A poker player accidentally went all-in and landed pocket aces, unexpectedly gaining a chip lead in the WSOP event.

Ole Askeland made a mistake by going all-in in the WSOP $5,000 eight-handed event and hit an Ace, but then hit two pair on the flop to turn the tide and take the chip lead.

One poker player didn't intentionally run into pocket aces on the final day of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), but he was certainly happy with himself for doing so.

Ole Askeland, a Norwegian player, has a live tournament winnings record of $91,000 on The Hendon Mob. He suffered a mishap in the deep stages of the summer's 99th bracelet event – the $5,000 eight-max No-Limit Hold'em tournament. This mishap could ultimately earn him hundreds of thousands of dollars. The event began on Tuesday with 884 entries, and the winner will receive $695,296.

As of press time, the tournament has shrunk to fewer than 30 players, with Askeland in the chip lead, largely thanks to an unexpected turn of events.

Askeland's mistake was rewarded.

According to a report by PokerNews reporter Frank Visser, Victor Li raised from middle position, and the action then folded all the way to Askeland in the small blind. Askeland, not seeing Li's raise, declared all-in, intending to put pressure on the big blind.

The big blind did fold, but Li instantly called, covering Askeland's 1,575,000 chips (approximately 40 big blinds). Askeland, holding Q♣6♥ against Li's A♠A♣, was in a very unfavorable position.

This hand was crucial for chip lead in the later stages of the tournament, and Askeland needed a miracle—which it was. The flop came Q♥K♣6♣, and the turn Q♠ gave him a full house, leaving Li with only two options. The river 10♦ completed the bad beat, leaving Li with nine big blinds.

To make matters worse for Li, this tournament looked like the perfect opportunity to salvage his summer. According to his tweets, he bought in 50 times this summer, winning only three. But not every bad beat story ends in defeat. Li quickly fought back, rebuilding his chip stack to nearly 50 big blinds by the time of writing. As for Askeland, he remains hot, leading with around 100 big blinds.

Phil Hellmuth, David Peters, and Nicholas Palma are all still in the running. The winner will be decided before the end of the day.

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