WSOP Online | Raphael Caixeta wins his first gold bracelet; 3,607 players take home $207,000 in the opening event.

On August 17, 2026, the first gold bracelet winner of the 2026 WSOP Online, GGPoker, was officially crowned. Brazilian online tournament player Raphael Caixeta emerged victorious from a field of 3,607 entries in the $700 7th Annual WSOP Kick-Off Bounty Event, defeating Khaw “Apacgg” Chin Wah to win his first WSOP gold bracelet.

In addition to earning $126,912 in ranking prize money, Caixeta also accumulated $80,255 in bounties, bringing his total earnings to $207,167. He also received a 2026 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event entry package worth $30,000, which will give him the opportunity to take his online breakthrough to the live stage in the Bahamas.

3,607 entries, with a prize pool of nearly $2.4 million.

The 7th Annual WSOP Kick-Off draw had a buy-in of $700, attracting 3,607 entries and creating a total prize pool of $2,398,655. The tournament employed a bounty structure, with 356 players successfully advancing to the Bounty Stage, all of whom were guaranteed at least one minimum prize upon reaching that stage.

PokerNews describes Caixeta as a player who primarily focuses on online tournaments, and now his WSOP resume officially includes the significant achievement of a "golden bracelet champion".

WSOP Kick-Off Final Table Results

*Country/region is displayed in the GGPoker tournament lobby; PokerNews also describes Oleksii Trofymenko as a Ukrainian player residing in Poland.

Two Chinese players made it to the final nine.

There were two players at the final table who were identified as being from China.

"fantexi0058" became the first player eliminated from the Final Four, finishing in ninth place and earning $21,207 in ranking prize money and $12,885 in bounty, for a total of $34,092. Another Chinese player, "baidan823," advanced all the way to the fifth-place stage, ultimately finishing in fifth place and earning a total of $74,732, including $15,815 in bounty.

Milaim “PinkDevil9” Tafaj was eliminated in eighth place, with a total prize of $34,391; Miguel “Zerschlagen” Angelo Faria Lopes finished seventh with $44,907; and Eui “Rollpounder” Kim finished sixth with $57,751.

Trofymenko came in fourth, and all three finalists surpassed $100,000.

With the race down to the final five, "baidan823" was the first to leave the field. Oleksii "ITakeIt" Trofymenko finished the deep run in fourth place, achieving a score of $87,761.

The remaining three players, after their ranking prizes and bounties were combined, all ultimately earned at least six-figure US dollar earnings. Argentine player "Lichu89" finished in third place, earning $104,258, so the title fight will be between Raphael Caixeta and Khaw "Apacgg" Chin Wah.

The original article did not provide the specific starting hand and community cards for the final hand in the heads-up match, therefore this article will not supplement the details of the decisive hand that are not supported by the source.

Caixeta defeated Khaw Chin Wah to win his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Ultimately, Caixeta defeated Khaw Chin Wah in Heads-Up to officially become the first gold bracelet champion of the 2026 WSOP Online. Khaw Chin Wah finished as runner-up, with a total prize and ranking payout of $160,310.

Caixeta won $80,255 in prize money plus $126,912 in ranking prize money, for a total of $207,167 according to the official final table table. It's worth noting that the PokerNews article mentions $206,167 again later in the article, which is inconsistent with the preceding text and the final table table; based on the actual sum of the two prizes in the table, this article uses $207,167.

In addition to the prize money and his first gold bracelet, Caixeta also received a $30,000 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event package, which secured his qualification for future large-scale live events in addition to this online victory.

Several well-known poker players entered the money bubble.

Among the large field of 3,607 participants, several well-known professional poker players also won prizes, including Aliaksei Boika, Vlad Darie, Bernhard Binder, Thomas Muehloecker, Leonard Maue, Kevin Martin, Niklas Astedt, Pavel Plesuv, Joseph Cheong, Jessica Teusl, and David Williams.

However, none of these star players made it to the final nine, and the first 2026 WSOP Online gold bracelet was ultimately won by Caixeta in Brazil.

A total of 33 gold bracelets will be awarded at the 2026 WSOP Online.

This year's GGPoker WSOP Online Series is expected to award a total of 33 WSOP gold bracelets, with Caixeta being the first champion of the entire series.

The next major bracelet event was the $300 Gladiators of Poker. This tournament attracted 13,214 entries, creating a total prize pool of $3,686,706, with 1,307 players advancing to Day 2 and securing at least $603.

The champion will receive $470,672, a WSOP gold bracelet, and a WSOP Paradise Super Main Event package worth $30,000; the minimum guaranteed prize for the nine-person free throw is $58,838.

Silvio Costa leads Gladiators of Poker Day 2

In the remaining lineup of Gladiators of Poker, Silvio Costa is currently the chip leader with 1,292,168 chips, followed by Bernard Larabi with 1,039,246, and Samuel Mullur with 902,214.

Other notable players still competing include Pedro Neves, Peter Traply, Nevan Chang, and Joe Serock. According to the original PokerNews schedule, the tournament will continue on August 17th to determine the next bracelet winner.

Gladiators of Poker - Leading Scoreboard

Brazil secures a winning start at the 2026 WSOP Online.

Raphael Caixeta went from a field of 3,607 entries to a nine-man final table to heads-up, ultimately turning his first WSOP bracelet final table chance into a championship.

With a total prize pool of $207,167, the first WSOP gold bracelet, and a WSOP Paradise entry package worth $30,000, this $700 buy-in event marks a significant breakthrough in Caixeta's online tournament history.

With the WSOP Kick-Off crowning its champion, the battle for the 33 gold bracelets at the 2026 WSOP Online has officially begun. The next focus will be whether the 13,214 Gladiators of Poker entries will produce another major online championship story, and whether Caixeta can carry this online victory to the live tables at the WSOP Paradise at the end of the year.

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