Justin Smith Wins 2026 WSOP Colossus Event, Earns $550,000

Justin Smith, an aviation quality engineer from Yakima, Washington, won the 2026 World Series of Poker $500 Colossus event, earning $550,000 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. The event attracted 16,269 total entries, creating a prize pool of $6,751,635.

Smith's victory was his first major title and more than half of a million dollars. He earned 720 Card Player Player of the Year points for this win. This was just the 10th recorded in-the-money finish for Smith, blowing away his previous top score of $31,741 earned for a runner-up showing in the 2014 Fall Poker Round Up main event at Wildhorse Resort & Casino.

Smith scored the final three knockouts down the stretch to lock up the win after sliding down to just a handful of big blinds at one point during four-handed action. He was in fourth chip position when cards got in the air once again inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Yuefan Wang held the overnight chip lead. Myles German earned $367,000 as the runner-up.