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Matthew Shepsky Converts Cash Expertise to Tournament Triumph, Earning Maiden Bracelet in the Process
After an unprecedented extra day in Event #87: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha, a victor has finally been crowned, and that victor goes by the name of Matthew Shepsky.
He managed to navigate his way through both four-card and bounty madness to come out on top of the massive 4,764-strong field, for his maiden WSOP bracelet at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
Shepsky will not only be leaving the series with his first WSOP gold, but he will also be pocketing a massive $305,000 winner’s payday, as well as over $20,000 for the ten bounties he accrued along the way. Those numbers stem from the massive $4,192,320 total prize pool that was generated across both Day 1 flights.
This score brings Shepsky’s live earnings to just shy of the $2,000,000 mark, as well as besting his previous career-high score of $262,300, according to The HendonMob.
The loser of the heads-up battle, Alex Manzano, put in a very valiant effort across the three days of play and fell at the final hurdle in his quest to double his bracelet tally. He will be receiving a very respectable score of $204,000, as well as any mystery bounties he accrued along the way.
Event #87: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Shepsky | United States | $305,000 |
| 2 | Alex Manzano | Chile | $204,000 |
| 3 | Jeremy Kerbel | United States | $151,000 |
| 4 | Christopher Vitch | United States | $112,000 |
| 5 | Mark Radoja | Canada | $84,000 |
| 6 | Nick Pupillo | United States | $64,000 |
| 7 | Wojciech Barzantny | Austria | $49,000 |
| 8 | Andre Rieder | United States | $38,000 |
Winner’s Reaction
On the final table, the only acceptable way to describe Shepsky’s performance is that he steamrolled the competition. By the time there were five players left, he already had half of the chips in his possession. Not only that, but he put them to good use, thanks to his previous experience with Omaha.
“I started playing PLO cash in 2013,” Shepsky recounted to PokerNews. “I’ve only played PLO cash since then; I’m primarily a cash player.”
It was exactly this experience in cash that led him to victory, as he drew upon aspects of the format to enhance his tournament play. “I used to play a lot of sit-and-gos,” he added, “so I did my best to keep the pressure on, even when I had a garbage hand.”
This pressure helped him to not look back once after garnering the chip lead, as he ground his opponents down and built his stack up in the process. This pressure was best shown with the ICM prison he managed to put his opponents in four-handed play, picking spots and ensuring that his dominance over the table was felt.
Shepsky is also no stranger to “Squid Game” cash sessions, which further aided him in the mystery bounty format. This experience really helped him to “gauge who was willing to blow their whole stacks for a bounty, and who was playing a little more carefully.” Not only did Shepksy play his cards, but he made sure to play the player, too.
He admitted to being locked in for the full tournament: “These opportunities don’t come round often,” he noted, but after the win was confirmed, he let his emotions be known.
“I’m ecstatic,” he admitted. “There’s no better feeling than winning a tournament.” Following the victory, Shepsky will undoubtedly return to the tournament streets, but first, he will be returning to Chicago, where his family awaits him to celebrate together. For tonight, however, there are no prizes for guessing who’s paying for his rail’s meal.
Final Table Action
Shawn Stroke, who was chip leading to start the day, was the unfortunate first casualty of the final nine. He missed out on the official final table by a hair, as his set of kings was cracked by the broadway of Jeremy Kerbel. Shortly after, Shepsky picked up his first elimination of the final table by sending home Andre Rieder.
The bounty king himself was next to go, as Wojciech Barzantny couldn't add to his total of 23, falling to Christopher Vitch. Shepsky would then play executioner once again, sending home Nick Pupillo in sixth, by flopping him all but dead.
Shortly after, the tide started to really turn in Shepsky's favour, as he found a huge hero call against Kerbel with a low flush on a paired board to take nearly half the chips in play. Five-handed play would go on for a while, with multiple short stacks doubling, but it would be Shepsky to end the streak as he sent Mark Radoja packing in fifth.
After that, it looked a sure thing for Shepsky. He sent Vitch home first, with Big Slick doing the job, but Vitch would receive quite the consolation prize.
Shepsky then won several pots uncontested preflop, as each of his two opponents aimed to simply outlast the other. Manzano found himself in a ridiculous ICM spot, and essentially won a flip for a $50,000 pay jump, as he doubled before Kerbel bust in third.
The first hand of heads-up was also the last, as Shepsky made nines and queens against Manzano to wrap up the competition and secure the most coveted prize in poker.
Stay tuned as PokerNews offers yet more live coverage throughout the rest of the WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.