In just over an hour on Wednesday night, poker history was made. Lucas Jumalon became the second-youngest man to win the World Series of Poker’s Main Event and the first man since Koray Aldemir to go wire-to-wire with the victory. With the win, Jumalon increased his career earnings massively, going from $180,880 in career earnings to $10,180,880.
A Quick One…
When the cards went in the air on Wednesday night, Jumalon held a healthy lead over Lauri Saaskilahi, holding 328 million to the Finn’s 225 million. There were two ways the heads-up battle for the 2026 WSOP Main Event title could go: a strategic fight that would last deep into the Vegas night as the chip stacks were deep, or a slugfest that would last a short time.
Poker got a slugfest that lasted a bit over an hour.
There was a certain amount of drama to the matchup, however. Saaskilahti picked up a magical double when he found a four-flush in diamonds to take a hand from Jumalon that brought the twosome nearly equal in chips. After that hand, it was thought that the 2026 WSOP Main Event would work late into the night. Just as quickly as he got within shouting range, however, Saaskilahti made a fatal mistake that completely devastated any chances that he might have for the title.
Jumalon, as he had been wont to do throughout the final table with his dominant stack, continued to apply pressure with a raise to eight million while holding Q♠ 5♦. Saaskilahti, with fresh chips in his stack, made the call with a respectable J♦ 3♦ for a heads-up fight. The flop came with a mixed bag, 4♣ A♠ K♠, that kept interest alive for both men. Jumalon fired a continuation bet for four million, and Saaskilahti made the call.
The J♠ on the turn should have been a massive red light for Saaskilahti, if not the bet of FORTY million into a twenty million pot from Jumalon. Still, the allure of pairing and potentially being in the lead was too much for Saaskilahti to overlook, and he made the call. When a fourth spade came off on the river, the 6♠, action was on Jumalon, and he dropped the MOAB on Saaskilahti: a 180,000,000-chip bet.
Saaskilahti pondered his action for nearly five minutes, weighing the evidence before him, before deciding that Jumalon was trying to buy his way out of a busted hand. When Jumalon turned up his hand for the nut flush, it was all over except the crying as Jumalon rocketed to 519 million in chips while Saaskilahti was on fumes with 34 million.
Two hands later, the 2026 WSOP Main Event was over.
Jumalon didn’t mess around at all, moving all in preflop, and Saaskilahti found an Ace in his hole cards and made the call:
Jumalon (button/small blind): K♠ 6♦
Saaskilahti (big blind): A♠ 7♦
Saaskilahti had a 65/35 edge preflop that completely disappeared once a 6-8-J flop hit the felt to pair Jumalon’s six of diamonds. With both men standing with their respective rails, the sweat was ended on the turn when a second six hit the baize, giving Jumalon an unbeatable trip sixes. Once the innocuous 4♦ came on the river, the tears started flowing, except they were the tears of joy from the 22-year-old Jumalon as he celebrated his victory with his parents and friends in poker’s greatest tournament, the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
1. Lucas Jumalon (USA), $10,000,000
2. Lauri Saaskilahti (Finland), $6,000,000
3. Greg Mueller (Canada), $3,750,000*
4. Michael Gagliano (USA), $2,750,000*
5. Han Feng (USA), $2,250,000*
6. Rami Hammoud (Canada), $1,750,000*
7. Jamie Shaevel (USA), $1,500,000*
8. Mario Boos (France), $1,250,000**
9. Evagoras Evagorou (Cyprus), $1,000,000**
(* – eliminated on Tuesday night)
(** – eliminated on Monday night)
On To Paradise
With the close of the Las Vegas leg of the WSOP, the players now cast their eyes to the Bahamas and a Christmas celebration in the sunshine. The 2026 WSOP Paradise begins on December 3 and will feature twenty bracelet events on its schedule. Of particular interest will be the $25,000 Super Main Event, which will draw in plenty of combatants at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau.
Whether any of the men who spent the last three days vying for poker’s World Championship will be there is unknown (as is the schedule at this point), but the entirety of the final table, and in particular Lucas Jumalon, should be proud of their achievements at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas this week.
(Photo courtesy of WSOP.com)
