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Matthew Moss Captures First Big Live Tournament Win in Event #43: $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em
After twenty levels of play, Event #43: $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em has officially crowned a new champion at the 2026 World Series of Poker, running at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Matthew Moss outlasted a massive field of 3,903 entries to capture the much-coveted WSOP golden bracelet and the top prize of $318,556, the second-largest cash of his career.
The event generated a prize pool of $2,732,100, and Moss defeated Darryl Ronconi heads-up after roughly an hour of play. Ronconi earned $212,106 for his runner-up finish, while Shalom Elharar rounded out the podium in third place for $155,725.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Moss | United Kingdom | $318,556 |
| 2 | Darryl Ronconi | United States | $212,106 |
| 3 | Shalom Elharar | United States | $155,725 |
| 4 | Chongxian Yang | China | $115,342 |
| 5 | Brian Harris | United States | $86,194 |
| 6 | Orlando Moretti | Canada | $64,992 |
| 7 | John Mazzarelli | United States | $49,451 |
| 8 | Ofer Gutman | Israel | $37,972 |
| 9 | Pengfei Wang | United States | $29,427 |
Winner's Reaction
Moss began playing poker with friends in 2008 and turned professional at the age of 18. Although he has enjoyed a long career in the game, most of his success has come in cash games, making this breakthrough tournament victory particularly meaningful.
“It’s exciting to win my first tournament, especially one with 3,900 people,” Moss said. “That’s the thing about Vegas. There are just so many people.”
He added that there is always something special about winning in Las Vegas. Reflecting on his victory, Moss said he was thrilled to secure what he called his “first big live tournament win.”
Asked how he planned to celebrate, Moss kept it simple.“I’m just going to go for a couple of drinks with some friends. Nothing too crazy. Those years are behind us, I guess,” he said with a smile.
Final Table Action
After steadily building his stack throughout the day, Moss entered the final table second in chips. However, with players averaging only around ten big blinds, he acknowledged that play created a challenge where most decisions came down to pushing all-in or folding.
As a result, Moss experienced plenty of swings, winning and losing several crucial coin flips. One key moment came when he lost a flip to Ronconi, helping the eventual runner-up build momentum and establish himself as the dominant force at the table. Later, Moss returned the favor, cracking Ronconi’s pocket nines by flopping an ace to regain valuable chips.
For much of the final table, Ronconi held the advantage, applying extreme pressure on the other players and eventually eliminating them. But Moss was able to catch up and surpass Ronconi by eliminating Chongxian Yang in fourth place and Elharar in third, taking the chip lead into heads-up play.
The final duel moved quickly and wrapped up in less than two levels, with Moss claiming the victory to win his first WSOP bracelet and the biggest tournament title of his career.
That concludes PokerNews coverage of Event #43: $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em , but stay tuned for continued coverage from the 2026 World Series of Poker throughout the summer.