Updated on 22 Feb 26 by
Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Sick final table in the Players Championship

History could be made tonight as two former champions and several other big names come together to play 'the real Main Event'.

Michael Mizrachi at the WSOP in 2012
Michael Mizrachi in 2012

You are always guaranteed big names at the final table of the $50,000 Players Championship and this year is no different. 

The chip leader is none other than Justin Bonomo, who is enjoying a very good WSOP this year. This is his 4th final table of the series and will be his 6th cash, but no doubt his attention will be on securing his 2nd career bracelet and the first prize of $1,296,097.

Short stack Ray Dehkharghani has already won a bracelet this year in the $10,000 Seven Card Razz Championship and a win tonight would make him the 4th double-bracelet winner of the year.

But the big story of this final table has to be that we have two former $50,000 Players Championship winners still in contention.

Brian Rast won this event in 2011 for $1,720,328, a result which arguably made his name in poker, and he currently sits 4th in chips.

Most impressive of all, Michael Mizrachi is 2nd in chips tonight and a victory would give him an unprecedented 3rd $50,000 Players Championship title. He won it first in 2010 for $1,559,046 and again in 2012 for $1,451,527. 

Given that this event is widely regarded as the 'real Main Event' by poker purists, it would be hard to argue against the claim that a 3rd win tonight would make Mizrachi the best Mixed Games (tournament) player in the world. 

Event #55: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (6-handed) Final Table
Position Player Chips
1st Justin Bonomo 7,750,000
2nd Michael Mizrachi 5,535,000
3rd Eric Wasserson 3,800,000
4th Brian Rast 3,185,000
5th Lamar Wilkinson 2,045,000
6th Ray Dehkharghani 395,000
Players 6 (91)

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Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.