The 2026 WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship concluded in Las Vegas last night as PokerStake players enjoyed a famous one-two result. British poker legend Benny Glaser won his ninth WSOP title in 11 years by taking down the event for $1.34m, while Josh Arieh came second for a stunning score of $895,837 that puts him in second place on the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard.

Famous Six Face Off in Final

The start of the final day’s play in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship saw PokerStake player Benny Glaser come into the action with a sizeable lead. That lead improved early, as the British pacesetter continued as he had ended the previous evening, busting a player.

It was Jason Mercier who departed in seventh place on the penultimate day for $176,732 before Benny added the scalp of Kristopher Tong to his collection to kick off the final day. Tong was all-in with pocket sevens in No Limit Hold’em, but Benny made the call with king-queen and won the key flip when two queens arrive on the flop to exit for a score of $226,172.

There was soon another player on the rail, as Paul Volpe busted in fifth place for $301,405. Volpe’s conqueror was Maxx Coleman, but the American was bamboozled in fourth place for $417,607 when PokerStake’s Josh Arieh got the better of him in a hand of Omaha Hi-Lo. Coleman turned trip fours in Pot Limit Omaha but Josh had flopped a set of nines which improved to a full house on the turn. That pot gave Josh 11 million chips and put some distance between him and everyone except Benny at the top.

Ivey Fails to Climb

With three players left, the standard simply couldn’t have been higher, with a collective 26 WSOP bracelets between the final trio before playing down to one of the most lucrative. None of the remaining poker legends had previously won the PPC, so the tension might well have taken over if others had been in their seats. But Josh, Benny and Phil Ivey played out the final stages of the event in style, with no-one giving away an inch of value.

Benny still led when play moved three-handed, but within a few orbits, the lead had changed hands and play moved heads-up. A flurry of hands involving only Josh and Ivey played out, with Josh winning them all. Consecutive hands in 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw left Ivey down to just 350,000 chips and those were claimed by Josh too as Ivey departed to cheers and warm applause from the rail for $600,698, just two places short of what might have been his 12^th WSOP bracelet.

As heads-up began, Josh was in the lead on over 19 million chips, but with Benny on 13.5 million, the stacks were close enough and deep enough for plenty of play. Benny levelled up pretty soon after the heads-up began and a ten-nine in Razz played its part in him taking the lead. Winning with nines against deuces in Seven Card Stud then claiming another pot in lowball, Benny moved into a 2:1 chip lead.

A Record-Breaking Win

Josh fought on and looked for a way to get back into the match but at every turn, the door was slammed shut in his face. Drawing two to make a perfect seven-six on the river in lowball, Benny’s lead increased and while Josh might have lost his stack on several occasions, he made several folds when holding the weakest or outdrawn hand to survive. They were great folds but all of them left him with a diminishing pile of chips.

Eventually, all the chips went in and Josh needed to hold to double up in Omaha Hi-Lo. A queen on the turn gave Benny the better hand and the British player avoided redraws on the last street to hold on and take the title. Winning $1,343,764 and his ninth WSOP bracelet, the emotions were simply too much to take as Benny broke down in tears surrounded by his friends on the rail.

While the last-minute loss must have been heartbreaking for Josh, his latest cash of $895,837 and his second runner-up finish inside a week has put him in a terrific position to fight for a WSOP Player of the Year title to add to the one he won in 2021. Josh sits behind only Alex Foxen at the top of the leaderboard, with Benny in third place. All three of the top ranked players at the end of the WSOP POY race will win a $100,000 WSOP package.

WSOP 2026 Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Benny Glaser	United Kingdom	$1,343,764
2nd	Josh Arieh	United States	$895,837
3rd	Phil Ivey	United States	$600,698
4th	Maxx Coleman	United States	$417,607
5th	Paul Volpe	United States	$301,405
6th	Kristopher Tong	United States	$226,172
7th	Jason Mercier	United States	$176,732

Nine is Fine for Benny Glaser

As Josh congratulated his fellow PokerStake seller Benny upon victory, the latter dropped to the floor, resting his hands on his knees (below)as the magnitude of his achievement began to sink in. Getting his name on the Chip Reese Memorial trophy was a dream for Benny and in some ways completes a journey that began 11 years ago.

Back in 2015, Benny won his first bracelet in a Lowball Limit Triple Draw event. Grabbing two more in 2016, there was then a hiatus in terms of claiming gold until 2021, when Benny returned to the winner’s circle. Winning the Razz Championship of that year, Benny then took down the Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship in 2023 before scooping a trio of bracelets last year. Less than 12 months on, he now has his ninth WSOP bracelet, drawing him level with the legendary Johnny Moss on nine WSOP titles.

Only Erik Seidel, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson (all 10), Phil Ivey (11) and Phil Hellmuth (17) now stand ahead of Benny Glaser in bracelet terms, with the 2026 Poker Players Championship the crowning title of his poker career.

Here are all nine of Benny Glaser’s WSOP bracelet wins:

Year	Buy-In	Event Details	Top Prize
2015	$1,500	Lowball Limit Triple Draw	$136,215
2016	$1,500	Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better	$244,103
2016	$10,000	Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better Championship	$407,194
2021	$10,000	Razz Championship	$274,693
2023	$10,000	Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship	$311,428
2025	$1,500	Dealer’s Choice	$150,246
2025	$1,500	Mixed Omaha	$258,193
2025	$2,500	Mixed Triple Draw Lowball	$208,552
2026	$50,000	Poker Players Championship	$1,343,764

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Photography for Luther Redd/PokerGO at the 2026 WSOP.