Joseph Liberta Made a Millionaire in WSOP Millionaire Maker

Joseph Liberta has won the $1,500 Millionaire Maker at the 2026 World Series of Poker , defeating Michael Monroig heads-up to claim his first WSOP bracelet and the $1,250,000 top prize.

The $1,500 buy-in event drew a massive 11,769 entries at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas . Monroig finished runner-up for $1,000,000, while Bradley Gafford took third for $750,000 and Halford Fairchild finished fourth for $530,000.

Liberta entered the final table third in chips behind Monroig and Joseph Baghdadlian, but built steadily before taking control late. His back-to-back eliminations of Baghdadlian and Fairchild moved him into a commanding position before closing out the title.

“Completely surreal. I’ve been coming here for a long time. I just want to thank my parents. I love them so much. They’ve always supported me, along with all my friends who have supported me through it. I’m just extremely grateful.”

Liberta admitted the victory still felt surreal after finally breaking through for his first bracelet.

“It’s just crazy. I can’t even go into it. I’m ecstatic.”

Final Table Results

Millionaire Maker Finale

The final day began with nine players chasing the bracelet and the $1,250,000 first prize. Monroig returned as chip leader with 73,900,000, followed by Baghdadlian with 52,300,000 and Liberta with 46,400,000.

Gafford was the only WSOP bracelet winner still in contention at the final table, while Yifu He, Jacob Gagnon, and Garry Gurevich were the short stacks.

Early Eliminations

He was the first player eliminated after moving all in from the big blind with seven-four. Monroig called with queen-five and held through the board to send He out in ninth place for $150,068.

Gurevich followed in eighth after moving all in with queen-deuce. Gafford and Alex Kim checked the hand down, and Kim’s pair of nines was enough to take the pot and eliminate Gurevich for $190,000.

Gafford then sent Gagnon to the rail in seventh. Gagnon was ahead after pairing his five on the flop, but the board paired again on the river, leaving Gafford’s queen kicker to play. Gagnon earned $245,000.

Monroig claimed the next knockout, calling Kim’s short-stack shove with jack-ten suited. Kim held ace-seven, but Monroig paired his ten on the flop and held through the runout to eliminate Kim in sixth place for $315,000.

Liberta Takes Control

Liberta took charge five-handed.

Baghdadlian was first left short after Gafford doubled through him with pocket jacks against king-ten suited. Baghdadlian paired his king on the flop, but Gafford turned a flush to leave Baghdadlian with only 5,500,000.

Baghdadlian moved all in soon after from under the gun with ace-jack, and Liberta called from the big blind with ace-king suited. The board ran out without enough help for Baghdadlian, who was eliminated in fifth place for $410,000.

Liberta picked up another knockout moments later. Fairchild open-jammed for 30,000,000 from under the gun with ace-queen suited, and Liberta called from the big blind with pocket nines.

A nine came on the jack-jack-nine flop, giving Liberta a full house. Fairchild was drawing dead by the turn and exited in fourth place for $530,000.

Three-Handed Play

Three-handed play was short-lived as Liberta struck again to move into heads-up with a commanding chip lead.

Gafford limped from the small blind before Liberta checked his option. After Gafford check-raised the flop and continued betting the turn, he moved all in for 44,000,000 on the river after making two pair with king-ten.

Liberta snap-called and tabled queen-nine for a rivered straight, leaving Gafford’s two pair second best.

Gafford’s impressive run came to an end in third place for $750,000, while Liberta carried more than a two-to-one chip advantage into heads-up play against Monroig.

Liberta Finishes the Job

Liberta carried a commanding chip lead into heads-up play and quickly began extending his advantage. Although Monroig briefly doubled with trip kings to stay alive, he was unable to build any momentum as Liberta continued to win a series of small and medium-sized pots.

Monroig was gradually whittled down before making his final stand with ten-eight. Liberta looked up his shove holding eight-five, and despite starting behind, the flop came five-five-deuce to give Liberta trip fives. The queen on the turn sealed the outcome before the river confirmed Liberta as the Millionaire Maker champion.

Monroig earned $1,000,000 for his runner-up finish and took plenty of positives from the biggest result of his career.

“Mostly I feel pretty grateful. I mean, incredibly blessed to finish second, win a million dollars in a $1,500 buy-in with 12,000 players. It’s an unbelievable experience. This is the poker dream.”

The American revealed it had been a whirlwind week after travelling directly from a friend’s wedding in Cancun before making his deep run in Las Vegas.

“When I grew up playing this game when I was 14 years old, the dream was to win a million dollars one day. We saw it on TV. We saw it on ESPN. I just did it. It took longer than I wish it would have, but who am I to complain right now?”

Liberta completed an impressive comeback from third in chips at the start of the final table to earn his first World Series of Poker bracelet and the $1,250,000 top prize.

All images courtesy of WSOP.