Lucas Jumalon Leads Lauri Saaskilahti as WSOP Main Event Action Heats Up

After a slower than anticipated first day of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, action picked up significantly on Day 10. A handful of double-ups, suckouts and runner-runner beats later, just two players are left chasing the $10 million top prize and a coveted spot on a Main Event banner.

Still in front is 22-year-old Washingtonian Lucas Jumalon, who has yet to surrender his chip lead in the biggest spot of his short poker career. He still needs to fend off Lauri Saaskilahti, who is looking to become Finland’s first Main Event champion after receiving a big boost by cracking fifth-place finisher Han Feng’s aces.

“That was probably the key hand for today,” Saaskilahti told PokerNews at the end of play. “I had a little bit of (an) unlucky (start today), … but after that, pretty much everything went my way.”

Final Table Chip Counts

Battle of the Rails

The day began with a “Shuffle Up and Deal” announcement from NBA star Draymond Green, who reminded the Main Event hopefuls that even a win would still have most of them 16 bracelets away from his friend Phil Hellmuth.

Away from the final table were proxy battles taking place inside the Horseshoe event center. Segregated rails, distinguished by the color of their custom t-shirts, cheered on their respective players and tried to one-up the other rail’s in volume and mass.

The medal had to go to the friends of Greg Mueller. Chants of “WE’RE NOT LEAVING” reverberated from a sea of players in red shirts and red “Shadow” hats, and the cheering only got louder as the former hockey professional scored two double ups, including when his king-jack out-flopped the Big Slick of Saaskilahti.

“Could you imagine being on that rail right now, Ali?” Nick Schulman asked Ali Nejad in the commentary booth at one point.

“Not without a beer,” quipped Nejad.

The second loudest rail belonged to Han Feng, who stole the show on Day 9 but ditched his pink cosplay attire for more traditional final table wear. But the 27-year-old Houston native’s rail was left speechless as Feng had his aces cracked by the runner-runner straight of Saaskilahti to go out in fifth place for $2,250,000 — enough to buy 11,250 final table outfits.

Heng’s elimination followed those of Rami Hammoud and cash game pro Jamie Shaevel, whose eighth Main Event cash ended in seventh place at the hands of Jumalon as the Los Angeles pro — fittingly wearing a Kobe Bryant number eight jersey — missed his flopped straight draw.

Canada’s Hammoud, meanwhile, went out in sixth place for $1,750,000, also at the hands of Jumalon as his queen jack couldn’t out-run the 22-year-olds ace-five.

Jumalon has not only made good hands at the final table, he’s been in them. The young grinder received final table coaching from poker streamer Patrick Leonard, who himself finished 32nd in this event for $265,000.

“Some of the stuff Lucas was doing was at such a high level that I wouldn’t even have contemplated doing some of the stuff that he did,” Leonard told PokerNews ahead of Day 10. “But it makes so much sense.”

Down to Two

Action never slowed down on Day 10. Longtime poker pro and four-time bracelet winner Michael Gagliano, who spent most the day as a short stack, got down to crumbs but found a great spot to double. His king-queen dominated the king-jack of Jumalon, but a jack on the turn put Jumalon far ahead as Gagliano went out in fourth place for $2,750,000.

Not long after, Mueller got to the river against Saaskilahti with a pair of fours, which wasn’t enough to beat the pocket kings of his opponent as he called off for his Main Event life. Mueller’s rail consoled him with more loud chants as he left the table.

“The energy they brought me, whether I was up … or down, and making me feel good, the love, the outpour … Honestly, I can’t even describe it,” Mueller told PokerNews after his elimination.

Heads-up play on Day 11 will take place on Aug. 5, with cards going in the air at 6 p.m. local time. Jumalon will look to hang onto the chip lead that he has yet to surrender, while Saaskilahti will look to make his white-and-blue-flag-waving rail proud by bringing the bracelet home for Finland.

Jumalon has been in control the entire final table, but how’s his heads-up game?

“You know, you guys are just gonna have to stay tuned and find out,” he said in an interview.

_{*Photos courtesy of WSOP}

Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.