Bellande Falls One Spot Short as Omar Zazay Wins WSOP Event #32 for $538k

Omar Zazay has won Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker , defeating Jean-Robert Bellande heads-up to claim the gold bracelet and the $538,158 top prize.

The $3,000 buy-in event drew 1,300 entries at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas , creating a $3,471,000 prize pool. Bellande, one of the most recognisable names at the final table, finished runner-up for $358,705 after falling one spot short of a second WSOP bracelet.

Zazay entered the final day third in chips behind Bellande and Christos Argyriadis, but found the right spots when the final table started to twist. After being left short earlier in the day, he doubled back into contention, won the key three-handed pot against Argyriadis, and then closed out Bellande for the title.

The win gave Zazay his first WSOP bracelet and one of the biggest results of his poker career.

Final Table Results

Zazay Savours Bracelet Moment

“Feels amazing. I’ve been playing poker for a long time. This is every poker player’s dream, to win a world championship, win a bracelet. It’s the most coveted prize to win in the poker world. Just an amazing, unreal feeling.”

Zazay also said facing Bellande heads-up did not faze him, with both players used to battling in high-stakes cash game environments.

“JRB is a tough opponent. He plays a lot of high-stakes cash and so do I. So I was actually very comfortable playing with him. We played together a lot yesterday and today.”

There was also plenty of support waiting away from the table, with Zazay immediately sharing the moment with his family after the win.

“Tons of support back home. I have a beautiful wife named Janet back home with my kids. She’s constantly checking on me. She’s always the most supportive, from the highs and the lows of this poker life.”

Bellande Leads Before Final Table Swings

Bellande came into the final day with the chip lead and quickly added to his stack. He eliminated Troy Donaldson in seventh place when ace-king held against ace-eight, then later sent Guofeng Wang out in fifth after king-deuce turned a straight against pocket eights.

Jessica Vierling, the last woman standing in the event, exited in sixth place after getting her chips in with king-queen against the ace-nine of Argyriadis. The board gave Argyriadis a rivered straight, ending Vierling’s run for $101,765.

Jim Collopy followed in fourth place for $186,161, leaving Bellande, Argyriadis, and Zazay to battle three-handed for the bracelet.

The momentum first appeared to belong to Bellande. In one of the strangest pots of the final table, he rivered two pair with jack-six offsuit against Zazay’s pocket aces, leaving Zazay short and prompting a very Bellande reaction.

“What am I doing in the pot with jack-six offsuit? I’m playing so bad but getting rewarded.”

Zazay, however, was not finished. He first doubled through Bellande with ace-three against pocket jacks after turning trips, then won perhaps the biggest pot of the tournament when his pocket jacks cracked Bellande’s pocket aces.

Argyriadis also had his turn in front after taking a big flush-over-flush pot from Bellande, but his run ended in a brutal two-hand sequence against Zazay.

Zazay Takes Control Three-Handed

Argyriadis got his chips in as a significant favourite with pocket jacks against Zazay’s six-three after an ace-six-eight flop. The turn changed nothing, but a three on the river gave Zazay two pair and left Argyriadis with just 500,000 chips.

On the next hand, Argyriadis was all in with queen-nine suited against Zazay’s ten-seven suited. Zazay made two pair again, sending Argyriadis out in third place for $256,761 and taking a 32,000,000 to 20,000,000 lead into heads-up play against Bellande.

Bellande Falls One Spot Short

The final hand saw Zazay open-jam from the button, putting Bellande at risk in the big blind. Bellande called off his stack of around 15,000,000 with jack-ten offsuit, while Zazay held ace-deuce.

The flop paired Zazay’s deuce, and Bellande could not improve on the turn or river. That sealed the bracelet for Zazay and ended Bellande’s hopes of adding a second WSOP title.

Bellande was honest about the disappointment afterward, while still taking pride in his play across the final day.

“I’m devastated, obviously. But actually second is a pretty good result from where I was a few hours ago.”

He also pointed to several key all-in pots that went against him late.

“I had aces over jacks for all in, sevens over sixes, and lost to a lot of two-outers. But somehow still came in second. I’m proud of my effort, proud of my decisions today, but I would have loved the bracelet, of course.”

Bellande added that the event had been a useful warm-up for the WSOP Main Event.

“The 3K, I think, is such a perfect example of what the Main Event’s gonna be like. I feel like the field is very similar to what I’m going to be running into in the Main Event. So it’s a great warm up.”

For Bellande, who is a popular player on the poker circuit , it was a near miss. For Zazay, it was the dream finish. After four days of play, 1,300 entries, and a final table full of momentum shifts, he leaves the World Series of Poker with the bracelet and the $538,158 first prize.

All quotes and images courtesy of WSOP.