Daniyal Gheba won his first career gold bracelet and $502,985 in prize money at the WSOP Event #2: 50,008-Player No-Limit Hold'em. He defeated top players such as Chenxiang Miao on the new "Mothership Stage".
Daniyal Gheba's performance in Event #2 at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP):He won the 50,008-player No-Limit Hold'em tournament, securing his first WSOP gold bracelet and the highest career prize at Horseshoe and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.502,985 in prize money. Gheba beat out 570 entries to win his second gold bracelet of the summer, and his first gold bracelet to be awarded at the WSOP’s new “Mothership Stage” in the Ballroom in Paris.
The event created With a total prize pool of 2,622,000, Gheba defeated ChenxiangMiao in a heads-up match after a brief back-and-forth battle. Miao finished as runner-up, receiving the prize money.335,290, while Xiaohu Liu came in third place with $234,432.
Final table results
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniyal Gheba | United States | $502,985 |
| 2 | Chenxiang Miao | China | $335,290 |
| 3 | Xiaohu Liu | China | $234,432 |
| 4 | Ren Lin | China | $166,448 |
| 5 | Peter Mugar | United States | $120,035 |
| 6 | Ivan Ruban | Russia | $87,945 |
| 7 | Anatoly Nikitin | Russia | $65,479 |
| 8 | Casey Hatmaker | United States | $49,556 |
Post-championship interview
For Gheba, this victory marks the biggest prize of his poker career, following a notable televised final table appearance earlier this year. This time, however, the American closed the gap and took home a gold bracelet.
“This is obviously life-changing money, a huge sum,” Gheba told PokerNews. “But when I got to the final table, I wasn’t too worried about the prize money jumping around. I don’t think anyone at that table really cared about jumping around in the prize money; they were all very wealthy.”
Gheba also thanked high-stakes pros Chance Kornuth and Alex Foxen for helping him stay focused throughout the final table.
“I think I was so focused on every hand, every situation, that I didn’t feel the pressure,” Gheba said. “They ended up cheering me on from the sidelines and taking a picture together, which was really nice. Staying focused, thinking strategically, and playing each hand well in these situations is very important.”
Fight for the gold bracelet
At the start of the final day, Miao held a chip lead over the remaining five players, while Gheba remained at the top of the leaderboard for most of Day 3, holding second place in chips. Peter Mugar was the first player eliminated when Liu made a flush on the turn, breaking his pocket aces.
Then, the popular and outspoken Ren Lin became active for the first time at the final table, catching Miao's huge bluff on the river with just a pair of eights, and then yelling to the table and his fans, "Who's the best? Tony the Tiger!"
Lin fought hard in the four-player battle and even managed to escape the danger zone at one point, but after a few bad hands, he ultimately finished in fourth place. Lin pushed his 8 big blinds into the pot from the button with pocket tens, but ran straight into Miao's two aces.
In the three-way battle, the chip lead between Gheba and Miao changed hands several times. Gheba took the lead after a five-raise all-in that forced Miao to fold pre-flop. Liu was eventually eliminated in third place, having gone all-in pre-flop with pocket fives against Miao's suited connector. Miao hit a 7 on the flop, enough to put him in heads-up play against Gheba.
Despite Miao entering heads-up play with a chip lead, Gheba quickly turned the tide after winning a massive three-raise pot (going all-in on the river). Shortly after, in the tournament's final hand, Miao went all-in with an overpair on a paired board against Gheba's four-high draw. The turn was a blank, but the river landed a diamond, giving Gheba the victory and his first WSOP bracelet.
This victory has also changed Gheba's plans for the remainder of the summer.
“Yes, it has definitely changed,” Gheba said when asked about his current WSOP schedule. “It means I’ll be playing in some higher buy-in events, like 25K, etc., which is great overall.”
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