Most WSOP Runner-Up Finishes Without Winning a Bracelet

Shaun Deeb came up one spot short yet again for a 2026 World Series of Poker bracelet, falling to Joey Couden in Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix after a grueling three-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle. The defeat was Deeb’s ninth in a bracelet match and dropped his all-time heads-up record to 8-9.

The latest near miss added to a frustrating run of runner-up finishes for the eight-time bracelet winner. Deeb had already finished second twice at WSOP Europe earlier this year to take an early lead in the Player of the Year race, but after arriving in Las Vegas with just one cash through the opening weeks of the series, another silver medal may prove crucial as he chases back-to-back POY titles.

As painful as Deeb’s 8-9 record may be, it doesn’t rank among the unluckiest in WSOP history. Several poker crushers have reached heads-up for a bracelet time and again, only to walk away empty-handed. Here are the players with the most WSOP runner-up finishes without ever sealing the deal.

Ren Lin (0-7)

Ren Lin has won just about everywhere except at the WSOP. The Chinese high roller has nearly $20 million in live earnings and titles on the World Poker Tour, PokerGO Tour and Asian Poker Tour, but a bracelet continues to evade him.

What’s remarkable is how many chances he’s had. Lin has reached heads-up seven times and lost every single one. Some of those defeats came in tiny high roller fields, others in events with thousands of entries.

His latest near miss came at WSOP Europe earlier this year, where Christopher Nguyen denied him in the €20,800 Super High Roller. Nick Schulman, Santhosh Suvarna and Mikita Badziakouski are among the names to have broken his heart over the years.

Chino Rheem (0-5)

Chino Rheem had to wait 16 years for his second crack at a bracelet.

After falling to Allen Cunningham in the 2006 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, Rheem didn’t return to heads-up play until 2022, when Eli Elezra got the better of him in the $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo Championship. That loss opened the floodgates.

Rheem has now reached heads-up four times in the last five years, only to come away empty-handed each time. Dylan Weisman denied him in 2024, Nick Guagenti did the same in 2025, and this summer Marco Johnson prevented the popular pro from finally ending the drought in the $2,500 Freezeout.

However, should Rheem close one out, he’ll become the 11th player to pull off Poker’s Triple Crown.

Allen Kessler (0-4)

Allen Kessler‘s four runner-up finishes span more than a decade, but perhaps the most painful came in 2010.

Kessler reached heads-up in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship, only to lose to Frank Kassela. It turned out to be a pivotal result as Kassela went on to win WSOP Player of the Year that season. Had Kessler closed out that match, the entire race might have looked very different.

Instead, “Chainsaw” had to settle for second. He would add two more runner-up finishes in the years that followed, losing to Brian Rast in 2011 and Lukas Zaskodny at WSOP Europe in 2017.

Eric Drache, Jason Stockfish (0-4)

Eric Drache and Jason Stockfish also each had four shots at a bracelet and came away empty-handed.

A Poker Hall of Famer and one of the most influential figures in WSOP history, Drache helped create the satellite system and served as tournament director from 1973 to 1988. He reached four WSOP heads-up matches and nearly completed a remarkable comeback story in 2009, finishing runner-up to Freddie Ellis in the $10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud at age 66.

Stockfish’s four close calls came in a much shorter span. The mixed-game specialist reached four heads-up matches between 2016 and 2019, including two runner-up finishes in 2017, but was unable to get over the line.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).