Lucas Jumalon has won the 2026 WSOP Main Event, beating Finland's Lauri Saaskilahti heads-up at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas to take $10,000,000 and his first bracelet. The 22-year-old from Spokane, Washington is the second-youngest world champion in the tournament's history.
He outlasted 9,208 entries in Event #82, where the $10,000 buy-in built an $85,634,400 prize pool and the fourth-largest field the Main Event has produced. He had finished his opening flight with one of the shortest surviving stacks in the room.
How Jumalon Built the Lead
Jumalon bagged 7,400 chips at the end of Day 1b, one of the shortest surviving stacks in the field and less than an eighth of the 60,000 he started with. By the close of Day 2 he had 146,000.
It was not a clean run. On Day 5 he got all in with ace-jack of spades against ace-king and needed the jack that arrived on the turn to stay in the tournament.
Day 8 was where the stack really grew, and three pots did most of the work.
- Blind versus blind against Will Givens: at 300,000/600,000, Jumalon four-bet all in for 27,800,000 with ace-ten and was called by ace-queen. The ten-ten-four flop gave him trip tens and left Givens drawing dead by the turn.
- Jacks full against Malcolm Trayner: at 500,000/1,000,000, Jumalon min-raised to 2,000,000 on the button and called a three-bet to 9,000,000. He called 4,000,000 on an ace-jack-four flop with two diamonds, bet 8,500,000 on the eight of spades turn, then fired 35,000,000 when the river paired the four. Trayner tank-called with pocket queens and saw jacks full of fours.
- The elimination that set the final table: two levels later Trayner went out in 10th, leaving Jumalon with 194,000,000 chips, more than double any other stack and over a third of everything in play.
He had taken the chip lead with 13 players left and never gave it back. The final nine then waited 20 days for the WSOP's return to ESPN.
Seventeen Hands Heads-Up
Heads-up play began with Jumalon holding 328,000,000 to Saaskilahti's 225,000,000, 109 big blinds against 75, and it lasted 17 hands.
The closest Saaskilahti came was hand 166. He raised to 10,000,000 with A♥ 10♦, Jumalon moved all in with A♠ 9♣, and Saaskilahti called. The A♦ Q♦ 4♠ flop left the Finn in front, the 9♦ turn put Jumalon ahead, and the 6♦ river filled Saaskilahti's flush, leaving the counts at 287,000,000 to 266,000,000.
The very next hand undid all of it. With the board reading A♠ K♠ 4♣ J♠ and 20,000,000 in the middle, Jumalon bet 40,000,000 holding Q♠ 5♦ and Saaskilahti called with J♦ 3♦. The 6♠ river gave Jumalon the nut flush, he bet 180,000,000, and Saaskilahti called after several minutes in the tank.
The hand that decided it. Jumalon's 180,000,000 river bet on hand 167 was called, and the pot left him with 519,000,000 of the 553,000,000 chips in play.
The Final Hand
Two hands later Jumalon moved all in and Saaskilahti called, ahead with ace-seven against king-six.
- Lucas Jumalon: K♠ 6♦
- Lauri Saaskilahti: A♠ 7♦
The board ran J♠ 8♦ 6♠ 6♣ 4♦. Jumalon flopped a pair of sixes and turned trips, Saaskilahti's ace-seven never improved, and the rail broke onto the stage.
He told ESPN that he had spent the session frightened of his opponent rather than confident against him.
“I told a couple of people this today, I was terrified”
Lucas Jumalon
Asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal how it felt, he settled on one word.
“Euphoria, I think that's the best word for it”
Lucas Jumalon
Lucas Jumalon WSOP Main Event: Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lucas Jumalon | United States | $10,000,000 |
| 2nd | Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | $6,000,000 |
| 3rd | Greg Mueller | Canada | $3,750,000 |
Jumalon led from the first day of the final table to the last, and no one else took the lead at any point across the three days. He did most of the clearing himself, busting Shaevel in seventh, Hammoud in sixth and Gagliano in fourth.
Saaskilahti took out Feng in fifth and Mueller in third to set up the heads-up match.
Saaskilahti collected $6,000,000 as runner-up. Third place and $3,750,000 went to Greg Mueller, the 55-year-old Canadian three-time bracelet winner who only entered because his friend Shawn Buchanan talked him into it.
The step from first to second was worth $4,000,000, and all nine finalists were guaranteed at least $1,000,000. Our Main Event page carries the full final table and every payout.
The Second-Youngest World Champion
At 22, Jumalon is the second-youngest player to win poker's world championship. Only Joe Cada, 21 when he won in 2009, has done it younger.
He is also the fourth consecutive American to take the title. Weinman's win in 2023 had ended a four-year run of international champions.
| Year | Champion | Entries | First Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Daniel Weinman | 10,043 | $12,100,000 |
| 2024 | Jonathan Tamayo | 10,112 | $10,000,000 |
| 2025 | Michael Mizrachi | 9,735 | $10,000,000 |
| 2026 | Lucas Jumalon | 9,208 | $10,000,000 |
“Youth is served at one of the most spirited final tables of all time,” said WSOP CEO Ty Stewart in the official announcement of the win.
Jumalon joins a roll of champions that runs back to 1970. Our full list of Main Event champions covers every winner before him.
The record in context. Cada set the youngest-champion mark in 2009 and it still stands. Jumalon finishes a year off it, second on the all-time list, and he got there through the fourth-largest Main Event field ever assembled.
Who Is Lucas Jumalon?
Jumalon grew up in Spokane and attended Ferris High School before studying at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He came into the tournament with a five-figure career best behind him, and left it a month later with a bracelet and eight figures.
His rail grew across all three days of the final table. His parents, Robin and Butch Jumalon, were there throughout, alongside friends from his school years, from university, and from the card rooms where he learned the game.
Saaskilahti, the man he beat, would have been the first Finn to take the Main Event bracelet. He now sits fifth on Finland's all-time money list, according to The Hendon Mob, and ESPN reported that his previous best cash was under $90,000.
He beat 9,207 other players to get there, and he did it from 7,400 chips after his opening flight.
That is the hundredth and last bracelet of the 2026 series. Our tracker carries every bracelet winner of the summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 WSOP Main Event?
Lucas Jumalon, a 22-year-old from Spokane, Washington, won the 2026 WSOP Main Event on 5 August 2026. He beat Lauri Saaskilahti of Finland heads-up at Horseshoe Las Vegas for $10,000,000 and his first bracelet.
How much did Lucas Jumalon win?
$10,000,000, taken from an $85,634,400 prize pool. Saaskilahti collected $6,000,000 as runner-up, a $4,000,000 gap.
How many players entered the 2026 WSOP Main Event?
9,208 entries at $10,000 each, the fourth-largest field in Main Event history. All nine finalists were guaranteed at least $1,000,000.
What was the final hand of the 2026 WSOP Main Event?
Jumalon moved all in with K♠ 6♦ and Saaskilahti called with A♠ 7♦. The board ran J♠ 8♦ 6♠ 6♣ 4♦, giving Jumalon trip sixes on the turn and the title after 17 hands of heads-up play.
Is Lucas Jumalon the youngest WSOP Main Event champion?
No. At 22 he is the second-youngest. Joe Cada holds the record, winning the 2009 Main Event at 21.
