Hossein Ensan is seriously aiming for his second WSOP Main Event title.

Hossein Ensan, the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion, has a large chip stack on Day 8 of the 2026 Main Event and is poised to become the second player in the Moneymaker era to win the title twice.

Winning the WSOP Main Event twice since the Moneymaker era is roughly equivalent to winning both the Main Event and the Poker Players Championship in the same year.

The latter, seemingly unlikely scenario, did indeed occur last summer—Michael Mizrachi won both events simultaneously. The former, however, may be imminent—2019 champion Hossein Ensan held a large chip stack on Day 8, just two tables away from the gold bracelet.

Johnny Moss (1970, 1971, and 1974) and Stu Ungar (1980, 1981, and 1997) are the only three players to win the Main Event three times, while Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977) and Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988) are two-time winners. However, these victories all came in an era with only a few hundred or fewer players. Since 2005, the Main Event has consistently attracted over 5,000 players annually, making winning twice now almost as likely as winning 0%.

So you mean there's still a chance? Yes, there is—Ensan is proving that this week.

Can Ensan win the WSOP Main Event again?

Ensan isn't the only Moneymaker champion to seriously challenge for a second title. 2009 champion Joe Cada reached the final table in 2018 and finished fifth. The difference is that, unless things changed before the end of Day 8, Ensan was in a more advantageous position in the final stages leading up to the final table.

Ensan, a 62-year-old Iranian-German, said his second deep run through the Main Event "evoked many memories from seven years ago, and I'm enjoying every moment."

“I have more experience than I have in the past,” Ensan said.

Ensan can turn this experience into an advantage. He is the only remaining player to have reached the WSOP Main Event final table. No one else on the field has proven they can win the world's biggest tournament.

The 2019 champion left with fourth-place chips at the day eight dinner break, with 15 players remaining. For the first time, the blinds were a factor for everyone. Malcolm Trayner, the 26-year-old who won the Aussie Millions a few months earlier, led with 81,900,000 chips at the break, with the blinds rising to 500,000/1,000,000, meaning no player was close to 100 big blinds.

This situation could change soon, especially if Trayner wins a big pot. Ensan, who defeated Dario Sammartino heads-up in the 2019 Main Event, will return from the break with a healthy stack of 55,600,000 chips, equivalent to 55 big blinds. He's just one strong hand away from taking the chip lead. If he does, given his experience in the deeper stages of the Main Event, he will be very difficult to beat.

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