Braxton Dunaway And Mike Holtz Headline Latest WSOP Bracelet Winners

The 2026 World Series of Poker is moving at a blistering pace, with 28 champions already crowned from its 100 live gold bracelet events. More than $69.2 million in prize money has been awarded thus far in completed events, along with all of the hardware. Here is a look at the latest big winners from inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

2026 WSOP Event No. 25 – $500 NLH Freezeout

While 4,100 players turned out for the $500 no-limit hold’em freezeout, it was 21-year-old San Diegan Brayden Lou who ultimately drove away with the hardware. Lou entered this event while on a road trip with his father, Damon. The two were making their way home after Lou’s graduation from Gordon College in Boston, Massachusetts and planned to stop in Las Vegas to take a shot at a bracelet.

Lou, who earned a political science degree, first tried his hand in the ongoing Monster Stack. While he managed to knock out reigning world champion Michael Mizrachi, he was ultimately eliminated outside of the money in that tournament. He then hopped in the $500 freezeout, and the rest is history.

Lou earned $196,066 along with his first bracelet. He also secured 660 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was not only his first POY-qualified score of 2026, but it was also his first recorded tournament cash, period.

The top 616 finishers made the money in this event, with $1,701,500 in total prize money awarded between them. Plenty of big names ran deep including Josh Reichard (98th), ‘Johnnie Vibes’ Moreno (36th), Travis Johnson (23rd), and Chris Hunichen (7th).

2026 WSOP Event No. 26 – $2,000 NLH

In 2025, Braxton Dunaway came tantalizingly close to winning the biggest tournament in poker. The 2023 WSOP Monster Stack champion finished third in last year’s main event, earning $4,000,000 for his podium showing.

Dunaway got right back to his winning ways this year, defeating a field of 968 entries in the $2,000 no-limit hold’em event for his second bracelet and a $288,064 payout. The 43-year-old Texas resident now has more than $5.8 million in recorded scores, with over $5.5 million of that coming from his 13 cashes in WSOP events.

The final heads-up battle for the bracelet pitted Dunaway against Erwann Pecheux. This was the second huge runner-up finish of the year for the Frenchman, having earned $227,504 for his performance in the European Poker Tour Paris €3,250 mystery bounty event. The 760 POY points that came with his latest deep run moved him inside the top 100 in the overall standings presented by CoinPoker.

The $1,723,040 prize pool for this event was split between the top 146 finishers. Notables like Jonathan Tamayo (74th), Shiina Okamoto (36th), Zdenek Zizka (35th), Ryan Hiller (14th), Craig Mason (11th) and Sami Bechahed (8th) were among those who cashed. 

2026 WSOP Event No. 28 – $600 Deepstack NLH/PLO

One of the most stacked final tables so far this summer somehow came about in the $600 Deepstack no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha eight-max mixed event. From a sea of 3,332 total entries, the final eight included the likes of seven-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu (8th – $24,347) and three-time bracelet winner Alex Foxen (5th – $55,305).

In addition to those two high rollers, who collectively boast over $116.5 million in tournament earnings, there were a couple of the most decorated mid-stakes players in the game, starting with World Poker Tour champion and 17-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Josh Reichard (3rd – $99,831). All-time ring leader Maurice Hawkins, with 25 WSOPC titles, was ultimately the runner-up, earning $135,864.

Hawkins rivered a full house to best Negreanu’s turned flush in a key hand, setting him up for a run at his first bracelet. Brent Gregory was ultimately the player to come out on top, though. The three-time ring winner from Missouri emerged victorious with his first bracelet and $204,140.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” Gregory told PokerNews live reporters after winning. “Foxen, Negreanu, Reichard, everybody. There were several better players than me at the table.”

This was the largest score yet for Gregory, who is now approaching $1 million in career cashes. Hawkins climbed to 26th in the POY standings thanks to this deep run. He has won four titles and made 13 final tables so far in 2026.

2026 WSOP Event No. 31 – $1,500 NLH Super Turbo Bounty

Mike Holtz sprinted to victory in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em super turbo bounty event, outlasting 2,103 entries in the course of a single session to hoist his second gold bracelet.

The online poker grinder earned $238,097 for this win, the largest payday of his career. His first bracelet saw him take down a 2022 WSOP Online $777 NLH event for $76,157. With this latest triumph, the cohost of the PokerNews Podcast now has over $2.2 million in recorded scores to his name.

“It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve always wanted a live bracelet. There is a sort of stigma with the online bracelet, like, oh blah blah blah. Fuck them, baby. Daddy’s got two now,” said Holtz.

The prize pool grew to $1,740,233 in this tournament, with 319 cashing. Big names like Chris Vitch (48th), Adam Owen (44th), Justin Arnwine (30th), Daniel Rezaei (27th), Thomas Eychenne (26th), Blake Bohn (14th), and Andrew Ostapchenko (6th) all made strong showings.

Photo credits: WSOP / Travis Ball, Miguel Cortes, Dominic Iaquinto.