button in SafariPoker Legend Helps Philip Chun Achieve WSOP Dream and Win $400,000
Philip Chun has defeated a massive field of 20,488 players to win Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
He defeated Palestinian American Jalil Houssain heads-up, denying Houssain the chance to win his country's first ever bracelet. Chun navigated his way through a tight and tumultuous final table at Paris & Horseshoe Las Vegas to take home $400,000.
The event was the seventh-biggest live Las Vegas WSOP in history, with Andrew Shelton scooping the top mystery bounty prize of $1,000,000.
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$550 Mini Mystery Millions Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Chun | United States | $400,000 |
| 2 | Jalil Houssain | Palestine | $265,000 |
| 3 | Kartik Ved | India | $200,000 |
| 4 | David Prociak | United States | $155,000 |
| 5 | Axel Bayout | France | $115,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Trezzo | United States | $90,000 |
| 7 | Alex Kaviani | United States | $72,000 |
| 8 | Rocco Iati | United States | $43,000 |
| 9 | Jurgen Pirgu | United States | $43,000 |
Winner's Reaction
Chun spoke exclusively with PokerNews following his victory, saying that preparation was key in advance of his pursuit of a maiden bracelet, including help from Chip Leader Coaching's Kristen Foxen.
"I texted Kristen at 3 a.m. last night once we finished, and arranged to speak to her before play got underway. We talked for about an hour, and everything that she told me put things into perspective. It didn't overwhelm me, it just allowed me to tackle today the way I wanted.
"And honestly, I would not be here holding the bracelet if it wasn't for Kristen as my coach."
Advancing from the Turbo flight in the Mini Mystery Millions, Chun said he never had a Gold Chest bounty throughout the entirety of the tournament. Once the big bounties had been claimed, he says, it was much easier to focus on the task at hand.
Starting the final table third in chips, Chun says he was acutely aware of the table dynamic as the field and stacks grew shorter and shorter.
"In poker tournaments, everything is always changing. So I just kept adjusting my strategy. What's the average stack? Is it more push-fold or raise-fold? I was just so locked in on the table dynamics and all the different personalities."
The personalities are what make poker enjoyable, says Chun. The competitive instinct was there, but the cordiality was also present throughout the entirety of the final table.
"We were battling together all day," said Chun. "We're playing a game, and we want to beat each other, but we could still be kind while we're doing it. It makes it a lot more enjoyable."
Despite praise for his fellow competitors, Chun reserved his greatest praise for Chip Leader Coaching.
"Honestly, joining that group and learning from the top tier coaches that they have, it just changes your mentality on the game. It makes you take it to another level. Once you get a glimpse into the thought process that they go through, you just can't help but do that."
Final Day Recap
A lucky group of 13 returned for the final day in this event, with the field reduced to nine inside of an hour. Chun had returned to the final day in the middle of the pack, but sent Sheldon Phelps to the rail in 12th and secured an early final table double to lead the field.
Kartik Ved was looking to win his second bracelet and first one at the live tables, and moved up the counts himself with the elimination of Jurgen Pirgu in ninth place.
Big doubles were a recurring theme at this final table, with Jalil Houssain getting in on the action with a double through start-of-day chip leader Alex Kaviani.
Ved then eliminated Rocco Iati, but it was David Prociak who led the final seven players ahead of Houssain and Chun.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the counts, Axel Bayout and Kaviani both tripled up, with Joseph Trezzo enjoying back-to-back doubles of his own.
Kaviani's triple would be invain, however, as he departed in seventh place after a three-way all-in with him, Prociak, and Houssain.
Houssain held, sending Kaviani to the rail and moving ahead of Prociak to top the counts.
Bayout was clinging on, doubling with kings through the ace-king of Ved, before Ved doubled back at the expense of Prociak.
But by this stage, the dam was fit to burst, with the average stack dwindling. And burst it did.
First, Houssain tightened his grip on the chip lead with the elimination of Trezzo in sixth place, before Bayout and Prociak were eliminated by Chun and Ved respectively.
After his victory, Chun said that three-time WSOP bracelet winner Prociak had been a thorn in his side throughout Day 2 and again at the final table.
"Once he was eliminated, I actually got a boost of confidence," said Chun. "I played with him all day yesterday. I know that he's the most experienced and was the toughest left in the field."
Houssain would take a stranglehold three-handed, after making straight-over-straight versus Chun, but Chun would bounce back to take the chip lead heads-up after the elimination of Ved in third-place.
Ved had shoved, with Chun taking his time before calling with suited ace and besting the king-queen of his opponent.
"I knew that [Ved] wasn't pushing light," Chun explained. "He was probably the most passive when we got down to three-handed. So I knew that he had some sort of hand. I didn't want to get blinded and just call because I had a suited ace, which happens to a lot of people.
"But I felt like it was just too good a hand. He had like, I don't know, 12 or 13 bigs. And so I think it was just the right call."
Chun held a slender chip lead heads-up, but relinquished it in the first hand before doubling through Houssain in the second to stand on the verge of victory.
"I think it's just a cooler," said Chun. "He had ace-ten and I had ace-queen. And it just goes in. He's a really good player, probably second-best at the final table. But I'm just glad I had ace-queen not ace-ten."
That didn't clinch victory, but it left Chun holding a 29:1 chip lead that Houssain was unable to battle back from, handing Chun a victory that more than doubles his career live earnings.
