Greg Mueller was shot out of a cannon on Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event final table.
"It was unreal," Mueller told us afterward.
The former hockey pro had ended the first session with the short stack, and he was facing a short afternoon after shoving his king-jack right into Lauri Saaskilahti's ace-king. But Mueller "had a good feeling the whole way," and a jack on the flop set his journey on a different course.
Meanwhile, Saaskilahti had started the day among the top three stacks, only trailing chip leader Lucas Jumalon and red-hot Han Feng, so the chance to take out Mueller was a brilliant early opportunity. It didn't work out that way, and Saaskilahti tumbled down the leaderboard.
Chips and ladders
The hand would also earn Mueller his first ladder of the day when Jamie Shaevel tossed his chips to Jumalon a few moments later. A hand with Rami Hammoud would set up two more pay jumps.
Mueller went for it against his Canadian comrade with pocket nines, once again running Hammoud's into ace-king. But there was no pair for Big Slick, and Hammoud was down to his last 10 big blinds. His journey would end a few hands later, another victim of Jumalon.
Hammoud's journey was among our favorites, as he played the entire tournament like he had a plane to catch. He didn't care, and it worked, but that's a hard strategy to carry into the WSOP Main Event final.
"It's not like I didn't want to, it was just really difficult," Hammoud told us after he busted out. "The three-week break really allowed me to be connected to what we were playing for, and I think the break hindered me because of that. Yesterday was really difficult to disconnect, as much as I tried to."
Hammoud played a lot better today and earned a sixth-place finish.
"I wasn't able to go back to that version of Rami where I have a flight to catch because I wanted this to continue as much as possible. It's sad, but it's important to go through that sadness, and it's important to live that sadness. When the hell are you ever gonna play for 10 million dollars again?"
Final two start scrapping
The sequence cleared the way for Feng to make his move, and he needed to do so after a hand that doubled Saaskilahti back into contention. His next big chance came with pocket aces, and it was once again with Saaskilahti, who called with 
. The resulting board of 
was a "barbaric end" for the sharp-dressed man in fifth place.
That was three ladders for Mueller, who started the day in seventh, and Michael Gagliano was the new short stack. The two would step aside for a moment while Jumalon and Sasskilahti went at it.
The two were deep into a pot with a board showing 
when Jumalon bet 61 million with 
. Saaskilahti talked himself into it with 
, and dodged the river card to score a huge double.
The hand spurred some contention between the two. They fired at each other over the next several hands, and Saaskilahti nearly drew even before Jumalon beat him back.
Meanwhile, Gagliano had enjoyed a few pay jumps himself, but his time came, and his exit was Mueller's fourth and final ladder.
"I wish I did a little bit more," Gagliano said to Jeff Platt afterward. "But you do what you can with what you're dealt. I don't think I would have changed any decision at this final table."
Mueller didn't last much longer, but he left an indelible mark on the Main Event, with one of the loudest and more memorable rails in history.
"It's been so amazing," Mueller told Sarah Herring at the end of the night. "The love — it trumps the poker and the money — that's what life's all about."
The loud, proud Canadian support will now step off the stage, leaving just the final two: an American and a Finn. One will win $10 million, and one will settle for $6 million. The American had the edge, but the Finn has the momentum, and it's anyone's ballgame live on ESPN on Wednesday night.
2026 WSOP Main Event final table chip counts/results
- Lucas Jumalon - 328,000,000 (109bb)
- Lauri Saaskhiahti - 225,000,000 (75bb)
- Greg Mueller - $3,750,000
- Michael Gagliano - $2,750,000
- Han Feng - $2,250,000
- Rami Hammoud - $1,750,000
- Jamie Shaevel - $1,500,000
- Mario Boos - $1,250,000
- Evagoras Evagorou - $1,000,000
