After three failed attempts, Joseph Liberta conquered the WSOP Millionaire Maker title, winning $1.25 million.

Joseph Liberta won his first gold bracelet and $1,250,000 prize money in the WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker competition. He emerged victorious from a massive field of 11,769 participants.

Each attempt was better than the last. Joseph Liberta went from 537th to 345th, then to 195th, and finally to number one. This is Liberta's trajectory since he first won a prize in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2013.

The fourth prize proved crucial – his 13-year journey finally came to a perfect end. His triumph came after his supporters chanted "five," and the miracle unfolded in a stunning way: Liberta hit three fives on the flop. It was a truly breathtaking moment, marking the end of his championship run at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas – Liberta conquered the Event #50:$1,500 Millionaire Maker, becoming the new WSOP bracelet winner in 2026.

For Liberta, it was neither an easy nor a short journey. He had to navigate this summer's WSOP with the largest field to date—11,769 entries—creating a total prize pool of $156,233,457. Liberta won his first WSOP bracelet and the largest share of the prize money—$1,250,000 for first place.

After a long five-day tournament, Liberta declined an interview with PokerNews and left the stage area with supporters after joining the WSOP Champions Club. However, he did have a brief conversation with Jeff Platt amidst the buzz of the millionaire's birth.

“This is completely surreal. I’ve been here for a long time,” Liberta said. “I’m extremely grateful.”

Liberta entered heads-up play against Michael Monroig with a chip lead and used this advantage to pressure his opponent, pushing Monroig into a corner. Monroig briefly launched a comeback by doubling up, but the momentum didn't last long—Liberta quickly closed the door and won the WSOP bracelet.

This is undoubtedly the biggest single-game winnings of Liberta's career, nearly doubling his total poker winnings. The New Jersey native has now achieved the greatest accomplishment of his poker career.

Millionaire Maker Final Table Results

Two newly minted millionaires

Yifu He was the first player eliminated from the final table, losing to Michael Monroig after his chip stack dwindled to just two big blinds. Garry Gurevich then went all-in pre-flop, only to be called from two positions, finishing in eighth place.

Jacob Gagnon was the next player to be eliminated—he went all-in from the button and was called by Bradley Gafford. Gagnon's Ace was suppressed, but he was lucky enough to hit the kicker on the flop, temporarily taking the lead. Unfortunately for Gagnon, the board then dealt two consecutive cards, canceling out his pair, and he was brutally eliminated from Gafford's hands.

Alex Kim finished in sixth place—he went all-in after Monroig's open raise and was called. Monroig hit a pair on the flop to take the lead. Kim couldn't recover and was eventually eliminated with Ace-high.

Gafford first reduced Joseph Baghdadlian's chip stack to almost nothing, then Baghdadlian went all-in against Liberta with his remaining chips. Baghdadlian was unable to beat Liberta's big slick and went to claim the prize in fifth place.

Halford Fairchild was the next player to be eliminated—he went all-in from under the gun and was called by Liberta. Liberta hit a full house on the flop, eliminating Fairchild in fourth place.

Liberta was eliminated again; this time it was Bradley Gafford. Gafford made two pair on the turn, but that proved fatal—Liberta also made a straight on the turn. Gafford went all-in on the river, which Liberta quickly called, and Gafford was eliminated in third place after receiving bad news.

The final elimination of the tournament fell to Michael Monroig. Monroig had doubled up once in heads-up play, but his chip stack gradually dwindled, eventually leading him to go all-in against Liberta with the top hand. Unfortunately, Liberta hit a set of fives on the flop, reversing his pre-flop dominance and eliminating Monroig to claim the championship.

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