Artur Martirosian Wins 4th WSOP Bracelet in High Roller

Artur Martirosian adds another WSOP title

Artur Martirosian has spent nearly a decade building a strong tournament record, but the last five years have elevated him into the very top tier of the global high roller scene. That reputation grew again when he won the $25,000 six-handed no-limit hold’em High Roller at the World Series of Poker, claiming his fourth career WSOP bracelet.

All four bracelets have come in the last four years, which says plenty about both his current level and his ability to keep producing in fields packed with world-class opposition. For this victory, Martirosian earned $1,286,285, his eighth career seven-figure live score, and his second seven-figure result of 2026. His lifetime live earnings now sit above $40 million, by far the most ever won by a Russian player in poker history.

That number matters because it reflects more than volume. In high rollers, the field is full of players who understand preflop theory, exploitative adjustments, ICM pressure, and stack-depth nuances. To stay ahead there, a player needs more than aggression; he needs discipline, timing, and the ability to keep making the right decisions when the pots get huge. That is exactly why Martirosian’s run belongs on the radar of anyone studying poker school material or trying to understand what separates elite tournament regulars from the rest.

The $25,000 6-Max field produced a true high-stakes test

The final day began with an unofficial final table of seven players. Before that point, the event had already drawn 242 entries, building a prize pool of $5,687,000. As is often the case in a 6-max high roller, the structure created a fast-moving battle where one double-up or one cooler could completely change the path to the title.

Several major names missed the final day by a small margin, including Erik Seidel, the 10-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer, who exited in ninth place for $89,378. That alone shows how strong the field was: when a player of Seidel’s caliber falls short of the official final table, the event has clearly been loaded with talent.

Sean Winter began the day as chip leader, with Martirosian right behind him. Chance Kornuth entered the seven-handed stage with a very short stack, but he found multiple early doubles and briefly kept himself in contention. In a 6-max format, that kind of early survival matters a lot. The blinds come around quickly, and the pressure on medium stacks becomes relentless.

Key hands that shaped the final table

The first major casualty was Austria’s Klemens Roiter. He slipped below ten big blinds and got the rest in from the small blind with A♦J♣, while Martirosian called from the big blind with Q♦10♠. Roiter stayed ahead through the turn on an A♥K♠10♣8♣ board, but Martirosian spiked a jack on the river to send him out in seventh place for $159,884.

Kornuth then locked up a pay jump, but his next big confrontation ended his run. He picked up A♦K♥ against Yosuke Miki’s A♣Q♣, yet a queen on the flop and another queen on the turn flipped the script. Kornuth finished sixth for $218,091.

That stretch was the point where Martirosian took control of the tournament. He moved into the chip lead and never truly let go for long. His next huge pot came in a blind-versus-blind battle with another Austrian, Marius Gierse. Martirosian’s K♥3♥ flopped the nut flush against Gierse’s two pair, aces and nines, and Gierse exited in fifth place for $301,347.

Miki, meanwhile, was chasing the possibility of helping Japan collect three bracelets in a single week at WSOP 2026. He had recently recorded his first six-figure live cash in March at Triton Jeju and was now four-handed with a shot at a bracelet and a seven-figure payday. But his A♣10♦ ran into Martirosian’s A♥J♦, and he finished fourth for $421,718, the second-largest score of his career.

Sean Winter falls short again, but proves his class

Sean Winter entered the day with a chip lead, battled deep into three-handed play, and still came up just short of his first bracelet. He finished third for $597,635, which pushed his recorded career earnings past $39 million.

Winter showed why he is so respected in high-stakes circles when he called off a big river bluff from Plesuv with ace-high on a 4♣4♠3♠J♥2♠ board. That was a high-level read and a reminder that the best players in these fields are often making decisions with incomplete information and very little room for error.

Still, a brutal cooler ended his title hopes. Winter three-bet shoved on a K♥Q♦9♥ flop, and Plesuv snap-called with a set of nines. Winter had A♠K♦, picked up a gutshot on the turn, but never got there. In events like this, one hand can erase hours of excellent play. That is the reality of elite 6-max poker: variance is always close by, even when the decision-making is sound.

Heads-up against Plesuv: friendship did not soften the battle

For the final duel, Martirosian faced his friend and familiar rival Pavel Plesuv. That matters more than it may seem. When two players know each other well, the match often becomes a battle of timing, ranges, and emotional control rather than simple card distribution. They understand each other’s tendencies, which makes every bet sizing and every river decision more meaningful.

Plesuv is far from a random runner-up. He won the 2023 WSOP Millionaire Maker and a World Poker Tour title in 2018, and this result added $857,510 to his resume, the third-largest live cash of his career. He had every reason to believe another major title was possible.

The chip lead changed hands several times early in heads-up play. Martirosian then surged to about a 7:1 advantage, but Plesuv fought back with a double-up and enough pots to stay alive. The final stage became a true test of patience, stack pressure, and willingness to continue applying pressure without overextending.

Eventually, the match reached a classic coin-flip spot. Plesuv limp-shoved with A♥9♦, and Martirosian called. The tournament’s final hand sequence was still unfolding as the result was sealed, but the bigger story was already clear: Martirosian had once again navigated the toughest part of a major field and turned it into a bracelet.

Expert analysis: what Martirosian’s win means for tournament players

This victory matters because it shows how modern high roller poker is actually won. It is not enough to understand preflop ranges or memorize a few solver outputs. You need to combine theory with live-table adaptation, especially in a 6-max format where stack pressure is constant and blind-versus-blind spots appear all the time.

Martirosian’s run offers several practical lessons:

• He protected his chip lead by staying active, not reckless.
• He punished short and medium stacks at the right moments.
• He stayed composed through coolers and bad runouts.
• He converted position and stack depth into real pressure.

That is a blueprint many players can study if they want to improve their own tournament game. Whether you play online in poker rooms or focus on live action in poker clubs, the same core principles apply: understand the structure, respect stack depth, and avoid emotional mistakes when the money jumps get big.

There is also a broader industry angle. High rollers remain the clearest stage where the best tournament players can separate themselves from the field, and results like this help define who the current elite really are. For ambitious players, the lesson is simple: invest in study, sharpen your adjustments, and pay attention to the details that separate good runs from championship runs. If you are looking to improve the value of your play, keep an eye on promotions & bonuses too, because bankroll efficiency still matters when you are building toward bigger buy-ins.

Final takeaway: Martirosian strengthens his place among the world’s best

With his fourth WSOP bracelet, Artur Martirosian has moved even deeper into the conversation about the best high roller players in the world. The numbers are elite, but the context is what makes them stand out: repeated success against deep, dangerous fields, across multiple years, in formats that punish even small errors.

The $25,000 6-Max High Roller was a reminder that the modern tournament landscape rewards complete players. Martirosian did not just run hot. He managed stacks, pressure, and timing with the level of precision that champions need.

For Russian poker, this is another landmark achievement. For the global high roller scene, it is another data point confirming that Martirosian is one of the names everyone has to respect when a bracelet and seven figures are on the line.

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