With a name like the Millionaire Maker, the 2026 WSOP’s Event #50 doesn’t dodge the limelight.
But back in the here and now there are 9 players still in the running to make headlines for all the right reasons.
These guys — all USA-based — have somehow survived a field of 11,769 players to take their shot at the huge $1.25 million first prize.
Second-place will also make a millionaire, with $1M on the table for the runner-up. Everyone at Wednesday’s final table is guaranteed at least $150K — 100x the $1,500 buy-in.
So who are the nine players looking to make their fortunes? From biggest to smallest stacks, meet the Milly Maker Class of 2026.
1. Michael Monroig — 73.9M (49bb)
From Johnson City, New York, Monroig has a little over $150,000 in lifetime career earnings bolstered by a run in the 2023 WSOP Main Event.
On that occasion he finished in 595th place for a $32,500 payday.
It’s not his best score at the WSOP, though. That came in an online bracelet event in 2023 when he finished 6th for $32,854, in an event eventually won by Thomas Marchese.
Monroig enjoyed a strong end to Tuesday’s penultimate day and brings the biggest stack into the finale.
2. Joseph Baghdalian — 52.3M (35bb)
Armenian-born, California-based Baghdalian has been stacking up the results in the cardrooms of LA recently, though tournament earnings to date of $132K means he is already guaranteed to more than double his career winnings in this event.
His best live cash so far came in last year’s WSOP Main Event, when he finished in 629th place for $27,500. Again, that figure has already been outstripped thanks to his strong performance in the Milly Maker.
A win, and the $1.25M that comes with it, would rocket Baghdalian into the top 4 of Armenia’s all-time money list.
3. Joseph Liberta — 46.4M (31bb)
New Jersey’s Liberta is one of the few players at this final table who has already won more than the $1.25M up top.
With over $1.5M in lifetime earnings, not to mention a win in an online WSOP Circuit event, Liberta should not be phased when play resumes on Wednesday.
He’s made WSOP final tables before, in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and in 2023 he took part in the $25K PLO High Roller and the $10K PLO Championship in 2023, cashing for $101K and $40K respectively.
His best live result — before this week — came at the Parx Casino in 2016, when he won $124K. Liberta also cashed this very event last year, collecting $10,200 for a run to 195th place.
4. Alex Kim — 32.7M (22bb)
New Yorker Kim is another player with prior experience in the Millionaire Maker, having secured his best live cash so far in the 2024 edition of the tournament, when he reached the final table.
On that occasion he picked up $174K for his 8th place finish, one of only two six-figure scores to date in a career which has seen him win close to $450K.
Kim came dangerously close to exiting this event late on Tuesday when he found himself all-in against KK and AK holding KJ.
Somehow, he found a runner-runner flush to keep his hopes alive.
Is it meant to be?
5. Bradley Gafford — 25.5M (17bb)
California’s Gafford is the sole bracelet-winner in the bunch, thanks to his victory in the 2023 Mini Main Event. There he defeated Josh Reichard heads-up to win his only WSOP bracelet to date.
That win came with almost $550K in winnings, which make up the bulk of his lifetime earnings of $1,223,150.
Gafford also came close to a WSOP final table last year, finishing 11th in the $5K NLH.
6. Halford Fairchild — 24.7M (16bb)
It’s hard not to root for Fairchild at this final table, given the bulk of his tournament results fall in the three-figure to low-four-figure range.
His best live cash of his career so far — $20,615 for a 3rd place finish at a WPT event in 2014 — is already in the rearview mirror as the man from Culver City is guaranteed a $150K payday thanks to his deep run here.
In fact, his lifetime tournament earnings are going to be doubled at a minimum by the end of Wednesday; his $127K in accumulated winnings include several cashes in WSOP Seniors and Super Seniors events.
And, in case you missed it, Fairchild was involved in an interesting hand earlier in the tournament with fellow final tablist Garry Gurevich, when each player correctly called the other’s hand.
7. Yifu He — 15.1M (10bb)
He, of Sunnyvale, California, has already cashed four times during the 2026 WSOP for almost $50K.
His best result of the summer so far was a 14th place finish in the $5K NLH, which came with a little over $23K. That’s going to change, and soon, as he plays for a minimum of $150K and a maximum of $1.25M in the Millionaire Maker.
With just 10 big blinds to work with he’ll need to go on a run to finish up top, but with career earnings of $1.4M he surely has the experience to keep his head and give himself the best chance of success.
8. Garry Gurevich — 13M (9bb)
Gurevich of Illinois may have only $217K in career earnings, but he’s played some big ticket events in his time — certainly a lot higher than the $1,500 buy-in for the Millionaire Maker.
Case in point: the 2025 Super Main Event at WSOP Paradise, which had a $25K buy-in. Gurevich made the money there, finishing 390th for his best ever cash of $50K.
He also cashed the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas last year, turning $10K into $32,500 with a run to 504th. 2025 also saw him win a WSOP Circuit ring in Hammond.
Is 2026 the year he breaks through to the big leagues?
9. Jacob Gagnon — 10.6M (7bb)
It’s always a thrill when the shortstack at a final table turns it around and comes back to seal the victory. With just 7 big blinds in his stack, Gagnon has his work cut out for him, but it would make for a fantastic story if he could.
Why? Try a best-ever tournament cash of just $7,849, and lifetime earnings of $73K. Gagnon has no recorded tournament wins on his resume, and just two final tables to date.
He may be the underdog, but he’s cashed twice already at the 2026 WSOP, and if the Millionaire Maker isn’t the perfect opportunity for an unknown quantity to become a poker headline, we don’t know what is.
WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker — final table payouts
- $1,250,000
- $1,000,000
- $750,000
- $530,000
- $410,000
- $315,000
- $245,000
- $190,000
- $150,068
Action resumes Wednesday at 3:30pm local time - expect to follow the conclusion to this one on the WSOP livestream.
Images courtesy of the WSOP, with thanks to The Hendon Mob for historical tournament data.
