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The 2026 World Series of Poker has added another strong group of champions, with Finland, Japan, France, Mexico, and Brazil all taking turns at the winner photo. Eelis Parssinen made Finnish WSOP history, Koji Fujimoto beat a lowball loaded final table, Lionel Barracano and Ciro Gonzalez won first bracelets, and Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa kept Brazil rolling in Tag Team play.
Good to know
- Eelis Parssinen won Event #64: $25,000 PLO/NLH Mixed High Roller for $1,172,296.
- Koji Fujimoto won Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship for $392,478.
- Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa won Event #66: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tag Team one year after another Brazilian pair took the same title.
Parssinen Makes Finnish WSOP History
Eelis Parssinen has turned 2026 into the best year of his live poker career. The Finnish high-stakes PLO and no-limit hold’em player had already won Event #55: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for $2,270,000 on June 19. Six days later, he added Event #64: $25,000 PLO/NLH Mixed High Roller for $1,172,296.
That second win made Parssinen the first Finnish player to reach three WSOP bracelets. The record also came in a direct fight with Juha Helppi, who entered heads-up play looking for the same Finnish milestone.
Parssinen beat 214 entries in Event #64, which created a $5,029,000 prize pool. The final table included Helppi, Sean Winter, Daniel Negreanu, AP Louis Garza, Dylan Linde, Edward Leonard, and Sergio Martinez Gonzalez. Negreanu logged his best cash of the summer in seventh place, while Garza came close to defending the same event he won in 2025.
“The more that I think about it, I probably value this one more than the $25k PLO since I play both games. Here, you have to be good enough at both, but I think it’s close. It’s unbelievable. I can’t find words right now. Obviously, I was so lucky to be on the right side of the coolers, to be on the right side of the hands that are supposed to go all in no matter what. It’s crazy to think it’s even possible to run like that,” Parssinen told PokerNews live reporters after closing out the win.
The final table had several turning points. Helppi eliminated Negreanu and Garza, Parssinen removed Martinez Gonzalez, then caught runner-runner full house to knock out Leonard after Leonard had flopped the nut flush. Parssinen later sent Winter out in third before a swingy heads-up match with Helppi. The final PLO hand gave Parssinen top two pair and the nut flush draw on the flop, then a completed club flush on the turn to lock up the bracelet.
Event #64 $25,000 PLO/NLH Mixed High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Eelis Parssinen | $1,172,296 |
| 2 | Juha Helppi | $781,500 |
| 3 | Sean Winter | $540,754 |
| 4 | Edward Leonard | $381,950 |
| 5 | Sergio Martinez Gonzalez | $275,509 |
| 6 | AP Louis Garza | $203,041 |
| 7 | Daniel Negreanu | $152,954 |
| 8 | Dylan Linde | $117,835 |
Fujimoto Beats Lowball Legends For Japan
Koji Fujimoto won his first bracelet in one of the toughest mixed-game fields of the summer. Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship drew 176 entries and paid Fujimoto $392,478.
The win also gave Japan its third bracelet of the 2026 WSOP, after Naoya Kihara had already won twice earlier in the series. Fujimoto became the 11th Japanese player to win a WSOP bracelet.
The final stretch did not give him much room to breathe. Nick Schulman, Todd Brunson, Billy Baxter, Tommy Hang, Andrew Kelsall, Justin Smith, and Kihara all ran deep. Baxter finished eighth, Kihara seventh, and Brunson sixth before the official final table moved toward the Schulman and Fujimoto match.
Schulman held the lead for much of the late stage and entered heads-up ahead. He quickly built a 3:1 advantage, but Fujimoto won a long run of medium pots after the break and took control. Schulman doubled once in a wild hand when his wheel beat Fujimoto second-best 7-6-4-3-2, but Fujimoto stayed in front. On the final hand, both players paired, and Fujimoto pair made the better low to end Schulman bid for bracelet number nine.
Event #67 $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Koji Fujimoto | $392,478 |
| 2 | Nick Schulman | $256,181 |
| 3 | Tommy Hang | $172,064 |
| 4 | Andrew Kelsall | $119,011 |
| 5 | Justin Smith | $84,845 |
| 6 | Todd Brunson | $62,404 |
First Bracelets For Barracano And Gonzalez
Lionel Barracano gave France another WSOP winner in Event #61: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Seniors. The event, open to players age 60 and older, drew 3,323 entries and created a $2,924,240 prize pool.
Barracano earned $355,263, his first bracelet, and by far his biggest live tournament score. Before the win, his best result had been a 12th-place run in the same event in 2024.
Greg Raymer, Antonin Teisseire, and Rob Hollink all made deep runs, but Kevin Song became Barracano final opponent. Song entered heads-up with the lead after knocking out Donald Briggs in third. Barracano then won a key clash with pocket jacks and finished the match when pocket fives beat pocket fours after a set on the flop and a full house on the turn.
Ciro Gonzalez followed with another first bracelet story in Event #65: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout. Gonzalez had traveled from Cancun to Las Vegas to play the Super Seniors after turning 60, missed the money there, then entered the freezeout.
That second choice paid $449,067. Gonzalez topped 2,617 entries in a one-entry-per-player format, beating Kyle Lin heads-up for the bracelet.
“I have some results, right, but nothing like this. I’m so excited. But the bracelet is the most important for me. The money is always good, and we play for that, but the bracelet is something special,” Gonzalez told PokerNews reporters.
Event #61 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Seniors Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Lionel Barracano | $355,263 |
| 2 | Kevin Song | $236,712 |
| 3 | Donald Briggs | $176,564 |
| 4 | Paul McMullin | $132,696 |
| 5 | Nancy Birnbaum | $100,488 |
| 6 | Alexander Dovzhenko | $76,683 |
| 7 | Michael Dokell | $58,970 |
| 8 | Dhesikan Ananchaperumal | $45,703 |
| 9 | Glen Clementi | $35,699 |
Event #65 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Final Table
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Ciro Gonzalez | $449,067 |
| 2 | Kyle Lin | $299,218 |
| 3 | Julian Eibel | $220,399 |
| 4 | Octavio Borra | $163,838 |
| 5 | Nethanel Cohen | $122,923 |
| 6 | Brandon Hamlet | $93,091 |
| 7 | Jan Sanchez | $71,167 |
| 8 | Aram Zobian | $54,926 |
| 9 | Leonardo Alves | $42,801 |
Brazil Keeps The Tag Team Bracelet
Event #66: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tag Team ended with another Brazilian win. Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa beat 1,375 teams for $184,769, one year after Kelvin Kerber and Peter Patricio won the same event.
The link runs deeper than nationality. Drumond and Lessa are reportedly students of Kerber and Patricio, making the back-to-back Brazil result even better for the group.
“It’s been seven years of hard work chasing this dream. We come here to live this dream, and now we are living it,” Drumond told PokerNews via translation.
Drumond had already come close to a bracelet in 2025, finishing second in the $2,500 freezeout. Lessa also had a major result before this run, with a €2,700 title at EPT Barcelona in 2025. Together, they finished the job in Las Vegas.
Ruka Yamauchi and Shotaro Murase took second for Japan. Joseph Monaco and Gabriel Monaco finished third, while Christine Brewer and Orson Young placed fourth.
Event #66 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tag Team Final Table Results
| Place | Team | Payout |
| 1 | Breno Drumond and Henrique Lessa | $184,769 |
| 2 | Ruka Yamauchi and Shotaro Murase | $123,119 |
| 3 | Joseph Monaco and Gabriel Monaco | $88,058 |
| 4 | Christine Brewer and Orson Young | $63,800 |
| 5 | Tomas Szwarcberg and Sebastien Hetzel | $46,833 |
| 6 | Ryan Franklin and Michael Zulker | $34,838 |
| 7 | Jennifer Zewe and Vincent Moscati | $26,265 |
| 8 | Victor Chong and Tyler Willse | $20,073 |
| 9 | Michael Buchmiller and Russell Rosenblum | $15,554 |
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