"The Great Dane" is back: Gus Hansen returns to the WSOP final table after 15 years.

International news

Poker legend Gus Hansen has reached the WSOP final table for the first time since 2011, aiming to win his second gold bracelet and end a 16-year drought.

Published: June 15, 2026 Updated: June 15, 2026 Category: International News
International Poker News "The Great Dane" is back: Gus Hansen returns to the WSOP final table after 15 years. WSOP Latest News WSOP High Stakes Tournament Report

"The Great Dane" is back: Gus Hansen returns to the WSOP final table after 15 years. Poker legend Gus Hansen has reached the WSOP final table for the first time since 2011, aiming to win his second gold bracelet and end a 16-year drought.

Gus Hansen is returning to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table for the first time since 2011, attempting to end his decade-long gold bracelet drought.

This highly popular high-stakes player from the poker boom era has successfully reached the final six of the #38:$10,000 Limit Texas Hold'em Championship. As of the latest news, he is short-stacked. However, if he can stage a comeback and win, he will earn his second gold bracelet, his first since 2010.

Will Gus Hansen be able to win his first gold bracelet in 15 years?

Hansen has never won a WSOP event in Las Vegas. His only WSOP gold bracelet came from the WSOP Europe, a £10,350 heads-up No-Limit Hold'em High Roller event, where he defeated Jim Collopy in the final round (Collopy finished fourth in another event on Friday).

Hansen was a prominent figure on various televised poker programs in the 2000s, and he had the potential to become the player with two WSOP bracelets and three World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. Only two players in history—Carlos Mortensen and Anthony Zinno—have achieved this feat.

"Great Dane" will face an extremely tough final table, featuring several other professionals also chasing milestones. Benny Glaser, who won three bracelets last summer, is attempting to become the seventh player in history to win nine. Jeremy Ausmus is vying for his seventh bracelet. All six players at the final table possess at least one bracelet.

The champion will receive $285,200. According to The Hendon Mob database, this will bring Hansen's career live tournament winnings to over $10.8 million. However, Hansen's live tournament winnings have been modest since 2012. He has been away from the poker spotlight and tournament scene for over a decade. But perhaps this deep dive will ignite the desire of the first-ever WPT champion to participate in more tournaments.

Hansen rose to fame in the poker world through his numerous appearances on shows like *High Stakes Poker* and *Poker After Dark*. He famously hit four of a kind on the turn against Daniel Negreanu, beating Negreanu's full house and winning a pot of over $450,000 – a hand that remains one of the most iconic in HSP history. Coincidentally, earlier in the 2026 WSOP, Hansen again "cooled" Negreanu in a 1TP 4T 10,000 seven-card stud poker game, seemingly as a nostalgic gesture.

PokerNews is reporting live from the $10,000 Limit Texas Hold'em final table. You can follow Hansen as he ends his 16-year gold bracelet drought.

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