Nikolay Bibov Q♠Q♥ raised to 1,200,000 from under the gun. Hengtao Zhu A♥7♥ defended his big blind and proceeded to make the nuts on the J♥6♥4♥ flop. He check-called for 1,100,000, bringing in the J♣ turn. Both players checked and the 9♣ completed the board.
Zhu continued to slow play his monster and checked. Bibov fired out 2,200,000 and then faced a raise of 10,000,000. Bibov quickly laid down his queens, and Zhu returned to the top of the counts.
Marius Kudzmanas raised to 1,200,000 from early position before Thomas Eychenne three-bet to 2,700,000 from the hijack. Kudzmanas used a time bank before shoving as the big stack, and Eychenne snap-called for 12,225,000.
Thomas Eychenne: K♥K♦
Marius Kudzmanas: 9♥9♦
One nine had already been folded preflop, but Kudzmanas found his one-outer on the 9♠6♠3♠ flop and stayed ahead on the 2♣ turn. The 10♦ river completed the board, sending Eychenne, who began the day second in chips, out in seventh place.
Thomas Eychenne raised to 1,100,000 from early position. Antonio Guimaraens in the small blind three-bet all-in for 8,400,000 then Eychenne counted Guimaraens' stack, stood up and called.
Antonio Guimaraens: K♦K♣
Thomas Eychenne: A♦Q♥
Guimaraens' kings held on 5♦9♥J♠6♣4♣ and he doubled up again.
Akihiro Konishi raised to 1,000,000 from early position. Chris Hunichen three-bet to 2,600,000 from the button. Konishi made it 4,700,000 and snap-called for his stack of 12,000,000 when Hunichen jammed.
Akihiro Konishi: K♠K♣
Chris Hunichen: A♥K♥
Hunichen picked outs to Broadway on the Q♠J♣4♣ flop, but failed to improve on the J♠ turn or 5♠ river, shipping the 24,250,000 pot to Konishi.
Hengtao Zhu raised to 1,000,000 from middle position before Nikolay Bibov three-bet to 2,700,000 from the hijack. Antonio Guimaraens folded out of turn while Bibov thought over his options.
Brandon Sheils, in the big blind, used a few time banks before jamming for 8,200,000. Zhu folded before Bibov snap-called as the bigger stack.
Brandon Sheils: A♦Q♥
Nikolay Bibov: A♣K♦
Sheils failed to find to connect on the 10♦9♣4♠3♦J♥ runout and was eliminated in eighth place.
Joona Nyholm opened to 2,000,000 from the hijack, leaving 275,000 behind. Chris Hunichen called from the cutoff
The last of the chips went in on the A♦7♦7♠ flop, and the cards were turned over.
Joona Nyholm: K♦10♣
Chris Hunichen: 8♠8♥
Hunichen was ahead but, but Nyholm picked up a load of equity on the Q♦ turn. However, the 3♠ river was a brick, and Nyholm became the first player to depart the final table.
From complete amateur to renowned player: the nine finalists of the 2026 €5,300 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event may come from very different backgrounds, but one thing is certain: one of them will see his career change forever after being crowned the new WSOP Europe Main Event champion today.
From a record-breaking field of 2,617 entries which generated a total prize pool of €13,085,000, they are now just a few steps away from the finish line, where a €2,000,000 top prize and a WSOP gold bracelet await.
So, who will it be? Over the past two days, Hengtao Zhu has looked like the clear favorite after bagging the chip lead twice. Even though he says he is trying “not to put too much pressure” on himself, the Finnish GG qualifier will start the final table with 36,300,000, more than any other player.
2026 WSOP Europe Main Event final table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Thomas Eychenne
France
25,825,000
65
2
Joona Nyholm
Finland
3,275,000
8
3
Chris Hunichen
United States
19,300,000
48
4
Hengtao Zhu
Finland
36,300,000
91
5
Nikolay Bibov
Bulgaria
13,200,000
33
6
Antonio Guimaraens
Spain
5,700,000
14
7
Akihiro Konishi
Japan
14,400,000
36
8
Marius Kudzmanas
Lithuania
18,050,000
45
9
Brandon Sheils
United Kingdom
20,850,000
52
Following in Zhu’s footsteps are strong contenders, starting with Thomas Eychenne. The Frenchman has one of the best résumés at this final table, with an EPT Barcelona win in 2025, a seventh-place finish in the 2023 PSPC Main Event, and many other results. Known in France for his €10 to €1,000,000 bankroll challenges, “LaWatch” could double it with a WSOPE victory. If he runs as well as he did on Day 5, when he went from the shortest stack to 25,825,000 in just a few hands, that feat could quickly become a reality.
The other players however won't let him win so easily, especially Brandon Sheils, who made of the WSOP bracelet his ultimate goal. He came close this summer with a fifth-place in the $5,000 6-max. And with more than 360 live cashes in his career, Sheils his surely one of the most experienced player at the final table that he'll start with 20,850,000.
The only American at the table, Chris Hunichen, will bring his 19,300,000-chip stack into the final table with the support of a whole country behind him. “Big Huni” already knows what it feels like to win a WSOP title after taking down the $100,000 High Roller in 2024, but capturing a Main Event would be the next step. If he wins, he could record a sixth seven-figure cash to add to his impressive €17,000,000 in live earnings.
Marius Kudzmanas is also a bracelet winner as he already won two, both online. He came close to victory in Prague in 2022 with a runner-up finish in the €10,300 EPT High Roller, making the Lithuanian a player to watch with his 18,050,000-chip stack.
Playing his first event in Europe, Akihiro Konishi could become the first Japanese player to win a WSOPE Main Event and only the second Asian player to do so after John Juanda in 2008. He will start the final table with 14,400,000, just a few blinds more than Nikolay Bibov (13,200,000), who could emulate fellow Bulgarian Fahredin Mustafov, winner of the €1,300 WSOPE Turbo Bounty earlier in the series.
Finally, amateur Spanish player Antonio Guimaraens (5,700,000) and Joona Nyholm (3,275,000) will return as the two shortest stacks. Both are “living the dream” and could see their lives change in just a few hours.
WSOP Europe Main Event
Play resumes at noon local time with 56 minutes remaining at 200,000/400,000 and a 400,000 big blind ante. The tournament will then continue with 90-minute levels until a champion is crowned.
They have all already secured a minimum cash prize of €140,000, the only goal now for the nine finalists is the bracelet and the €2,000,000 first-place prize.
All the action can be followed on the WSOP live stream (with a delay) and through PokerNews’ live coverage.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Prize
1
€2,000,000
2
€1,200,000
3
€800,000
4
€575,000
5
€425,000
6
€320,000
7
€245,000
8
€185,000
9
€140,000
As always, be sure to keep it right here with PokerNews to find out who the next WSOP Europe Main Event champion will be!
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