After a topsy-turvy ride at the final table, Toby Price battled his way through a fast and furious final day in Event #81: $800 Summer Celebration to take home the $500,000 first-place prize money and claim his first World Series of Poker bracelet and largest career cash to date, as per The Hendon Mob.
“I’ve got a whole lot of guys that have been there through it with me in the poker world that I need to thank. My friends Alex and Chad, but most importantly, my dad. He was a big poker player and passed away just before my 2021 runner-up spot, and I picked these dice up at his house and carry them with me whenever I play.”
Event #81 attracted a massive field of 6,803 entries over two starting flights, generating a total prize pool of $4,762,100.
341 players returned to battle it out in Day 2 for the title, with Price entering heads-up play against Deniz Oeney with a near 2.5-1 chip lead, before closing out victory under the lights of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Price | United States | $500,000 |
| 2 | Deniz Oeney | Germany | $322,000 |
| 3 | Michael Moncek | United States | $240,000 |
| 4 | Spencer Gore | United States | $181,000 |
| 5 | Craig Varnell | United States | $137,000 |
| 6 | Mauro Sosa | Argentina | $105,000 |
| 7 | James Murphey | United States | $81,000 |
| 8 | Fabian Niederreiter | Germany | $63,000 |
| 9 | Yibo Song | China | $50,000 |
| 10 | Yoon Kim | United States | $39,000 |
Winner’s Reaction
Price is no newcomer to the poker scene and the WSOP, as he finished as the runner-up in the 2021 WSOP Fifty Stack for his previous largest career cash of just under $200,00 and with this win, takes his lifetime earnings over $1 million
“It’s super exciting and a little bit of relief,” Price said after the win.
Price didn’t have an easy run through Day 2 and lost a massive pot near the end of the day, “I lost to a one outer on the river and I didn’t let it completely lose my mind, I think that spot ironically made me feel like I could win the thing.”
On closing when asked what the bracelet meant to him, Price replied, “I don’t want it to change who I am. It’s great and a neat experience but I’ll go back to work next week and be grateful of the opportunity.”
Day Three Action
341 players returned for Day 2 after bagging up in one of the event’s two starting flights.
Nino Papava came into Day 2 as the chip leader and the only player to cross the 3-million chip mark in either of the opening flights. Papava was left short after her pocket fives lost to John Ypma’s queen-eight suited and Papava was sent to the rail soon after.
A plethora of big names bit the dust before the final table of ten was formed. 2026 Poker Players Championship runner-up Josh Arieh came in with a healthy stack but couldn’t get anything going and crashed out in 146th. It was a similar story for Tom Fuchs (100th) and EPT champion Lucien Cohen (140th).
Andreas Frohli fared a bit better, but still didn’t have the poker gods on his side today and was sent to the rail in 71st spot.
The final table formed when Yoon Kim was eliminated as the final table bubble boy when Michael Moncek flopped a set of fours to outdraw Kim’s pocket sixes.
Moncek came into the final table as the chip leader, with a slender one big blind lead over both Craig Varnell and Spencer Gore but couldn’t hold onto the lead and was eventually sent to the rail in third place.
After Yibo Song was sent to the rail in ninth place Fabian Niederreiter was next to be sent home from the final table. His jam with King-ten not being able to beat Moncek’s ace-seven suited.
James Murphey was sent packing in seventh spot when his jam with ace-ten ran into Price’s pocket Jacks and couldn’t improve.
Mauro Sosa and Varnell were sent to the rail in quick succession in sixth and fifth, respectively by Moncek and it looked like he could take over the chip lead. However, he started to bleed chips and Price took control.
Going into three-handed play, and it was a pretty level playing field with all to play for, but after taking out Moncek in third place Price went into the heads-up battle with a commanding chip lead.
Heads-up play was a drawn-out affair with chips going backward and forward, and Oeney looked like he was coming back into it at one point. But then he was left on fumes when his jam with King-seven couldn’t improve against Price’s ace-nine.
It was all over in the very next hand when Oeney was forced all in on the big blind with jack-four and couldn’t get any help against Price’s king-deuce.
