Shaun Deeb would not be denied again.
After finishing as the runner-up in three World Series of Poker bracelet events in 2026, Deeb finally broke through in his fourth final showdown for the gold this year.
The 40-year-old emerged victorious from a field of 766 entries in the WSOP $1,500 eight-game mix event with his ninth career gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $181,625. His career earnings now sit at $19.6 million.
“I’m going to pass Phil. I’ve been saying that for years,” Deeb told PokerNews regarding his goal to surpass all-time bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth’s current record of 17 wins. “I could have been a lot closer. I could have been a lot further ahead of some other guys with nine or eight or seven, but, you know, I show up every day, play every event, play every buy-in, and sometimes you win.”
Deeb’s ninth bracelet win came just one day after Michael Mizrachi hit the same total via a victory in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha championship. Just a handful of days earlier, Benny Glaser earned bracelet no. 9 with a marquee victory in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. This trio of nine-timers, who all reached that mark in the span of a week, now joins late legend Johnny Moss in a four-way tie. Only Hellmuth (17), Phil Ivey (11), Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10), and Erik Seidel (10) have more wins at the series.
Rankings Points Galore
In addition to the money and the hardware, Deeb also earned 912 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his second overall title and ninth final-table finish of 2026. As a result, he now sits in 20th place in the POY standings, presented by CoinPoker.
The two-time WSOP POY winner also moved into the top spot in those standings, with 2,816 points giving him a 95-point lead over second-ranked Alex Foxen.
Deeb first secured the WSOP POY in 2018 and won it again in 2025. This latest win came with 761 WSOP POY points. His runner-up showings in the WSOP Europe Colossus (482 points) and €3,000 mixed PLO (322 points), along with the $3,000 nine-game (425 points) in Las Vegas, make up the majority of his race-leading total.
The grind never stops for a top POY contender, though, and shortly after this win, Deeb was back in action looking to add more hardware and points to his tally.
Who loves it more than Shaun Deeb?@shaundeeb just won bracelet #9, and within minutes, he was already hunting bracelet #10. pic.twitter.com/E95kfh3nLY
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 1, 2026
Thinning The Field
The third and final day began with 13 players remaining and Deeb in the chip lead. After only a few knockouts in the first couple of hours of play, Viktor Blom, known to many as ‘Isildur1’ from his days in the online cash game streets, was eliminated in 10th place ($11,960) by Fu Wong, who overtook the top spot during nine-handed play.
After Michael Koenig (9th – $15,620) and bracelet winner Jaswinder Lally (8th – $15,620) were sent packing, the final seven converged on the ‘unofficial’ final table with Wong in the lead.
Jason Riesenberg (7th – $20,840) was eliminated during a round of pot-limit Omaha, with his flopped top two counterfeited by the pocket aces of Dean Joe when the bottom card from the flop paired the turn. Deeb then eliminated Patrick Mahoney in sixth place ($28,420), with jacks and fours earning him a scoop in stud eight-or-better.
Deeb soon landed another knockout blow in deuce-to-seven triple draw. Itsuko Yoroi (5th – $39,570) was all in and pat ahead of the last draw with 9-7-6-5-2. Deeb was taking one with 8-7-3-2. He pulled a four to earn the pot and the elimination.
Final Four
Deeb soon won a healthy pot with J-6 low in the same game, picking off a bluff from two-time bracelet winner Blaz Zerjav to leave the Slovenian on fumes. He was soon sent to the rail in fourth place, earning $56,230 for his latest deep run at the series.
Three-handed action began with Joe in the lead and Deeb in second. Joe soon added to his advantage in no-limit hold’em, with Wong open-shoving for just a few big blinds with K♦8♥. Joe called with a dominating A♦8♦ and held through a Q♣10♠6♥7♠J♥ runout to send Wong home in third place ($81,530).
With that, Joe took roughly a 2:1 chip advantage into heads-up play with Deeb. Early action steadily narrowed the gap. The two took a break with Joe barely out in front. Deeb won a razz pot shortly after action resumed that gave him the lead. He then won a hefty limit hold’em pot with a rivered flush to jump out to a 2:1 advantage of his own.
The final two would trade the advantage a few more times, with Joe starting to pull away during one stretch. Deeb bounced back with a big call in stud, taking down a sizable pot with a pair of kings to take a chunk out of the chip deficit.
Deeb eventually won a crucial pot with a rivered straight in no-limit hold’em besting Joe’s flopped top pair of eights. He stretched the lead even further before Joe found a double in pot-limit Omaha. Deeb was still well out in front, though, when the final hand of the tournament arrived in the same game.
Joe raised to 450,000 on the button with A♣10♥6♠5♠ and Deeb three-bet to 1,450,000 holding A♥K♥K♣3♠. Joe called and the flop came down 10♦7♦4♣. Deeb bet 2,850,000 and called when Joe shoved for 3,500,000 total. The J♣ turn left Joe in need of a ten, ace, eight, six, five, or four. The 2♦ appeared instead, locking up the pot and the title for Deeb.
Joe earned $120,570 as the runner-up, his largest score yet on the circuit.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | $181,625 | 912 |
| 2 | Dean Joe | $120,570 | 760 |
| 3 | Fu Wong | $81,530 | 608 |
| 4 | Blaz Zerjav | $56,230 | 456 |
| 5 | Itsuko Yoroi | $39,570 | 380 |
| 6 | Patrick Mahoney | $28,420 | 304 |
Photo credit: WSOP / Miguel Cortes
