Corel Theuma Wins WSOP Europe Mystery Bounty Opener

Mystery bounty tournaments have become a staple at the World Series of Poker in recent years. It’s only fitting that the 2026 WSOP Europe festival also embraced the chaos inherent to the popular tournament format. The €1,100 no-limit hold’em mystery bounty opener that kicked off this year’s WSOPE had four starting flights. After thousands of eliminations and multiple six-figure bounties, it came down to the matter of crowning a brand new gold bracelet winner.

For the second time in as many tournaments at WSOP Europe, an eight-time bracelet winner was in the mix for history. Benny Glaser spent large stretches of this tournament as the chip leader, before ultimately falling in fifth place ($40,365). Instead, Corel Theuma picked up the victory, claiming his first WSOP bracelet and the $172,500 first-place prize.

🏆🥇@Corel_Theuma captures his first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #1: €1,100 The Opener Mystery Bounty!

🙌🍾Congrats to the American poker pro who celebrates after taking home €150,000 + bounties! pic.twitter.com/0AlSk0Vact

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 3, 2026

Theuma has spent the last seven years traveling the world, playing poker tournaments ranging from $300 multi-flight events to €25,000 high rollers on the European Poker Tour. The Boca Raton, Florida resident’s highest-profile win before this one saw him take down an MSPT title at Venetian Las Vegas during the summer of 2023.

But this win in Prague stands out among the rest. In addition to the hardware and the biggest live cash of his career, Theuma also earned 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year points. His first POY qualifying cash immediately puts him just outside the top 100 in the overall 2026 standings presented by CoinPoker. Theuma cashed in each of the first two events at WSOP Europe, finishing 17th in the mixed pot-limit Omaha event as well.

Big Bounties Fly Early

A total of 2,195 entries turned out to the Hilton Prague hotel for this event, generating $1,262,125 for the main prize pool and another $1,262,125 for the mystery bounties. The 219 players who returned for day 2 of the tournament were all in the money, and the mystery bounties were in play from that point on.

Just like its counterpart in Las Vegas, the players who drew major bounty prizes had their names flash on the big screen with a golden chest. Egor Sukhov of Russia was just the second player called to reach in and grab a gold ball from among the major prizes. With Jeff Platt looking on, Sukhov pulled the €250,000 ($287,500) bounty, the largest prize on offer.

🤯 We’ve got a BIG bounty pulled in Day 2 of the €1,100 Mystery Bounty

🇷🇺 Egor Sukhov hits a huge one… and it’s only the second gold chest drawn!

➡️ Follow along for updates on the WSOP LIVE app! pic.twitter.com/YKEpMoR2sr

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 2, 2026

Sukhov’s tournament result was slightly less exciting, as he went out in 168th for $1,265, but he’d take home more than the first-place prize from the traditional prize pool thanks to his fortuitous bounty pull.

The eliminations on day 2 were fast and furious. Leo Margets (213th), Martin Kabrhel (173rd), Chris Hunichen (145th), Viktor Blom (131st), and Esther Taylor (108th) were some of the earliest casualties. 2025 WSOP main event champion Michael Mizrachi (103rd) and runner-up John Wasnock (102nd) went out back-to-back.

Cesar Natera Veroez claimed one of the two €100,000 ($115,000) bounties on day 2, and bagged up a healthy stack with eyes on securing even more.

🧘‍♂️Cesar Natera Veroez can feel a big bounty calling his name… pic.twitter.com/eHy5340756

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 2, 2026

A total of 16 players moved on to day 3 of the tournament, with only two bracelet winners remaining in contention. One of them was Zdenek Zizka, a backgammon grand master who beat Shaun Deeb heads up for a bracelet at the 2025 WSOP. He’d go on to finish 16th. The other was Glaser, an eight-time bracelet winner like Deeb, who carried the chip lead overnight.

Paniak Pounces

By the time the field reached its nine-handed final table, Theuma had made a major move towards the chip lead. Outside of Theuma, and Glaser, Chenxiang Miao’s results stood out. Chenxiang, who is from China, owns both a WPT Prime title, won in Korea in 2024, and a Triton One victory in Jeju in September 2025.

Theuma took out Chenxiang ($12,880) first at the final table, as his pocket tens held off A♠K♦. Maksim Paniak of Russia, whose previous claim to fame was winning the $10,000 seniors high roller at the 2025 WPT World Championship festival at Wynn Las Vegas, picked up the next elimination. With A♥J♠, Paniak flopped trip jacks to bust Gabriel Chiva in eighth place ($16,100).

Benny Glaser

Veroez’s good fortunes in this tournament ended in seventh place ($21,850). He got all in with pocket eights against Paniak’s A♠K♦, and Paniak found an ace on the turn to win the pot.

Paniak got caught in a battle of the blinds, holding Q♦3♠ against Julien Stropoli’s A♥7♥. But a queen on the turn, and another queen on the river, earned Paniak his third consecutive elimination. With several bounties picked up in the process, Paniak claimed the biggest remaining bounty, worth €25,000 ($28,750). He added that to previous €50,000 and €10,000 bounties won earlier in the tournament. Stropoli earned $28,865 for his sixth-place showing.

Very little went right at this final table for Glaser, who was perilously short-stacked with five left. Janis Kulikauskis claimed the last of Glaser’s chips, flopping a pair of tens to end Glaser’s dreams of a ninth bracelet. The $40,365 payout for his latest close call saw him extend his career earnings past $11 million.

A Day For Theuma

Paniak’s incredible final table run continued, as he made a runner-runner spade flush to doom Mihai Tabac to a fourth-place finish ($54,165). He seemed to have all of the momentum with three players left, but a stroke of good luck at the perfect time pushed Theuma back into pole position.

Kulikauskis shoved with A♥Q♠ and Theuma called with A♣6♦. The J♠10♦4♦ flop didn’t have much to offer, but running diamonds on the turn and river gave Theuma a flush and the elimination. The Latvian was awarded $78,200 for his efforts.

The final two were close in chips at the start of heads-up play, and Paniak soon put Theuma to the test in the most crucial pot of the tournament. After Paniak three-bet preflop, and Theuma called, the flop was 9♦7♣6♥. Paniak checked, Theuma called, and the K♣ fell on the turn. Paniak open-shoved and put Theuma into the grinder.

Theuma finally called, tabling 8♠6♠ for bottom pair and a straight draw. Paniak had A♦10♠, which left him in need of an ace or an eight to win the tournament. The river brought the 2♥ instead, putting Theuma firmly in control.

On the final hand, Theuma turned K♣9♥ into a rivered nine-high straight to beat Paniak’s A♦8♣ and secure the victory. Paniak cashed for $109,250 as the runner-up.

Final Table Results

Photo credits: WSOP.