Richard Alsup Wins WSOP Monster Stack for $1.3 Million

Richard Alsup turns a massive WSOP field into a career-defining win

Minnesota pro Richard Alsup added the biggest score of his career at the 2026 WSOP, winning the $1,500 Monster Stack for $1,302,125. It was the kind of result that immediately changes how a player is viewed in the tournament world: a seven-figure payday, a second WSOP bracelet, and a résumé boost that carries weight far beyond a single summer.

Alsup had already won a bracelet before, taking down an $800 no-limit hold’em deepstack at the 2022 WSOP. This time, however, he conquered one of the most demanding events on the schedule, a tournament that rewards patience, stack management, and the ability to stay composed over several days of high-variance poker. His lifetime earnings now exceed $3.9 million, and he picked up his first seven-figure cash in the process.

For players who grind live MTTs, Monster Stack is exactly the kind of event that tests every part of the game. The field is huge, the structure is deep, and the path to a final table is long enough that mistakes compound. That is why players often study the structure carefully, track their options through poker rooms and poker school, and treat major series events as a long-term investment rather than a single-shot gamble.

A giant field, a deep structure, and an eight-figure prize pool

The 2026 Monster Stack began on June 3 and finally produced a champion late on June 10. Four starting flights and four separate Day 2 sessions helped create the kind of marathon event that Monster Stack has become known for. In total, the tournament drew 11,933 entries and generated a $15,841,057 prize pool, the first eight-figure pool of this WSOP season.

That number matters for more than headline value. A prize pool that large reinforces why the Monster Stack is one of the marquee no-limit hold’em events of the summer. It also explains why so many players are willing to spend days in the event: the combination of deep stacks, meaningful payouts, and bracelet prestige creates one of the purest tests in tournament poker.

Only 660 players advanced to the combined Day 3, and Alsup entered the final day in sixth place among the last eight players. In a field this large, even a top-eight stack does not guarantee control. The final table still had enough depth for skilled players to apply pressure, while the payout jumps were large enough to make every decision significant.

Final-table swings: aces, kings, and huge momentum shifts

The final table featured plenty of experience. Kevin Eyster started as the chip leader and came in with a WSOP bracelet as well as two World Poker Tour titles. Salvatore Dicarlo, John Ripnick, and Aaron Massey also arrived with prior live success, making this a final table full of players who understood how to navigate pressure.

Massey delivered one of the day’s most memorable moments on just the second hand. He picked up pocket aces and won a massive three-way pot against strong holdings, immediately jumping from one of the shorter stacks to the chip lead. In late-stage tournament poker, that kind of hand can reshape the entire table dynamic because it changes who is forced to take risks and who gets to control the action.

A few of the key eliminations came in quick succession:

• Nikolaos Angelou was eliminated in eighth place for $190,000.
• Eyster, who began with the lead, fell all the way to seventh for $240,000.
• Pierce McKellar exited in sixth place for $305,000 after losing a blinds battle to Dicarlo.

Alsup also faced a huge survival spot five-handed. Holding K♦Q♦ and sitting with a little over 15 big blinds, he moved all-in and ran into Dicarlo’s pocket aces. The flop brought a king, and the turn brought another king, giving Alsup a dramatic double and keeping his title hopes alive. In a Monster Stack final table, that kind of rescue is often the difference between a deep run and a mid-table finish.

Dicarlo’s surge, Ripnick’s double, and the road to heads-up play

Dicarlo then took over for a stretch. He won a major pot against Matthew Miller by making a straight against Miller’s turned trips, extending his lead and putting pressure on the rest of the table. That sequence was a reminder that in deep-run tournament poker, momentum can change with a single river card, especially when stacks are still large enough to support aggressive postflop play.

Ripnick later doubled through Dicarlo with A♠K♦ against A♣J♦, trimming the chip leader’s cushion and making the table less predictable. Even after that setback, Dicarlo still held a commanding lead, but the hand showed that his stack was not untouchable. In events like this, the player with the most chips rarely gets to cruise for long.

Dicarlo eventually added another elimination when his A♠K♥ held against Miller’s A♦5♠, sending Miller out and further tightening the race toward the finish. But as the field shrank, Alsup continued to survive, pick his spots, and stay within striking distance of the title.

Expert analysis: what Alsup’s win tells tournament players

Alsup’s Monster Stack victory is a useful case study for anyone serious about live MTTs. First, it highlights the value of structure-aware patience. Big-field tournaments are not won by forcing action early; they are won by making the right decisions over and over again while the field thins and the payouts grow.

Second, the final table showed how important it is to handle variance without changing your entire approach. Alsup took a brutal-looking spot against pocket aces and still found a way to survive with a king-high runout. That is not “luck” in the simplistic sense; it is what tournament poker looks like when skill, range construction, and a bit of deck help all intersect. Players who study through poker school or build their live schedule around promotions & bonuses often forget that long-term success also depends on staying mentally stable through these swings.

Third, the result reinforces how valuable live-series preparation is. The best players do not just show up and hope to spike. They plan their entries, understand payout pressure, and choose events that suit their edge. Some even optimize their path through poker clubs or work with a poker agent when they are trying to structure a full summer schedule. That kind of preparation matters in a field of nearly 12,000 entries.

From a strategic perspective, Monster Stack continues to reward players who can combine deep-stack fundamentals with late-stage discipline. The format gives room for postflop skill, but once the field contracts, ICM pressure and stack preservation become just as important. The player who survives the most difficult transitions usually wins the biggest prizes.

Why this WSOP result matters for the season

Alsup’s victory was one of the standout stories of the 2026 WSOP because it produced the series’ first eight-figure prize pool and one of the summer’s most meaningful bracelets. A Monster Stack title is not just another trophy: it signals that a player can navigate a gigantic field, withstand long stretches of variance, and still close the deal on a final table full of accomplished opponents.

The win also earned Alsup 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points, putting him just outside the top 150 in the CoinPoker-presented year-long race. That matters because one big summer result can become the foundation for a much larger seasonal run. A player who already has confidence, momentum, and a major score in hand can enter the rest of the series with a very different mindset.

Final thoughts: a bracelet that carries real weight

The Monster Stack remains one of the best tests in live tournament poker. It is deep enough to reward skill, large enough to create life-changing payouts, and prestigious enough that winning it means something to the entire community.

Richard Alsup’s run checked every box: a huge field, a dramatic final table, several big survival spots, and a seven-figure prize that will define his 2026 campaign. For tournament players, the takeaway is simple: in fields this large, patience and resilience are not secondary skills — they are the path to the title.

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