WSOP 2026: Chris Brewer Among GGMillion$ Live Finalists, Deeb and Hellmuth Battle for Gold
Two of the biggest WSOP events this week are set for dramatic conclusions in Las Vegas as the $10,000-entry GGMillion$ Live WSOP Event #11 and the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Event #17 raced towards their final day in dramatic circumstances. The 57th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw Chris Brewer shoot for glory in the former while Shaun Deeb and Phil Hellmuth battled for supremacy in the latter with a bracelet on the line.
Brewer Seven from Glory in GGMillion$
The $10,000-entry GGMillion$ Live event has been a special WSOP bracelet tournament. With 627 total entries, a massive prize pool of $5,831,100 and a top prize of $1,089,964, the event has lived up to its seven-figure billing. Just eight players remain in with a shot of winning one of the most prestigious bracelets on offer this summer, with stars of the felt such as Chris Brewer, Cliff Josephy and John Racener among them.
On a day of drama in the GGMillion$, there was an unfortunate exit for Ricky Landais, who busted in 22nd place for $41,942. All-in with ace-king against Bobby James’ ace-nine, Landais’ superior Big Slick hit a king on the flop but there were four cards spread instead of three, with one seeming to have stuck to the other. The floor staff were over quickly and correctly applied the rule that stated the four cards on the flop were to be ‘scrambled’ then one card removed at random. That card was the king and after the rest of the board was dealt out, Landais suffered a bad beat as James hit a runner-runner straight.
Later in the day, James busted when his pocket sixes ran into pocket tens, and he wasn’t the only late casualty. The WSOP Europe Main Event winner Max Neugebauer crashed out in 10th place for $63,893, as he was the penultimate player to leave the party. Alexander James’ bust-out in ninth set the final eight in place and what a collection of players will come back to fight for the title and a million dollars.
Of the last eight, only the Czech player Roman Hrabec is not from the United States, but he sits back in fifth place of the final eight on 7.1 million chips. The chip leader is Naseem Salem, who bagged up 14.8m in chips, just ahead of Alexis Martinez (12.3m) and Chad Lipton (7.9m). Behind them some genuine stars of the game lurk awaiting their chance at glory, with Chris Brewer on 7.6 million. He’s trailed by Cliff Josephy (6.8m), John Racener (4..3m) and Joey Weissman (1.9m) in what is sure to be a thrilling race to victory.
| WSOP 2026 Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ Live Final Table Chipcounts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Naseem Salem | United States | 14,800,000 |
| 2nd | Alexis Martinez | United States | 12,300,000 |
| 3rd | Chad Lipton | United States | 7,900,000 |
| 4th | Chris Brewer | United States | 7,600,000 |
| 5th | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | 7,100,000 |
| 6th | Cliff Josephy | United States | 6,800,000 |
| 7th | John Racener | United States | 4,300,000 |
| 8th | Joey Weissman | United States | 1,900,000 |
Deeb Chasing Glory but Hellmuth Hunting Too
Just 13 players remain in with a shot of winning the second $10,000 Championship event of the series, with the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship also reaching its final day. Shaun Deeb played all day and the Team Lucky member bagged up $1,530,000 in chips, marginally fewer than the leader, Japanese player Ryutaro Suzuki (1.57m).
Behind the top two sit numerous players for whom this stage of a Championship WSOP event hold no terrors at all. John Monette (955,000) and Alex Foxen (785,000) join Chad Eveslage (770,000) in making the final table, while the 17-time record WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth cannot be ruled out, despite coming into the final day 11th of the 13 surviving players on 620,000 chips.
| WSOP 2026 Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Chipcounts: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Ryutaro Suzuki | Japan | 1,570,000 |
| 2nd | Shaun Deeb | United States | 1,530,000 |
| 3rd | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 1,155,000 |
| 4th | Per Hildebrand | Sweden | 1,110,000 |
| 5th | John Monnette | United States | 955,000 |
| 6th | David Lin | United States | 945,000 |
| 7th | John Cynn | United States | 825,000 |
| 8th | Alex Foxen | United States | 785,000 |
| 9th | Chad Eveslage | United States | 770,000 |
| 10th | Robert French | United States | 735,000 |
| 11th | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 620,000 |
| 12th | Jason Daly | United States | 515,000 |
| 13th | Dan Shak | United States | 365,000 |
What WSOP Events Are Coming Soon?
With just a dozen events in the can this series, there are still plenty of WSOP events to come over the next few days alone. Many players will be taking on the next $25,000 High Roller of the series, with poker power couple Cherish Andrews and Brock Wilson both taking on the six-max Event #24.
Alex Livingston is playing in the $10,000 buy-in PLO Hi-Lo 8 Championship, where the Canandian’s vast experience and a low markup of either 1.10 or 1.12 depending on which bullet(s) you buy making him great value. Alex has been broadcasting and commentating on some of the best PLO players in the world over in Montenegro recently on the Triton Poker Series and he can easily count himself in those ranks.
Talking of PLO, why not back ‘Chainsaw’, a.k.a. Allen Kessler to win his maiden WSOP bracelet after many years as a professional in the PLO Hi-Lo 8 Event #21. Costing just $1,500 to play, Allen is likely to have more experience than virtually anyone in the field and if you haven’t backed his WSOP small-medium package, then this represents one of your best shots and grabbing some of his action before it is sold out!
For all of our PokerStake players, head to the official staking page of the 57th annual WSOP and choose your champion today!