Poker Pro Who Started Nonprofit for War-Affected Children Wins USPO Title

Aram Zobian entered Day 2 of Event #9: $15,000 NLH as the chip leader at his third straight 2026 U.S. Poker Open final table. After finishing fourth in Event #7 for $70,000 and fifth in Event #8 for $68,625, the Armenian-American pro closed out today to win $292,800 and his latest PokerGO title as he defeated heads-up opponent Brandon Wilson.

The penultimate event of the 2026 USPO drew 61 runners for a prize pool of $915,000. The final table included rising American pros Clemen Deng (6th – $50,325) and Nicholas Seward (5th – $68,625), German wizard Marius Gierse (4th – $91,500), and elder statesman Chino Rheem (3rd – $128,100).

“I’m getting very lucky and am very grateful for it,” Zobian told PokerNews in a winner’s interview. “I’m also making some good reads, also grateful to be flowing and have my nervous system be in a good place.”

Event #9 Final Table Results

Playing for a Cause

Zobian, who describes himself as an “Armenian Orthodox Mystical Christian,” wears his influences on his sleeves — or, in this case, on his head. He was draped in a checkered garb at the final table and waved a silver Ethiopian cross as he posed for winner’s photos.

He also wore a shirt repping the Natna Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded after visiting the Tigray region in Ethiopia, which suffered a genocide as part of the Trigray war from 2020 to 2022.

Zobian said his Armenian heritage, another country that has been reeled by human rights abuses, makes him feel connected to Ethiopia.

“There’s a lot of need,” Zobian said. “We’re doing mutual aid, we distribute food, we’re working in the educational sector and setting up programs for education and psychosocial support to help the kids process trauma and get back to a good place.”

Though he was coming off two close calls in previous events, Zobian said he didn’t feel any extra pressure to close out at today’s final table.

“I try to not put that pressure on myself. I try to just make the objective play and have a lot of gratitude and try to just thank God continually, pretty much. Praise God and play my best.”

Zobian, whose final table run included knocking out fourth-place finisher Gierse, got to heads-up play with a serious chip deficit to Wilson, who himself has made two USPO final tables. Zobian eventually took a slight lead before a final confrontation where his king-six out-flopped Wilson’s ace-nine.

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.