Photo Credits: WSOP
The 2026 World Series of Poker added four more bracelet winners at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with Brayden Lou, Braxton Dunaway, Brent Gregory, and Mike Holtz all taking down events in a busy stretch of the summer schedule.
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Brayden Lou turned a road trip stop into a bracelet win. The 21 year old from San Diego had just graduated from Gordon College in Boston with a political science degree and was driving home with his father, Damon, when Las Vegas became part of the route.
Lou first played the Monster Stack and knocked out reigning world champion Michael Mizrachi, but missed the money. He then entered Event #25, the $500 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout, and beat 4,100 entries for $196,066 and his first bracelet. The event paid 616 players from a $1,701,500 prize pool, with Chris Hunichen, Travis Johnson, Johnnie Vibes Moreno, and Josh Reichard among the deeper runs.
Event #28, the $600 Deepstack NLH/PLO, produced one of the stronger final tables of the series so far. Daniel Negreanu finished eighth, Alex Foxen took fifth, Josh Reichard finished third, and Maurice Hawkins ended as runner up.
Brent Gregory, a three time WSOP Circuit ring winner from Missouri, topped the 3,332 entry field for $204,140 and his first WSOP bracelet. Hawkins had built a real shot at his first bracelet after winning a key pot against Negreanu, but Gregory handled the final stretch and recorded the largest live score of his career.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” Gregory told PokerNews live reporters after winning. “Foxen, Negreanu, Reichard, everybody. There were several better players than me at the table.”
Braxton Dunaway came back to the WSOP with a very different kind of pressure. In 2025, the Texas player finished third in the Main Event for $4,000,000. In Event #26, the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em, he returned to the winner circle instead.
Dunaway beat 968 entries for $288,064 and his second bracelet. His first came in the 2023 Monster Stack. Erwann Pecheux finished second, adding another large 2026 result after his runner up finish in the EPT Paris €3,250 mystery bounty. The $1,723,040 prize pool paid 146 players, including Jonathan Tamayo, Shiina Okamoto, Ryan Hiller, Craig Mason, and Sami Bechahed.
Mike Holtz then turned Event #31, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty, into the fastest bracelet win of the group. He outlasted 2,103 entries in a single session and earned $238,097, the largest live payout of his career.
Holtz won his first bracelet online in a 2022 WSOP Online $777 no limit hold’em event. The live bracelet clearly meant more to him.
“It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve always wanted a live bracelet. There is a sort of stigma with the online bracelet, like, oh blah blah blah. Fuck them, baby. Daddy’s got two now,” said Holtz.
The super turbo bounty generated a $1,740,233 prize pool and paid 319 players. Andrew Ostapchenko finished sixth, while Blake Bohn, Thomas Eychenne, Daniel Rezaei, Justin Arnwine, Adam Owen, and Chris Vitch also cashed.
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Brayden Lou | $196,066 |
| 2 | Jason Hoffman | $130,441 |
| 3 | Stephen Ma | $96,368 |
| 4 | Aaron Hendi | $71,806 |
| 5 | Sam Ruha | $53,969 |
| 6 | James Wong | $40,916 |
| 7 | Christopher Hunichen | $31,294 |
| 8 | Alexander Ho | $24,148 |
| 9 | Edgar Antezana | $18,801 |
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Braxton Dunaway | $288,064 |
| 2 | Erwann Pecheux | $191,997 |
| 3 | Yaniv Peretz | $135,294 |
| 4 | Briant Alavez | $96,783 |
| 5 | Kimon Fountoukidis | $70,300 |
| 6 | Albert Calderon | $51,862 |
| 7 | Ioannis Kapnopoulos | $38,868 |
| 8 | Sami Bechahed | $29,600 |
| 9 | Ivan Poroliev | $22,912 |
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Brent Gregory | $204,140 |
| 2 | Maurice Hawkins | $135,864 |
| 3 | Joshua Reichard | $99,831 |
| 4 | John Ghosn | $73,984 |
| 5 | Alex Foxen | $55,305 |
| 6 | John Holley III | $41,703 |
| 7 | Kelly Mahana | $31,724 |
| 8 | Daniel Negreanu | $24,347 |
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Mike Holtz | $238,097 |
| 2 | Mei Seow | $158,641 |
| 3 | Rute Jin | $115,900 |
| 4 | Carlos Chu | $85,537 |
| 5 | Dustin Harrelson | $63,779 |
| 6 | Andrew Ostapchenko | $48,050 |
| 7 | Mark Harken | $36,581 |
| 8 | Jeremy Halaska | $28,145 |
| 9 | Zhicheng Miao | $21,889 |