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Sebastian Pauli Finally Gets His Razz Bracelet, 13 Years Later
High Card: 100,000
Completion: 400,000
Limits: 400,000-800,000
Twelve years ago, Sebastian Pauli tasted poker glory for the first time, claiming the title at EPT London for $803,182 back in 2014. However, he had been unable to replicate that same success at the World Series of Poker.
The German pro has been logging WSOP results for over a decade, with increased volume since 2023, primarily in mixed games. As a self-described Razz enthusiast, Pauli had an opportunity today to achieve a goal that has eluded him for years. In 2013, he got fourth in the $2,500 Razz, and it has been his mission to make amends ever since.
A total of 519 entries were tallied for Event #40: $1,500 Razz to generate a prize pool of $688,972. The top 78 spots were paid, but all eyes were on the first-place prize of $135,564.
Six of the best in the mixed game world would descend upon Paris Las Vegas today to play down to a winner. Once the dust had settled, it was Pauli holding the bracelet after he defeated fellow German Dennis Weiss in an epic heads-up match lasting over four hours.
The result has been a long time coming for Pauli, who secured the second-largest score of his career, taking his career earnings over $1.5 million. The sense of relief was obvious once he finally clinched the victory, etching his name in poker history by winning its most prestigious prize.
Event #40: $1,500 Razz Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Pauli | Germany | $135,564 |
| 2 | Dennis Weiss | Germany | $90,354 |
| 3 | Oscar Johansson | Sweden | $61,393 |
| 4 | Stephen Hubbard | United States | $42,589 |
| 5 | Jon Turner | United States | $30,177 |
| 6 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | $21,850 |
| 7 | Paul Richardson (CAN) | Canada | $16,174 |
| 8 | Tobias Leknes | Norway | $12,247 |
Winner's Reaction
Pauli explained that his previous Razz final table had been weighing on his mind as he navigated today's difficult final table.
"That was 13 years ago, that was my first WSOP event ever," he described, "I was very close to winning that one, and I haven't been close since."
"So winning this bracelet means a lot."
Nothing is promised in poker, and chip leads can come and go at any time. Pauli is keenly aware of this fact, and the swings at today's final table were a prime example.
Earlier in the day, during four-handed play, Pauli had told eventual heads-up opponent Weiss that he'd held the chip lead four-handed and lost before. He made sure that he didn't make the same mistake today.
"I had the chip lead when we were heads up, but I didn't expect too much," the newly minted bracelet winner explained, "Heads-up, the edge isn't too big, and he had about the same amount of chips. I didn't expect to win, but I liked my chances."
"Razz is just my favorite game, and I keep telling people that I'm really good at it," the German elaborated, "After 13 years of not really succeeding, I guess people started questioning if I was really good because nobody plays Razz, so they couldn't tell."
"Maybe the $10k Razz would have been better, but this is one of the best ones to win for me."
With this win, Pauli joins the likes of Adrian Mateos, Hossein Ensan, Jason Mercier, and Liv Boeree with both an EPT Main Event and a WSOP bracelet. However, thoughts of poker's triple crown haven't entered his mind just yet.
"I've thought about it [before], but I thought about it a lot more when I won the EPT. because it felt easy back then. Now I know how hard it is."
A busy summer awaits the champion, with a full schedule of mixed games planned.
"I'm here until the end. I'll play the $10,000 Razz tomorrow, and everything else afterwards."
Final Day Action
Coming into the day, six players remained with Jon Turner holding a sizeable chip lead as he chased his first bracelet in his 21st WSOP final table appearance. Another developing storyline was that Weiss, who was going for his second bracelet in just four days. Additionally, Stephen Hubbard was searching for his second victory of the summer after capturing the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 bracelet.
An hour into play, it was Adam Owen who would become the first casualty. After making a correct fold on seventh in a prior hand, Owen was down to just 10,000 chips. Two hands later, he was at risk against Pauli. On the final card, Pauli had a made nine against the seven draw of Owen, who could not find any of his outs as he hit the rail in sixth.
The next to fall would be Jon Turner. He went from second in chips to eliminated in just 30 minutes after a series of coolers and unfortunate runouts. He got his final 20,000 into the middle with a king-eight-ace start. However, he was dead on sixth after his opponent made a seven, and his quest for WSOP hardware will have to wait as he remains on the "best without a bracelet" shortlist.
During four-handed play, Pauli captured the chip lead for the first time as Stephen Hubbard became the short stack. He would soon get the rest of his stack into the middle, at risk against Pauli. On seventh, Hubbard had a ten draw against the nine draw of Pauli, who made his hand, leaving Hubbard drawing dead as he exited in fourth.
Just a few hands later, Oscar Johansson was the first podium finish. After spending the majority of the day with a short stack, he was able to secure a few ladders before he was eliminated by Weiss. On fifth, Johansson held a made jack-nine against the nine-five draw of Weiss, who caught gin on sixth street to leave Johansson drawing dead, and he had to settle for third after another final table.
Heads-Up Play
For the first time in WSOP history, two Germans were heads-up against one another as Pauli held a slight advantage over Weiss, sitting on 22 big bets to the 21 of Weiss. However, it would be another four and a half hours until a winner was crowned after an epic battle.
It was first Weiss who was on the verge of the title. After forty minutes, he held a nine-to-one chip lead over Pauli, but he kept finding ways to stay afloat. Soon after, however, Pauli was on the ropes once again with just two percent of the chips in play. However, he would double on two consecutive hands, and found himself almost back to even after a few more pots went his way.
The momentum was short-lived as Pauli once again found himself with a 12:1 chip disadvantage. Incredibly, he found consecutive doubles once again, and was back in the fight.
It was then Pauli's turn to build a substantial lead, at one point reaching ninety percent of the chips in play before Weiss started a comeback of his own, and the stacks were even once again just minutes later.
Weiss, for a third time, was on the brink of victory after a series of small pots went his way, having Pauli down to just three big bets. It was not to be, with Pauli finding a double and soon after getting back to all square.
Pauli kept his momentum going, and now it was Weiss who was down to his final three big bets. Weiss was all-in with the worst of it a couple of hands later, but he got there on seventh to survive as the heads-up match was bordering on comical swings.
Not long after, Weiss was down to one and a half big bets, but he doubled on two consecutive hands to get it back to two-to-one.
However, the four-and-a-half-hour battle had to conclude eventually as the limits increased yet again. Weiss got the rest of his stack into the middle on fifth street with a made ten against the six draw of Pauli, who found his gin card on sixth, catching a four to leave Weiss drawing dead, and the two shared a sporting handshake after an epic match.
Pauli and his rail were finally able to celebrate the victory as he hoisted the coveted WSOP Bracelet for the first time in his life.
This concludes PokerNews's coverage of Event #40: $1,500 Razz. Stay tuned as we continue to bring updates from all events at the 2026 World Series of Poker.