It started way back on July 2. It feels like a lifetime ago.
9,208 players entered the 2026 WSOP Main Event. Fast forward to today and only two remain:
- Lucas Jumalon: 22, fighting out of Spokane, Washington
- Lauri Saaskilahti: 40, from Helsinki, now fighting out of Barcelona, Spain
Jumalon is looking to become the second-youngest Main Event winner of all time, after his hero Joe Cada. In fact, he wants to make another Main Event final table, like Cada.
Saaskilahti became the first Finnish player to make the Main Event final table. He’s now looking to become the first Finnish world champion.
Tournament winnings
Both players have seen their Hendon Mob profiles explode over the past three days.
After starting the Main Event with a total of $180,888 in tournament winnings, Jumalon’s Hendon Mob has now ticked up to $6,180,888.
It’s a similar story for Saaskilahti. His Hendon Mob now reads $6,138,453.
Combined, they had $319,341 in tournament winnings before this tournament.
The Main Event may be poker's everyman tournament, but this isn't normal. You have to go back to 2011 to find two players with less live tournament winnings before contesting the Main Event heads-up – and Pius Heinz had already won way more online. The same is true of Joe Cada in 2009.
Chips
Who finishes the night with all the chips?
- Jumalon: 338M (109bbs)
- Saaskilahti: 225M (75bbs)
Lucas Jumalon started the Main Event final table with a monster chip lead and most people predicted that he would win.
He’s still got a big chip lead, but it’s not as big as it was and while he’s still the favorite, both stacks are deep. This could go either way.
All the numbers are on Jumalon’s side. In the last 25 years, only five players have lost after starting heads-up in the Main Event with a chip lead: Martin Staszko, Jay Farber, Gordon Vayo, Tony Miles and Jordan Griff.
Coaching
Jumalon takes poker seriously. Win or lose tonight, he wants this to be the start of a long career. He hired Patrick Leonard (who finished 32nd in this year’s Main Event) as a coach and Pads is very pleased with Jumalon’s performance so far. And David 'ODB' Baker has already got him down as a “lifer”.
On a pure technical level it’s the best main event final table performance history since Jacobson and it’s not close.
— Patrick Leonard 🫡 (@padspoker) August 5, 2026
On an exploit level (not jamming 77 with 100bbs vs 20bb20bb. Btn/sb) when you are seen as a complete spewtard (jamming A2o yesterday) its one of the sickest…
Saaskilahti appears to have a different relationship with poker. While Jumalon is chasing a career in the game, the Finn has been refreshingly relaxed about the whole experience. As Matt Salsberg put on X:
Fate
Saaskilahti says that he and Jumalon talked about playing each other heads-up as far back as Day 5. He says that it’s “surreal” that it’s come to pass.
The Finnish player goes on to say that Jumalon is the “dream opponent” to face heads-up in the Main. He says that Jumalon is “an extremely good player” but Saaskilahti says that he has full confidence in himself. From every interview we've done with him on the floor, one thing has stood out: confidence has never been in short supply.
Pressure
Let’s not forget that the two players are playing a $4 million winner-take-all heads-up battle tonight. That’s something very few poker players will ever do. Even fewer do it in front of the cameras. And they'll be doing it on ESPN. That's pressure.
Jumalon showed signs of feeling the pressure ahead of making the final table, but he seems to have steadied himself now and is enjoying the moment.
Saaskilahti is ridiculously cool. If he’s feeling any pressure, he’s certainly not showing it. When he was all-in and at risk against Han Feng last night, he started asking about a previous hand he’d played. That’s cold.
The rail
If we're judging on size and volume, Jumalon wins this one easily. And he’s leaning into his support, as you can see from the video below.
Tale of the tape
| Jumalon | Saaskilahti |
|
|---|---|---|
| Age | 22 | 40 |
| Country | USA | Finland |
| Residence | Spokane | Barcelona |
| Pre-Main Event winnings | $180,888 | $138,453 |
| Chips | 338M |
225M |
| Coach | Patrick Leonard | – |
| Playing for | 2nd-youngest champ |
First Finnish champ |
Who’s your money on? Let us know in the comments below. Let's hope that whoever wins, the heads-up battle lives up to Daniel Negreanu's prediction and is "epic".
