Dimitar Danchev gained Occasion #7, the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Restrict Maintain’em Championship, at WSOP 2026 on June 1. The Bulgarian banked $800,000 and his second profession bracelet, surviving seven straight matches in opposition to a 128-entry subject and a $3,008,000 prize pool.
Danchev landed in Las Vegas simply 48 hours earlier than the occasion and held off taking part in any poker till registration opened, banking sleep to battle the jet lag. He had this one circled and was not going to overlook it.
The title is his second WSOP bracelet, and like the primary it got here one-on-one. He gained the 2022 WSOP On-line Heads-Up Championship by a 97-entry subject, so each items of gold have arrived within the self-discipline that rewards gamers who can shut.
The Heads-Up Championship runs as a single-elimination bracket, and 2026 was the primary version so as to add a second beginning flight. Two sold-out 64-player flights pushed the sector to 128, which meant the champion needed to win seven consecutive matches relatively than the same old six.
Format: $25,000 buy-in | No-Restrict Maintain’em | single-elimination bracket | two 64-player Day 1 flights | 128 complete entries | $3,008,000 prize pool | prime 16 paid
The bracket was stacked from the primary hand. Reigning Foremost Occasion champion Michael Mizrachi set the early tone, beating Shannon Shorr and Jun Obara earlier than colliding with all-time bracelet chief Phil Hellmuth on Day 1a. Each turned two pair within the decider, and Mizrachi got here out in entrance.
The reigning champion’s personal run ended on Day 2, when Ryuta Nakai bounced him within the spherical of 16.
The cruelest exit belonged to seven-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu. He had Biao Ding on the brink twice, just for Ding to spike repeated rivers, and the run ended with Negreanu fuming on his means out of the Paris ballroom.
By the point the bracket reached its final 4, every survivor had carved a tricky path. Right here is how the semifinal line-up arrived.
Danchev rated his Day 1 match in opposition to Christopher Nguyen, the place he hero-called for his event life, as one in all his hardest. He then bought previous Florian Pesce and rivered a flush to get rid of Ding within the quarterfinal.
The ultimate day opened with two semifinals and all 4 gamers assured $300,000. Two of them would go no additional.
4th: Alex Foxen ($300,000)
Three-time bracelet winner Alex Foxen ran right into a cooler in opposition to Kuznetsov. He flopped two pair with Q♥ 5♠ on a Q♦ 2♠ 5♥ board, however Kuznetsov held Q♣ 6♥ and turned a much bigger two pair when the 6♦ arrived.
The chips went in on the flip and the A♠ river was no assist. Foxen, who had earlier crushed Brandon Wilson and Thomas Boivin, bowed out in fourth.
third: Ryuta Nakai ($300,000)
Nakai five-bet shoved A♠ J♥ and Danchev snap-called with Q♠ Q♥. The 7♥ Q♣ 10♥ flop gave Danchev a set, although Nakai nonetheless held a straight draw.
The 4♥ flip handed each gamers a flush draw, with Danchev holding the upper one. The 8♥ river accomplished his flush and ended Nakai’s run in third.
Heads-Up: Danchev vs Kuznetsov
The ultimate lasted slightly below three and a half hours. Kuznetsov struck first, stacking a sequence of small pots to construct a two-to-one lead within the opening ranges.
The match turned on a cooler. Kuznetsov flopped journeys and dedicated his stack, solely to run right into a flopped full home from Danchev, and the chip lead modified palms.
Danchev by no means gave it again. The 2 traded blows with no main swing, and the Bulgarian stored management of the rely till the closing hand arrived.
Danchev limped, Kuznetsov checked, and the 2 noticed a flop with the title on the road.
Flop: 7♠ J♥ Q♠
Kuznetsov check-called 400,000. The 3♣ flip introduced one other check-call, this time for 1,600,000.
The Q♣ river paired the board. It gave Kuznetsov journey queens, but it surely handed Danchev queens filled with sevens.
Kuznetsov checked, known as off when Danchev moved all in, and noticed the unhealthy information. A $25,000 buy-in had changed into $800,000 and a gold bracelet.
“I’m nonetheless jet lagged. I simply actually wished to play this occasion, so it feels wonderful to truly win it.”Dimitar Danchev
His celebration plans had been modest: a very good evening’s sleep first, then dinner with pals the subsequent day.
The Heads-Up Championship has been one of many WSOP’s marquee professional occasions for years, and 2026 reset its ceiling.
Milestone: 2026 was the primary Heads-Up Championship to run two beginning flights, doubling the sector to 128 and lifting the prize pool to $3,008,000.
From 2022 to 2025 the occasion stayed capped at 64 entries, with the primary prize parked across the half-million mark. The second flight modified the maths in 2026: 128 entries lifted the prize pool to $3,008,000 and the winner’s share to $800,000, the most important within the occasion’s historical past.
Every of the 4 gamers who reached the ultimate day locked up at the least $300,000. Right here is how the highest of the ladder completed.
Locations 5 by eight earned $150,000 every, and locations 9 by 16 took $60,000 apiece. The highest 16 of the 128-entry subject reached the cash.
This $25,000 championship sits effectively above the sequence’ low buy-in openers, so it counts towards the 2026 Participant of the 12 months race, handing Danchev factors alongside the bracelet and the money.
The win additionally strikes him up Bulgaria’s all-time cash record and cements his status as a heads-up nearer, with each of his bracelets gained one-on-one.
Each bracelet winner and every day recap from the sequence lands on our working WSOP 2026 outcomes tracker.
Who gained the WSOP 2026 $25,000 Heads-Up Championship?
Dimitar Danchev of Bulgaria gained Occasion #7, the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Restrict Maintain’em Championship, on June 1, 2026, for $800,000 and his second WSOP bracelet. He beat Russia’s Nikita Kuznetsov heads-up.
How massive was the 2026 Heads-Up Championship subject?
The occasion drew 128 entries throughout two 64-player flights, the primary time the Heads-Up Championship used a second beginning flight. That constructed a $3,008,000 prize pool.
How a lot did the 2026 Heads-Up Championship pay?
First place paid $800,000, second $528,000, and third and fourth $300,000 every. Locations 5 by eight earned $150,000 and 9 by 16 took $60,000.
Who has gained the WSOP $25,000 Heads-Up Championship?
Current champions: Dimitar Danchev (2026), Artur Martirosian (2025), Darius Samual (2024), Chanracy Khun (2023), Dan Smith (2022) and Jason Koon (2021).
