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Ciro Gonzalez Dominates Final Table to Craft First WSOP Bracelet
After getting a taste of the World Series of Poker in the past, Ciro Gonzalez planned a return trip to Las Vegas with a friend to celebrate their 60th birthdays and play in Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
After busting early on Day 2, Gonzalez took his friend's advice to register Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em. That turned out to be a wise decision, as the Cancun, Mexico native put his aggressive style to great use and conquered a field of 2,617 players to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet. Gonzalez defeated Kyle Lin in a short heads-up battle to start the celebration with his friends on the rail.
Gonzalez had never posted a five-figure score before, but claims the massive first-place prize of $449,067 from the prize pool totalling $3,474,067. He was still processing the win shortly after action had wrapped up, but had clear thoughts about what the win means to him.
"Wow, I'm so happy," Gonzalez told PokerNews shortly after posing for his winner photos. "I have some results, right, but nothing like this. I'm so excited. But the bracelet is the most important for me. The money is always good, and we play for that, but the bracelet is something special."
Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciro Gonzalez | Mexico | $449,067 |
| 2 | Kyle Lin | United States | $299,218 |
| 3 | Julian Eibel | Germany | $220,399 |
| 4 | Octavio Borra | Argentina | $163,838 |
| 5 | Nethanel Cohen | France | $122,923 |
| 6 | Brandon Hamlet | United States | $93,091 |
| 7 | Jan Sanchez | United States | $71,167 |
| 8 | Aram Zobian | United States | $54,926 |
| 9 | Leonardo Alves | Brazil | $42,801 |
Gonzalez owns an artisanal jewelry business in his hometown, and picked up Texas Hold'em 16 years ago after playing other variants of the game for decades. He recalled the conversation with his friend that inspired him to register for this event.
"I'm busted. He continued the next day and cashed, but me, I'm busted. I feel sad, and he told me, go play the freezeout. It's gonna be a good tournament."
While his friend earned a cash in the Super Seniors, Gonzalez navigated his way into the final day of the Freezeout with a chance to make the trip even more memorable.
Day 3 Dominance
Gonzalez entered the final day among the top five of the 33 returning players and had clear goals in his mind before taking his seat.
"The first one is I try to make the final table, that's my first objective is to make that. That was my first target. And then to get the pay jumps."
It took just five hours of play to trim the field down to the unofficial final table of ten, and Gonzalez not only achieved that objective but sat second in chips. It did not take long for Gonzalez to take control, gaining the chip lead after the first elimination and never relinquishing it from that point on.
Gonzalez started to get on a roll by flipping out Aram Zobian in eighth place. From there, the seventh-place spot was the only one Gonzalez was not responsible for.
Another pocket pair claimed Brandon Hamlet in sixth, followed by Gonzalez picking up kings against the queens of Nethanel Cohen for another elimination.
That set up a pivotal hand against Octavio Borra, as Gonzalez shoved the turn and caught the river to claim another victim.
"I have too many lucky cards, too many lucky places. I feel like a monster. I'm a very aggressive player all the time, I pushed and pushed and pushed."
Julian Eibel got his chips into the middle in great shape, but Gonzalez spiked the turn to earn a massive lead for heads-up play.
Lin could not hold on for long, as Gonzalez won another flip to close out the dominant victory.
"It's great to do it for me, you know, and I think it's still setting in. This is for my daughter, the bracelet is. Oh, it's for her."
Gonzalez planned to enjoy the night celebrating with friends, and will likely fire the next freezeout event before taking another shot at the WSOP Main Event.
That concludes our coverage of Event #65, but be sure to catch PokerNews live reporting from the remainder of the 2026 World Series of Poker and other exciting events around the poker world.