Eelis Pärssinen wins his second WSOP title and his third gold bracelet, becoming the first Finnish player to achieve this feat.

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will continue to witness the birth of legends.

In Event #64: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha / No-Limit Hold'em Mixed High Roller, Finnish pro Eelis Pärssinen continued his hot streak, successfully breaking through a field of 214 players to win the championship trophy, a prize of $1,172,296, and his third WSOP gold bracelet.

This is Pärssinen's second championship trophy at this year's WSOP. With his third gold bracelet, he officially surpassed Juha Helppi to become the Finnish player with the most WSOP gold bracelets in poker history.

Two gold bracelets acquired in a week

For Pärssinen, the summer of 2026 will undoubtedly be one of the most glorious phases of his career.

Less than a week ago, he won his second WSOP gold bracelet at Event #47: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.

Now, having conquered another $25,000 High Roller event, he becomes the third player in this year's WSOP to achieve a "double crown."

Previously, the following individuals had achieved this feat:

• Naoya Kihara
• Calvin Anderson

Now, Pärssinen has officially joined this elite group.

The championship that best suits you

In a post-match interview, Pärssinen admitted that this championship was even more valuable than the 25K PLO championship he had previously won.

He said:

“I probably value this victory more because this tournament tests both PLO and No-Limit Texas Hold’em. You have to be good enough in both games.”

The competition adopts a rotation system:

• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
• No-Limit Hold'em (NLH)

Alternately.

This hybrid format requires players to possess top-tier Omaha skills as well as a solid foundation in Texas Hold'em, making it the ultimate test of overall ability for many professional players.

Pärssinen stated:

“I actually started playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em, and then focused on PLO for many years. In recent years, I’ve rediscovered my passion for No-Limit Texas Hold’em and have been putting in a lot of time to practice.”

The final table was star-studded.

The event attracted 214 participants, with a total prize pool of $5,029,000.

The final table lineup is truly star-studded, including:

• Daniel Negreanu
• Sean Winter
• Lou Garza
• Dylan Linde
• Juha Helppi

Many world-class professional poker players.

The final results are as follows:

Negreanu's Exciting Deep Run

Seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu once again demonstrates his top-level competitive form.

Early in the final table, he doubled up against Pärssinen with a straight flush, eliciting cheers from the audience.

However, he subsequently suffered a major setback in the Texas Hold'em rounds, and then engaged in a crucial battle with Juha Helppi in the PLO stage.

Despite having both a straight and a flush draw, he ultimately failed to hit the target, finishing in seventh place and earning a prize of $152,954.

Finland's first-ever civil war involving the gold bracelet

The most historic moment of this match occurred during the champion's duel.

There has never been a situation in WSOP history where two Finnish players competed for the same gold bracelet.

And this time, standing at the very end was:

• Eelis Pärssinen
• Juha Helppi

Even more coincidentally, both of them had two WSOP gold bracelets before the competition.

In other words, whoever wins the match will become the first person in Finnish history to achieve this.

This extraordinary championship duel lasted a full two and a half hours.

Surpassing idols

After the match, Pärssinen spoke emotionally about Helppi.

He said:

“I’ve known Juha for 19 years. When I first got into poker, he was one of the biggest poker stars in Finland.”

For many Finnish players, Helppi has always been a poker-playing icon.

Being able to challenge his idol to a one-on-one match on the WSOP championship stage and ultimately win the game was of great significance to Pärssinen.

He said:

“"It's incredible to be able to compete against Juha in front of my wife and best friend."”

Decisive hand seals the championship

During the one-on-one duel, the two players exchanged the lead position several times.

Helppi achieved two key doublings, briefly regaining the lead.

But as the match progressed into the night, Pärssinen gradually gained the upper hand.

The final winning hand appeared in the PLO round:

Pärssinen holds:

A♠ K♠ J♦ 5♦

Helppi holds:

J♣ J♥ XX (double flush)

The community cards dealt were Ace-high.

Pärssinen successfully held onto their advantage and won the final pot.

Helppi won the runner-up prize of $781,500, while Pärssinen was officially crowned champion.

Player of the Year Contenders Revealed

With his second WSOP title this year, Pärssinen has entered the top ranks of the Player of the Year list.

However, he stated:

I will not deliberately participate in unfamiliar projects just for the sake of POY.

He said:

“I mainly play PLO and No-Limit Texas Hold’em, so I won’t participate in other games for points. But if I continue to have this kind of good luck, anything is possible.”

The new king of Finnish poker

Five years ago, Pärssinen won his first gold bracelet at WSOP Event #64.

Five years later, he won his third gold bracelet in the same tournament.

From PLO expert to mixed game champion, from Finnish rising star to national record holder.

In Las Vegas in 2026, Eelis Pärssinen proved his strength with two $25,000 High Roller titles.

Today, he is not only the greatest Finnish poker player in history, but also one of the most dazzling stars on the world poker stage.

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