The WSOP Main Event Final Table Starts on Monday – These 9 Players Will Play for $10 Million

Images courtesy of WSOP.com

The biggest poker tournament of the year is down to just one table, and this time around, the WSOP decided to give the final tablists a short break before returning to action. 

Like every year, the WSOP Main Event produced dozens of memorable storylines and epic moments that will go down in poker history, with a few still in the making. 

As the tournament field shrunk to under 100, and the final table loomed, it looked like it could be one of the most star-studded Main Event final tables ever, with the likes of Shaun Deeb, Hossein Ensan, and Todd Brunson all in the running. 

Yet, it wasn’t meant to be for any of these living legends of the game, as they all fell short of the “August Nine” and busted out with significant six-figure payouts going their way. 

Instead, the 2026 Main Event final table will be filled with players who are just looking to jump-start their poker stories, many of whom have barely any tournament poker experience, but have managed to outmaneuver more than 9,000 players in one of the trickiest tournament fields out there. 

The lineup will be headlined by Greg Muller, a former hockey player and a legend of the game of poker in his own right, and Michael Gagliano, a tournament grinder with four WSOP bracelets to his name. 

And while these two may have the most star power at the final table, it will be the 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon who will lead the pack with a massive chip lead of 194,000,000 in chips, well over 100,000,000 more than the second-placed Rami Hammoud. 

Here is a quick look at the chip stacks and the player positions at the final table:

The final nine players reconvene on Monday, August 3, and all the action will be available in real time on ESPN. Before that time comes, let’s meet the players and find out who the 2026 WSOP Main Event final tablists actually are. 

#1 – Lucas Jumalon Leads the Pack with a Commanding Chip Stack

Lucas Jumalon steamrolled the final day of Main Event action leading up to the final table and built up a massive chip stack of 194,000,000 chips, enough to be able to push his opponents around from the moment the first cards are dealt on Monday. 

The 22-year-old from Washington may not be the most experienced player at the final table, but he is one of the most even-keeled and stoic ones out there, as he showed with his late-game performance in this year’s Main Event. 

Over the last couple of years, Jumalon played mostly low-stakes tournaments, recorded $180,000 in cashes, and built up the skill set he needed to make a deep run at the most important tournament of the year. 

The break leading up to the final table was probably just what the doctor ordered for Lucas, who gets a chance to hire coaching staff to help him navigate the final table and use his massive chip lead to bully his opponents into submission. 

While a relative lack of experience may have worked against him had the action continued right away, it’s very likely that Jumalon will come just as prepared as any of his opponents, but with significantly more chips than any of them. 

#2 – Rami Hammoud Brings Positive Vibes to the Final Table

Hailing from Canada, Rami Hammoud has been an avid poker player and fan for over a decade, and a regular in Canada’s most popular tournament poker venues. Over the last few years, Hammoud has made his way to Las Vegas to play in the WSOP, and the experience he gained from it is now paying dividends. 

Hammoud starts the final table as the second-largest stack, with 79,000,000, in chips, and will be looking to lock up at least a little more cash before getting into any serious confrontations, especially with the other big stacks. 

While this final table will be by far the biggest spot of his poker career, he does have more experience playing tournaments than most of his opponents, and that experience could come in handy when push comes to shove. 

Hammoud has accumulated over $500,000 in tournament winnings leading up to the 2026 WSOP, much of it coming from low-stakes tournaments where half a million dollars goes a long way. 

By making the final table, Rami has more than tripled his total tournament winnings, but will be aiming at a top three finish and a payout of at least $3.75 million, which now seems well within his grasp. 

Despite the gravity of the situation, Hammoud has been very steady in his interviews and has maintained that poker is just a card game and that this final table will be like the rest of it, just another session of cards, only with a little more money on the line. 

#3 – Jamie Shaevel Brings Cash Game Experience to the Tournament Felt

Third in chips is Jamie Shaevel, a cash game grinder from Southern California with heaps of experience, nearly none of it coming from a tournament environment. 

Jamie’s cash game expertise has prepared him for the WSOP Main Event well, as it is the one tournament that plays almost like a cash game, with very deep stacks and lots of opportunities for steady chip accumulation. 

Interestingly enough, Shaevel has already had some success in the Main Event in the past. In 2009, the Main Event became his first-ever tournament cash, and he won just under $30k that time, coming 305th. 

Two years later, in 2011, Jamie came even closer to the final table, as he placed 100th and won $54k for his efforts in the year Pius Heinz won it all. 

He went on to cash the Main Event again in 2012, 2016, 2022, and 2024, making him one of the most successful Main Event players in recent history. Now, one of his runs finally panned out, as he makes the final nine and has at least $1,000,000 in his pocket. 

His 37-big blind stack will put him in a decent spot to start with, but the lack of those deep-stacked confrontations he is so used to may leave him at a bit of a disadvantage. 

Nevertheless, Shaevel has been waiting for this moment for years, and after so many deep runs and late game disappointments, he will finally have a chance to redeem himself and post a result the poker world will remember for years to come. 

#4 – Greg Muller Represents the Poker’s “Old Guard”

For all the real poker fans, Greg Muller is a name that needs no introduction. A former hockey player from Canada, Muller started playing poker professionally during the Moneymaker era, and he never looked back. 

Muller was a part of a generation of players that “put poker on the map,” and he dominated the tournaments throughout the 2000s. He won WSOP bracelets in events like $10k Limit Hold’em Championship and $10k HORSE Championship, showcasing his prowess in different forms of poker and game formats. 

Now, 23 years after posting his first poker result, Greg Muller joins the elite nine, as they seek poker’s ultimate glory in the form of a WSOP Main Event bracelet. 

After so many years on the tournament circuit, and more than $3.5 million in tournament prizes, Muller admitted he had become a little disillusioned with the game and was perhaps getting tired of it. 

Just then, the lightning hit, and he was able to make the greatest final table of them all. Now, his love for poker is back, and he will be starting Monday’s action with a renewed desire to win and a rail of professional poker players heavily rooting him on. 

#5 – Michael Gagliano Is Set to Crown His Poker Career

Michael Gagliano may not be a household name in the poker circles, but his career in tournament poker has been a notable one, even if it flew under most radars. 

To date, Gagliano has won four WSOP bracelets, more than $2.2 million in tournament prizes, and plenty of other poker tournaments in both live and online poker. 

Yet, next week’s Main Event final table will be the biggest moment of his entire life, as he seeks to spin up a stack and potentially win a single score worth more than all of his tournament cashes to date. 

The New Jersey native had a bumpy ride to the final table, as his stack dwindled down to next to nothing on Day 4, but he was able to rebuild and get back in the hunt on Day 5. 

This time around, he will be hoping for a favorable run of cards and a steady march from 5th place in chips to one of the top-paying positions at the end of it all. 

#6 – Mario Boos Is Proudly Representing France

A good number of European poker players made a deep run in this year’s WSOP Main Event, but when the dust settled and the final table was set, only three of them remained. 

Mario Boos from France is one of the two, as he seeks to defend the honor of Europe on poker’s biggest stage. 

Boos, whose total tournament earnings before this year amounted to $291k, has now more than quadrupled the number and will be looking to boost his winnings even further across the three days of action next week. 

One of the most interesting things about his journey to the final table was a big moment that came late in Day 8, when he was faced with a massive decision: Fold pocket Tens and look for a pay jump, or get it in and flip a coin for a chance at the bracelet. 

Boos made the right call, put his chips on the line, and came out with a double-up that gives him a real chance to play for one of the top spots in the tournament. 

While the $250k pay jump was very significant for the Frenchman, he decided to go for glory and give himself a real chance at the bracelet. With some luck, Boos will be able to make the right decision at the final table as well, and those could be just what he needs to go all the way and bring another Main Event bracelet to European soil. 

#7 – Lauri Saaskhilati Is the Best-Ranked Finn in the Main Event

When it comes to poker, Finland is one of the European countries that has produced the greatest talents, with Patrik Antonius standing head and shoulders above all others. 

This time, however, it is Lauri Saaskhilati who is defending the honor of Finland on the international poker stage, as he enters the Main Event final table in 7th in chips. 

With his final table finish, Saaskhilati has already secured the place of the best-ranked Finn in a Main Event, which was previously held by Matti Kourtti, who finished 25th in the 1997 Main Event. 

Yet, there is no chance Saaskhilati will be happy with just making the final table, as he will look for ways to spin up his stack and overtake at least a few of his opponents in the final rankings. 

Unlike some of the other contenders, who seemed nervous in the late game, Saaskhilati showcased a surprising level of coldness and lack of emotion, which may be the critical elements in his final table journey. 

#8 – Han Feng Survived the Final Table Bubble with a Short Stack

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Han Feng is one of the more experienced poker players at this final table, with close to $2 million in tournament earnings before the Main Event, accumulated over the last five years. 

Feng has been playing poker professionally for a while, and before the 2026 WSOP, he was planning to take a trip to Europe, travel around, and play events across the circuit with no fixed goal. 

Now, his plans have changed, as he is one of the final nine players in the most prestigious poker event of them all, and he will be at least $1,000,000 richer for it. 

Feng’s journey to the final table was nearly cut short on Day 8, as he remained short-stacked and was forced to get it all in for the first time in the entire tournament. Fortunately, his K6 survived against his opponent’s J8, enough to make him one of the final tablists. 

While Feng’s stack is relatively short, an early double-up could change everything, while most of the ICM pressure will be on the middling stacks, who will have a hard time maneuvering the final table with one massive chip leader driving the action. 

#9 – Evagoras Evagorou Dreamed of This Moment

Millions of poker players around the world have probably dreamed, or at least daydreamed, of finding themselves at the WSOP Main Event final table. Few have ever had a chance to actually make that dream a reality. 

For Evagoras Evagorou, a Cypriot player with little international experience, a single Main Event was all it took to go all the way to the final nine and make a dream come true. 

Evagorou’s tournament poker experience comes mostly from playing in local tournaments in Cyprus, where he’s accumulated some $250k in tournament winnings. 

Now, Evagorou will join the elite group of eight other players, all with a larger chip stack than his, in the hopes of spinning it up and turning his dream into an absolute fairytale. 

He starts the final table with just 15 big blinds, and much like Feng, will need an early double-up. If either of these players can get it, the tides of the 2026 Main Event final table could well turn in their favor.