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A record-breaking field, a new home in Prague, and a milestone moment for Marius Kudzmanas defined the 2026 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.
The Lithuanian became the first player from his country to win the European showpiece, topping a record 2,617-entry field and cracking pocket kings on the final hand to claim the €2,000,000 first-place prize.
Kudzmanas told PokerNews he entered the final table with plenty of confidence in his own ability.
"I felt like I'm the best player at the table," he said. "I just needed to not get any big coolers and just play my game as best as possible."
The tournament generated a €13,085,000 prize pool, comfortably surpassing the €10 million guarantee, and marked a successful new chapter for the festival following its move from Rozvadov to King’s Casino at Hilton Prague, roughly 100 miles from its longtime home. The relocation proved a hit with players and reinforced the continued growth of the WSOP under the stewardship of GGPoker.
2026 WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | €2,000,000 |
| 2 | Akihiro Konishi | Japan | €1,200,000 |
| 3 | Chris Hunichen | United States | €800,000 |
| 4 | Nikolay Bibov | Bulgaria | €575,000 |
| 5 | Antonio Guimaraens | Spain | €425,000 |
| 6 | Hengtao Zhu | Finland | €320,000 |
| 7 | Thomas Eychenne | France | €245,000 |
| 8 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | €185,000 |
| 9 | Joona Nyholm | Finland | €140,000 |
For the newly crowned champion, the victory represented a defining career milestone. Already a proven winner online, with two WSOP bracelets earned in the digital arena, this triumph delivered the live title that had long been missing.
The €2 million payday stands as the largest live score of his career and places his name alongside past champions of the event, a list that includes Poker Hall of Famers Phil Hellmuth and John Juanda.
Kudzmanas was also joined on stage by fellow Poker Hall of Famer and reigning WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi, who presented the bracelet to cap off the historic victory.
"The Main Event is the most special tournament of them all...it's the best feeling ever,"
Kudzmanas' performance also propelled him to the top of the newly revamped WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard, which now features a $1 million prize pool for the season-long race.
With results now counting across WSOP Europe, the Las Vegas summer series, and WSOP Paradise, his Main Event conquest immediately puts him in pole position heading into the rest of the season.
Kudzmanas admitted the race wasn't something he had planned to chase. "I actually never thought about it," he said. "I'm not playing that much live poker to chase it, but we will see."
Chip Leaders Bow Out Early
Joona Nyholm entered the final table as the short stack and was the first casualty after losing a flip to Chris Hunichen.
Brandon Sheils told PokerNews that a WSOP bracelet was "the ultimate token," adding that he'd still choose the bracelet and first place rather than "take twice the money and finish second." The Brit, who began the finale third in chips, ended up with neither outcome. He first lost nine million chips when he tried to make a move on Hunichen's aces, then four-bet jammed ace-queen into ace-king to become the next player sent to the rail.
Another of the day's starting chip leaders soon followed. 2025 EPT Barcelona champion Thomas Eychenne began the final table second in chips but struggled to gain any traction. Eychenne had said he needed "a top-three finish" to offset the downswing he'd endured since his breakout victory in the Catalonian capital, where third place would have paid €800,000. Instead, his run ended in seventh place for €245,000.
Antonio Guimaraens, a complete amateur whose day job is organizing music festivals in Spain, had earlier kept his hopes alive with his third double-up of the day through Eychenne, his kings holding against ace-queen. But when Eychenne was later all-in and at risk holding the cowboys himself, they couldn't hold, cracked by the Kudzmanas' pocket nines.
With several of the stronger stacks eliminated early, Kudzmanas saw the dynamic at the table began to shift.
"It was much easier after they [Sheils and Eychenne] were gone because they are very good players. It's nice to be with as many amateurs as possible left."
That hand vaulted Kudzmanas into the chip lead and marked the first time since Day 4 that Hengtao Zhu had been knocked off the top of the counts. Zhu briefly reclaimed the lead soon after, before Akihiro Konishi also enjoyed a short spell at the summit. Kudzmanas then surged back in front and began to pull clear of the chasing pack.
Hunichen cut into that lead with a timely double through Kudzmanas, leaving Konishi, Kudzmanas, and Nikolay Bibov tightly grouped at the top. From there, play settled into a tense grind. Zhu later found himself at risk against Guimaraens, but the GGQualifier doubled with aces against ace-king, leaving the Spaniard once again at the bottom of the counts.
But it was Zhu whose run ended next, as Kudzmanas made a superb hero call on the river to bust the last Finn at the table. Guimaraens' fairytale run came to an end soon after, with the pair collecting €320,000 and €425,000 respectively.
What Did They Have for Dinner?
Konishi, Kudzmanas, and Bibov went into the dinner break virtually neck and neck, while Hunichen returned to the table as the clear short stack with just ten big blinds and little room to manoeuvre. The pressure had been building throughout the session, but what followed after dinner was a complete contrast to the cagey play that came before it.
The deadlock was finally broken when Hunichen found an instant triple-up, rivering a pair of jacks against the ace-kings held by Bibov and Kudzmanas to suddenly vault into the chip lead.
On the very next hand, Kudzmanas and Bibov collided in a 61 million chip pot that sent the Bulgarian to the rail in fourth place after he was three-outered. Bibov had come back from dinner with the chip lead, but in the space of a few hands, he went from first in chips to out.
Hunichen's time at the top didn't last long. Konishi doubled in a huge spot with queens against sevens, then finished the job a few hands later to eliminate the 2024 WSOP $100,000 High Roller champion.
That result set the stage for heads-up play, with Konishi holding the numerical edge at 82 big blinds to Kudzmanas' 60. On paper, the advantage belonged to the Japanese trader, but experience leaned heavily toward the poker pro, who entered the final duel as the more seasoned player in these high-pressure, big-money moments.
That edge quickly showed as Kudzmanas turned the tide early and built a 3:1 chip lead. Konishi doubled once to stay in contention, but Kudzmanas steadily wore him down again with ruthless aggression
Kudzmanas explained that the bigger preflop sizings and overbets were deliberate. "I'm trying to put a lot of pressure on my opponent and just take down every pot I can," he said.
The final hand saw the chips pile in on a 7-5-4 flop. Konishi was ahead with kings, but Kudzmanas' seven-six turned trips and held on through the river to close out the historic tournament.
"The Main Event is the most special tournament of them all," he said, summing up the winning moment in simple terms.. "If you run deep in the main event, it's obviously the best feeling ever."
