Amid the cacophony of Day 8 at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Finland’s Lauri Saaskilahti cut a calm, composed figure as he navigated his way to the final nine and locked up a career-best $1 million payday.
In the process, he shattered Finland’s previous deepest runs in the tournament, surpassing Matti Kuortti’s 25th-place finish in 1997 and Miika Puumalainen’s 59th-place result in 2009. Yet after the bags were sealed, there was little sign he felt the hand of history on his shoulder.
Saaskilahti remained icy cool in the searing Nevada desert, telling PokerNews he was “surprisingly relaxed” as he headed into the three-week break with 37,500,000 chips. Here’s what the man in Seat 1 had to say before the biggest final table of his career.
Get Live Updates of the WSOP Main Event
“Maybe It’s Meant to Be”
Saaskilahti, who now calls Spain home and had a deep run in last year’s EPT Barcelona Main Event for his biggest career score (14th for €70,900), highlighted a crucial moment from Day 7 of poker’s world championship as being key to his run to the final nine.
He was all in with ace-high against Brock Wilson’s flopped top pair of kings, but Saaskilahti spiked an ace on the river to double up, saying, “When Barry Greenstein hit yesterday on the river, it was a pretty big moment. I felt like, yeah, maybe it’s meant to be like this.”
The Finn added, “I feel surprisingly relaxed. I don’t have any super big emotions. I mean, obviously, I’m extremely happy, but there is no big wave of emotions going on. Maybe it will hit me a little bit later, but yeah, I feel happy.”
“I feel surprisingly relaxed. I don’t have any super big emotions.”
In terms of prep between bagging and those colossal August days, he said, “I’m going to be on vacation with my family, so we will be starting here in Vegas and we’ll head over to San Diego. A little bit of Disneyland, Beverly Hills.”
“Originally, the plan was to fly back to Europe, I think on the 25th. It looks like we stay here then, because it doesn’t make sense to go back for just one week. Just take it easy and prepare myself.”
Although there was no physical rail to witness his biggest career moment, Saaskilahti told PokerNews there are plans for a Finnish contingent to be in town for the final nine. That is not to say he didn’t feel the love from back home on Day 8, though, adding, “Online, family, friends, colleagues supporting very much and living this moment together with me. So it’s been fun for me and probably fun for them as well.”
Lauri Saaskilahti’s Main Event Stack
Saaskilahti’s Main Event journey was far from straightforward, with a difficult Day 3 seeing him finish with 15,000 fewer chips than he started with. However, he bounced back in a big way on Day 4, turning 224,000 chips into 2,100,000 to put himself among the chip leaders with 533 players remaining.
From there, the Finn continued to build, more than doubling his stack again by the end of Day 5 before steadily climbing through the latter stages of the tournament. He entered Day 8 with 15,600,000 chips and one of the shorter stacks among the final 21 players.
Saaskilahti saved his biggest surge for the most important day, nearly tripling his stack during Day 8 to finish with 37,500,000 chips, good for seventh place among the final nine players.
With a guaranteed $1 million payday secured and three weeks to prepare, Saaskilahti will return to Las Vegas looking to complete a remarkable run and become his nation’s first WSOP Main Event champion.
| Day | Chip Count | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1d | 129,700 | 449/3,638 |
| 2d | 239,000 | 406/2,034 |
| 3 | 224,000 | 893/1,389 |
| 4 | 2,100,000 | 38/533 |
| 5 | 4,345,000 | 43/174 |
| 6 | 8,100,000 | 29/62 |
| 7 | 15,600,000 | 17/21 |
| 8 | 37,500,000 | 7/9 |
2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Seating Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | 37,500,000 | 25 |
| 2 | Michael Gagliano | United States | 46,500,000 | 31 |
| 3 | Mario Boos | France | 44,000,000 | 29 |
| 4 | Greg Mueller | Canada | 48,500,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Jamie Shaevel | United States | 56,000,000 | 37 |
| 6 | Han Feng | United States | 25,000,000 | 17 |
| 7 | Rami Hammoud | Canada | 79,000,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 22,500,000 | 15 |
| 9 | Lucas Jumalon | United States | 194,000,000 | 129 |
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 | ||
| 2 | $6,000,000 | ||
| 3 | $3,750,000 | ||
| 4 | $2,750,000 | ||
| 5 | $2,250,000 | ||
| 6 | $1,750,000 | ||
| 7 | $1,500,000 | ||
| 8 | $1,250,000 | ||
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
Eliot Thomas
Editor, Poker & Casino