Nathan Gamble is now a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, with all three of his wins coming in pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better. His latest triumph was his largest yet, as the 36-year-old Texas native topped 390 entries in the 2026 WSOP $10,000 PLO8 championship to earn a career-best score of $767,395.
“I can’t even put it into words right now,” Gamble said just moments after his win. “I was looking at last night, and I was fairly sure I was the number one player in the world for PLO8 bracelet cashes, and now I know unequivocally that I’m number one in the world for PLO8 bracelets. That’s a legacy moment that cements me in the lore of history for poker,” Gamble told PokerNews live reporters after closing out the win.
“That is something I’ve dreamed about since being a 12-year-old kid, watching Negreanu and Ivey and everyone who’s come before,” continued Gamble.
With this massive win, Gamble increased his career tournament earnings to over $1.6 million, with nearly all of that coming from his success at the WSOP.
In addition to the money and the hardware, Gamble also scored plenty of rankings points with this victory. The 1,500 Card Player Player of the Year points moved him just outside of the top 150 in the 2026 POY standings presented by CoinPoker. He also secured 767 PokerGO Tour points, enough to surge inside the top 20 despite no prior PGT-qualified scores this season.
Big Field, Big Names
The impressive turnout for this event (up four players from the previous year) made for a prize pool of $3,627,000, with the top 59 finishers earning a share. Plenty of stars ran deep, including John Hennigan (39th), Phil Hellmuth (37th), Brad Owen (32nd), Jason Daly (28th), Mike Gorodinsky (27th), Joao Vieira (22nd), Dylan Weisman (21st), David Coleman (18th), Ryan Hughes (17th), Shota Nakanishi (16th), Matt Vengrin (15th), Jason Mercier (12th), Matthew Schreiber (8th), and Jarod Minghini (7th).
Two-bracelet winner Marco Johnson (6th – $127,208) was the final knockout recorded on day 3, with his A♣10♣2♥2♦ bested by the A♥K♣6♣5♠ of Nino Pansier on a Q♣9♥3♣A♠9♠ runout.
The fourth and final day of this event began with just five players remaining. Two-time bracelet winner Justin Liberto was well out in front when play resumed with nearly four times as many chips as the next-largest stack, which belonged to Gamble.
Martin Zamani scored a huge double-up early, getting all-in with top two pair and the nut low draw against the top pair and second-nut low draw of Nino Pansier in a three-bet pot. He held for the high and made his low to scoop his way into second chip position. Pansier went on to be the first to hit the rail on day 4. The Dutch pro was soon all-in for his last handful of blinds with K♥K♣8♠4♠ facing the A♦J♥10♣4♥ of Zamani. The board came down Q♦10♥3♥10♦3♦ and Zamani made trip tens with an ace kicker to scoop the pot, ending Pansier’s run in fifth place ($174,981). He now has more than $3.1 million in lifetime cashes under his belt.
Despite scoring that knockout, Zamani was ultimately the next to fall. He got all-in with A♥K♣7♠2♦ against the J♣4♣3♠2♣ of Liberto. The flop came down A♦Q♥2♠ to give Zamani aces up and Liberto the nut low draw and outs to the wheel. The 9♥ turn changed nothing, but the 5♣ on the end gave Liberto the five-high straight for the scoop. Zamani earned $245,467 as the fourth-place finisher. The two-time bracelet winner’s career haul now sits at $8.7 million.
From Three To One
While Liberto held the lead for much of the final day, Gamble was able to win a couple of huge clashes with him to wrest control of the top spot. He first took three-quarters with top pair of aces and the same low as Liberto. Then, he doubled into the lead when his nut flush and nut low draws both came in after the chips went in on a 10♣8♣4♠ flop. Liberto had J♦8♠3♥2♠ for a pair of eights and the second-nut low draw, while Gamble showed A♣7♣4♣2♣. The 5♥ turn made Gamble’s low, while the K♣ river completed his flush for the high.
Matthew Beinner bowed out in third place ($351,037) when his A♥Q♣J♥3♣ was bested by Liberto’s A♠K♥9♥7♣. The short stack got all-in preflop and the board ran out K♣10♥3♥7♣2♣. Beinner flopped a pair of threes, the nut flush draw, and a wrap draw, but bricked out from there. Liberto’s kings and sevens scooped the pot, sending Beinner to collect the second-largest payout of his career.
Gamble held nearly a 3:1 lead when heads-up play began. Liberto doubled up early with two pair to narrow the gap considerably, then evened the stacks when he flopped a seven-high straight and the nut low to earn three-quarters. Gamble was able to pull back ahead in time for the final pot of the tournament, though.
After Gamble potted on the button with A♣K♦J♠7♥, Liberto re-potted for 3,600,000 from the big blind holding A♥A♦6♠6♦. Gamble called and the flop came down K♥J♦8♦. Liberto bet 1,650,000 with his overpair and nut flush draw. Gamble potted with his top two pair and Liberto called all-in for 6,375,000 total. The Q♥ turn meant no backdoor lows would materialize. The 4♥ on the end secured the scoop for Gamble, ending Liberto’s run in second place ($511,580).
Liberto was just nine days removed from earning his second career bracelet in the $1,500 mixed Omaha eight-or-better event. He’s now cashed for over $796,000 so far this series, with five in-the-money finishes so far.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Nathan Gamble | $767,395 | 1,500 | 767 |
| 2 | Justin Liberto | $511,580 | 1250 | 512 |
| 3 | Matthew Beinner | $351,037 | 1,000 | 351 |
| 4 | Martin Zamani | $245,467 | 750 | 245 |
| 5 | Nino Pansier | $174,981 | 625 | 175 |
| 6 | Marco Johnson | $127,208 | 500 | 127 |
| 7 | Jarod Minghini | $94,347 | 375 | 94 |
| 8 | Matthew Schreiber | $71,419 | 250 | 71 |
Photo credit: WSOP / Miguel Cortes, Lennart Hennig
