Justin Smith Wins WSOP Colossus After Beating 16,268 Players

Justin Smith has won the 2026 WSOP Colossus, outlasting a staggering field of 16,269 entries to capture the bracelet and the $550,000 top prize.

The $500 buy-in event was once again one of the biggest tournaments of the summer at the 2026 World Series of Poker . The final field of 16,269 entries trailed only the 20,488-entry Mini Mystery Millions, where Andrew Shelton pulled the $1 million mystery bounty , among all tournaments held during the 2026 series.

Smith defeated Myles German heads-up to secure the title, while Victor Chong and Yuefan Wang rounded out the top four finishers.

Chong’s run was particularly notable for Asian poker fans, with the Malaysian, who serves as Special Advisor to the Asian Poker Tour , recording the biggest result of his career.

Final Table Results

Smith Finally Gets His Bracelet

“It’s exciting, super amazing. I can’t believe it.”

After navigating one of the largest fields of the summer, Smith finally secured his first WSOP bracelet and the biggest victory of his poker career.

“I’ve tried a few times. It’s pretty cool to actually get one.”

From 16,269 Players to Four

Only nine players returned for the final day after surviving the enormous 16,269-entry field. Wang entered with the chip lead, while Karabet Keshishyan, Smith and Jose Orozco Gomez were all well positioned to challenge for the bracelet.

Min Ji was the first player to fall when his ace-jack could not improve against the ace-queen of Smith. Eric Baldwin followed in eighth after running ace-three into the pocket aces of German.

Andrew Sanchez exited in seventh place after his ace-four was unable to catch Wang’s ace-jack. Keshishyan then suffered a painful river card in sixth when Gomez’s king-queen paired on the river to crack pocket fives.

Gomez’s run ended in fifth place shortly afterwards. Chong called off his shove with ace-nine and held comfortably against Gomez’s ace-three to move into the top four.

Chong Finds a Miracle

One of the biggest moments of the final table came during four-handed play when Chong somehow survived against Wang.

Chong got the last of his chips into the middle holding king-ten and found himself in terrible shape against Wang’s pocket kings.

The flop gave Chong a straight draw, but the turn changed nothing. Just as it looked like the Malaysian’s run was over, a queen landed on the river to complete a straight and spark huge celebrations from his rail.

The dramatic double-up vaulted Chong back into contention and kept alive hopes of an Asian winner in one of the biggest events of the summer.

Wang Falls in Fourth Place

Wang began the day as chip leader and remained among the contenders throughout the final table, but another cruel river card ended his tournament in fourth place for $212,000.

Wang limped in from the small blind and called off his stack after Smith moved all in from the big blind. Wang tabled ace-queen and was well ahead of Smith’s queen-jack.

The nine-high flop kept Wang in front, while the turn gave Smith additional straight outs. The jack on the river, however, paired Smith and completed the comeback, ending Wang’s run just short of the podium.

Chong’s Deep Run Ends in Third

Chong’s tournament came to an end soon after his remarkable escape against Wang.

Smith raised from the button and called after Chong three-bet, leaving the Malaysian with just a few chips behind. The flop checked through before an ace arrived on the turn.

Chong held king-queen for a pair of queens, but Smith had improved to top pair with ace-six. The remaining chips went into the middle on the turn and the river failed to rescue Chong.

Chong collected $278,000 for third place, one of the biggest scores of his career, while also delivering one of the deepest WSOP runs by an Asian Poker Tour executive.

Heads-Up Lasts One Hand

After Chong’s elimination, Smith and German returned from the break to begin heads-up play.

It lasted exactly one hand.

German moved all in on the button holding pocket eights and Smith quickly called with ace-king.

German remained ahead through the flop, but the turn gave Smith a flush draw. The river completed that flush, ending the tournament immediately and handing Smith the bracelet.

German earned $367,000 for his runner-up finish, while Smith completed the journey from a 16,269-entry field to become the final player standing.

For most players, surviving a field of that size would already be a career highlight. Smith went one step further, turning the deepest run of all into a WSOP bracelet and the biggest result of his poker career.

All quotes courtesy of WSOP.