This $25k WSOP High Roller event could have a significant impact on the Player of the Year award.

WThe competition for SOP Player of the Year is heating up as Alex Foxen, Shaun Deeb, and Naoya Kihara battle for crucial points in the $25,000 HORSE High Roller event, with the winner receiving $872,052.

With only 20 players remaining in Event #97 out of 100 events in the 2026 World Series of Poker schedule, this $25,000 High Roller HORSE event could be crucial in the race for WSOP Player of the Year (POY).

The top three contenders are still in contention, with points leader Alex Foxen, Naoya Kihara, and reigning Player of the Year Shaun Deeb all in the top ten of the chip leaderboard.

The champion will receive $872,052 in prize money. Any of the three players could take the lead in the leaderboard with a deep run, after which the POY competition will resume later this year at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, where the final champion will be crowned.

Alex Foxen is in a favorable position to extend his lead.

As of press time, Foxen is in a favorable position to consolidate his lead in the POY competition, ranking second in chips in the final high roller event of the summer. Kihara is in fifth place, while Deeb is also in a favorable position in ninth.

Deeb recently admitted that his 15th-place finish in the WSOP Main Event was frustrating, as it damaged his chances of winning the POY. He immediately jumped into several bracelet events after his Main Event exit, attempting to close the gap, overtaking Kihara and reducing Foxen's lead.

The current leaderboard for the best player of the year is as follows:

Using the convenient calculator on the WSOP website, you can easily determine how many points are available to compete for in the $25,000 High Roller HORSE, and as you can see, they can have a significant impact on the POY competition:

If Foxen or Deeb wins this event, they will become the first player this year to surpass 4,000 points. Meanwhile, if Foxen and Deeb are eliminated early, Kihara has the opportunity to surpass them both with a deeper run.

Competition shifts to Paradise

For the first time this year, the competition for WSOP Player of the Year will not be decided at the end of the Summer Series. Instead, the competition will continue later this year at WSOP Paradise, where the 2026 champion will be crowned.

Regardless of what happens at the $25,000 High Roller HORSE, Foxen, Deeb, and Kihara will all be heading to the Bahamas with a real chance to win. Meanwhile, Deeb is chasing history – he hopes to defend his title and become the first player to win the WSOP Player of the Year award consecutively, and the first to win it three times.

Justin Liberto, Josh Arieh, Jesse Lonis, and Daniel Negreanu are still within reach after an impressive summer, although they are still quite far behind the leading trio.

To stay tuned for PokerNews’ live coverage of the $25,000 High Roller HORSE, the final major POY points race of the summer, which begins Tuesday night and runs until Wednesday morning.

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