

What Happens Next

Eight players return. Five of them have zero bracelets. One has two. One has eight. The total lifetime earnings at this final table exceed $20 million.

Suzuki's lead is real but fragile. The format rewards patience, hand-reading, and the nerve to stand pat when every instinct screams to draw. It's a game built for closers.

The question isn't whether Suzuki can play at this level. He's already proved that twice. The question is whether he can hold off Shaun Deeb — and five other players who've waited years for exactly this seat.