Alex Anton emerges from the "cave" to win his first WSOP gold bracelet and $678,300 in prize money.

Alex Anton won the WSOP $10,000 Mystery Bounty event, earning his first gold bracelet and a $678,300 prize. He defeated Julien Sitbon as the chip leader on final day.

Alex Anton won his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet and the biggest live tournament prize of his poker career in the #51:$10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2026 WSOP. Anton prevented France's Julien Sitbon from winning his second gold bracelet in a very brief heads-up match.

Anton beat a massive field of 558 entries in Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas to win the $678,300 jackpot from a total prize pool of $3,515,400. The American player entered the final day with the largest chip stack and turned that advantage into the biggest prize of his career, and one of the most memorable moments of his life.

"It feels really good," Anton told PokerNews after his victory. "In a way, it's an affirmation for family and friends."

Final table results of the #51 and $10,000 Mystery Bounty tournaments.

The Long Journey to the First Gold Bracelet

Anton entered the final table as the chip leader, but turning that advantage into a victory against a group of experienced tournament regulars was no easy feat. He said one of his main goals for the day was to stay focused and process each decision one by one.

“I’m really just trying to focus on living in the moment,” Anton said. “This is obviously a significant moment for me. I’ve had some deep journeys in the past, so I feel like I’ve made some mistakes in the past—not being as engaged, not taking enough time to think. But today I feel very engaged and clear-headed about everything. Of course, good luck helped, but my mindset is to take it one hand at a time.”

"My girlfriend can come and watch it live. I'm no longer sitting in my underwear in front of a computer screen, so that's cool."

Anton's path to this gold bracelet was somewhat different from that of many tournament regulars.

“I used to play online cash games, then moved to live cash games, and started playing more tournaments about two years ago,” Anton said. “I’ve been traveling a lot for the past 18 months.”

The 25-year-old athlete reflected on his years of work, which ultimately led to the greatest achievement of his career.

“I’ve been playing poker basically every day since I was 20,” Anton said. “The tournament part is more like—I used to be like someone buried in a cave, with my family not seeing anything. Now my girlfriend can come and watch. I’m no longer in my underwear in front of a computer screen, so it’s cool.”

Anton turned his chip lead into victory.

Anton started the final day as the chip leader and immediately translated that advantage into results. The first to be eliminated was Kent Stephens, who started the day in third place, but after suffering a cold hand against Sitbon, Stephens was in danger against Anton. Stephens went all-in with two Queens against Anton's AQ, but the champion ultimately hit an A on the flop, eliminating Stephens and finishing in ninth place.

Sitbon secured another elimination—his pocket Queens held firm, defeating Vadzim Lipauka's AJ. Anton added another elimination, sending Gregor Sverko out of the tournament to seventh place. Sverko had already won the tournament's biggest $250,000 mystery prize the previous day, but his pocket Kings were countered by Anton's A-9 hitting an Ace.

Josh Reichard briefly took the chip lead after eliminating Jakob Miegel and won a large pot from Anton with pocket kings—even though Anton correctly folded with top pair on the river. However, Reichard's lead didn't last long, as Anton quickly defeated him in one of the tournament's biggest pots.

In a five-handed game, Anton opened with 8-5 against Reichard's A-2. Reichard hit top pair on the flop and called all the way up, while Anton started with bottom pair, upgraded to trips on the turn, and made a full house on the river. Anton went all-in on the river, and Reichard made a wrong call, not only giving up his chip lead but also dropping to the bottom of the chip stack, while Anton held about half the chips.

Next to stand in Anton's way was Jovan Kenjic, whose deep run ended in fifth place – Anton made quads on the turn, eliminating Kenjic. Sitbon then made a flush on the river, eliminating fourth-placed Champie Douglas, creating a three-way battle in which Anton held a significant lead.

As Sitbon and Reichard battled for the next prize jump, Anton continued to raise, gradually widening the gap between them. Reichard eventually faced off against Anton's all-in with J-10 and pocket sevens. Anton made a full house on the turn, eliminating Reichard in third place and entering heads-up play with a chip lead of over 4:1.

Anton defeated Sitbon

Sitbon fought hard in heads-up play, trying to maintain his chip stack and coming just one double away from returning to the game. However, Anton's dominance was ultimately too strong, and the game ended after about twenty minutes.

In the final hand, Anton flat-called with 7-6 and called Sitbon's raise—Sitbon held pocket tens. Sitbon continued betting on the flop, and Anton called with a double-top straight draw. The turn gave Anton the nut straight, and when Sitbon went all-in, he had no way out. The outcome was decided before the river was dealt; Sitbon had to accept runner-up, while Anton celebrated his first WSOP bracelet and the biggest prize of his career.

Before leaving the champion's photo area, Anton also expressed his gratitude to his girlfriend of many years, Andrea.

“My girlfriend is practically the only one,” Anton said. “We’ve been together for about seven years. She’s a singer-songwriter, so it’s been a really great rise for us—from scratch to where we are now. I think about a year ago, she started doing concerts in stadiums, and now I’ve won a gold bracelet, and we’re witnessing it all together.”

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