World champion Chris Moneymaker was eliminated during the bubble stage of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.

Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 WSOP Main Event champion, was eliminated during the bubble stage of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, along with two other players, while the remaining players secured their place in the money.

After the 1,383rd player was eliminated from the 2026 WSOP Main Event, the remaining players erupted in cheers—and this eliminated player happened to include a former champion, Chris Moneymaker, as well as two other players.

Why were they cheering so loudly for Moneymaker—the 2003 world champion—and two others being eliminated? It wasn't about him personally, but because his elimination meant that all the remaining players would be guaranteed a profit in this $10,000 buy-in tournament.

At the end of Day 3, 1,389 players remained, just seven eliminations away from the bubble bursting. Short-stacked players played very tightly at the start of Thursday, desperately trying to at least make it into the money. The minimum prize is $15,000.

How did the WSOP Main Event enter the bubble phase?

The hands-by-hand format kicked off quickly on Day 4, creating a media circus around the tournament area in Paris Las Vegas. Media personnel, photographers, and event staff scurried between tables, all trying to catch a glimpse of poker's most important bubble.

The tournament began at 11:00 AM Pacific Time with blinds of 4,000/8,000. Sasha Liu started with the largest chip stack of 2,364,000, nearly 300 big blinds. Evan Lindeman had the smallest stack of only 5,000 chips, and was forced to go all-in on the first hand, failing to survive.

Phil Hellmuth's son, Nicholas Hellmuth, was one of the players with the shortest chip stacks when he entered the tournament, with only six big blinds.

The early stages of the phase were tense as some players grew impatient with the long deliberations of several short-stacked players. According to PokerNews' Brett Slezak, at one table, the timer was called just 79 seconds into the game. The bubble burst only 15 minutes into the game, with one elimination remaining before the others could begin celebrating.

A huge pot broke out on the stone bubble, which is unusual. On a board of 6♣4♣4♥K♦Q♠, Anthony Lombard bet 250,000 but folded after a long deliberation following Mason Vieth's all-in. The two big stacks battled for the prize with just one player in between, but no one was eliminated.

Moneymaker started the day with a small chip stack, but 221,000 chips was still quite substantial. Therefore, his eventual all-in on the stone bubble was somewhat surprising. Oddly enough, in the same hand, another player at a different table, Stoyan Madanzhiev, who was "somewhat a WSOP Main Event champion," was also eliminated.

Madanzhiev won the 2020 WSOP Online Main Event on GGPoker during the COVID pandemic, but the WSOP subsequently announced a hybrid online and live Main Event to crown the real champion, which was won by Damian Salas, who was recognized as the 2020 World Champion.

Moneymaker opened from the hijack position on the bubble and raised to 17,000 with J♥9♦, then called Antonio Vargas's 3-bet to 42,000 (holding A♥A♠). The flop came 8♥7♠7♦, and Vargas bet 20,000. His opponent called, seeing the turn 7♣.

Vargas bet again, this time for 45,000, and was called. The river card, the 8♠, completed a full house. Vargas went all-in with Moneymaker (approximately 100,000 chips), and the player widely considered to have sparked the poker boom of the 2000s called, joining Madanzhiev and Zhaken Seitbekov in elimination on the bubble.

Madanzhiev and Seitbekov then faced off against Moneymaker on the flop for a free WSOP Paradise seat, which Seitbekov won. Moneymaker last won a prize in the Main Event in 2023, finishing in 1,198th place for the minimum payout.

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