A California native defeated a field of 310 players in the $3,500 buy-in event to win his first major tournament title.
Alex Farahi has been competing on the tournament circuit for over a decade, accumulating millions of dollars in winnings since his first cash in 2013. Despite 161 cashes throughout his career, the Beverly Hills resident had never won a major live tournament title. That all changed when Farahi finally broke through – defeating a field of 310 players to win the 2026 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Championship. $193,725 He will receive the prize money and have his name engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Championship Trophy.
Farahi defeated Matthew Salsberg, the 2012 WPT Paris Grand Prix champion, heads-up in a $3,500 no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament. This is the fourth-highest prize money of his career, behind only his two final table finishes in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and his 16th-place finish at the 2022 WPT World Championship.
In addition to the championship title and prize money, Farahi also earned 720 Card Player of the Year (POY) points with this victory. This is his third final table finish in 2026 – previously he finished second in a $1,100 event at the Garden Winter Series ($87,000 prize money and 700 points) and fourth in a $3,500 event at Wynn Millions ($148,953 prize money and 630 points). He currently sits at number 15 on the CoinPoker-sponsored annual leaderboard with a total of 2,050 points.
The live stream table lineup is confirmed.
Thanks to enthusiastic participation from the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California, the total prize pool has expanded to [number missing]. $992,000The top 39 players will receive at least $6,400 in prize money. Several well-known players made it into the money, including Lee Markholt (36th), Daniel Sepiol (24th), Brock Wilson (17th), Andrew Ostapchenko (11th), Jeremy Becker (10th), and the defending champion Shawn Daniels (8th).
WPT champion and bracelet winner Soheb Porbandarwala was eliminated in the bubble on the live broadcast table. His AK ran into two-time bracelet winner Marco Johnson's pocket Aces. Porbandarwala eventually formed a full house with a King as the kicker, but it still couldn't beat Johnson's full house with an Ace as the kicker. He finished in seventh place, winning $33,000 chips, while Johnson entered the final day with fourth-place chip stack.
At the end of the penultimate day of the race, Salsberg was in the lead, with Farahi close behind.
Tournament progress
The first elimination of the final day came quickly. In just the second hand, Alec Gould went all-in with pocket kings, leading Johnson's AQ. An A on the flop gave Johnson the lead, which he maintained until the river. Gould finished in sixth place, earning $43,000.
The five-player battle raged on for several rounds, but a pre-flop coin toss eliminated the next player. Darrell Cain went all-in from the crucial position with J♥9♦, holding only 6.5 big blinds. Farahi called from the big blind with 5♠5♦. The board ran out A♥7♥6♠8♠9♥, giving Farahi a 9-high straight and winning the pot. Cain finished fifth, earning $56,000, the second-highest prize of his poker career. His biggest win remains $363,936, won at the 2010 Los Angeles Poker Classic in a million-dollar guaranteed, $300 buy-in event with 5,873 entries.
The next crucial hand began with Johnson min-raising to 200,000 from the clutch position with A♠10♥. Farahi called from the button with A♥Q♥, and Salsberg defended from the big blind with J♠5♣. The flop came 10♠4♥3♥, and Salsberg checked. Johnson bet 550,000 with top pair, and Farahi called. The turn brought a 2♥, giving Farahi the nut flush. Johnson checked and called Farahi's 475,000 bet. The river was a 5♠, and Johnson checked again. Farahi bet enough to force an all-in, and Johnson made a 5-high straight on the river, going into deep thought. He ultimately decided to call, finishing in fourth place and winning $74,000. This Northern California native has accumulated nearly $5.7 million in prize money in his career after this extended run of the tournament.
Securing the victory
The three-way battle was short-lived. Just a few rounds later, Arish Nat's 8♠8♣ and Salsberg's A♦Q♦ went all-in pre-flop, setting the stage for a heads-up showdown. The board ran out Q♠3♣2♣3♦K♥, giving Salsberg a pair of Queens and the win. Nat finished third, earning a $100,000 prize, a personal best for the California poker regular.
Farahi still held a chip lead of approximately 3:2 against Salsberg. The two quickly agreed to adjust the remaining prize money distribution, keeping $34,500 and the championship title as their goals, while guaranteeing Farahi $159,226 and Salsberg $151,275.
The two final contenders faced off heads-up for 55 hands. Farahi won the first seven pots. Salsberg rallied briefly, but Farahi pulled away again as the game progressed.
Ultimately, Salsberg's chip stack fell below 10 big blinds. In the final hand of the tournament, Farahi opened all-in from the button with A♦6♦. Salsberg called with A♣2♣. The flop came 6♥5♠2♦, giving both players pairs. The turn, a 7♥, meant Salsberg needed a 2 on the river to turn the game around, but the river card was a 10♦, ending his runner-up run.
With this six-figure bonus, Salsberg's career tournament winnings now exceed $4.1 million. His highest prize money remains $478,415, earned when he won the WPT title in France.
Final table results
| Ranking | player | bonus | POY points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Farahi | $193,725 | 720 |
| 2 | Matthew Salsberg | $151,275 | 600 |
| 3 | Arish Nat | $100,000 | 480 |
| 4 | Marco Johnson | $74,000 | 360 |
| 5 | Darrell Cain | $56,000 | 300 |
| 6 | Alec Gould | $43,000 | 240 |
| 7 | Soheb Porbandarwala | $33,000 | 180 |
| 8 | Shawn Daniels | $25,000 | 120 |
| 9 | Elvyn Bello Santos | $20,000 | 60 |
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