WCOOP 2026 | Benny Glaser wins his 17th career title, dominating the 8-Game for the first time and extending his career record.

The 2026 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) continues, and British mixed-game star Benny “RunGodlike” Glaser has once again rewritten his personal record. He defeated a field of 56 players in the WCOOP 44-H: $1,050 8-Game, winning $21,400 and officially claiming his 17th WCOOP championship.

This victory has another layer of significance for Glaser – it is his first WCOOP title in an 8-Game event, and it brings his total number of WCOOP titles to 11 different poker variants.

With 56 players vying for the title, Glaser achieved its first-ever 8-Game victory.

The match is as follows:

WCOOP 44-H: $1,050 8-Game

Total:

56 people participated

Total prize pool:

$56,000

Glaser ultimately fought his way to the Final Table and defeated Finnish player Markus “O.Klunssila” Ristola in Heads-Up to officially win his first 8-Game title.

Key event data

Bergstrom defeated Ristola at the final table to finish in 4th place.

The final table of seven included many familiar online poker players.

Glaser ultimately defeated Markus Ristola in Heads-Up, who took home $13,228.

Swedish star Anton “WhatIfGod” Bergstrom finished in the top four, earning $5,054.

WCOOP 44-H Final Table Results

Winning the first Final Table in 2026

This 8-Game championship belongs to Glaser at this year's WCOOP:

First Final Table

He won the championship as soon as he entered the final table.

Glaser described the match as a real "battle" on social media and said the championship would greatly boost morale for the rest of the series.

For a player who has accumulated a large number of WCOOP championships, being able to quickly open the door to victory in the first half of the series obviously has great psychological significance.

17 WCOOP titles, only 2024 was a year without a win.

Glaser's WCOOP championship trajectory began with:

2018

He won the $55 PLO 6-Max championship that year, earning $18,058.

After that, except for:

2024

In addition, he won at least one WCOOP championship almost every year.

The most outrageous year was:

2023

Single-season sweep:

7 championships

This directly cemented his leading position on the WCOOP all-time championship list.

He won 7 titles in 2023, making it the peak season of his career.

2023 was Glaser's most dominant WCOOP ever.

He won championships in various formats, including Badugi, 2-7 Single Draw, PLO8, 5-Card Draw, and NLHE Turbo.

The largest single WCOOP tournament champion prize came from:

$320 NLHE 6-Max Freezeout

Glaser defeated:

1,175 people

Take it:

$55,706

This is also his largest single-event championship prize to date.

There are champions in 11 different competition formats.

What makes Glaser truly terrifying isn't just the number of championships, but the breadth of its tournament formats.

As of 2026, he was already:

11 different poker variations

He won the WCOOP championship.

Benny Glaser WCOOP Championship Format Distribution

This 8-Game victory completes another mixed game championship that he had not yet won.

10th WCOOP-H Championship

Glaser's 17 WCOOP titles can also be split by buy-in tier.

He currently has:

10 WCOOP-H Championships

In addition:

5 WCOOP-M Championships

as well as:

2 WCOOP-L championships

This means that most of his championships came from the highest level of High events, rather than simply accumulating a large number of wins through low buy-ins and high-stakes events.

This distribution is particularly valuable for online hybrid gamers.

His career COOP championship count has reached 29.

In addition to WCOOP, PokerStars also owns other COOP series tournaments such as SCOOP.

With this victory, Glaser's career COOP championship count has increased to:

29 seats

This further solidifies his place in PokerStars' all-time online tournament rankings.

For Glaser, WCOOP and SCOOP are no longer just annual series, but the core stage for him to accumulate historical records over the long term.

From PLO to Draw Games, Glaser's real advantage lies in its comprehensiveness.

Looking back at Glaser's 17 WCOOP championships, it's clear that his victories span almost all major mixed game categories.

He can:

PLO, PLO8, NLO8

Winning among these Omaha variants can also be achieved in:

Razz, HORSE, Badugi, 2-7 Draw

Winner in traditional mixed games.

He has even won three WCOOP championships in NLHE.

This ability to compete across different formats is one of the biggest reasons why Glaser has been able to maintain a high output of championship titles over the long term.

The 2026 WCOOP is still ongoing, and there is still a chance for a 18th title.

With $1,050 8-Game victory, Glaser officially opened for the 2026 WCOOP.

For other players, a championship might be the biggest achievement of the entire series; but for Glaser, who has won 7 titles in a single season in the past, the 17th title is obviously not the end of this year.

More importantly, this victory was only his first Final Table appearance at this year's WCOOP.

With a large number of mixed games, high-stakes tournaments, and draw games still to be completed in the series, whether Benny “RunGodlike” Glaser can continue to push the historical record to his 18th title or even higher will be a key point of interest in the second half of the 2026 WCOOP.

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