Alex Farahi has been a fixture on the tournament circuit for over a decade, accumulating millions in earnings since his debut cash in 2013. Despite 161 career in-the-money finishes, a major live title had remained elusive for the Beverly Hills resident. That all changed when Farahi finally broke through to the winner’s circle, outlasting 310 entries in the 2026 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Championship to earn $193,725 and add his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
Farahi defeated 2012 WPT Grand Prix de Paris champion Matthew Salsberg heads-up to secure the title in this $3,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em affair. This win was the fourth-largest score of his career, trailing two final-table finishes in World Series of Poker events and a 16-place showing in the 2022 WPT World Championship.
In addition to the title and the money, Farahi also secured 720 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his third final-table finish of 2026, having placed second in a $1,100 event at The Gardens Winter Series ($87,000 and 700 points) and fourth in a $3,500 event at the Wynn Millions ($148,953 and 630 points). With 2,050 total points, he has risen to 15th place in the overall standings presented by CoinPoker.
Setting The Livestream Table
The prize pool swelled to $992,000 thanks to the solid turnout to Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA. The top 39 finishers all earned at least $6,400 for their efforts. Plenty of notables were among those who cashed, including Lee Markholt (36th), Daniel Sepiol (24th), Brock Wilson (17th), Andrew Ostapchenko (11th), Jeremy Becker (10th), and defending champion of this event Shawn Daniels (8th).
Bracelet winner and WPT champion Soheb Porbandarwala was knocked out on the livestream bubble when his A-K ran into the pocket aces of two-time bracelet winner Marco Johnson. Porbandarwala wound up with deuces full of kings, but it was still second best to Johnson’s deuces full of aces. He earned $33,000 for his seventh-place finish, while Johnson entered the final day in fourth chip position.
Salsberg was out in front when the penultimate day concluded, with Farahi hot on his heels.
We have reached the Official Final Table of the $3,500 @WPT Rolling Thunder Championship @TVPokerRoom 🏆⛈️ pic.twitter.com/wOBODdL0e3
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 1, 2026
Thinning The Field
It didn’t take long for the first knockout of the final day to arrive. On just the second hand, Alec Gould got all-in with pocket kings leading the A-Q of Johnson. An ace on the flop put Johnson ahead, and he remained there through the river. Gould earned $43,000 as the sixth-place finisher.
Five-handed play continued for a handful of orbits, but eventually a preflop coin flip sent the next player packing. Darrell Cain shoved from the cutoff for 6.5 big blind with J♥9♦ and Farahi called with 5♠5♦ from the big blind. The board came down A♥7♥6♠8♠9♥ and Farahi made a nine-high straight to win the pot. Cain earned $56,000 for his fifth-place showing, the second-largest score on his poker résumé. His top payday remains the $363,936 he earned for a win in a $1 million guaranteed $300 buy-in at the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic that drew 5,873 entries.
The next key hand began with a min-raise to 200,000 from the cutoff by Johnson, who held A♠10♥. Farahi called with A♥Q♥ on the button and Salsberg defended J♠5♣ from the big blind. The flop came down 10♠4♥3♥ and Salsberg checked. Johnson bet 550,000 with top pair and Farahi called. The 2♥ on the turn gave Farahi the nut flush. Johnson check-called 475,000 from Farahi and the 5♠ completed the board. That prompted another check from Johnson. Farahi bet enough to put his opponent all-in and Johnson went into the tank with his rivered five-high straight. He eventually made the call to finish fourth for $74,000.The Northern California native now has nearly $5.7 million in recorded earnings after this latest deep run.
Closing Out The Win
Matthew Salsberg
Three-handed action was short-lived. Just a few orbits in, a preflop showdown between Arish Nat’s 8♠8♣ and Salsberg’s A♦Q♦ set the stage for the heads-up finale. The Q♠3♣2♣3♦K♥ runout gave Salsberg queens up for the win. Nat settled for $100,000 as the third-place finisher, a new personal best for the California poker regular.
Farahi was still out in front with roughly a 3:2 chip lead over Salsberg. The two soon hashed out a deal to adjust the remaining payouts, setting aside $34,500 and the title to play for while locking up $159,226 for Farahi and $151,275 for Salsberg.
The final two contenders played 55 hands heads-up, with the first seven pots all going Farahi’s way. Salsberg managed an early bounce back, but Farahi was able to create some distance again as the match wore on.
Eventually, Salsberg slipped below 10 big blinds. The final hand of the tournament began with an open-shove on the button from Farahi, who held A♦6♦. Salsberg called with A♣2♣ and the 6♥5♠2♦ paired both players. The 7♥ turn left Salsberg in need of a deuce on the end, but the 10♦ appeared instead to end his run in second place.
Salsberg now has more than $4.1 million in tournament cashes after adding this six-figure score. His top payday is still the $478,415 that came with his WPT triumph in France.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Alex Farahi | $193,725 | 720 |
| 2 | Matthew Salsberg | $151,275 | 600 |
| 3 | Arish Nat | $100,000 | 480 |
| 4 | Marco Johnson | $74,000 | 360 |
| 5 | Darrell Cain | $56,000 | 300 |
| 6 | Alec Gould | $43,000 | 240 |
| 7 | Soheb Porbandarwala | $33,000 | 180 |
| 8 | Shawn Daniels | $25,000 | 120 |
| 9 | Elvyn Bello Santos | $20,000 | 60 |
Photo credit: World Poker Tour.
