Two Set-Over-Set Coolers Eliminate High-Stakes Pros from Main Event

If one set-over-set cooler wasn’t painful enough, the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event produced two within moments of each other on different tables. Both were every bit as brutal as the bad beat that kicked off Day 6.

High-stakes pros Espen Sandvik and Andy “Andy Stacks” Tsai both saw deep runs come to heartbreaking ends on Day 6 after flopping or turning sets, only to discover their opponents held even bigger ones.

Tsai is best known for battling in some of the biggest cash games in the world, while Sandvik is no stranger to the high roller circuit either, with numerous cashes in $25,000 buy-in events. Neither could survive one of poker’s nastiest coolers.

There’s Always a Bigger Set

As reported by PokerNews live reporter David Salituro:

Sandvik was the first to fall after Archimedes Arenas opened to 210,000 from early position. Sandvik moved all in for 2,700,000 from the big blind with pocket threes, and Arenas called with pocket nines.

It looked like Sandvik had caught the dream when the dealer had the 3♥ in the window, but the celebrations lasted only a split second as the flop came complete with the 9♦8♣, giving Arenas the bigger set.

“Wow!” exclaimed Hustler Casino Live regular Francisco Fragoso as the cooler unfolded.

The 6♣ turn and 8♦ river couldn’t rescue Sandvik, who shook Arenas’ hand before making his exit.

At almost exactly the same time on another table, Tsai suffered an equally cruel fate.

Tsai and Blake Barousse were heads-up on a board of 6♥5♠A♠K♦ with around 1,000,000 already in the middle. Tsai fired another 1,000,000 from the button before Barousse moved all in from early position. Tsai snap-called for his remaining 2,600,000.

Tsai tabled 5♥5♦ for a flopped set, but Barousse revealed K♥K♠ for a turned set that had him drawing dead to a chop.

The river paired the board with the 6♦, ending Tsai’s Main Event run and capping off one of the most brutal stretches of Day 6.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).