By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · June 27, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
Japanese mixed-game specialist Koji Fujimoto, a 41-year-old self-described semi-professional who built his bankroll on the Asian high-stakes circuit, defeated a final 11 that included poker royalty Todd Brunson, three-time WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman, six-time bracelet winner Billy Baxter, four-time bracelet winner Brandon Shack-Harris and the world's most accomplished living single-game lowball specialist Naoya Kihara to capture Event #67, the $10,000 2-7 Limit Triple Draw Championship, late Friday night at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The 176-entry field produced a US$1,654,400 prize pool; Fujimoto took home US$392,478, approximately CA$535,000 at current exchange, and his first WSOP gold bracelet. The result is the largest Japanese-flag score at the 2026 WSOP, surpassing Naoya Kihara's earlier two-bracelet 2026 series total.
The narrative of the final hours belonged to Todd Brunson, son of the late ten-time WSOP bracelet winner and 2007 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Doyle Brunson. Todd Brunson entered Friday's final day as chip leader at 2,010,000 chips, chasing what would have been his second career WSOP gold bracelet, twenty-one years after his first (the 2005 $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better). Brunson, now 58, has been a steady high-stakes mixed-game presence at the WSOP for two decades but has never returned to the title chair since that 2005 victory. He held the chip lead into the second-to-last level Friday before running pocket sevens into a Schulman-Fujimoto pincer that cost him approximately half his stack; he finished fifth for US$83,442. The Brunson family WSOP bracelet ledger now reads Doyle (10), Todd (1), and the Brunson surname remains the most decorated family name in WSOP history.
The full Event #67 final-table payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koji Fujimoto | Japan | $392,478 |
| 2 | Justin Smith | United States | $262,318 |
| 3 | Nick Schulman | United States | $181,054 |
| 4 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | $128,217 |
| 5 | Todd Brunson | United States | $83,442 |
| 6 | Tommy Hang | United States | $61,505 |
| 7 | Billy Baxter | United States | $46,610 |
| 8 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | $36,205 |
Event #67 $10,000 2-7 Limit Triple Draw Championship final-table payouts. Source: PokerNews's "Koji Fujimoto Beats the Legends on His Way to $10k Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Champs".
Notable also-rans included Naoya Kihara (ninth for US$28,856), the most accomplished Japanese WSOP player in 2026 with two bracelets earlier in the series; Nam Le (tenth for US$23,277); and Brandon Shack-Harris (eleventh for US$19,072). Daniel Negreanu, the Toronto-born seven-time bracelet winner who had bagged 126,000 chips at the end of Day 1, was eliminated mid-Day 2 outside the money. His career WSOP cash total now stands at over US$33.97 million; the 2026 series has produced three cashes for him so far (Event #47 PLO High Roller 26th for US$69,531, Event #64 PLO/NLH Mixed seventh for US$152,954, and Event #65 Freezeout no-cash plus the Event #67 no-cash today).
Event #68 Ladies Championship sets all-time field record
While the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw played its final day, Event #68, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship, drew a record 1,475 entries on Day 1 Friday afternoon at Paris Las Vegas, the largest open-event Ladies Championship field in WSOP history. The 1,475 figure eclipses the previous record of 1,409 entries set in 2024 and surpasses the 2025 mark of 1,386 entries that produced the Shiina Okamoto two-bracelet defence. The 2026 field produced 338 Day 2 survivors and a US$1,327,500 prize pool against an estimated US$194,630 first-place prize, the largest in event history.
American recreational player Erika Weinstein leads the Day 2 chip counts at 595,000 chips. Notable returners include American psychologist and bestselling author Maria Konnikova (225,500, ninth in chips), American five-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen (620,000), former champions Jessica Vierling, Kelly Minkin, Vanessa Selbst protégée Lara Eisenberg and a deep international contingent of Japanese players including Shiina Okamoto attempting her three-peat. Day 2 plays Saturday from 12:00 p.m. Pacific time inside the Brasilia ballroom.
The Ladies Championship is, in its current form, an "open" event in WSOP nomenclature; it carries a US$10 nominal buy-in for male players that exists as a regulatory artefact and is, in practice, a women-only field. The event has been a fixture of the WSOP schedule since 1977; the current modern incarnation (post-Black Friday) has crowned a champion every year since 2011. Past champions on the 2026 entry list include 2024 winner Shiina Okamoto, 2023 winner Kira Slocum, 2021 winner Lara Eisenberg, 2018 winner Heidi May and 2014 winner Loni Harwood. The eventual winner becomes the first non-Japanese champion since 2023 if Okamoto fails to defend.
Other Saturday-morning news
Event #69, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, opened Friday with 647 entries and 146 Day 2 survivors. American mixed-game regular Will Berry leads the Day 2 chip counts at 605,000 chips, with American pro David Bach (297,500) and Daniel Negreanu (235,500) among the returning players. The eventual winner of Event #69 takes approximately US$144,000 against a US$863,725 prize pool.
Event #66, the $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em, plays its final day Saturday with the Tomas Szwarcberg / Sebastien Hetzel pairing leading at 2,300,000 chips against the Christine Brewer and Orson Young team in third at 1,800,000. Young entered Event #66 fresh off a fourth-place finish in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event last week. The eventual winning team collects US$209,440.
Event #63, the $1,000 Mystery Millions, continues to build toward what is widely expected to be the largest open-event field in WSOP history. The cumulative entries through Day 1 sit comfortably above the 2024 inaugural-edition record of 18,372 entries; Day 2 begins Sunday from a still-fluid chip stack distribution that PokerNews and the WSOP live-app are publishing rolling updates on.
The Canadian summer to date
The 2026 series Canadian-flag tally remains at three gold bracelets and US$2,395,570 in combined first-place prize money. Negreanu's two Day 2 no-cashes in Events #65 and #67 have not added to the prize ledger; his three earlier 2026 cashes (Events #47, #64 and #65) remain at US$292,016 combined. Kristen Foxen's continuing run in Event #68 Ladies Championship is the deepest active Canadian-flag performance heading into Saturday's bracelet day.
| Player | Event | Result | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kristen Foxen | #19 $25K High Roller NLH | 1st (bracelet) | $1,773,083 |
| Christopher Alcindor | #22 $1,500 Big O | 1st (bracelet) | $387,110 |
| Frederic Normand | #21 $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo | 1st (bracelet) | $235,377 |
| Daniel Negreanu | #64 $25K High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed | 7th | $152,954 |
| Clayton Mozdzen | #37 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. | 2nd | $122,206 |
| Alex Livingston (Halifax, NS) | #60 $50K PPC | 8th to 21st | est. $78K to $140K |
| Thomas Taylor (Medicine Hat, AB) | #52 $3,000 Nine Game Mix | 4th | $76,510 |
| Elliot Smith | #49 $2,500 Freezeout NLH | 7th | $75,390 |
| Daniel Negreanu | #47 $25,000 PLO High Roller | 26th | $69,531 |
| Gianluca Cedolia (Toronto) | #53 $1,500 Five Card PLO | 5th | $66,610 |
| Orlando Moretti (Bolton, ON) | #43 $800 Deepstack NLH | 6th | $64,992 |
| Frederic Normand | #65 $1,500 Freezeout NLH | 483rd | $3,030 |
| Kristen Foxen | #68 $1,000 Ladies Championship | Day 2 chip top-five | still alive |
Notable Canadian results, 2026 WSOP, through Saturday morning June 27. Source: WSOP.com, PokerNews, Card Player and the Hendon Mob.
What to watch Saturday
Four threads continue Saturday. The Event #68 Ladies Championship plays Day 2 and the bracelet final day from 12:00 p.m. Pacific. Event #63 Mystery Millions runs Day 1D registration before Sunday's Day 2 restart. Event #69 Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better plays Day 2 from Will Berry's 605,000-chip lead. Event #66 Tag Team plays its final day from the Tomas Szwarcberg / Sebastien Hetzel chip lead. Event #70, the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, opens Saturday afternoon, expected to draw approximately 350 entries against a projected US$1.5 million first-place prize.
Ontario players watching from home can follow the live updates on PokerNews, WSOP.com and the PokerGO live stream. The regulated Ontario market overview is on the best poker sites in Ontario page; the WSOP Super Circuit Canada qualifiers operating in August are covered on the GGPoker Ontario page; and the four-week tournament guide is at Ontario poker tournament schedule.