Hardware Haul: How The 2026 WSOP Impacted The Bracelet Race

The 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas awarded just shy of $470 million in prize money. Crucially, for those more concerned with glory than earnings, there were also 100 bracelets handed out in live events this summer. With that hefty a hardware haul on the line, it’s little surprise that there were some big changes near the top of the all-time WSOP bracelet leaderboard.

The 2026 WSOP main event championship bracelet has not yet been handed out, with the final table resuming on Aug. 3. Of the 99 bracelets awarded so far, 39 went to players with at least one prior bracelet to their name. Of that group, 27 winners already had multiple triumphs at the series under their belts.

Ten players earned bracelet no. 6 or higher in live events held inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas this summer, with five of them surpassing the eight-win mark. Headlining that cohort are three legends of the game who all grew their bracelet counts to nine: Benny Glaser, Michael Mizrachi, and Shaun Deeb.

Nine-Timers Club Booms, With Three New Members Added In A Single Week

Glaser kicked off the spree with his most prestigious win yet. The 37-year-old UK pro beat out 108 entries in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship to earn $1.3 million and his latest piece of jewelry.

Just four days later, Mizrachi backed up his unbelievable 2025 run with a win in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha championship for his ninth bracelet. The 45-year-old overcame 836 entries to earn $1,350,203 and the gold. This triumph came one year, to the day, after ‘The Grinder’ took down the 2025 PPC for his record fourth win in that vaunted tournament. He then went on to triumph in the main event, besting the third-largest field in the history of the big dance to walk away with $10 million. Mizrachi was, understandably, inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame on the spot.

The wait for the next nine-time champion was even shorter. Just one day after Mizrachi’s victory, Shaun Deeb took down the $1,500 eight-game mixed event for his latest bracelet. This was his fourth heads-up showdown with a WSOP title hanging in the balance in 2026. After three runner-up results, the 40-year-old pro finally broke through to claim his latest win.

“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.”

Schulman And Negreanu Earn Their Eighth Bracelets

Earlier in the summer, ahead of the spree of wins by nine-timers, Nick Schulman captured his eighth bracelet via victory in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. The 41-year-old Poker Hall Of Famer secured that win a couple of weeks into the festival.

Schulman nearly became the 10th player in history to have earned nine or more bracelets, but was ultimately eliminated one spot shy of the title in the $10,000 limit deuce-to-seven triple draw championship. That close call came just a day after Glaser’s win in the PPC.

Schulman is currently tied with Daniel Negreanu, who emerged victorious in the $100,000 pot-limit Omaha high roller to earn his eighth bracelet. The 51-year-old Canadian superstar bested 83 entries to lock up the hardware and $2,257,718. This was the fourth-largest payday of the Hall of Famer’s career, and his biggest windfall in a bracelet-even win. His top overall score remains the $8,288,001 he earned as the runner-up in the 2014 Big One For One Drop.

Negreanu became the first player to surpass $25 million in WSOP earnings even before his big win in PLO. Now, he has nearly a $5.6 million lead over second-ranked Michael Mizrachi after the two added to their career tallies with their marquee four-card triumphs.

Anderson Wins Twice To Reach Seven, While Several Top Contenders Earn Close Calls Down The Stretch

Calvin Anderson is now knocking on the door of the eight-or-more club thanks to a pair of victories this summer. He first became the winningest Razz player in history when he won the $10,000 championship of the lowball stud variant for the second time. He outlasted 155 entries to earn $357,026 in that event.

Calvin Anderson wins bracelet no. 7

Just four days later, Anderson was the last player standing from 189 in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship. In addition to the $413,580 top prize, he secured his second bracelet of the summer and seventh of his career. He is now sitting in a seven-way tie, alongside the likes of Scott Seiver, Josh Arieh, John Hennigan, Billy Baxter, Brian Rast, and Men Nguyen.

While several players on the above leaderboard did add to their bracelet counts, some of those near the very top came agonizingly close, only to fall just short. Ten-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel navigated his way to heads-up play in the $3,000 PLO six-max event, only to be defeated by Joshua Wang on the penultimate night of play at the 2026 series.

All-time bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth finished second in the $5,000 no-limit hold’em eight-max event. Darren Rabinowitz came out on top, winning the final showdown for the bracelet to deny Hellmuth his record-extending 18th win. This was the second bracelet win for Rabinowitz.

Bracelet hunters will have to wait until December for their next chances to win a live bracelet event, with the 2026 WSOP Paradise slated for Dec. 3-17 at the Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas. Online bracelet festivals are likely at some point in the fall.

Photo credits: WSOP / Alicia Skillman, Miguel Cortes, Tyler Abrams, Monique Marestein