button in Safari"This is the Pinnacle" James Cheung Captures First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 Stud
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Three years ago, James Cheung played in his first World Series of Poker with the mentality that he is capable of winning any tournament he enters. That mindset fueled several deep WSOP runs in the years that followed, along with multiple titles in tournament festivals abroad. Yet despite several close calls, a WSOP bracelet remained out of reach — until now.
In his first tournament of the 2026 WSOP, Cheung battled over the course of three days and bested a 359-entry field, which included defeating five-time bracelet winner Brian Yoon in a brief heads-up contest to claim his first bracelet in Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud and the $103,185 first-place prize — his largest tournament score to date.
Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Cheung | United Kingdom | $103,185 |
| 2 | Brian Yoon | United States | $67,771 |
| 3 | Gregory Josephson | United States | $45,570 |
| 4 | Thomas Savitsky | United States | $31,380 |
| 5 | Bradley Jansen | United States | $22,141 |
| 6 | Jonathan Glendinning | United States | $16,017 |
| 7 | Korey Simeone | United States | $11,888 |
| 8 | Karle Wilson | United States | $9,058 |
Winner's Reaction
It was a full-circle moment for Cheung, who said Yoon was the first pro he played against in the first WSOP he ever played.
"It feels so right to be able to play him heads-up and be able to win the title," Cheung told PokerNews.
"He was the end-boss when I first played in the WSOP. To overcome him and win my first WSOP bracelet is a great tournament narrative for me."
The moment Cheung realized he had won, he let out an enourmous "Yes!!!" that was likely heard throughout the entirely of the Paris Ballroom inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
"As a poker player, I've trained myself to control my emotions and never be too high when winning or never be too low when losing. I never count my chickens until they hatch... Especially heads-up, anything can happen," Cheung explained. "You can get coolered, you can let the emotions get the better of you. But when you finally win, then, for me, it feels like all the pent-up emotions, I can finally relax and let them out."
"There's no better feeling than making a deep tournament run"
The relief and validation were evident in the moments following his victory.
"(I feel) amazing. I kind of feel like it's been a long time coming. I'm primarily a cash game player, but I've been playing a lot more tournament the past few years. Cash games are nice and steady, but there's no better feeling than making a deep tournament run.
"I knew that if I kept playing well and keeping my head down, then eventually I'd get my chance to win a bracelet at the WSOP. It does feel like a monkey off my back."
Cheung had already enjoyed considerable success, particularly in Asia, prior to capturing his first bracelet. However, Cheung described his win in the $1,500 Stud event as the "pinnacle" of his tournament career thus far.
"For tournaments, this is the pinnacle," Cheung said. "Poker players around the world are graded on how many bracelets they have. It's the dream of many players to win one. It feels amazing to be in the company now of other bracelet winners. It still hasn't fully sunk in yet."
Looking ahead, Cheung plans to pursue a unique piece of WSOP history by attempting to win both the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event and the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship in the same summer.
"I am planning on playing the $10k Stud. I guess there can only ever be one $1,500 winner and $10k winner in the same series, so I might have to go for that record."
Final Table Action
There was no lack of action from the get-go in what would be an exceptionally swingy day, with both Jonathan Glendinning and Bradley Jansen doubling up on the first and second hands, respectively.
The chip leader entering the final day, Thomas Savitsky, got off to a rough start after running into Yoon's two pair early on, foreshadowing a difficult day ahead for the overnight chip leader.
Despite the double, Glendinning couldn't maintain his momentum. Glendinning became the first casualty of Day 3 after getting his chips in good against Savitsky only for Savitsky to make a higher pair on seventh street to eliminate Glendinning in sixth place.
Cheung took his first lead of the day after making open trips and getting folds from both Savitsky and Gregory Josephson.
Bradley Jansen then found himself on the short stack, but managed to nearly quadruple his stack over a series of hands that went his way, which even prompted Cheung to offer a, "Nice comeback, sir!" However, Stud's inherent volatility eventually caught up with Jansen, and he found himself out in fifth after losing a couple of smaller pots and then losing a massive pot to Cheung, who caught a flush against Jansen's two pair.
Cheung continued to add to his stack, and at one point had more than half the chips in play four-handed following Jansen's elimination. Josephson quickly emerged as Cheung's biggest obstacle after winning two large pots from Cheung in short order to overtake the lead.
Meanwhile, the once chip leader Savitsky continued to bleed chips and eventually found himself out in a disappointing fourth place after committing the last of his chips against Yoon, only for Yoon to immediately catch a straight to leave Savitsky drawing dead.
Three-handed play produced some of the most dramatic swings of the tournament, with all three players experiencing massive swings to their stacks. Josephson and Cheung in particular traded the chip lead on multiple occasions until Cheung went on a heater that saw him win four sizable pots off of Josephson within a couple of orbits to leave Josephson short.
Despite finding a double up with his short stack, Josephson couldn't avoid being sent out in third place after committing his stack with a flush draw and bricking out against Cheung's two pair.
With a better than 3:1 chip lead and large betting limits, Cheung's heads-up battle against Yoon proved to be a short one. After trading a series of small pots, Cheung and Yoon got involved in a large pot that resulted in Cheung making a set of kings and raising Yoon, who suspected he might be drawing dead. Yoon committed his final chips into the middle with an open pair of nines on sixth street and Cheung snap-called.
Yoon's suspicions were confirmed, and the dealer dealt each player an irrelevant card on seventh to make Cheung's victory official and put an end to the tournament.
