Jean-Robert “JRB” Bellande may have just delivered one of the most surprising headline performances of the early 2026 poker season. At the Onyx High Roller Series in North Cyprus, Bellande claimed victory in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championship, topping a field of 50 and earning $1.5 million.
Rob Yong called JRB to play the event last-minute offering to buy in. Bellande seized the opportunity, entered, and then battled his way through elite opponents to defeat Yong himself heads-up in what is now the largest result of his career.
JRB has been a fixture on both tournament and cash circtuts for years, but JRB’s has often been a story of almost but not quite.
A Career of Almost Hitting it Big (until this Onyx Poker Win)
Bellande first entered the poker spotlight in 2005 when he made a big run in a WSOP Circuit event, finishing third for over $210,000, and immediately followed that with a win at the Winnin’ o’ the Green event.
His charismatic, loud table presence made him a favourite on televised shows like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker, where his chat and expressive reactions made him one of the most talked-about characters in the game.
In 2007 Bellande broadened his audience beyond poker by appearing on Survivor: China, an experience that cemented his status as a personality as much as a player.
Veteran poker viewers (like me), will also remember Bellande having one of the most memorable WSOP 2008 bust outs, when an amateur’s 9 10 beat his AQ in the Main Event.
Bellande has proved again and again that he is one of the most consistent players extending over the generations. He placed 2nd in the 2015 WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship, earning $784,828. But it took him until 2018 to finally win his first WSOP bracelet in a $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event for over $616,000.
Between these stand-out results and numerous cashes, now totaling well over $3 million in live tournament earnings, Bellande always proved he was capable of big performances. Finally this High Roller win has given him a score I think most poker players and fans will agree he deserves. Let’s hope it has broken the seal on a new JRB hot streak.
