Lucas Jumalon Leads Final 7 in WSOP Main Event

Lucas Jumalon remains firmly in control of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event after the opening night of the final table reduced the field from nine players to seven.

The 22-year-old American entered the first of three final-table sessions with 194,000,000 chips, more than one-third of all the chips in play. Six hours and 108 hands later, Jumalon had increased his stack to 212,000,000 and retained a commanding advantage over his remaining opponents.

Han Feng enjoyed the biggest rise of the night, turning a starting stack of 25,000,000 into 106,500,000. The American will return in second place, while Finland’s Lauri Saaskilahti sits third with 84,500,000.

At the other end of the table, Evagoras Evagorou and Mario Boos became the first two finalists eliminated. They collected $1,000,000 and $1,250,000, respectively.

2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results

Lucas Jumalon Tested but Remains in Control

Jumalon showed no sign of being intimidated by the size of the occasion during the early stages. He used his huge stack to apply pressure and quickly moved beyond the 200,000,000 mark, with the shorter stacks initially finding few opportunities to fight back.

His first significant setback came against four-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael Gagliano . Jumalon attempted to bluff across the flop and turn, but checked the river after Gagliano called twice. Gagliano won the sizeable pot with ace-high, knocking Jumalon below 200,000,000.

Jumalon then lost more ground in consecutive pots. Saaskilahti forced him to fold with a preflop five-bet before Greg Mueller won another pot from the leader after flopping a queen.

The chip leader dropped as low as 156,500,000 but recovered throughout the second half of the session. He finished with 212,000,000, giving him almost twice as many chips as his closest challenger.

“This is why you build a stack like this,” Jumalon told PokerNews after play. “I could have sat and folded, that wasn’t gonna be my strategy obviously, but, you know, I’m just thankful to still be in the tournament.”

Evagorou Falls First as Shaevel Wins the Race

Despite several short stacks entering the night, the opening elimination did not arrive until Hand #40.

Evagorou, who began the final table ninth in chips, had already doubled through Jumalon earlier in the session. His comeback ended when Jamie Shaevel raised from early position and Evagorou moved all in for 23,000,000.

Shaevel called with ace-queen and was racing against pocket jacks. An ace on the flop moved Shaevel ahead and Evagorou found no help on the turn or river, ending his run in ninth place.

Evagorou became the first Cypriot to reach a WSOP Main Event final table and collected $1,000,000, by far the largest result of his career.

“Overall, I am very happy. It was an amazing experience to reach the final table,” he said following his elimination. “Now I am a little disappointed because I lost a flip but at end of the day I’m happy for what I achieved.”

Feng Survives Before Surging to Second

Feng entered the night with only 17 big blinds and remained near the bottom of the counts during the opening levels. His tournament appeared to be in serious danger when he moved all in with ace-four and Boos called with ace-queen.

Feng was dominated but found a four on the turn to double to 25,500,000. That proved to be the turning point of his night.

He later found another double before using a series of preflop shoves to steadily build his stack. Feng then won one of the final major pots of the session when his pocket queens held up against a flop check-raise from Saaskilahti.

Feng responded with a three-bet and Saaskilahti eventually folded, carrying the American beyond 100,000,000 and completing a remarkable turnaround from one of the shortest stacks at the table.

Boos Eliminated in Eighth

Feng’s earlier double left Boos with a reduced stack, but the Frenchman remained patient and survived until Hand #95.

Boos eventually committed his remaining 30,500,000 with pocket eights and was called by Saaskilahti holding king-nine. A nine on the flop moved Saaskilahti ahead and Boos failed to find one of his two remaining outs.

The result sent Boos to the rail in eighth place for $1,250,000, leaving seven players in contention for the title.

“I think I played well,” Boos said after leaving the table. “I just played my game during the entire tournament and it worked.”

Four Short Stacks Chase the Leaders

Jumalon, Feng and Saaskilahti account for more than two-thirds of the chips remaining, leaving the other four finalists with fewer than 20 big blinds when play resumes.

Rami Hammoud returns in fourth place with 45,500,000, narrowly ahead of Gagliano’s 42,000,000. Shaevel has 33,000,000, while three-time bracelet winner Mueller is the shortest stack with 29,500,000.

The seven finalists have each secured at least $1,500,000, but the biggest prizes remain some distance away. Reaching the final three will guarantee $3,750,000, while the eventual champion will collect $10,000,000 and the WSOP Main Event bracelet.

Day 2 of the final table will resume with seven players still chasing the $10,000,000 top prize and WSOP Main Event bracelet.

All images courtesy of WSOP.