Updated on 04 Aug 26 by
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Moneymaker the bubble boy as WSOP Main Event reaches the money

The 2026 WSOP Main Event reached the money bubble in double-quick time on Day 4 of the World Championship, and a very famous former winner was the victim as Chris Moneymaker bubbled the money but still ended up winning anyway.

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Photo courtesy of Luther Redd/PokerGO

The money bubble of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event took place very early on Day 4 of the mammoth event. When it came around, six players were all-in and at risk of elimination, with three players ending up going home in the same hand and splitting $30,000 prize money, each taking home $10,000 - the cost of their buy-in.

With 9,208 entries, this year’s World Championship is the fourth largest in poker history, with only the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions welcoming more players. The money bubble is always one of the most dramatic moments of the annual spectacular, and this year was no different.

When players returned to their seats on Day 4, six players busted in quick succession to reduce the field to 1,383 players, one short of the money places. Hand-for-hand play began and soon there were six players all-in and at risk. If any of them busted on their own, they would have gone home with nothing but as it happened, three of them did so at the same time.

Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 champion, was playing the board after a full house of sevens over eights landed, but Antonio Vargas was not, holding pocket aces in his hand.

With Jack Effel presiding over the drama, the players were announced and as the hands were turned over, there were some groans as players in the room were told that a people’s champion as well as a WSOP legend was out.

Moneymaker loses flip for WSOP Paradise package too

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Photo courtesy of Luther Redd/PokerGO

Over on another table, the 2020 Online Main Event winner, the Bulgarian Stoyan Madanzhiev, had shipped with ace-king but couldn’t improve against the pocket fives of Gregory Brown and slid out too. Finally, Kazakhstan player Zhaken Seitbekov’s top pair of an ace was no good against the flopped set of sixes for Dan Stavila.

If the drama of the bubble wasn’t enough, all three men were then taken to another table away from the Main Event where the bubble prize of a $25,000 package to WSOP Paradise was put on the line. Taking their seats, they were each dealt two cards, while a board of Q♢9♢Q♣J♣4 ♡ was fanned. Moneymaker’s deuce-five was no good, and nor was Madanzhiev’s six-five. Zhaken Seitbekov’s king-deuce proved a good enough hand to kick the others into touch and he took the $25,000 package.

With the two paid places of $15,000 shared between three players, it wasn’t the most brutal bubble ever in the Main Event. The sweetener of a $25,000 WSOP Paradise package went to the less experience player of the trio, too, which felt fair and as Day 4 progressed, plenty of others but the dust. With just 533 players left the end of Day 4, the reigning champion Michael Mizrachi was still in the mix, albeit with 22 big blinds as he bids to go back-to-back and become the first repeat world champion since Johnny Chan way back in 1988.