WSOP 2026: Julien Sitbon Reaches Top 9 in $10K Mystery Bounty

WSOP 2026: the final nine are set in the $10K Mystery Bounty

The World Series of Poker 2026 is entering the kind of stage every player dreams about: the business end of a major event, where one decision can turn into a six-figure swing. In the $10,000 Mystery Bounty, the field has been cut from 558 entries down to just 9 players, and one of them is Julien Sitbon from Team Pro Winamax.

Sitbon returns with 2,140,000 chips, good for 6th place in the chip count. That is not a commanding stack, but it is absolutely workable at this stage, especially in a format where the pressure of bounty hunting changes the way people approach marginal spots. The French pro has already shown throughout the festival that he can navigate elite fields and stay composed deep into events, and now he gets another shot at a WSOP bracelet.

For poker fans, this is exactly what makes the WSOP special: high stakes, deep runs, and a mix of skill, patience, and nerve that separates contenders from the rest of the field.

Alex Anton leads, Josh Reichard stays close behind

At the top of the leaderboard sits Alex Anton with 6,600,000 chips, closely followed by American Josh Reichard on 6,555,000. The gap is tiny, which means the final day could easily flip the script with one big pot, one well-timed bounty pickup, or one mistimed shove.

The winner of the event will take home $678,300, but the payout alone does not tell the full story. In a Mystery Bounty format, every knockout also carries the possibility of a surprise prize, which creates a very different strategic layer compared with a standard freezeout. Players often need to balance chip preservation against bounty pressure, and that tension is exactly what makes the final table so unpredictable.

Other French players also made meaningful runs. Emilien Pitavy finished 33rd, while Sonny Franco placed 60th. Those results may not grab the headline, but they reinforce how consistently French players are showing up in tough WSOP fields.

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$25K Pot-Limit Omaha heads for a dramatic finish

The $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event is also down to its final stretch. From 451 entries, only 8 players remain, and the winner will collect a massive $2,161,056. The prize pool reached $10,598,500, which is an impressive number for a PLO event at this buy-in.

One of the headline names still in contention is Alex Foxen, who bags 7,775,000 chips. Foxen is in position to chase his 5th WSOP bracelet, and that alone makes the final day one of the most interesting showdowns on the schedule.

He will have to get through strong opposition, including Richard Gryko and Greek star Eelis Pärssinen. In PLO, the edge often comes from deeper technical understanding: hand connectivity, redraws, stack depth, and postflop discipline matter far more than people outside the format sometimes realize.

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Marco Johnson wins the $2,500 Freezeout

Another major result from the day: Marco Johnson captured the $2,500 Freezeout title for $513,885. He had to go through Chino Rheem in heads-up play, with Rheem earning $341,970 for second place.

The tournament also featured a strong run from Faraz Jaka, who entered the final stretch as chip leader but ultimately finished 4th for $180,210. That kind of swing is a perfect reminder that chip leads are valuable, but they do not guarantee a title when the field is packed with experienced pros.

The French contingent had some near-misses as well. Sébastien Grax came agonizingly close to a final table, eventually bowing out in 10th place for $35,230. Meanwhile, Leo Soma finished 57th, Tristan Forge took 130th, and Cédric Schwaederle ended in 193rd.

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Millionaire Maker still has plenty of life left

The $1,500 Millionaire Maker is far from done. Out of 4,122 starting players, 693 survivors will return for Day 3. It remains one of the most volatile and popular events of the series, with huge field dynamics and plenty of room for momentum to swing quickly.

Belgium’s Michael Gathy is currently one of the standout stacks, sitting inside the top 6 with 1,150,000 chips. That puts him in excellent shape for the next stage, especially given how fast the average stack can become uncomfortable in a field this large.

• Roger Dimaria — 935,000
• Florence Mazet — 900,000
• Allan Tirel — 455,000
• Thomas Cazayous — 425,000

With the average at 148,000 chips, those stacks give the French side real room to maneuver. In a field this big, survival is only part of the equation; the real edge comes from knowing when to apply pressure and when to preserve your tournament life.

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Expert take: why these WSOP results matter

This day at WSOP 2026 highlights a key truth about modern tournament poker: deep runs are no longer isolated stories. They are the product of preparation, format awareness, and the ability to adapt quickly from one structure to another.

• In Mystery Bounty, knockout value changes ranges and makes marginal all-in spots more complex.
• In PLO, technical precision and postflop understanding matter even more than raw aggression.
• In massive fields like the Millionaire Maker, patience and stack management often matter more than trying to force action.

Julien Sitbon’s run is important because it shows that disciplined, high-level tournament poker still travels well across formats. Alex Foxen’s position in PLO reminds us that true elite players can threaten titles in any discipline, not just no-limit hold’em.

For players looking to turn occasional shots into a long-term plan, the lesson is clear: study the formats, choose your events carefully, and build a path through poker agent opportunities, satellites, and structured bankroll planning rather than relying on pure variance.

Final thoughts from WSOP 2026 day 25

The biggest stories of the day are straightforward: Julien Sitbon is in the final nine of the $10K Mystery Bounty, Alex Foxen is alive for a fifth bracelet in PLO, Marco Johnson won the $2,500 Freezeout, and the French team remains well positioned in the Millionaire Maker.

With multiple major events nearing their conclusion, the next session promises high drama, huge payouts, and the kind of pressure-cooker poker that makes WSOP the most important stage of the year.

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