button in SafariWinner to be Crowned in $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. With POY Battle Heating Up
The final day of the 2026 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has arrived after more than seven weeks of live poker action in Sin City, and four gold bracelets are up for grabs today. Among them is the last high-stakes contest of the summer festival, which will perhaps gather the most attention as 16 players out of a field of 148 entries return for the conclusion of Event #97: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. as of 1 p.m. local time.
Only two entries shy of last year's attendance, the tournament gathered a prize pool of $3,478,000 and has already reached the money late last night, with all eyes set on the $872,052 top prize. Whereas two of the contenders have separated themselves from the rest of the field in Julien Sitbon (3,800,000) and Alexander Kostritsyn (3,205,000), the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year implications will certainly play a pivotal role as four of the front runners are still in contention.
Alex Foxen (930,000) and Shaun Deeb (550,000) shared the same table for extended periods on Day 2 and will be seated next to each other again on the final two tables, where they are joined by Naoya Kihara (1,060,000). Furthermore, on the other table sits Josh Arieh, who brings the second-shortest stack of 315,000 into the final day but certainly shouldn't be counted out by any means.
Third on the overall leaderboard is Ali Eslami with a stack of 1,990,000 but fewer than one full big bet in the stud variants behind are Walter Chambers (1,885,000) and Ari Engel (1,860,000).
Only four of the finalists don't have a WSOP gold bracelet, showcasing how star-studded the field is, and a total of eleven players will earn points for their 25K Fantasy teams as well.
Top 10 Chip Counts For the Final Day
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 3,800,000 | 32 |
| 2 | Alexander Kostritsyn | Russian Federation | 3,205,000 | 27 |
| 3 | Ali Eslami | United States | 1,990,000 | 17 |
| 4 | Walter Chambers | United States | 1,885,000 | 16 |
| 5 | Ari Engel | Canada | 1,860,000 | 16 |
| 6 | Matthew Beinner | United States | 1,350,000 | 11 |
| 7 | Yueqi Zhu | China | 1,315,000 | 11 |
| 8 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 1,060,000 | 9 |
| 9 | William Kerkaert | United States | 1,055,000 | 9 |
| 10 | Aaron Kupin | United States | 950,000 | 8 |
The final day will commence with Level 20, which features blinds of 30,000/60,000 in flop games and limits of 60,000-120,000 in the three stud variants. Each of the 16 finalists has locked up a minimum score of $50,340, and the next pay jump is just one elimination away. The top seven finishers will walk away with six-figure paydays, and the remaining payouts are as follows.
| Place | Prize (in USD) | Place | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $872,052 | 7 | $112,825 |
| 2 | $578,718 | 8 | $88,909 |
| 3 | $394,433 | 9 | $72,321 |
| 4 | $276,297 | 10-11 | $60,789 |
| 5 | $199,071 | 12-15 | $52,857 |
| 6 | $147,648 | 16 | $50,340 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor in the Horseshoe Event Center as of 1 p.m. local time to bring you as many key hands as possible, with the final mixed game contest of the 2026 WSOP in Las Vegas set to conclude.