Last week was a relatively slow one in the poker world, as few major poker events were on the docket, and few major stories made it into the headlines.
The best players in the world were mostly busy preparing for and playing in this year’s Super High Roller Bowl, hosted at the PokerGO Studio.
The tournament saw only 28 entries this time around, and Brandon Wilson walked away with the trophy, some million dollars richer than he was when he walked into the Studio.
As the Super High Roller Bowl was playing out at the Aria, Bellagio was hosting its own poker extravaganza at significantly lower stakes, as mixed game fans got together for another fun edition of the Mixed Game Festival.
The good folks at JOPT made sure the week wouldn’t go by without any drama, as they created major controversy with a questionable choice of rewards for the top finishers in their Ladies Championship event.
Let’s take a closer look at this week’s top stories and the key moments that you may have missed.
Brandon Wilson Walks Away Victorious at Super High Roller Bowl XI
Another edition of the Super High Roller Bowl, one of the most prestigious poker tournaments on the calendar, is behind us, and Brandon Wilson is the new champion.
Wilson won over a small field of just 28 of the world’s most elite players in the most prestigious PokerGO Tour event, and turned his $100,000 buy-in into a first-place prize of $1,125,000, a relatively modest prize all things considered.
To get to the win, Wilson had to work his way past a stacked final table that included the likes of Adrian Mateos, Jeremy Ausmus, and Alex Foxen, all of whom made the money by finishing in the top five.
Alex Foxen leads the final five players in Super High Roller Bowl XI. @WAFoxen – 2,870,000 Nick Petrangelo – 1,680,000 @Amadi_17 – 1,510,000 @brandonwpoker – 1,270,000 @jeremyausmus – 1,070,000 Watch the final table Saturday on @PokerGO starting at 6P ET/3P PT. 🏆 $1,125,000 to the winner! https://t.co/1sImV8wVb0
— PGT (@PokerGOTour) October 10, 2026
Nick Petrangelo was the final player to stand in Wilson’s way. The two battled in a heads-up match, with Wilson coming away victorious and leaving Petrangelo to contend with a $700,000 second-place prize.
It’s interesting that Wilson came back from being a single card away from bubbling the tournament, but ended up spinning his stack back up and winning the whole thing.
His victory came in the wake of the $100,000 Super High Roller Bowl PLO, which saw Sean Rafael defeat Joao Simao in a heads-up match for the first-place prize of $1,150,000.
Another Mixed Game Festival Plays Out at the Bellagio
The Mixed Game Festival has become a staple event on the poker calendar. Last week, Robbie Straziyski, Cardplayer Lifestyle, and BetMGM Poker brought the fans of mixed games together one more time for an exciting 5-day festival at the Bellagio.
Once again, the fans of mixed games had a chance to play low-stakes mixed games in a friendly atmosphere, with exciting new poker variants like Dramaha, Texaha, and OmaJack all on the roster, along with the more familiar poker games like Badugi and Seven Card Stud.
The festival included a traditional pizza party, TORSE and Triple Mix tournaments, celebrity appearances, and plenty of valuable prizes awarded by the sponsors.
Making his first ever Mixed Game Festival appearance — welcome to 7x WSOP bracelet winner @JoshuaArieh 🥳 Thanks for coming to splash around with us in the @BellagioPoker $4/8 dealer’s choice streets 😁 https://t.co/DpQ2gkPRST
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) October 9, 2026
Three lucky players won entry into the $1,100 Bellagio Fall Classic Main Event, while others won poker card decks, books, hoodies, and other valuable merch from various sponsors.
The festival was made whole by the appearance of the World Seris of Poker champion Josh Arieh on the final day, as he decided to come and support the event of his own accord simply for his own love of the mixed games.
The Mixed Game Festival is set to return to the schedule in early 2027, hopefully bigger than ever, as its organizers continue to promote mixed games and look to get even more players hooked on playing poker games beyond NLH.
JOPT Stirs the Pot with Controversial Ladies Championship Prizes
Women have been struggling to find their place in the poker community for decades, but have often stumbled upon roadblocks along the way. One of the most egregious examples of women being disrespected in the poker world may have happened last week, when a Japanese poker tournament offered a series of controversial rewards in its Ladies Championship.
The Japan Open Poker Tour event was sponsored by Sagami Inc., a company that deals in the manufacturing of rubber products, including condoms.
Because Japanese law bans cash prizes in poker events, players are often awarded tournament tickets to events across Asia, as well as other valuable rewards.
In this case, Sagami and JOPT decided to reward the top finishers in the Ladies Championship with sets of condoms and lubricants, which quite a few in the poker community found to be distasteful.
Considering the status of women in poker and the amount of toxic masculinity dominating the poker world, this was certainly a step in the wrong direction.
今回のJOPTへの協賛につきまして、様々なご意見をいただいております。 ご不快な思いをされた皆様に心よりお詫び申し上げます。 今回の協賛は、ポーカーというマインドゲームの普及および女性プレイヤーの挑戦を応援し、相手と自分をリスペクトする文化を広げたいという想いによるものです。 「FUN FIRST. RESPECT ALWAYS.」 楽しむことがいちばん、リスペクトは常に。 この“ファンリス“の精神のもと、誰もが安心して挑戦し楽しめる環境づくりに努めてまいります。今後ともSAGAMIをよろしくお願いいたします。 ▼社会・環境への取り組み https://t.co/qWOu3DXRLb 当社は1934年以来、女性創業者・松川サクの「女性自身の身体を守る権利に向き合う」という信念のもと、90年以上、製品づくりや啓発活動などを通じて、社会への貢献を目指しています。
— 相模ゴム工業株式会社 (@sagamirubber) October 7, 2026
JOPT and Sagami faced serious backlash from poker players in both Japan and the rest of the world, although many simply dismissed the whole thing as a bad joke.
The company apologized if it made anyone uncomfortable, but emphasized their intention was simply to promote poker as a mind game, while simultaneously operating under the guidelines of its motto: “Fun first, respect always.”
Sagami also pointed out that the company was originally founded by a woman, and at the end of the day, it was simply awarding players with its own products at no extra charge.
So, what do you think? Were JOPT and Sagami completely out of line with their reward, or was the whole thing blown out of proportion and not meant as an insult to the ladies at all?
