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Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
Day 3 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
Day: 3
Event Info
2026 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$476,572
Total Entries
359
Level
30
Blinds
0 / 0
Ante
0
Entries
6
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 359
Filter
Level 30
Ante: 40,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
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.
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 explained. "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."
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
The moment Cheung realized he had won, he let out an enormous "Yes!!!" that was likely heard throughout the entirety 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."
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 tournaments 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 definitely feels like validation," Chueng added. "I thought that if I kept playing, I would eventually win one. 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."
Day 3 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.
This concludes PokerNews' coverage of Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud. For ongoing coverage of the 2026 World Series of Poker, be sure to check out our live-reporting hub here.
Level 30
Ante: 40,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
James Cheung claimed his first-ever bracelet by defeating a field of 359 entries in Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, taking home the $103,185 top prize.
After a brief heads-up battle in which he defeated Brian Yoon, he possessed all the chips in the tournament and celebrated his victory with his rail.
Stay tuned for an interview with the winner and a recap of the day.
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 |
Level 30
Ante: 40,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Brian Yoon: 8♦5♠/2♦9♣9♦K♥/4♠
James Cheung: K♦K♣/5♥2♥K♠6♠/8♥
After jousting back a fourth for a few hands in small pots, James Cheung completed and called a raise from Brian Yoon.
Yoon continued for a bet on fourth street and called a raise from Cheung.
On fifth street, Yoon led out for a bet after pairing his nine and Cheung just called.
Yoon caught a king on sixth and bet, only to be met with a raise from Cheung.
"I might be dead here," Yoon said as he contemplated his decision. "Alright, I'm all in." Yoon then raised for his remaining stack and Cheung snap-called while rolling over his hole cards for a set of kings.
"Dead," Yoon said as he turned over his hands.
Cheung let out a mighty roar after seeing he had won and the dealer dealt out seventh street to make Yoon's elimination in second place official.
Level: 30
Ante: 40,000
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Level 29
Ante: 30,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
James Cheung and Brian Yoon have been sent on a 15-minute break before the start of their heads-up battle.
Level 29
Ante: 30,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Gregory Josephson: 9♠8♥/A♥4♥6♥A♣/J♦
James Cheung: Q♥Q♣/7♦5♠A♦A♠/4♠
James Cheung brought in, and Gregory Josephson wanted to complete but accidentally called instead. Josephson then bet on fourth street, and Cheung called.
Cheung took the betting lead on fifth street and led out. Josephson raised and called when he was put all-in by Cheung via another raise.
Cheung's queens were in the lead, and he remained best on sixth street when both players found an additional ace. Seventh street improved neither player, spelling the end of Josephson's final table appearance in third place.
Level 29
Ante: 30,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Brian Yoon: XxXx/9♦4♣8♦
Gregory Josephson: XxXx/10♥K♣2♠ - folded on fifth street
Gregory Josephson completed and was called by Brian Yoon for a heads-up pot.
Josephson check-called a bet from Yoon on fourth street, but check-folded after facing another bet from Yoon on fifth.
With that loss, Josephson is back down to just 500,000.
Level 29
Ante: 30,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Gregory Josephson: A♣10♠/4♠A♠7♣J♦/Q♠
James Cheung: 6♦6♣/7♥2♣K♦Q♥/3♠
Gregory Josephson was the bring-in and used his option to complete. James Cheung called, and called again when Josephson bet on fourth street.
Josephson kept firing on fifth street, and he quickly called when Cheung put him all-in.
Josephson's aces had a sizable lead over Cheung's sixes, and he doubled up when neither player had improved by seventh street.
Level 29
Ante: 30,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
Low Card: 30,000
Completion: 120,000
Limits: 120,000-240,000
James Cheung: XxXx/7♥2♠K♠4♣/Xx
Gregory Josephson: XxXx/A♦K♥2♣9♦/Xx
Gregory Josephson completed with his ace and James Cheung defended his bring-in. Cheung called bets from Josephson on fourth and fifth street and then check-folded after Cheung bet on sixth after showing the Q♥.
James Cheung: K♣Q♣3♦/Q♥10♠K♦8♦
Gregory Josephson: XxXx/8♥4♠9♥3♥/Xx
On the very next hand, Cheung completed with his queen and Josephson defended his bring-in.
Josephson called bets from Cheung on fourth through sixth street and then both players checked on seventh.
Josephson showed an eight for a pair of eights and Cheung revealed his hole cards for kings and queens to claim the pot — leaving Josephson with just 450,000 to work with.
