American poker pro Darren Rabinowitz closed out the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) by winning his second bracelet, and he did so by denying all-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth a record-extending 18th bracelet.
Less than one week ago, Rabinowitz was making a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, only to see his championship dreams come to an abrupt end when a brutal two-outer sent him to the rail in 145th place.
As the famous saying goes, though, ‘It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!’
Rabinowitz produced his own Rocky Balboa moment inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas today, claiming victory in Event #99: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, a triumph that earned him $695,256 and the second WSOP bracelet of his career.
“When you go deep in something, there’s a huge emotional dump afterwards. But I didn’t feel that after the Main. I played well. Yeah, it was unlucky, but it never affected me. All I wanted to do was keep playing poker.
Sometimes you go deep in something and bust, and you want to take three or four days off. But the summer was ending, and I just tried to keep a good mindset. I can’t believe it worked out so well. It’s crazy.”
Event #99: $5,000 8-Handed – Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darren Rabinowitz | United States | $695,256 |
| 2 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $464,286 |
| 3 | Nicholas Palma | United States | $326,136 |
| 4 | Joshua Stewart | United Kingdom | $232,570 |
| 5 | Nick Pupillo | United States | $168,402 |
| 6 | Victor Li | Canada | $123,846 |
| 7 | Max Kingstone | United States | $92,527 |
| 8 | Connor Belcher | United States | $70,245 |
| 9 | Josh Norvock | Australia | $54,204 |
The River, The Rail and the Redemption
Rabinowitz’s path to the bracelet was anything but straightforward. With around 30 players remaining, he looked poised to seize control of the tournament before a four-way all-in went disastrously wrong.
“If you watch the video, I couldn’t believe it,” Rabinowitz admitted. “That’s the first time I’ve reacted to losing an all-in like that in so long.”
Having just won a huge pot moments earlier, he suddenly found himself watching what he described as a “dream situation” slip away.
“I lost the hand, got annoyed for one second, let out a little frustration, and then we reset and got back to it.”
As the field dwindled and Phil Hellmuth edged closer to an unprecedented 18th bracelet, the atmosphere inside the Horseshoe became increasingly one-sided. Rabinowitz estimated there were 1,500 spectators in the room, joking that, “It felt like 1,400 of them were against me.”
While he understood the support for poker’s biggest star, he admitted there was extra motivation in denying Hellmuth another historic victory.
“I’m a poker fan, so I understand it, but I really didn’t want to lose to this guy,” he said. “I wanted to beat him. I wanted to win.”
Despite the pressure, Rabinowitz never allowed the moment to overwhelm him. Instead, he retreated into a routine that had served him throughout the tournament.
“Every decision felt so important,” he said. “Whenever I started to feel nervous or anxious, I’d put my headphones in, walk around, message a few friends and just try to stay in my own world.”
That same mindset had carried over from the Main Event, where a heartbreaking exit just days earlier failed to shake his confidence.
“I played well. It was unlucky, but it never affected me,” Rabinowitz said. “All I wanted to do was keep playing poker.”
Fast and Furious
The fast-paced structure of the tournament meant chips were certain to fly as soon as cards were in the air, and sure enough, within the first few minutes of the day, Renan Meneguetti hit the rail, opening the floodgates for eliminations.
By the first break, two hours into play, more than half the field had already seen their final opportunity for a 2026 WSOP bracelet fall flat.
Sean Winter (68th), Niall Farrell (59th), Artur Martirosian (48th), and Jennifer Harman (33rd) were among those unable to survive until the first break.
Once play resumed, Ren Lin (28th) fell shortly after, with Brian Rast (27th) following him out the door after falling victim to the river in a four-way all-in.
The steady pace of eliminations continued on the road to the final table, with David Peters (16th), Nick Guagenti (15th), and Tom Hall (13th) falling in quick succession.
Adam Hendrix’s elimination in 10th place then set the final table lineup. Having gotten his money in good, the deck ultimately turned against him, sending him home one spot shy of the final table.
Although nine players made the final table, one storyline dominated the conversation inside the Horseshoe and Paris corridors, as news quickly spread that Hellmuth was the chip leader and chasing a record-extending 18th bracelet.
With every elimination on the final table, and every step Hellmuth took closer to history, the rail behind him grew deeper and louder, sensing that something special was unfolding.
One by one, the players standing in his way fell, until just Rabinowitz remained.
Despite the tournament’s fast-paced structure, the heads-up battle lasted more than an hour, with Rabinowitz taking a nearly 2:1 chip lead into the duel.
It didn’t take long for Hellmuth, or his rail, to find reason to celebrate, as a turned straight earned him a double-up through Rabinowitz’s flopped two-pair.
The swing in momentum didn’t faze Rabinowitz, though, as he found himself in the middle of a pressure cooker with a WSOP bracelet on the line.
“This was like, as big of a spot as I’ve had in a while… every decision felt so important, and I was just trying to really lock in and make the right decisions.”
Slowly but surely, Rabinowitz ground Hellmuth down, and by the time the first break of the heads-up battle arrived, the stacks were once again level. From there, Rabinowitz never looked back, building his lead with relentless pressure and winning the majority of the key exchanges.
Eventually, Hellmuth was forced to make a stand, putting his tournament life at risk with bottom pair. It wasn’t enough, though, as Rabinowitz’s top pair held to secure victory, earning him his second career bracelet and a $695,256 payday.
That concludes coverage of Event #99: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, as Darren Rabinowitz claims the penultimate bracelet of the 2026 WSOP. Be sure to check out the PokerNews homepage for all the latest news from the poker world.
