Top 10 breakout players from the 2026 WSOP
Every year, the World Series of Poker brings us a mix of young players looking to jump-start their poker careers and experienced pros yet to win their first bracelet.
This year, a mix of the two categories dominated all the headlines, as young up-and-comers won event after event, including the Main Event, while several well-known pros finally captured their first bracelets or extended their records after long hiatuses.
Keep on reading to find out who the top 10 breakout players of the 2026 WSOP are, and what makes each of them special.
10. Johnny Oshana
Winning a poker tournament is one thing, but beating a tournament field of 11,185 is a whole different one, even if only for the sheer number of landmines one must evade on their way to victory.
Johnny Oshana entered the $550 Gladiators of Poker event with a series of cashes in low-stakes events and a single victory from a 2021 Deepstack Extravaganza event for $130k, but walked away a WSOP champion with a quarter of a million dollars in his pocket.
Johnny took things easy, used his limited experience to make the right play at the right moment, and let things go with the flow as the playing field gradually shrank.
By the time he was down to the final table, Oshana was unstoppable, and it seemed a matter of destiny that he would win the event, which he eventually did. A few lucky coin flips and many well-played hands were enough to give Johnny Oshana the breakout summer of his life.
9. Dong Chen
Dong Chen was by no means an unknown to the poker world before the 2026 WSOP, but his performance in this year’s Series showed everyone exactly what he’s made of.
Chen came into the Series with one bracelet to his name from the 2023 WSOP, but would go on to demonstrate his skills in one of the toughest events of the year, the $10k Limit Hold’em Championship, reminding his opponents just how versatile and tough the Chinese pro actually is.
To get to his second bracelet, Dong Chen had to defeat a final table that included Jeremy Ausmus, Benny Glaser, Jesse Lonis, and Gus Hansen, which most players would see as a mountain to climb.
Instead of fretting before this opposition, Chen kept his composure, played his game, and eventually came out on top, winning $285k in the process and securing his second piece of WSOP jewelry.
8. Stephen Hubbard
Stephen Hubbard is another player whose 2026 WSOP performance should be jotted down in the poker history books, as he did much more than just win a bracelet.
Already known as an elite PLO player, Hubbard recorded his first major cash of the summer in the $5k PLO event, coming 5th for $142,279.
This notable score alone would have been respectable, but Hubbard had no intention of stopping. His mission was to prove that he could play more than just PLO, and so he went on to win the $1,500 2-7 Lowball Draw event for $155,819.
Stephen came close to another bracelet in a $1,500 Razz event later in the summer, demonstrating his wide range of poker skills and showing that he’s not just a one-trick pony, but a true mixed game master.
7. Yanting Jiang
Yanting Jiang produced one of the most remarkable breakout stories at the 2026 WSOP we have ever seen.
She came into the Series with just a few cashes under her belt and was seemingly way out of her depth when she entered the $5,000 Mid-Stakes Championship.
The Championship attracted a massive field of 3,688 players, making it a massive feat to overcome even for far more experienced players.
Yet, Jiang took the huge field as a personal challenge and navigated it like a true pro, all the way to the final table and beyond.
Jiang walked away with $1,159,182, by far the biggest cash of her poker career, and one of the most interesting poker stories of the entire summer.
6. Dylan Smith
Dylan Smith was one of those poker players that everyone in the room knew, but somehow still managed not to have a bracelet to his name.
With more than $3.7 million in tournament winnings going into the Series, Smith was determined to turn his mixed game prowess into a bracelet, and for the first time in his career, he was successful.
Smith took down the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet event for just over $182k, and finally added the title of a WSOP champion to his storied poker resume.
Smith would go on to make the final table of the $10k Limit Hold’em Championship, before also making a deep run in the Main Event, coming 21st and just narrowly missing out on the most important final table of the entire year.
5. Markus Gonsalves
Markus Gonsalves had long been known as a cash game grinder and high-stakes crusher, but success at the tournament tables eluded him for years.
To be fair, Gonsalves was rarely seen playing in tournaments in the first place, but whenever he did, the variance simply didn’t go his way.
That all changed in 2026, as Markus entered Event #73 - $5,000 6-Handed NLH, a game that best fits Gonsalves’ talents and playing style.
1,402 players entered the tournament, but it was only Markus Gonsalves who still stood when the dust settled, with nearly a million dollars in prize money and his first WSOP bracelet in hand.
With this win, Gonsalves got the tournament monkey off his back and will likely be returning to Vegas next year to keep going where he left off.
4. Nicholas Palma
Nicholas Palma, also known as Nicky P, is another young player who’s been looking for his place under the sun for years.
He’s had success, but luck eluded him in key moments, and he kept falling behind the big-name pros time and time again, until this year.
Palma announced it would be a big summer for him, as he’s done on other occasions in the past, but this time around, he was actually on to something.
Nicky’s summer started with a bunch of deep runs and small cashes, but things really changed for him when he was able to chop up the $3.5k BetMGM Championship. While technically not a WSOP event, the tournament ran at the same time and gave Nicky a chance to walk away with $431k in cash.
Before things came to an end, Palma came close to finally winning a live WSOP bracelet as well, coming 3rd in the $5k 8-handed NLH event, the same one that saw Phil Hellmuth bust out in second place.
Palma had a great summer and kept posting results since, proving that hard work pays off more than any talent or predisposition for the game.
3. Naoya Kihara
There have been few poker players who were able to put up a WSOP performance as spectacular as the one Naoya Kihara put up in 2026.
Kihara, who hadn't won a bracelet in 14 years despite frequenting the WSOP, was feeling frustrated and even considering quitting poker forever.
The 2026 WSOP came at the right time to help him stay on track and forget about quitting the game, as he took down two major events and won two bracelets along the way.
Kihara captured both the $10k NL 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship and the $10k Seven Card Stud Championship in a matter of days, becoming a member of an exclusive club of players who have won Championship tournaments back-to-back.
2. Lauri Saaskilahti
Lauri Saaskilahti came to Las Vegas as part of an anonymous mass of thousands of poker players no one knows or cares about just yet.
Saaskilahti had only ever cashed for about $140k before the Series, mainly by playing EPT and other events in Barcelona, his favorite poker destination.
Yet, it was meant to be, as Lauri managed to work his way down to the final table in the Main Event and go even further, securing a heads-up match with Lucas Jumalon.
When action started, the two players had $6,000,000 guaranteed, so they were effectively playing a $ 2,000,000-a-person heads-up SNG, which is enough pressure to get to anyone.
It was perhaps this pressure that caused Saaskilahti to make a very dubious heads-up call, which may have cost him the title. Yet, it’s worth remembering all the hundreds of plays he made before that to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event.
1. Lucas Jumalon
There is one player who truly broke out at this year’s Series, and that’s the 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon. At such a young age, Jumalon achieved a feat most poker players never come close to in their entire careers.
The WSOP Main Event is by far the biggest event of the year, and the $10,000,000 first-place prize is bigger than most wins anyone has ever recorded in a poker tournament.
Jumalon’s calm nature and willingness to take big risks were enough to earn him the title of World Champion, along with plenty of potential for sponsorships, marketing deals, and other business opportunities in the poker industry.
Online poker sites are always competing for new players with sponsorship deals and the best bonus codes they can offer, so a fresh-faced world champion is exactly the kind of ambassador they will be lining up to sign.
This year, a mix of the two categories dominated all the headlines, as young up-and-comers won event after event, including the Main Event, while several well-known pros finally captured their first bracelets or extended their records after long hiatuses.
Keep on reading to find out who the top 10 breakout players of the 2026 WSOP are, and what makes each of them special.
10. Johnny Oshana
Winning a poker tournament is one thing, but beating a tournament field of 11,185 is a whole different one, even if only for the sheer number of landmines one must evade on their way to victory.
Johnny Oshana entered the $550 Gladiators of Poker event with a series of cashes in low-stakes events and a single victory from a 2021 Deepstack Extravaganza event for $130k, but walked away a WSOP champion with a quarter of a million dollars in his pocket.
Johnny took things easy, used his limited experience to make the right play at the right moment, and let things go with the flow as the playing field gradually shrank.
By the time he was down to the final table, Oshana was unstoppable, and it seemed a matter of destiny that he would win the event, which he eventually did. A few lucky coin flips and many well-played hands were enough to give Johnny Oshana the breakout summer of his life.
9. Dong Chen
Dong Chen was by no means an unknown to the poker world before the 2026 WSOP, but his performance in this year’s Series showed everyone exactly what he’s made of.
Chen came into the Series with one bracelet to his name from the 2023 WSOP, but would go on to demonstrate his skills in one of the toughest events of the year, the $10k Limit Hold’em Championship, reminding his opponents just how versatile and tough the Chinese pro actually is.
To get to his second bracelet, Dong Chen had to defeat a final table that included Jeremy Ausmus, Benny Glaser, Jesse Lonis, and Gus Hansen, which most players would see as a mountain to climb.
Instead of fretting before this opposition, Chen kept his composure, played his game, and eventually came out on top, winning $285k in the process and securing his second piece of WSOP jewelry.
Dong Chen Wins Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 14, 2026
Dong Chen navigated a stacked final table, defeating mixed-game legend Benny Glaser heads-up to capture his second WSOP bracelet and $285,200.
Chen was also one of the biggest bargains in the $25K Fantasy Draft,… pic.twitter.com/N2wR06mL8y
8. Stephen Hubbard
Stephen Hubbard is another player whose 2026 WSOP performance should be jotted down in the poker history books, as he did much more than just win a bracelet.
Already known as an elite PLO player, Hubbard recorded his first major cash of the summer in the $5k PLO event, coming 5th for $142,279.
This notable score alone would have been respectable, but Hubbard had no intention of stopping. His mission was to prove that he could play more than just PLO, and so he went on to win the $1,500 2-7 Lowball Draw event for $155,819.
Stephen came close to another bracelet in a $1,500 Razz event later in the summer, demonstrating his wide range of poker skills and showing that he’s not just a one-trick pony, but a true mixed game master.
7. Yanting Jiang
Yanting Jiang produced one of the most remarkable breakout stories at the 2026 WSOP we have ever seen.
She came into the Series with just a few cashes under her belt and was seemingly way out of her depth when she entered the $5,000 Mid-Stakes Championship.
The Championship attracted a massive field of 3,688 players, making it a massive feat to overcome even for far more experienced players.
Yet, Jiang took the huge field as a personal challenge and navigated it like a true pro, all the way to the final table and beyond.
Jiang walked away with $1,159,182, by far the biggest cash of her poker career, and one of the most interesting poker stories of the entire summer.
6. Dylan Smith
Dylan Smith was one of those poker players that everyone in the room knew, but somehow still managed not to have a bracelet to his name.
With more than $3.7 million in tournament winnings going into the Series, Smith was determined to turn his mixed game prowess into a bracelet, and for the first time in his career, he was successful.
Smith took down the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet event for just over $182k, and finally added the title of a WSOP champion to his storied poker resume.
Smith would go on to make the final table of the $10k Limit Hold’em Championship, before also making a deep run in the Main Event, coming 21st and just narrowly missing out on the most important final table of the entire year.
5. Markus Gonsalves
Markus Gonsalves had long been known as a cash game grinder and high-stakes crusher, but success at the tournament tables eluded him for years.
To be fair, Gonsalves was rarely seen playing in tournaments in the first place, but whenever he did, the variance simply didn’t go his way.
That all changed in 2026, as Markus entered Event #73 - $5,000 6-Handed NLH, a game that best fits Gonsalves’ talents and playing style.
1,402 players entered the tournament, but it was only Markus Gonsalves who still stood when the dust settled, with nearly a million dollars in prize money and his first WSOP bracelet in hand.
With this win, Gonsalves got the tournament monkey off his back and will likely be returning to Vegas next year to keep going where he left off.
Markus Gonsalves Wins Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em ($979,655)
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 2, 2026
Outlasting a stacked field of 1,402 entries, the American captured his first WSOP gold bracelet and the largest score of his career, earning $979,655. pic.twitter.com/X5VOFbgPQk
4. Nicholas Palma
Nicholas Palma, also known as Nicky P, is another young player who’s been looking for his place under the sun for years.
He’s had success, but luck eluded him in key moments, and he kept falling behind the big-name pros time and time again, until this year.
Palma announced it would be a big summer for him, as he’s done on other occasions in the past, but this time around, he was actually on to something.
Nicky’s summer started with a bunch of deep runs and small cashes, but things really changed for him when he was able to chop up the $3.5k BetMGM Championship. While technically not a WSOP event, the tournament ran at the same time and gave Nicky a chance to walk away with $431k in cash.
Before things came to an end, Palma came close to finally winning a live WSOP bracelet as well, coming 3rd in the $5k 8-handed NLH event, the same one that saw Phil Hellmuth bust out in second place.
Palma had a great summer and kept posting results since, proving that hard work pays off more than any talent or predisposition for the game.
3. Naoya Kihara
There have been few poker players who were able to put up a WSOP performance as spectacular as the one Naoya Kihara put up in 2026.
Kihara, who hadn't won a bracelet in 14 years despite frequenting the WSOP, was feeling frustrated and even considering quitting poker forever.
The 2026 WSOP came at the right time to help him stay on track and forget about quitting the game, as he took down two major events and won two bracelets along the way.
Kihara captured both the $10k NL 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship and the $10k Seven Card Stud Championship in a matter of days, becoming a member of an exclusive club of players who have won Championship tournaments back-to-back.
2. Lauri Saaskilahti
Lauri Saaskilahti came to Las Vegas as part of an anonymous mass of thousands of poker players no one knows or cares about just yet.
Saaskilahti had only ever cashed for about $140k before the Series, mainly by playing EPT and other events in Barcelona, his favorite poker destination.
Yet, it was meant to be, as Lauri managed to work his way down to the final table in the Main Event and go even further, securing a heads-up match with Lucas Jumalon.
When action started, the two players had $6,000,000 guaranteed, so they were effectively playing a $ 2,000,000-a-person heads-up SNG, which is enough pressure to get to anyone.
It was perhaps this pressure that caused Saaskilahti to make a very dubious heads-up call, which may have cost him the title. Yet, it’s worth remembering all the hundreds of plays he made before that to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event.
1. Lucas Jumalon
There is one player who truly broke out at this year’s Series, and that’s the 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon. At such a young age, Jumalon achieved a feat most poker players never come close to in their entire careers.
The WSOP Main Event is by far the biggest event of the year, and the $10,000,000 first-place prize is bigger than most wins anyone has ever recorded in a poker tournament.
Jumalon’s calm nature and willingness to take big risks were enough to earn him the title of World Champion, along with plenty of potential for sponsorships, marketing deals, and other business opportunities in the poker industry.
Online poker sites are always competing for new players with sponsorship deals and the best bonus codes they can offer, so a fresh-faced world champion is exactly the kind of ambassador they will be lining up to sign.
WOW. He did it in style. ??
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) August 6, 2026
Congratulations to 22-year-old Lucas Jumalon ???? on winning the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
Just one month after buying in for $10,000, he walks away with $10,000,000, poker’s most prestigious bracelet, and a place in history.
We can’t wait to see where… pic.twitter.com/vEsirUkYd8