Calvin Anderson Becomes The Most Winning Razz Player in WSOP History

Liam Gannon
Live Reporter
5 min read
calvin anderson

At 1:00 pm today, eight players walked into the Horseshoe & Paris with the chance to become the latest winner of a $10,000 Championship Event. Event #48: $10,000 Razz Championship saw 155 entrants generate a prize pool of $1,441,500 that the final 24 players all saw a piece of. After seven levels of play today, $357,026 and the bracelet was awarded to one player.

It was eight years ago that Calvin Anderson took home his second bracelet in the $10,000 Razz Championship in 2018. He won $309,220 for that and now he adds an even bigger Razz score and takes home his sixth career bracelet here today, further proving his staying power in the low Stud variant.

“I have played it a lot. I guess that's my secret,” the newly minted six-time champion said. “I like this game a lot. I played all the games a bit and I think this one just favors my style.”

With this win, Anderson not only becomes the most winning Razz player in the WSOP’s history, but the first player to win the $10k Championship of Razz twice.

“It's a really cool thing to win the same thing again. It kind of shows that it's a testament to the skill set,” Anderson said. “Most people kind of s*** on Razz a little bit. I mean, almost the whole tournament everybody was like, oh, there's no skill set in this and just all about getting lucky and all this stuff. That's what you want people to think, right?”

$10,000 Razz Championship Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Calvin AndersonUnited States$357,026
2Eric RodawigUnited States$237,851
3Todd DakakeUnited States$162,551
4Tobias LeknesNorway$114,032
5Max KruseGermany$82,171
6Yuval BronshteinIsrael$60,868
7Philip SternheimerUnited Kingdom$46,385
8Shane LittlefieldUnited States$36,395

Living in the Moment

While Anderson came into the day with a slight chip lead and held around two-thirds of the chips three-handed, the final stretch still took more than 10 hours from nine players down to two.

“It starts out nine-handed, and you don't really play nine-handed ever, so it's an adjustment. Tournaments in general are always constant adjustments to blind structures and ante structures. That's one of the things I love about them. I won a few good pots and kind of maintained until we got short-handed.”

A key pot four-handed swung momentum in his favour as he clashed with Tobias Leknes and helped set up Leknes’ eventual exit.

“That was a big shift. There's not really abusing ICM much, and you can't powerhouse anybody. So you have to get good run outs and you have to play your hands mostly."

Calvin Anderson

With 17 years of live cashes and over $7 million in earnings, the six-time bracelet winner also spoke about staying composed at a high-pressure final table.

“I try to live in the moment and just be present. I had a lot of chips, I lost some, I was a little bit frustrated even though I didn't show it. Heads-up went relatively smooth. We didn't play too many big pots and the ones we did, I won.”

“If you start thinking about the money too much, it gets in your head and you play scared."

Looking ahead, Anderson said he’ll continue a packed WSOP schedule, saying, “I’m going to play most of the tournaments I usually play, 10Ks, mixed events, stuff I really like. I think the $10K HORSE is one of the best events and I’m excited for that one.”

On the pressure of playing for massive sums, he added, “If you start thinking about the money too much, it gets in your head and you play scared. I honestly wasn’t even positive exactly what first got and just lived in the moment.”

From Razz To Riches

Coming into the day as the shortest stack, Shane Littlefield was the first to go. He clashed with Leknes early into the final table and was left quite short after the confrontation. He got his final chips in with a three-card eight draw against Max Kruse’s three-card six draw, ending up unimproved while Kruse made a seven. Littlefield added another Razz cash from his 2026 Summer and collected $36,395 for eighth.

Tobias Leknes
Tobias Leknes

Next to go was WSOP bracelet winner Philip Sternheimer, who had gradually gotten shorter as the second level of play began. He got in the remainder of his chips with a jack-draw against Leknes’ better jack-draw, with Leknes making the better hand to send him out in seventh for $46,385.

Kruse exited in sixth after a big clash with Todd Dakake left him short. The former German footballer got it in on fourth street with a queen-draw against Leknes’ six-draw. Leknes made an eight on the end and Kruse could not improve past a queen, collecting $60,868.#

Todd Dakake
Todd Dakake

Yuval Bronshtein couldn’t spin up his short stack, as a hand with Leknes’ seven left him on fumes. His last chips went in the next hand and he finished with a ten-nine, while Leknes made an eight. Leknes moved into second in chips, while the two-time bracelet winner took $82,171 for fifth.

Despite being second in chips, Leknes then ran into Anderson in a series of big pots. A key hand that didn’t reach showdown left him short, and he was all in soon after. Anderson made a nine to beat Leknes’ queen, sending him out in fourth for $114,032 as Anderson surged to over two-thirds of the chips.

Eric Rodawig
Eric Rodawig

Anderson later came under pressure as Eric Rodawig and Dakake picked up pots to close the gap. Rodawig briefly took the lead before Anderson edged back ahead going into dinner.

Three-handed play was long and swingy before Anderson regained control. He picked off Dakake in a key pot when Dakake held a jack against his nine. Dakake soon moved all in with a king against Rodawig’s ten but couldn’t improve past a jack, finishing third for $162,551.

Heads-up was short. Rodawig never closed the gap beyond 2:1, and a big pot where he ended up with trips saw him fall heavily behind. Anderson closed it out soon after when Rodawig could not improve past a jack against his eight, sealing Anderson’s sixth WSOP bracelet. Rodawig took $237,851 for second.

Calvin Anderson
Add as a preferred source on Google Follow on Google News
Share this article
Liam Gannon
Live Reporter

More Stories

Other Stories

Recommended for you
These Players Are Dominating the WSOP Player of the Year Race These Players Are Dominating the WSOP Player of the Year Race