Image courtesy of the World Series of Poker (Alicia Skillman)
We are officially halfway through the 2026 World Series of Poker, with over 50 events done and dusted. There is plenty more action to come and more bracelets to win, but the number of opportunities has halved compared to where we started a few weeks back.
While the past week saw its fair share of bracelet winners, it was other stuff happening around the main competition stealing the spotlight.
One that comes to mind is the shuffle-gate, a strange situation that led to the exactly same hand being dealt twice in a row (allegedly, at least), giving rise to many theories.
Then, there is Phil Hellmuth’s bet with Shaun Deeb regarding Phil’s son’s performance in the Main Event. That one has the potential to turn very interesting, so we’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on it.
2026 WSOP Week 4 Bracelet Winners
| Event | Winner | Prize Money | Total Entries |
| #38 – $10k Limit Hold’em Championship 7-Handed | Dong Chen | $285,200 | 121 |
| #39 – $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | Juan Rodriguez | $673,011 | 844 |
| #40 – $1,500 Razz | Sebastian Pauli | $135,564 | 519 |
| #41 – $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | Adrian Mateos | $4,334,411 | 56 |
| #42 – $10,000 Big O Championship | Daniel Aharoni | $861,287 | 456 |
| #43 – $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit | Matthew Moss | $318,556 | 3,903 |
| #44 – $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | Alex Foxen | $594,246 | 466 |
| #45 – $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better | Eddie Blumenthal | $248,545 | 587 |
| #46 – $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship | Homan Mohammadi | $660,000 | 7,538 |
| #47 – $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha | Eelis Parssinen | $2,161,056 | 451 |
| #48 – $10,000 Razz Championship | Calvin Anderson | $357,026 | 155 |
| #49 – $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em | Marco Johnson | $513,885 | 1,561 |
| #51 – $10k Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | Alex Anton | $678,300 | 558 |
| #52 – $3,000 Nine Game Mix | Joey Couden | $254,470 | 472 |
| #53 – $1,500 Five Card Pot-Limit Omaha | Zachary Gruneberg | $271,552 | 1,319 |
| #54 – $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship | Calvin Anderson | $413,580 | 189 |
| #56 – $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em | Abhishek Mhatre | $492,050 | 1,150 |
The First Half of the Series Highlights
With the first half of the 2026 World Series of Poker behind us, it is a great moment to pause and look back at who did what so far.
Clearly, it has been a very good summer for poker’s most successful power couple. Both Kristen and Alex Foxen managed to capture bracelets, with their wins coming only a few days apart.
Beyond bracelets, Foxens have been crushing it at the Series, making the top-ten list in terms of this year’s winners, each cashing for just over $1.8 million.
Brazil’s Adrian Mateos continued his incredible run, taking down the $250,000 Super High Roller event to the tune of over $4.4 million. That win also secured him his sixth WSOP bracelet. The Spaniard now has over $67 million in live tournament cashes and, to make it all more impressive, he’ll only be turning 32 this July.
Among others who did very well over the first four weeks are Brazil’s Yuri Dzivielevski, Bryn Kenney, and Sean Winter representing the team USA, and Finland’s Eelis Parssinen.
Fun With Automatic Shufflers
One story that has been trending on Poker X is quite weird, and we are yet to reach the bottom of it, if we ever do.
In the event you’ve missed it somehow, the gist of it is that an automatic shuffler at the WSOP managed to deal the exact same hand twice in a row. According to the information we have, it was not just the same community cards, but identical starting hands for all positions at the table.
There are many ideas and theories as to how this came to pass, ranging from a freak occurrence to sophisticated conspiracy theories. Some are saying that the machine may have been set to a sorting mode, or that this may have happened if two freshly opened decks were used.
The truth is, we really don’t know what happened, but we do know that there is nothing the poker world loves more than a good conspiracy, especially if it somehow leads to the conclusion that poker is, after all, rigged.
So far, there have been no official statements coming from the WSOP, which means everyone is free to believe whatever they like. So, feel free to pick your side.
Shaun Deeb Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is
There is always controversy regarding the markup players charge for WSOP events. But when it is Phil Hellmuth’s son selling action for the Main Event at 1.4, you can be sure that this will create some turmoil.
Upon advertising his son’s action was up for grabs, some players came out of the woodwork, accusing him that this was too high. Phil responded by offering everyone an opportunity to place a bet against it if they were so certain.
And, as it turns out, someone is pretty certain.
Shaun Deeb and Jason Mo took Hellmuth on his offer, and the bet is quite simple. If Phillip (Hellmuth’s son) busts before making the money, Phil will owe $14,000. Otherwise, Deeb and Mo will owe Hellmuth whatever amount Phillip cashes for.
In most scenarios, this bet ends with no big winners, but if Phil’s son catches a hot run of cards and makes a deep run in the Main, Shaun will be sweating bullets. The first place in the Main Event will be $10,000,000!
Of course, this led to some jokes as well, with Negreanu “selling” action for his yet-to-be-born son well ahead of the time, and Aaron Barone saying that Foxens’ future kid will probably be selling action at 10.0 markup when their time comes.
The Second Half Kicks Off
We are now into the second half of the 2026 World Series of Poker. While many exciting events have been completed, there are quite a few more yet to come.
This includes the $50k Poker Players Championship that starts today, several more Championship tournaments, and, of course, the Main Event that commences on July 2.
Don’t forget that there are live streams happening every night on the official WSOP channel, featuring the select event of the day and some action from the surrounding tournaments, offering a perfect way to enjoy the action even if you’re thousands of miles away.
