Shaun Deeb’s seemingly long-awaited quest for a ninth WSOP bracelet finally came to an end on Tuesday night, as he won the $1,500 8-Game Mixed event. Deeb topped the 766-entry field to win the illustrious gold bracelet and the $181,625 top prize.
While Deeb’s last bracelet only came a year ago, it felt like much longer after an incredible string of close calls. At WSOP Europe, Deeb lost heads-up in the €3,300 Pot Limit Mixed Omaha event and the €565 COLOSSUS within a few days. Amazingly, Deeb lost to quads on both occasions. Deeb had another close call, finishing ninth in the €2,750 Rounder Cup, courtesy of another bad beat.
After a pair of final tables this summer in Vegas, he finally got the job done, doing so in a pretty decent-sized field event. He becomes just the ninth player to ever win at least nine bracelets, with Benny Glaser and Michael Mizrachi also winning their ninth bracelets within the last week.
Shaun Deeb still laments losing summer
Despite being one of the most active players in the field and in the hunt for the WSOP Player of the Year title, Shaun Deeb has only cashed in three events this summer. After finishing fifth in the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship and losing a massive heads-up chip lead to finish second in the $3,000 Nine-Game Mix event, he got the win tonight.
According to Poker.Org, which spoke to Deeb, the upstate New Yorker went on a string in which he fired over 60 bullets and cashed only once.
However, Deeb admits that he’s still way down for the summer and will continue to chase points and the bracelet.
“I know the variance in poker,” he told PokerNews. “I could’ve easily lost this heads-up match. I could’ve won the other ones. I just show up every day, play my game, and hopefully end up with all the chips like I did today.
“I just made the nuts in a bunch of hands. I called a huge check-raise in PLO with a straight draw and a flush draw, and I made both. And then, you know, I had a few other hands where I just had it. When you make the best hand on the river heads-up, you’re gonna usually win the tournament.”
Amazingly, it’s the second time Deeb has won this exact event, doing so in 2023, topping a 789-player field then.
“It’s just a good mix for me. It’s a low buy-in, so a lot of people aren’t as comfortable in all eight games, and you know, when I get some chips, I can be deadly. And I got some chips and kept winning pots.”
Shaun Deeb back on top of the WSOP Player of the Year race
With the win, Deeb is now back on top of the WSOP Player of the Year race. Deeb and Daniel Negreanu are the only players to ever win the award multiple times. This year, the points system is far more top-heavy and stretches across all three WSOP stops, meaning it won’t be decided until WSOP Paradise.
Whether he wins or loses money, Deeb is one of the few that’s focused solely on winning the WSOP Player of the Year.
“It’s always my goal. I always want to go back-to-back. A week ago, or two weeks ago, three weeks, you know, I really didn’t think I had a shot, but it’s probably the closest player of the year race that there ever has been.
“There are so many top players at it. Just having a lead every day, one of the top 10 guys is gonna cash and leapfrog or get a final table or get a win. So I got to get more scores. I don’t have enough cashes yet, and so I’ve got to hop in more events and multi-table, and hopefully get even on the summer.
“It’s the same every day. Win or lose, I show up here, and I play everything.
$1,500 8-Game Mix Final Table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | $181,625 |
| 2 | Dean Joe | United States | $120,570 |
| 3 | Fu Wong | United States | $81,530 |
| 4 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | $56,230 |
| 5 | Itsuko Yoroi | Japan | $39,570 |
| 6 | Patrick Mahoney | United States | $28,420 |
WSOP Player of the Year standings
With the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year race escaping the exclusivity of Las Vegas, there is now a $1,000,000 prize pool to be divided amongst the top 100 finishers.
The top three players will receive a $100,000 WSOP Paradise package. The rest of the players in the top 15 will be awarded a $30,000 WSOP Super Main Event package for WSOP Paradise.
The players ranked 16th to 50th will each win a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package for the Circuit Championship. They will also be put into a random draw for one $30,000 Super Main Event package. The final 50 players will be awarded a $2,500 ticket to the Circuit Championship, with six players receiving an upgrade to a $5,000 Circuit Championship package via random draw.
| Position | Player | Country | Points |
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 2,816 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,721 |
| 3 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 2,630 |
| 4 | Nick Schulman | United States | 2,550 |
| 5 | Josh Arieh | United States | 2,524 |
| 6 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 2,493 |
| 7 | Josh Reichard | United States | 2,385 |
| 8 | Eelis Paerssinen | Finland | 2,313 |
| 9 | Martin Zamani | United States | 2,210 |
| 10 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 2,052 |
| 11 | Justin Liberto | United States | 2,013 |
| 12 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 1,913 |
| 13 | Marco Johnson | United States | 1,831 |
| 14 | Tom Hall | United Kingdom | 1,816 |
| 15 | Stephen Hubbard | United States | 1,800 |
| 16 | Dennis Weiss | Germany | 1,790 |
| 17 | Dylan Smith | United States | 1,788 |
| 18 | Calvin Anderson | United States | 1,787 |
| 19 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 1,755 |
| 20 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 1,735 |