With a buy-in of $2000 and more than 6100 players entered in the tournament, the WSOPE European Championship, held in Prague, became the biggest poker tournament ever held on European soil.
In addition to breaking records set by the previous WSOPE tournaments, this year's prize pool was record-breaking compared to previous tournaments as well.
The final table was highly competitive, but in the end, Marius Kudzmanas from Lithuania was the last person standing, capturing both the title and his biggest payday of his career.
Marius Kudzmanas after Winning WSOPE Main Event Title(Image Courtesy of WSOP)
Record Turnout Smashes Expectations
The tournament this year was vastly different.
The venue's location changed from King's Resort Rozvadov to Hilton Hotel Prague.
Furthermore, the buy-in amount was reduced from €10,000 to €5,300. This was a game-changer.
Incredibly, this year's tournament had 2,617 entries, shattering the previous record of 817 set in 2023.
Due to the lower buy-in amounts, many more players were able to enter, which produced incredibly high levels of participation.
Before the end of late registration, the tournament destroyed its guarantee of €10 Million in prize money with a total prize pool of €13,085,000.
Kudzmanas Secures Career-Defining Victory
Marius Kudzmanas is 30 years old and has already established himself as an online poker pro with a stellar reputation.
He now has three bracelets from the World Series of Poker; this will be the biggest of those three.
Before this win, Marius Kudzmanas had won two other online poker events.
In 2023, he won the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em for $147,738, and then a year later he won $162,033 when he took down the $777 Lucky Sevens event.
Big Names Fall as Field Narrows
There were three starting flights at the event, which gave players several opportunities to join.
Many well-known tournament players got eliminated on Day 2 when the money bubble broke.
While some of them made it close to the money, including Roberto Romanello, Josh Arieh, Shiina Okamoto, and Annette Obrestad, no popular player was able to make it to the final table of the tournament.
The start of the final day began with nine players remaining who were competing for first prize.
Heng Tao Zhu was the chip leader at this point in the tournament, while Kudzmanas was sitting in the middle of the pack.
Joona Nyholm from Finland was the first player to be eliminated from the final table when his 
lost to a pair of eights held by his opponent.
Brandon Sheils busted in eighth place shortly thereafter after his 
ran into 
and did not improve.
Chaos at the Final Table
Early on in the tournament, there was a major turning point when Kudzmanas connected with pocket nines to defeat Thomas Eychenne, who was holding pocket kings.
This was a massive swing with a result of Kudzmanas creating enough momentum after this big elimination to carry the rest of the way through the tournament.
Zhu had just started the day with a chip lead, but he kept losing chips until his eventual exit, which came after he made a huge bluff.
He called with just a bottom pair against Kudzmanas's turned pair of nines, even though Zhu held 
and had not improved on the turn.
The huge bluff ended Zhu's tournament and led to Kudzmanas building a large stack and more momentum going into the next round.
Hengtao Zhu’s Main Event journey comes to a close in 6th place, earning €320,000.
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 10, 2026
A remarkable climb from low‑stakes qualifiers to a @GGPoker Bracelet Pass, and a deep run through Prague’s record-breaking field. pic.twitter.com/03NwKoi3mf
The next eliminations were Antonio Guimaraens from Spain, finishing in fifth, and Nikolay Bibov from Bulgaria in fourth as Kudzmanas continued to put pressure on other players and acquire significant pots at exactly the right times.
In three-handed play, Hunichen went from having a good stack until he lost to Kudzmanas when Kudzmanas had pocket queens against Hunichen's pocket sevens.
Eventually, with a short stack, Hunichen was eliminated in third place. He earned $920,000 for his effort.
🇺🇸 Chris “Big Huni” Hunichen’s WSOP Europe Main Event journey ends in 3rd place for €800,000.
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 10, 2026
One of the most beloved players in the game - and already a $17M+ live‑earnings crusher - he put on a show for the fans all week 💥 pic.twitter.com/W8wqQc64ge
Heads-Up Battle Ends in Stunning Fashion
Ultimately, it was Kudzmanas and Japan's Akihiro Konishi who faced off in the head-up duel.
Beginning the match in the lead, Konishi maintained and grew that lead until Kudzmanas faced tremendous pressure.
Despite the pressure, Kudzmanas was able to keep his composure and fight his way back into contention.
In one particular hand, Kudzmanas was able to win the first hand in heads-up play, when he held 
and knocked off Konishi's 
.
After scooping that massive pot, Kudzmanas kept up his momentum and finished the heads-up battle with flair.
Konishi raised the stakes with 
, as he was the favourite preflop.
Kudzmanas called with 
and the flop fell 
, giving him a pair of sevens and an opportunity for a straight.
After two subsequent calls by Kudzmanas followed by an all-in by Konishi, Kudzmanas hand when the 
fell on the turn.
This gave him three of a kind and put Konishi in a position where he now had to hit one of the remaining kings to win.
The final card, the river, was a at this point, giving Kudzmanas his historic win.
As for Konishi, he had to settle for his second-place finish, taking home an impressive $1,380,000, which is his biggest cash prize.
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Winnings |
| 1 | Marius Kudzmanas | $2,300,000 |
| 2 | Akihiro Konishi | $1,380,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Hunichen | $920,000 |
| 4 | Nikolay Bibov | $661,250 |
| 5 | Antonio Guimaraens | $488,750 |
| 6 | Hengtao Zhu | $368,000 |
| 7 | Thomas Eychenne | $281,750 |
| 8 | Brandon Sheils | $212,750 |
| 9 | Joona Nyholm | $161,000 |
Bluffaces
