Benny Glaser Wins Poker Players Championship for 9th WSOP Bracelet

Benny Glaser wins the Poker Players Championship and adds another major WSOP chapter

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship is one of the most respected events on the entire World Series of Poker schedule, and in 2026 the title went to Benny Glaser. For seasoned players, this is not just another high-roller trophy. It is a statement that a player can handle the deepest mixed-game exam the WSOP has to offer.

The significance of this win goes beyond the payout and the bracelet count. This event is widely treated as a measure of complete poker skill because it rewards versatility, patience, emotional control, and the ability to switch gears across radically different formats. In that sense, Glaser did not simply win a tournament. He passed one of poker’s toughest tests.

For readers who follow the game from both a recreational and professional angle, results like this are a reminder that poker development is never limited to one format. If you want to improve your overall game, it helps to study the full ecosystem of poker rooms, understand where serious mixed-game action lives in poker clubs, and keep sharpening fundamentals through poker school.

Why the Poker Players Championship sits near the top of poker prestige

The Poker Players Championship is built differently from most major tournament titles. The $50,000 buy-in already filters out casual entries, but the real challenge comes from the game rotation. Players must be elite across nearly every major poker variant if they want any realistic shot at the trophy.

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Seven Card Stud
• Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
• Razz
• Pot-Limit Omaha
• Limit Hold’em
• No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
• Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
• 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw

That rotation turns the tournament into a marathon of adaptation. A player might be solving hold’em pressure spots in one round, then moving to split-pot calculations, then to lowball hand reading, then back to a limit structure where every bet size matters differently.

This is exactly why the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy carries so much weight. It is not just a symbol of winning a big event; it is a symbol of being among the most complete players in the world.

Chip Reese’s legacy and the legends on the trophy

The first edition of this event, then known as the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E., was won by the late Chip Reese in 2006. The trophy now bears his name, and that detail matters because Reese was seen as one of the purest all-around talents in poker history.

• Michael Mizrachi
• Scotty Nguyen
• John Hennigan
• Daniel Negreanu

Glaser now joins that elite company. For mixed-game enthusiasts, this kind of result is especially meaningful because it reminds the poker world that excellence is not confined to No-Limit Hold’em. The best players in the world often prove themselves in formats that demand deeper technical range and more complete game knowledge.

If you are building your own poker path, it is worth paying attention to where different formats thrive, whether that is in poker rooms, in live poker clubs, or through structured learning at poker school.

Benny Glaser’s road to a ninth WSOP bracelet

Glaser, from Southampton, United Kingdom, has spent years building one of the strongest WSOP resumes of his generation. His reputation comes from more than results in one discipline; it comes from the rare ability to remain dangerous across almost every variant in the rotation.

That versatility was on full display at the 2025 WSOP, where Glaser won three bracelets in a single series. Only a handful of players in history have ever managed that kind of summer, which immediately puts the achievement into rarefied air.

• stay mentally fresh through long sessions;
• adapt quickly when the variant changes;
• protect big-stack advantages without becoming predictable;
• avoid costly mistakes in split-pot and lowball formats.

Glaser’s ninth bracelet therefore feels less like a surprise and more like confirmation. He has become one of the defining mixed-game players of the era.

A stacked 2026 final table loaded with bracelets and experience

• Benny Glaser
• Josh Arieh
• Phil Ivey
• Maxx Coleman
• Paul Volpe
• Kristopher Tong
• Jason Mercier

Collectively, the group entered the final day with 38 WSOP bracelets. That number alone tells you everything about the depth of the field. There were no soft spots, no easy pay jumps, and no room for autopilot decisions.

Glaser came into the final table with the chip lead, which is a valuable position in any format. Even so, in mixed games a lead can disappear quickly if a player loses rhythm in one rotation or misjudges a structure shift. Maintaining control requires constant adjustment, not just stack preservation.

Phil Ivey’s presence added another layer of prestige. Josh Arieh, meanwhile, brought the kind of experience and tactical patience that makes him dangerous in any deep mixed-game run. In a field like this, every edge has to be earned repeatedly.

How the heads-up battle was decided against Josh Arieh

After Phil Ivey was eliminated in third place, the title came down to Glaser and Arieh in a heads-up match that began with both players nearly even in chips. That setup made the finish especially compelling because neither player could rely on a huge cushion or a single lucky swing.

The decisive hand came in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Arieh moved all-in before the flop, and Glaser quickly called with the better holding. By the turn, Glaser had improved to the superior two pair and secured the knockout.

That ending is a perfect example of why this event is so respected. In split-pot games like Omaha Hi-Lo, players are not just trying to make the best hand once. They are constantly evaluating whether they can win the high, the low, or both, while also considering how range interactions change across streets. If you want to study those nuances more seriously, a structured poker school approach can be invaluable.

Expert analysis: what Glaser’s win means for players and the game

This victory matters on several levels. First, it reinforces a major trend in elite poker: the value of being a true all-around player is rising. A specialist can still dominate a niche, but the most prestigious mixed-game titles reward wide technical range and the ability to make fast, accurate adjustments.

Second, Glaser’s result is a useful blueprint for players who want to move beyond one-format comfort zones. The modern game punishes narrow preparation. If you only study one discipline, you may become excellent in that lane, but you will be underprepared for the kind of live series where structures change constantly and the best edges come from adaptability.

Third, the final table shows how compressed the top of the game has become. When players like Phil Ivey, Josh Arieh, Jason Mercier, and Maxx Coleman all reach the late stages of the same event, the margin for error is tiny. That means future champions will need more than raw talent. They will need stamina, composure, and a deep understanding of ICM, stack leverage, and game-specific strategy.

• mixed-game study is no longer optional for players who want to compete at the highest level;
• split-pot formats deserve more attention than many players give them;
• bankroll management matters even more in high buy-in events where variance is severe;
• long-event success depends on maintaining decision quality across multiple days.

For ambitious players, that often means combining live practice in poker clubs with online volume in poker rooms, while using promotions & bonuses to extend learning and reduce the cost of experimentation.

Final thoughts: a ninth bracelet and a stronger legacy

Benny Glaser’s Poker Players Championship victory is more than a headline. It is another major proof point in a career that already belongs among the most impressive in modern mixed-game poker.

He defeated a 108-entry field, earned $1,343,764, captured his ninth WSOP bracelet, and lifted the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy in a tournament many professionals view as the hardest bracelet event on the schedule. That combination of accomplishment and difficulty is exactly why this result resonates so strongly across the poker world.

For the WSOP, the win adds another memorable chapter to a summer already filled with milestone performances. For players, it is a reminder that poker greatness is built not only through aggression or star power, but through range, discipline, and the ability to master more than one game.

Glaser’s name now sits even more comfortably among the all-time mixed-game greats — and if the last few years are any indication, his legacy is still growing.

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