To win a tournament like the WSOP’s Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix, you’ve got to be tuned in to the ever-shifting rhythms of a bunch of different poker variants.
From the edge-of-your-seat swings of no-limit hold’em to the card-tracking of razz, and the complex mind games of 2-7 single draw, this is an arena where analytical minds thrive and personal beefs get put to the side.
Or maybe not?
Late on Friday night in Las Vegas, Joey Couden finally saw off his last opponent to bag his third WSOP winner’s bracelet. That opponent was 2025 WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb and, as Couden told PokerOrg’s Matt Hansen, that fact made all the difference.
“I couldn't draw this up better,” said Couden. “You know, getting heads-up against Deeb. A guy that’s always big-dogging people and challenging them to heads-up?
“To get him heads-up and beat him… there's just nothing more special than that for me.”
Couden fights back from 2-to-1 down
Deeb, who at $133 was the most expensive drafted player in the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll, has not been having a particularly memorable WSOP so far.
Nevertheless, defeat came with a $166,540 consolation prize, and with a strong showing at WSOP Europe already in the can Deeb remains well within striking distance of an historic second consecutive WSOP Player of the Year award.
But this is a story of a bracelet won, not lost. Couden saw off a field of 472 to claim his third WSOP victory and $254,470.
The final table was an international affair featuring representatives of China, Cyprus, Canada and Japan, but in the end it was two Americans dueling for the title.
It was Deeb who eliminated Japan’s Kazuhiro Shirasawa in a hand of NL 2-7 single draw to bring about the heads-up phase, and with a 2-to-1 chip lead the bracelet seemed like Deeb’s to lose.
And he did. But this was no tepid fourth-quarter collapse. The final two players went blow-for-blow for almost four hours, supported by cheers and encouragement from the rail.
Deeb’s lead was cut, then taken, but it was not one-way traffic. The lead changed hands on multiple occasions before Couden opened enough of a gap to finally put away the 8-time bracelet winner and seal the comeback win.
“He had me 2-to-1 to start and then I fought to the chip lead and kind of loosened up,” said Couden. “I fell back down to where he had me 2-to-1 on the last break, but it just felt different. I don't know, I just felt like I was going to win, even though I was down 2-to-1. I just survived. I just felt good.”
The end came in a round of razz — 7-card stud played for low — when Deeb called off the last of his chips on fifth street, drawing to an 8. Couden was also drawing. It came down to the final card for both.
Shaun Deeb: 
/
/
Joey Couden: 
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/
Couden made A-2-4-5-6. Deeb made A-2-3-7-8, then quickly made his exit.
Third bracelet for Joey Couden
For Couden, the $254K prize money marks a new high-score in a career absolutely littered with WSOP tournament cashes, and which now includes three bracelet wins.
His previous victories came in 2018 ($1,500 PLO8) and in last year’s $500 Salute to Warriors NLH event.
“It was a blast,” he said after sealing the win. “I’ve got friends from Pennsylvania, friends from Ohio. My woman's here. Guys from Florida. I've known these guys for 20 years, at least.”
Couden's latest score takes his lifetime tournament earnings close to the $3.5M mark. For Deeb, it’s his highest finish of the series so far, and a step closer to a first win of the 2026 WSOP and the history-making back-to-back POY awards he seeks.
Luckily, he has more than three dozen opportunities remaining this summer.
$3,000 Nine Game Mix final table results
- Joey Couden (USA) — $254,470
- Shaun Deeb (USA) — $166,540
- Kazuhiro Shirawasa (Japan) — $111,610
- Thomas Taylor (Canada) — $76,510
- Yu Li (China) — $53,680
- Antonios Onoufriou (Cyprus) — $38,560
