Seiver and Schulman Closing In on Bracelet No. 8 at WSOP

Scott Seiver and Nick Schulman are both just two eliminations away from adding another chapter to their already glittering World Series of Poker careers after advancing to the final three players in Event #8: $1,500 Badugi.

By the time play concludes inside the Paris Ballroom tonight, either Seiver or Schulman could become an eight-time WSOP bracelet winner, joining Shaun Deeb, Michael Mizrachi and Benny Glaser in one of poker’s most exclusive clubs.

The tournament attracted 554 entries and generated a prize pool of $735,435. With only three players remaining, each finalist has already secured $62,920, while $94,607 awaits the runner-up and $141,963 is set aside for the champion.

Can They Close Out Bracelet No. 8?

While both bracelet winners remain in contention, they’ll have to overcome chip leader Michael Casella, who holds a healthy advantage.

Seiver sits second in chips and is well within striking distance of the lead as he hunts for his first bracelet since a remarkable 2024 summer in which he won three bracelets. After cashing just four times during last year’s WSOP, the six-time bracelet winner has already put himself in position for another deep run early in the 2026 series.

Schulman faces a steeper climb. The 2025 Poker Hall of Fame inductee is the short stack, but few players would relish seeing him across the table with a bracelet on the line.

A victory for Schulman would continue one of the most impressive runs in modern WSOP history. He is seeking a bracelet for the fourth consecutive summer and his fifth bracelet since 2023.

Here are the chip counts at the time of writing.

Final Day Action So Far

Ten players returned for the Badugi finale, and it took only 15 minutes for the final table of seven to be set. Among the early casualties were 25K Fantasy Draft selections Yuri Dzivielevski and Jon Turner, while Kyle Arora fell in eighth place to leave the remaining seven players battling for the bracelet.

Walter Chambers became the first final table elimination when his 3♥2♠A♦ was unable to improve against the made jack of Stephan Nussrallah.

Casella then seized further control of the table by decimating Nussrallah, and Seiver finished the job a few hands later with a queen badugi. Seiver soon added another knockout to his tally, making a nine badugi to send Brant Hale to the rail in fifth place.

Meanwhile, Schulman found himself on the ropes at one stage with just four big bets remaining. The Poker Hall of Famer fought back and secured his seat in the final three when his queen badugi held against Australia’s Gary Benson, setting up a three-handed battle with Casella and Seiver for the bracelet.

$1,500 Badugi Final Table Payouts

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).

In this Series