Eggenberger wins first Ladies bracelet at WSOPE after brutal late twist

"Urgh," said Eggenberger. 

The river changed everything, but no one seemed to notice. 

Joo tapped the table a few times, thinking she'd won it. 

Eggenberger stood up to walk before exclaiming, "Flush!" and sitting back down. 

Joo took a beat and realized what had happened. 

Eunbeen Joo didn't see the flush on the river straight away – and thought she'd won the bracelet.

Resurrected on Easter Sunday

Recovering from thinking you've won a bracelet isn't easy. 

And Joo didn't win another meaningful hand. 

She still had the chip lead, but Eggenberger was on a charge, and a few hands later Joo, perhaps rattled, made another loose call. This time, it was fatal.

The chip stacks were pretty much even when Eggenberger moved all-in with . Joo didn't take long to make the call with . 

The flop had something for everyone, but the turn completed a crazy comeback for Eggenberger – almost dead on Easter Sunday before she was resurrected on the river.

Anca Eggenberger moments after winning the Ladies Championship. We’ll spare you the Easter puns.

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The road to the bracelet

Day 1 of the €1,000 Ladies Championship hit a little different.

Obviously, there weren’t any men present. But there was champagne and a buzzy atmosphere. 

Annette Obrestad was in town. She returned to poker at the WSOPE and has already made Day 2 of the record-breaking Main Event.

She couldn't fashion a run here. 

Annette Obrestad helped pave the way for women in poker when she won the WSOPE Main Event in 2007.

Shiina Okamoto was here but couldn’t repeat the magic from her back-to-back WSOP Ladies Championship wins.

Ashley 'PokerfaceAsh' Frank, Vanessa Kade, Abby Merk, and Leo Margets also hit the rail before the end of the day. 

30 players made it through from 197 entries, led by Daria Krashennikova and including Esther 'Etay' Taylor, Kitty Kuo, Jessica Teusl, Olga Iermolcheva, Lexy Gavin, and UFC star Mackenzie Dern.

UFC star Mackenzie Dern was KO'd in 24th for €2,100.

Lennart Hennig

Time to get serious

Day 2 started with fireworks as 10 players were eliminated in the first 30 minutes, including Iermolcheva, Gavin, Dern, and Teusl. The champagne had stopped flowing – it was all about the poker now. 

Kitty Kuo dropped in 15th.

The final table was even more serious. The table talk had stopped. There was €40K and a special edition pink diamond bracelet up top. 

Etay had dropped her trademark busby hat in favor of a 'Cougar' cap and black hoodie, but she was still cracking her trademark smile. 

She burst the final table bubble, eliminating Paulina ‘Poker Bunny’ Loeliger with after flopping an ace. 

The final table of the 2026 WSOPE Ladies Championship.

Lennart Hennig

Final table stacks

1. Daria Krashennikova – 1,955,000
2. Eunbeen Joo – 1,745,000
3. Anca Eggenberger – 930,000
4. Sail Elias – 805,000
5. Monika Hoffmann – 630,000
6. Esther Taylor – 620,000
7. Ksenia Shuali – 585,000
8. Yuxi Huang – 460,000
9. Aylar Lie – 140,000

Eunbeen Joo thought she'd won it – but don't ever tap the table too soon.

With blinds at 20K/40K/40K, stacks were shallow, and players had to pick their spots. 

Eggenberger and Joo took turns eliminating the first four players, with Eggenberger knocking out Taylor in sixth.

Joo then took out Krashennikova, giving her a big chip lead. Shuali scored the next knockout before Eggenberger eliminated her to set up heads-up play.

Eggenberger had the lead, but Joo was dominant – right up until she thought she'd won it. It’s a moment she won’t forget.

^{Images courtesy of WSOP – Lennart Hennig.}