Alex Anton Wins $10K Mystery Bounty for First WSOP Bracelet and $678k

Alex Anton has won Event #51: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker , defeating Julien Sitbon heads-up to claim his first WSOP bracelet and the $678,300 top prize.

The $10,000 buy-in event attracted 558 entries at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas , with $5,189,400 awarded across the regular prize pool and mystery bounties.

Anton entered the final day as chip leader and controlled large stretches of the final table, eliminating several players on his way to the title. Sitbon, already a WSOP bracelet winner who added a fifth-place finish in the WPT Cambodia Championship earlier this year, finished runner-up for $452,200.

The mystery bounty element had already produced several major prizes before the final table, with Gregor Sverko pulling the largest bounty worth $250,000, while Josh Reichard and Michel Molenaar each collected $100,000 bounties.

Final Table Results

Anton Captures First WSOP Bracelet

“It means a lot. I’ve been watching since I was a little kid, so it’s kind of surreal. I still can’t really believe it. I ran really well and yeah, I’m just grateful.”

Anton said the strength of the field made the victory even more meaningful, with several major names passing through the event before the final table was set.

“The tournament was really tough. Day 1 was a ton of fun. [Adrian} Mateos , I’ve been watching him since I was a little kid and I played like 15 hours with him. It was surreal. So yeah, I enjoyed that a lot.”

The victory continues a strong run for Anton, who said he has been grinding for longer than some might realise.

“It’s been sick. Maybe you guys haven’t seen me much, but I’ve been playing cash for a while. It feels great.”

Anton Starts Fast at Final Table

Anton began the final day with 6,600,000, narrowly ahead of Reichard, and quickly made his stack work. Kent Stephens was the first player to fall, getting his chips in with pocket queens against Anton’s ace-queen. An ace on the flop put Anton ahead, and Stephens exited in ninth place for $50,310.

Vadzim Lipauka followed in eighth after running ace-jack into Sitbon’s pocket queens. The board gave Sitbon a set on the river, sending Lipauka to the rail for $65,190.

Anton then knocked out Sverko in seventh place after moving all in from the small blind with ace-nine. Sverko called with pocket kings and looked set for a double, but an ace on the turn gave Anton the lead and ended Sverko’s run for $86,070.

Reichard and Sitbon Stay Busy

Jakob Miegel fell in sixth place after getting the last of his chips in with top pair and a flush draw against Reichard. Miegel was ahead on the turn, but Reichard improved to a straight on the river to send him out for $115,750.

Anton then delivered another major blow when Jovan Kenjic shoved ace-jack into his pocket kings. Anton flopped top set, improved to quads on the turn, and sent Kenjic out in fifth place for $158,500.

Sitbon scored the next knockout, jamming from the button with king-jack and getting called by Champie Douglas with pocket nines. Douglas stayed ahead on the flop, but Sitbon picked up a flush draw on the turn and completed it on the river to eliminate Douglas in fourth place for $220,950.

Anton Sends Reichard Out in Third

Three-handed play ended with Anton taking another huge step toward the bracelet.

Sitbon opened before Reichard moved all in from the small blind for 3,980,000. Anton then put in a four-bet to apply maximum pressure, forcing Sitbon to fold king-jack suited after a long reaction.

Reichard was at risk with jack-ten suited against Anton’s pocket sevens. The flop kept Anton ahead, and the turn gave him a full house to seal the hand. Reichard finished third for $313,400.

Anton Finishes Off Sitbon

Anton entered heads-up play with a big lead over Sitbon and eventually closed out the tournament to secure the bracelet.

The final hand began with Anton limping the button with seven-six suited before Sitbon raised with pocket tens. Anton called and took a flop of ace-five-four.

Sitbon continued with a bet and Anton called. The three on the turn completed a straight for Anton and left Sitbon drawing dead.

The Frenchman moved all in for his remaining chips and Anton instantly called. The river changed nothing, ending the tournament and securing Anton’s first WSOP bracelet.

Sitbon collected $452,200 for second place, adding another major result to a year that already included his fifth-place finish in the WPT Cambodia Championship .

Anton had already been on course to surpass his previous best live tournament score if he finished second or better. By winning the event outright, he did far more than that, turning the $10,000 Mystery Bounty into the defining result of his poker career.

All quotes courtesy of WSOP.