The biggest of all final tables was set last night as the 2026 WSOP Main Event field dwindled down from 21 players who started the day to just nine. All in all, it took over 11 hours on Day 8 to reach this point, but now, we have the names of the nine players who’ll be coming back on August 3 to resume the chase for the most coveted of all WSOP bracelets.
All nine are guaranteed a handsome payday, as the minimum any of them will take home is a cool million. The eventual winner will pick up $10,000,000, and whoever emerges victorious will lock up his best career score by far.
Looking at the chip counts, 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon is the man to beat. He’ll be coming back to a stack of 194,000,000 chips, which translates to 130 big blinds. Rami Hammoud, who is second in chips, will be starting with 79,000,000, so there is quite a gap. But, it’s a long way still between Lucas and the Main Event bracelet.
Big Names Stumble Along the Way
Day 8 of the Main Event started with 21 players and an unusually high number of what we can certainly call “big shots.”
We had the likes of Todd Brunson and Shaun Deeb still in the mix, as well as the 2019 WSOP Main Event winner Hossein Ensan. Brock Wilson, a PokerGO Tour regular and a high-stakes tournament wizard, was there as well, so it was looking like we could have a pretty packed final table.
However, it wasn’t meant to be. Todd Brunson’s journey was cut short relatively early in the day. Brock Wilson and Shaun Deeb fell in 16th and 15th, respectively. Hossein Ensan managed to keep his dream of winning the Main Event twice for quite a while, but, in the end, he was sent to the rail in 13th place.
The last player to have his Main Event hopes crushed yesterday was Malcolm Trayner, the 2026 Aussie Millions Main Event winner. He fell at the hands of none other than Lucas Jumalon, and the remaining eight players could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their spot at the final table was secured.
Lucas Jumalon Leading the “August Nine”
The nine players who made it to the big stage will have some time to rest and prepare their strategy for the final table as the tournament will now pause for three weeks. The action will pick back up on August 3, with the final hand set to be dealt on August 5.
As mentioned, it is 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon who will be coming back to the largest stack when the action resumes. The young poker player from Washington has only $180,000 in live tournament earnings, and, should he turn his massive chip lead into the victory, he’ll become the second-youngest WSOP Main Event winner.
Canada’s Rami Hammoud holds the second-largest stack, but he’ll have quite a bit of work to do to catch up with Lucas. Hammoud has over $500,000 in live earnings, but his biggest single win was around $120,000.
Rounding up the top three is Jamie Shaevel, who is no stranger to deep Main Event runs, but this is a big improvement on his best previous result, which was 100th place finish in 2011.
Canada’s Greg Mueller has three WSOP bracelets to his name and over $3.5 million in career winnings. He’ll be starting with just over 30 big blinds, officially sitting in the fourth chip position, but everyone between the third and seventh spot are clumped quite close together.
The most decorated in the bunch, Michael Gagliano holds four WSOP bracelets and has $2.2 million in winnings. He knows the pressure of big final tables, but this will be his biggest career moment by far.
The only Frenchman at the table, Mario Boos, has just over a quarter of a million in live tournament winnings, and, according to the official results, he’s used to playing in much lower buy-ins. However, he had quite a run this summer and decided to reinvest some of those winnings into the Main Event. That decision has already paid handsome dividends as Boos is guaranteed to, at the very least, quadruple his lifetime winnings.
Bringing up the rear are Finland’s Lauri Saaskilahti, Han Feng of the United States, and Evagoras Evagorou of Cyprus. Evagorou is the official short stack, starting the final table with 15 big blinds. Feng is not far ahead, though, as he’ll be coming back to a stack of 17 bigs.
2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
| Player | Country | Stack | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Jumalon | United States | 194,000,000 | 129 |
| Rami Hammoud | Canada | 79,000,000 | 53 |
| Jamie Shaevel | United States | 56,000,000 | 37 |
| Greg Mueller | Canada | 48,500,000 | 32 |
| Michael Gagliano | United States | 46,500,000 | 31 |
| Mario Boos | France | 44,000,000 | 29 |
| Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | 37,500,000 | 25 |
| Han Feng | United States | 25,000,000 | 17 |
| Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 22,500,000 | 15 |
Nine Players and One Story Waiting to Be Written
While all nine players coming back to the final table have some experience on the felt, it is clear that this will be the moment of their careers. Every decision they make, and every hand they play, can have major consequences, as pay jumps will be massive.
| Position | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000,000 |
| 2nd | $6,000,000 |
| 3rd | $3,750,000 |
| 4th | $2,750,000 |
| 5th | $2,250,000 |
| 6th | $1,750,000 |
| 7th | $1,500,000 |
| 8th | $1,250,000 |
| 9th | $1,000,000 |
For young Lucas, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. He’s already proven he’s no slouch at the table, and he has a massive stack to work with. Should cards cooperate, we could see one of the quicker final tables.
But, as we have seen time and time again, a big chip lead is no guarantee of a win, and the other eight players will certainly be looking for their spots. A couple of missteps or bad beats, and things could easily get complicated.
It will all go down on August 3, 4, and 5, and you can watch the Main Event action live on YouTube, ESPN, and a few other places, depending on where you’re watching from.
