Jewelry artisan strikes gold: Ciro Gonzalez wins 2026 WSOP Event #65 Championship

Mexican jeweler Ciro Gonzalez won his first gold bracelet and $449,067 in prize money at the WSOP $1,500 Frozen Event. He emerged victorious from a field of 2,617 entrants.

After experiencing the World Series of Poker in the past, Ciro Gonzalez plans to return to Las Vegas with a friend to celebrate their 60th birthdays and participate in the #61:$1,000 Super Seniors event in Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

After an early exit on the second day, Gonzalez took a friend's advice and entered the #65:$1,500 Freeze No-Limit Hold'em event. It proved to be a wise decision—the Cancun native showcased his aggressive style, dominating a massive field of 2,617 players to win his first WSOP gold bracelet. Gonzalez defeated Kyle Lin in a brief heads-up match and began celebrating with his friends on the sidelines.

Gonzalez had never won a five-figure prize before, but he now receives a massive first-place prize of $449,067 from the total prize pool of $3,474,067. Shortly after the tournament ended, he was still digesting the victory, but he had a clear understanding of its significance.

Event #65: $1,500 Freeze No-Limit Texas Hold'em Final Table Results

Post-championship remarks

"Wow, I'm so happy," Gonzalez told PokerNews shortly after taking his victory photo. "I've had some achievements, right? But never anything like this. I'm incredibly excited. But the bracelet is the most important thing to me. The prize money is always great, we fight for it, but the bracelet is special."

"The prize money is always great, and that's what we fight for, but the gold bracelet is special."

Gonzalez owns a handcrafted jewelry business in his hometown and started playing Texas Hold'em 16 years ago after playing other poker variations for decades. He recalls a conversation with a friend—a conversation that inspired him to sign up for the tournament.

"I was eliminated. He continued playing the next day and won the prize money, but I was eliminated. I was very sad, and he told me to go play the freeze match. That would be a good match."

While his friend won prize money in the Super Older event, Gonzalez made his way to the final day of the Freeze event, with the opportunity to make the journey even more memorable.

The third day of rule

Gonzalez entered the final day as one of the top five out of 33 returning players, with a clear goal in mind before sitting down at the table.

"My first goal is to reach the final table, that's my primary objective. Then, the next step is to jump to winning prize money."

In just five hours, the tournament was reduced to an informal ten-player final table, and Gonzalez not only achieved this but also secured second place in chips. Soon after, Gonzalez took control—gaining a chip lead after the first elimination and never giving up from then on.

Gonzalez started to find his rhythm after eliminating Aram Zobian in eighth place. From then on, seventh place was the only position where Gonzalez wasn't responsible for the elimination.

Another pair of pocket pairs eliminated sixth-placed Brandon Hamlet, and then Gonzalez eliminated Nethanel Cohen with a King against Nethanel Cohen's Queen.

This paved the way for a crucial hand against Octavio Borra – Gonzalez went all-in on the turn and hit the river, adding another victim to the losing streak.

"I have too many lucky cards, too many lucky moments. I feel like a monster. I've always been a very aggressive player, I push, push, and push again."

Julian Eibel pushed his stack into center with an excellent hand, but Gonzalez hit the turn, giving him a huge lead in heads-up play.

Lin didn't last long, and Gonzalez won another coin flip, securing an overwhelming victory.

"It's so great to be able to do this for myself, you know, I don't think I've fully processed it yet. This is for my daughter, this gold bracelet is... oh, it's for her."

Gonzalez plans to enjoy the celebrations with friends tonight and may participate in the next frozen event before challenging for the WSOP Main Event again.

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