Shaun Deeb immediately registered for two events after being eliminated from the WSOP Main Event.

After finishing 15th in the WSOP Main Event, Shaun Deeb immediately registered for the $500 Summer Saver and $25,000 HORSE events to continue his pursuit of the POY title.

Shaun Deeb was eliminated from the WSOP Main Event after the day's dinner break, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for him.

The reigning WSOP Player of the Year had previously stated that being stuck in the Main Event for so long prevented him from defending his POY title. That's no longer an issue—the nine-time bracelet winner has registered for two different events at the 2026 WSOP within minutes.

Deeb has registered for Day 1 of Event #95: $500 Summer Saver No-Limit Hold'em and Day 1 of Event #97: $25,000 High Roller HORSE, and is ready for live multi-table action.

No need to fight on multiple fronts at the same time

Deeb became short-stacked before the dinner break on Day 8 of the Main Event. Shortly after the players returned to the field, he flopped a two-top straight draw and check-raised all-in against Rami Hammoud, who flopped top pair with a top kicker. No straight came on the turn and river, and the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame finalist was eliminated in 15th place with $410,475.

This elimination means Deeb is back to his usual pace in his pursuit of WSOP Player of the Year. This means signing up for two tournaments, hoping one will be a deep run. He first sat in the Summer Saver event but immediately lost his chips, so he no longer needs to worry about the logistics of playing multiple tournaments in live poker.

Deeb then turned his attention to the High Roller HORSE event, competing against 65 other players (two of whom have already been eliminated). He is in a tight race for Player of the Year, currently ranked third, behind Alex Foxen and Naoya Kihara, and only slightly ahead of Josh Arieh. Once Deeb earns points from the Main Event, he will be close to taking the lead. But with summer drawing to a close and then into December at WSOP Paradise, he still has work to do in his quest to defend his WSOP Player of the Year title.

If Deeb wins the POY, he will become the first player to win it three times. Daniel Negreanu is the only other player to win it twice. Deeb entered the summer with a lead after reaching the final table three times at the WSOP Europe. For him, this summer has been all or nothing – only five cash prizes, the fewest in years, but with a bracelet win, a runner-up finish, a deep run in the Main Event, and another final table appearance.

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