Lucas Jumalon will return to the 2026 WSOP Main Event final table with a clear chip lead after Day 8 cut the field from 21 players to the final nine.
The American player bagged 194,000,000 chips, more than double the stack of his nearest listed rival, Rami Hammoud, who finished Day 8 with 79,000,000. The remaining finalists now have a 20-day break before the Main Event resumes from August 3-5, with the $10,000,000 top prize still to be decided.
Day 8 Sets the Final Nine
The 57th annual World Series of Poker Main Event reached its final table after another high-pressure day in Las Vegas. Several notable players and late-stage contenders fell short of the last nine, including Todd Brunson, Shaun Deeb, Hossein Ensan, Brock Wilson, Antonio Galiana, Tolga Karakaya, and Malcolm Trayner.
Brunson exited in 20th place for $325,000 after his pocket aces were beaten by Trayner’s ace-jack when the river completed the nut flush draw. Will Givens followed in 19th, while Romain Lewis later ran pocket kings into Greg Mueller’s pocket aces.
Brock Wilson was eliminated in 16th place for $410,475 after losing with king-jack against Daniel Savas’ nine-eight. Deeb also departed before the final table, losing a key flip to Michael Gagliano before his remaining chips failed to improve against Hammoud.
Hossein Ensan’s bid for another Main Event title ended in 13th place when his ace-queen could not catch Gagliano’s pocket kings.
Jumalon Pulls Away Before the Break
Jumalon’s stack continued to grow as the field moved closer to the final table. He eliminated Will Givens with pocket aces earlier in the day, then kept building while other contenders fell away.
Antonio Galiana finished 12th for $510,000, and Tolga Karakaya followed in 11th for $750,000. The last elimination before the final table came against Malcolm Trayner.
On an 8-8-4 flop, Trayner committed his chips with jack-four against Jumalon’s king-queen. The turn and river both came nines, counterfeiting Trayner’s pair and sending the tournament to its final nine.
2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lucas Jumalon | United States | 194,000,000 |
| 2nd | Rami Hammoud | Canada | 79,000,000 |
| 3rd | Jamie Shaevel | United States | 56,000,000 |
| 4th | Greg Mueller | Canada | 48,500,000 |
| 5th | Michael Gagliano | United States | 46,500,000 |
| 6th | Mario Boos | France | 44,000,000 |
| 7th | Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | 37,500,000 |
| 8th | Han Feng | United States | 25,000,000 |
| 9th | Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 22,500,000 |
Jumalon will begin the final table with 129 big blinds. Hammoud is listed with 53 big blinds, while Evagoras Evagorou enters as the shortest stack with 15 big blinds.
The final table resumes on August 3 and is scheduled to play down through August 5, when the 2026 WSOP Main Event champion is set to be crowned.
