Darren Rabinowitz defeated Hellmuth to win his second WSOP gold bracelet.

Darren Rabinowitz defeated Phil Hellmuth in the final event of the 2026 WSOP to win his second gold bracelet and $695,256 in prize money. Hellmuth missed out on his 18th gold bracelet.

American poker pro Darren Rabinowitz won his second gold bracelet in the final event of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), preventing bracelet record holder Phil Hellmuth from winning his record-breaking 18th bracelet.

Less than a week ago, Rabinowitz was on a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, but his championship dream came to an abrupt end in 145th place after a brutal two-way comeback.

However, as the famous saying goes, "It's not about how hard you hit, it's about how many hits you can withstand and keep going; it's about how much you can take and keep going. That's how you win!"

Rabinowitz delivered his own "Loki" moment today at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas – winning the #99:$5,000 eight-max No-Limit Hold'em event, earning him $695,256 and his second WSOP gold bracelet.

"When you play deep in a tournament, there's a huge emotional release afterwards. But I didn't feel that way after the Main Event. I played well. Yes, bad luck, but it never affected me. All I wanted to do was keep playing poker."

"Sometimes when you play deep in a tournament and get eliminated, you want to rest for three or four days. But summer is almost over, and I'm just trying to maintain a good mindset. I can't believe the result is this good. It's crazy."

Event #99: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Texas Hold'em Final Table Results

River Card, Family and Friends, and Redemption

Rabinowitz's road to the gold bracelet was far from smooth. With about 30 players remaining, he seemed poised to take control of the tournament, but a four-on-one bet turned into a serious mistake.

"If you watch the video, I simply can't believe it," Rabinowitz admitted. "This is the first time in a long time that I've reacted like this to losing an all-in bet."

Just minutes after winning a huge pot, he suddenly found himself watching what he called a "dream situation" slip through his fingers.

"I lost that hand, was annoyed for a second, vented my frustration a little, and then we readjusted and moved on."

As the tournament shrinks and Phil Hellmuth closes in on his unprecedented 18th gold bracelet, the atmosphere inside Horseshoe becomes increasingly one-sided. Rabinowitz, estimating there were 1,500 spectators in the room, joked, "It feels like 1,400 people are against me."

While he understands the support for the biggest star in poker, he admits that stopping Hellmuth from achieving another historic victory gave him extra motivation.

"I'm a poker fan, so I understand, but I really don't want to lose to this guy," he said. "I want to beat him. I want to win."

Despite the immense pressure, Rabinowitz never let this moment break him. Instead, he returned to the rhythm that had helped him throughout the tournament.

“Every decision feels so important,” he said. “Whenever I start to feel tense or anxious, I put on my headphones, go for a walk, text a few friends, and try to stay in my own world.”

The same mindset extends to his own tournaments – his heartbreaking elimination a few days ago did not shake his confidence.

“I played very well. I had bad luck, but it never affected me,” Rabinowitz said. “All I want to do is keep playing poker.”

fast-paced combat

The tournament's fast-paced structure meant that chips would flow rapidly once the game began. Sure enough, Renan Meneguetti was eliminated within the first few minutes of the day, opening the floodgates of elimination.

By the first break (two hours into the competition), more than half of the players had lost their last chance to win a 2026 WSOP gold bracelet.

Sean Winter (68th)

Niall Farrell (59th), Artur Martirosian (48th), and Jennifer Harman (33rd) all failed to survive to the first rest.

After the game resumed, Ren Lin (28th place) was eliminated shortly afterward, followed by Brian Rast (27th place) after losing on the river after a four-way all-in.

The pace of elimination continued steadily on the way to the final table – David Peters (16th place), Nick Guagenti (15th place) and Tom Hall (13th place) were eliminated one after another.

Adam Hendrix was eliminated in 10th place, sealing the final table spot. Despite going all-in with a leading hand, the game ultimately turned against him, causing him to miss the final table by one place.

Although nine players made it to the final table, only one story dominated the conversation in the Horseshoe and Paris corridors—the news that Hellmuth had become the chip leader and was chasing a record-breaking 18th gold bracelet spread quickly.

With each elimination at the final table, and with each step Hellmuth took closer to history, his entourage grew larger and louder, sensing that something extraordinary was happening.

One by one, the players blocking his way fell, until only Rabinowitz remained.

Despite the fast-paced tournament structure and heads-up play lasting over an hour, Rabinowitz entered the final with a chip lead of nearly 2:1.

Hellmuth and his friends and family quickly found a reason to celebrate—he made a straight on the turn, beating Rabinowitz's two pair on the flop and doubling up.

However, the change in mood did not affect Rabinowitz, who found himself in a pressure cooker situation with a WSOP gold bracelet right in front of him.

"This is the biggest situation I've faced in a while... Every decision felt so important, I just tried to really focus and make the right decisions."

Rabinowitz steadily wore down Hellmuth, and the chips were even again when the first break of heads-up play began. From that point on, Rabinowitz never looked back, extending his lead with sustained pressure and winning most of the key encounters.

Ultimately, Hellmuth was forced to put up a last-ditch effort, risking his tournament life with his bottom pair. However, it wasn't enough—Rabinowitz's top pair held on, securing the victory and earning him his second career gold bracelet and $695,256 in prize money.

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