Jumalon 2nd youngest to win WSOP main event
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- Lucas Jumalon, a 22-year-old from Spokane, Washington, won the 2026 WSOP main event and $10 million, becoming the second-youngest champion in history (Joe Cada won at 21 in 2009).
- Jumalon took the chip lead with 13 players remaining and never relinquished it, entering the nine-player final table with 35% of chips in play and increasing that to 38% by Tuesday's session.
- Lauri Saaskilahti of Finland earned $6 million as runner-up, vaulting to fifth on Finland's career money list per The Hendon Mob; his previous best cash was under $90,000.
- The tournament drew 9,208 entrants, making it the fourth-largest main event in the WSOP's 56-year history, and generated an $85,634,400 prize pool.
- The climactic final hand saw Jumalon move all-in with Ks-6d against Saaskilahti's As-7d; the board ran Js-8d-6s-6c-4d to give Jumalon three sixes and the last of his opponent's chips.
- Despite his dominance, Jumalon admitted he was "terrified" going into heads-up play, channeling Mike Tyson's pre-fight mentality: "I was terrified he was going to kill me today, in poker terms."
- Hand 166 nearly flipped the script when Saaskilahti's Ace-ten hit a flush on the river to survive, but Jumalon reestablished dominance on the very next hand with a 519-million-chip pot that left Saaskilahti with just 34 million.
Why it matters: The $10 million payday places a 22-year-old wire-to-wire champion into poker's elite overnight, while Saaskilahti's $6 million runner-up finish vaults him to fifth on Finland's career money list. The 9,208-entry field — the fourth-largest in WSOP history — generated an $85.6 million prize pool, underscoring the main event's enduring gravitational pull in tournament poker.
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