The final table of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event is set, with a pair of Canadians holding the chance to become the first since Jonathan Duhamel in 2010 to bring the grandest prize in all of poker north of the border.
High-stakes veteran Greg Mueller of White Rock, BC, and Montreal’s Rami Hammoud, in a breakthrough performance in this Main Event, will fly the flag for Canada when the final table resumes on August 3 inside the Horseshoe Event Center.
While both Canadians are looking way up at Lucas Jumalon’s over 100M chip lead, Mueller and Hammoud are more than capable of chasing him down and capturing the title.
WSOP Main Event final table chip counts:
- Lucas Jumalon (USA) - 194M
- Rami Hammoud (Canada) - 79M
- Jamie Shaevel (USA) - 56M
- Greg Mueller (Canada) - 48.5M
- Michael Gagliano (USA) - 46.5M
- Mario Boos (France) - 44M
- Lauri Saaskilahti (Finland) - 37.5M
- Han Feng (USA) - 25M
- Evagoras Evagorou (Cyprus) - 22.5M
Pucks in deep, chips in the middle
Mueller plans on spending his three weeks back home training his body and, as he says, ‘losing some pounds’ to look good for the biggest stage in poker. As for strategy? No changes. Dance with the one who brought ‘ya.
“Well, I'm going to have to be completely focused and dialled,” said Mueller. “Same stuff that I did before, and I'm going to play fearless. And if I bust in eighth, then I bust in eighth. But yeah, I'm not looking to come in third or fourth. I would like to win. Doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy, but if a spot comes up, I'm going for it.”
A well-known player in the high-stakes and mixed game scenes at every WSOP, with three bracelets and a Hendon Mob profile of over $3.5M USD. Mueller will have the support of plenty of poker’s biggest names when the final table resumes, and plenty back home as well. To steal a cliché from his days as a professional hockey player, Mueller credits his run in part to being a team effort.
“We have that hockey mentality, right? And so we like to compete. We like to cheer; we like the team energy. And that's what I feel like it is. I have a team of people here. They're, you know, grabbing me the waters, dinner reservations, coaching, videos, support. Like, a million people back home. It's kind of like a team camaraderie atmosphere.”
Hammoud chasing history
As for Hammoud, he’s become the latest success story out of the poker hotbed of Playground in Montreal. His three career wins have all come there, including a career-best score of $123,386 USD, his lone six-figure score.
He has already locked up his first seven-figure score, with at least $1M USD coming his way. It’s been a run he’s wanted to share with as many supporters as possible, which will be his priority leading up to the final table.
“I am very happy with the time off. I wouldn't have been happy with three months off. I think that's absurd, but 20 days feels like it's the right amount. And I also have the chance to bring my friends and family here, right? And to be surrounded.
"I had a couple of people here, which was awesome, but I want a bigger rail. I want to share this experience with other people. I feel like that's what it's about, right? If you're alone and you experience it on your own. It's not worth it, right?”
Hammoud thinks that having not just himself, but Mueller at the final table as well is going to make for a raucous atmosphere around the WSOP Thunderdome as they battle for the first Canadian Main Event bracelet in 16 years and ten million dollars.
“It's going to be awesome because we're going to have two Canadian rails. They're going to be supporting each other. And yeah, has it been since Jonathan Duhamel won the Main Event? Man, we have two chances out of nine to do a repeat, especially being from Montreal. It would be awesome to carry on that legacy.”
