By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · June 30, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
Matthew Higgins of the United States, the long-time WSOP Circuit grinder with nine career Circuit rings, won Event #63, the $1,000 Mystery Millions, on Tuesday night for his first WSOP gold bracelet and a US$1,000,000 first-place prize. Higgins, a 39-year-old former bookkeeper who has been a full-time professional since 2016 and a regular on the WSOP Circuit Toronto, WSOP Circuit Hammond and WSOP Circuit Iowa State circuits, defeated Polish 2014 EPT Prague Main Event champion Dominik Panka heads-up after a final-table run that included three ace-high all-in holds. The field of 22,811 entries had closed registration on Sunday as the all-time record for any $1,000 buy-in event in the World Series of Poker's 56-year history.
The cumulative regular and bounty prize pool reached US$16,919,343, of which Higgins took home the US$1,000,000 first prize tied to the regular pool plus the headline US$1,000,000 guaranteed mystery bounty envelope. Drawing the top bounty envelope in the bracelet day means Higgins's effective take-home is approximately US$2,000,000 before US tax and bonus draws. The Mystery Millions's eight remaining US$100,000 to US$300,000 envelopes were drawn across the final 24 players on Tuesday; Brian Smith, who finished fifth for US$290,000, was reported to have drawn an additional US$108,000 bounty for an effective ~US$398,000 day; David 'ODB' Baker, the long-time bracelet winner who finished seventh for US$176,000, took an additional US$100,000-plus envelope on his bust hand.
The full Mystery Millions final-table payouts
Higgins's path to the bracelet included Day 3 eliminations of David Baker, Brian Smith and Vinay Boob, and a quiet final five that lasted just six levels of play. The final hand of the heads-up contest saw Higgins pick up pocket queens versus Panka's ace-jack offsuit, with the queens holding on a board of king-eight-four-deuce-five. Panka, who had been the chip leader entering Tuesday's bracelet day at approximately 78,000,000 chips, surrendered the lead in level 32 to Higgins after a series of bluff-catch decisions late in the night.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Higgins | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Dominik Panka | Poland | $640,000 |
| 3 | Leo Lombardozzi | France | $490,000 |
| 4 | Thomas Hall | United Kingdom | $375,000 |
| 5 | Brian Smith | United States | $290,000 |
| 6 | Vinay Boob | India | $225,000 |
| 7 | David "ODB" Baker | United States | $176,000 |
| 8 | Imre Makranyi | United States | $140,000 |
| 9 | Edward Pak | United States | $110,003 |
Event #63 $1,000 Mystery Millions final-table payouts (regular prize pool only, before mystery bounty additions). Source: Spade Poker's "WSOP 2026: Matthew Higgins Adds First Bracelet to Nine Rings".
What the 22,811 entries means
The Mystery Millions Event #63's 22,811 entries set three records on closure of late registration Sunday: largest $1,000 WSOP event ever, fourth-largest WSOP event of any buy-in ever (behind the 2026 Colossus, the 2024 Mystery Millions and the 2023 Main Event reentry-permitting era), and the largest single-event Mystery Bounty field ever held. The 1,236 Day 2 returners, the 222 paid positions, and the bounty distribution generated a record US$1,000,000 single-draw top mystery envelope payout, US$100,000-plus envelopes for at least seven Day 3 bust-outs, and a regular pool first prize of approximately US$1,000,000 that combined with the top mystery to deliver Higgins his US$2,000,000-plus take-home.
Shaun Deeb leads 8-Game Mixed Day 2 chasing ninth bracelet
Event #74, the $1,500 8-Game Mixed, played its Day 2 session Tuesday afternoon and evening from a 147-player Day 1 cut, with the field cut to a 13-player Day 3 advance. American eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Shaun Deeb bagged the chip lead at 3,090,000 chips, the only player above 3 million in the field. The 39-year-old Deeb, the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year and one of the most-decorated multi-format winners of his generation, is one bracelet away from joining Michael Mizrachi at the nine-bracelet count on the all-time list. Mizrachi just reached nine bracelets last night with his $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship win. Slovenian recreational professional Blaz Zerjav sits second behind Deeb.
Toronto's Devon Sampson, the long-time Canadian mixed-game pro who had bagged second on Day 1 with 515,000 chips, bagged through to Day 3 in a third-tier chip position. Daniel Negreanu, the all-time WSOP earnings leader on US$33,999,728 across 13 bracelets, also bagged through Day 3 from his Day 1 fourth-place chip count of 378,500. Both Canadians are among the 13 returning players, who will play through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to a 12-level Day 3 schedule and the final eight, with the bracelet day Wednesday afternoon. The eventual winner takes US$181,625 of the US$1,016,865 prize pool, with 115 players already in the money at a US$3,010 min-cash.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 3,090,000 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | ~2,400,000 |
| 3-13 | Eleven other players including Devon Sampson (Canada) and Daniel Negreanu (Canada) | Various | ~1,200,000 average |
Event #74 $1,500 8-Game Mixed Day 2 chip leader and Canadian survivors. Source: Hochgepokert's "WSOP #74: Shaun Deeb greift nach Bracelet Nr. 9!".
Deeb's bracelet record and the Mizrachi chase
Deeb's eight bracelets, accumulated between 2008 and 2022, place him 14th on the all-time list. His most-recent bracelet, a 2022 $1,500 Razz, was followed by a year-long drought interrupted by two 2024 final-table near-misses. Should he convert the chip lead Wednesday, he becomes the ninth player ever to nine bracelets, just one day after Mizrachi's ninth. The race to ten bracelets, currently held only by Phil Hellmuth (17) and Phil Ivey (12), would also extend with both Mizrachi and Deeb now in active pursuit. PokerNews's Player of the Year leaderboard updates show Deeb at 1,420 POY points, Mizrachi at 2,500, and the all-time list slowly reshuffling around the two mid-2010s grinders.
Canadian PokerGO commentator and analyst Adam Pliska, in a Tuesday morning livestream segment, called the 8-Game Mixed bracelet race 'the most consequential sub-Main-Event story of the back half of the festival.' Sampson and Negreanu's continued presence in the 13-player Day 3 field adds a Canadian-flag angle to the chase. Should Sampson convert, he becomes only the second Canadian to win an 8-Game Mixed bracelet, after Negreanu's 2014 title. Should Negreanu add a 14th bracelet, he extends the lead at the all-time Canadian count of WSOP gold to three over Foxen's six and ties Bobby Baldwin and Stu Ungar on the global all-time list at 14.
Looking ahead to Wednesday
Wednesday brings three bracelet days. The $1,500 8-Game Mixed bracelet day runs after the 13-handed Day 3 plays down to a final eight. Event #75, the $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, opens Wednesday afternoon and is expected to draw approximately 180 entries to a US$8.6-million-plus prize pool. Event #72, the $1,000 Mini Main Event, plays Day 2 from a cumulative Day 1A and Day 1B field of approximately 2,518 entries. The first day of the WSOP Main Event opens Thursday July 2 at noon Pacific with Day 1A.
For Ontario players watching the 8-Game Mixed bracelet day from home, the live updates feed is at PokerNews and on the WSOP+ subscription stream; the 2026 WSOP Super Circuit Montreal qualifier path on GGPoker Ontario remains active for satellites through August 19; the regulated Ontario market overview is on the best poker sites in Ontario page; and the full month-ahead schedule is at Ontario poker tournament schedule.