Brayden Lou, Braxton Dunaway, Brent Gregory and Mike Holtz Triumph at 2026 WSOP

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has already crowned 28 champions from its 100 live gold bracelet events, awarding over $69.2 million in prize money.

In Event No. 25, Brayden Lou, a 21-year-old from San Diego, won his first WSOP bracelet and $196,066. Lou, who earned a political science degree from Gordon College in Boston, Massachusetts, was on a road trip with his father, Damon, when he decided to participate in the $500 no-limit hold’em freezeout event. This victory was not only his first POY-qualified score of 2026 but also his first recorded tournament cash.

Braxton Dunaway secured his second WSOP bracelet and $288,064 in Event No. 26. Dunaway, a 43-year-old Texas resident, defeated a field of 968 entries in the $2,000 no-limit hold’em event. His victory marked his second bracelet and brought his total recorded scores to over $5.8 million, with over $5.5 million coming from his 13 cashes in WSOP events.

In Event No. 28, Brent Gregory won his first WSOP bracelet and $204,140 in the $600 Deepstack no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha eight-max mixed event. Gregory's victory came against a stacked final table that included notable players such as Daniel Negreanu and Alex Foxen. This win was the largest score yet for Gregory, who is now approaching $1 million in career cashes.

Mike Holtz won his second WSOP bracelet and $238,097 in Event No. 31, his largest payday to date. The online poker grinder outlasted 2,103 entries in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em super turbo bounty event. With this latest triumph, Holtz now has over $2.2 million in recorded scores to his name.