April 30 - May 4, 2026
The biggest prize pool in Texas poker history. The previous record was $2 million in the Texas Poker Championship in 2022.
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1ST
Thomas Brabham
$368,545
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2ND
David Mzareulov
$245,090
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3RD
Alexis Martinez
$175,170
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4TH
Duc Nguyen
$126,830
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5TH
Jeremy Guest
$93,960
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6TH
Xinguo Wang
$69,190
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7TH
Alejandro Gonzalez
$52,150
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8TH
Sharon Aloor
$39,850
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9TH
Gabriel Simmons
$30,880
A historic debut for the WSOP Circuit in the state of Texas came to a fitting conclusion on Monday night at TCH Social Austin as hometown tournament grinder Thomas ‘Trey’ Brabham took home the Main Event title.
With one of the most boisterous rails the Circuit has ever seen, Brabham defeated fellow tournament veteran David Mzareulov heads-up for the title.
As the final card was dealt to give Brabham the massive $368,545 first prize from the largest prize pool in Texas poker history, along with his second career Circuit ring, Brabham’s rail erupted in chants of “U-S-Trey” to celebrate the historic victory.
It was an atmosphere that reminded the champion of one of the biggest parties in sports.
“The Waste Management Open! That’s what it reminded me of. It was super fun.”
Disaster averted
The final table ended in celebration for Brabham, but it began with near disaster after an error saw him mistakenly expose his hand preflop in a 10 million chip pot.
Thinking his opponent, Sharon Aloor, had said “all-in” when he instead four-bet, Brabham called and exposed his pocket queens. The action was ruled a call, leaving Brabham 2.7M behind.
The flop was six-high, and Brabham jammed his remaining chips in first to act. Aloor was forced into a decision, suggesting that he had ace-king.
Aloor folded his hand, and Brabham explained what happened to us afterward.
“I started talking to myself because I thought he said 'all-in,'" Brabham told us. "I would never have done that if I'd known I could have jammed all in still. I grabbed a stack of 100Ks and pushed them forward. I thought I was calling an all-in.”
When the flop favored him with his hand exposed, Brabham says he felt an incredible sense of relief.
“My queens are face up, and the board comes six-high – I just thought, ‘Oh my God, sweet Jesus, thank you,’ and got to jam. I was super happy that he folded. There's no telling what those next two cards would have been.”
Onward to Texas glory
The hand gave Brabham the chip lead at that point, and from there, he would hold it for much of the final table until three-handed play, when Brabham, Mzareulov, and third-place finisher Alexis Martinez traded it back and forth. Brabham eliminated Martinez to set up the heads-up match with Mzareulov.
A short duel followed, with the champion never ceding his lead on the way to the title.
The historic win was his, capping a series that awarded over $7M in prizes. The room was electric with friends celebrating, and the first Circuit series in Texas had come to a very happy and raucous conclusion.
In the end, though, Brabham brought it back to home and family.
“My hometown. You can’t ask for anything better. I wish my wife were here, but we’ve been together for 20 years – she gets that sometimes things don’t turn out the way you’d hoped, so she just left me alone, and it turned out great. She’ll be really happy to see me tonight.”
The WSOP Circuit returns to Texas Card House Austin, September 10-21.
