Shaun Deeb runner-up again after brutal déjà vu hand at WSOPE

Dave Woods
Posted on: April 4, 2026 08:15 PDT
ENTRIES (€) IN THE MONEY
2,662
258
PRIZE POOL €1,331,000
2ND PRIZE €110K
FIRST PRIZE €165K
1

Gilles Silbernagel had just one previous WSOP cash before winning the Colossus – $4,760 in the 2024 Mini Main Event.

1st
VS
2nd
Gilles Silbernagel
1st
Gilles Silbernagel
FR
Prize
€165,000
Career Earnings: €751,067
PRIZE
Shaun Deeb
2nd
Shaun Deeb
Prize
€110,000
Career Earnings: €17,670,059
PRIZE
Gilles Silbernagel
1st
Gilles Silbernagel
FR
Shaun Deeb
2nd
Shaun Deeb
Final Hand
Prize
€165,000
Career Earnings: €751,067
PRIZE
Prize
€110,000
Career Earnings: €17,670,059
PRIZE
RESULTS
  1. 1ST FR Gilles Silbernagel €164,980
  2. 2ND US Shaun Deeb €110,000
  3. 3RD PL Przemyslaw Cebrat €80,500
  4. 4TH HR Hrvoje Mitrovic €66,000
  5. 5TH PL Karol Wojtyla €44,500
  6. 6TH LV Davis Mihelsons €32,000
Final Hand
EXPAND GRAPHIC

“This story is going to write itself,” Shaun Deeb said, heads-up in the €565 Colossus at the 2026 WSOPE.

The board read

Deeb had bet, and his opponent, Gilles Silbernagel, had swiftly moved all-in.

“You know what my other heads-up hand was, right? You familiar with it?”

Deeb was talking about the final hand of the €3,300 Mixed PLO/PLO8/Big O tournament that finished earlier this week. 

He flopped a king-high flush, while his opponent Frank Koopman flopped a set of fours and turned quads

That was Event #2 at the 2026 WSOPE. This was the finale of Event #3. It couldn’t happen again, could it?

Shaun Deeb was looking for his ninth WSOP bracelet in Prague. Shaun Deeb was looking for his ninth WSOP bracelet in Prague.

Hit by the coldest deck in Prague

Deeb started heads-up with close to a 2:1 chip lead, but the deck was brutal. Silbernagel kept connecting, repeatedly making top pair, seemingly unable to miss.

Every time Deeb landed a blow, Silbernagel hit back harder.

Deeb won a decent pot after the break. Silbernagel responded by turning a flush with the very next hand.

Now it all came down to this.

Deeb upended all of his time bank cards in the middle.

Silbernagel was stoic. 

“I’m just going to f***ing lose another bracelet to quads, aren’t I?”  

Deeb acknowledging another winning hand from Gilles Silbernagel. Deeb acknowledging another winning hand from Gilles Silbernagel.

Déjà vu as quads strike again

Deeb burned through three of his time extensions before fisting a stack of chips in the middle. Silbernagel instantly celebrated and tabled

Deeb didn’t even need to look. He turned over and walked away. 

His ninth bracelet will have to wait. But perhaps more painfully, he’s now recorded two second-place finishes in Prague, where one win would have made him a clear favorite for back-to-back Player of the Year titles. 

The two players had battled through a huge field of 2,662. Only one could walk away with the title. Today, the deck belonged to France.

But one big question had been answered.

How do you beat Shaun Deeb? Make quads. 

Images courtesy of WSOP – Lennart Hennig.