The poker world was full of action this past week.
Evan Sandberg won the 2026 Arizona State Poker Championship for $627,050.
The tournament attracted a total of 4,018 entries and set many records.
In other news, Curtis King won his first ring at the WSOP Circuit, and David Coleman and Boris Kolev both won at the Onyx Super High Roller Series.
On to some sad news: the poker world is mourning two-time bracelet winner Brent Carter, who has passed away this week.
Evan Sandberg Wins Record $627,050 Arizona State Poker Championship
Evan Sandberg wins the $1,100 no-limit hold’em event (Image courtesy of PokerNews).
Sandberg emerged victorious in the $1,100 no-limit hold’em competition at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The event attracted a massive 4,018 entries and featured four starting flights.
This is more than the previous record in 2025 that had 3,546 entries.
The $627,050 first-place prize money in the Arizona State Poker Championship was the highest payout in the event’s history.
Before this event, Sandberg was a two-time champion of the WSOP, as well as a two-time champion of the WSOP Circuit main event in 2024 and 2025.
Hence, this achievement was a new record for Sandberg.
This victory brought his overall tournament winnings to $3.4 million.
The final table was extremely competitive, as Sandberg battled against other bracelet winners Ronnie Bardah and John Riordan, while Brandon Conrad made a strong run in the tournament as well.
Sandberg came close to being eliminated after going all in with 
against Jared Rogers' pocket nines, but fortunately for him, the river card turned out to be favorable for him, and he managed to break even.
He eliminated Conrad in third place with 
, making the broadway straight while his opponent held pocket fives.
It put Sandberg in a very comfortable position as he moved to heads-up play against Rogers.
In the last hand, Rogers went all in with 
while Sandberg called with 
, and after the showdown, Sandberg won the title when he completed a full house.
Curtis King Captures First WSOP Circuit Ring at Cherokee
Curtis King won the WSOP Circuit Cherokee main event (Image courtesy of WSOP)
Curtis King won the WSOP Circuit Cherokee main event at Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina.
He got his first circuit ring and took home a $363,703 cash prize.
1,681 entries entered the event, creating a $2,546,715 prize pool.
King defeated Toby Boas in the heads-up duel to claim the crown.
Even though Boas came in second, he took home a $242,423 cash prize.
The tournament once again proved to be a near miss for the seasoned professional, who has appeared in 11 final tables without getting his hands on a circuit ring.
Ryan "g0lfa” D'Angelo finished third and earned $172,763.
Four-time Circuit champion Andrew Kelsall finished sixth with $67,820 to his name at the end of this tournament.
King was forced to come back from behind at the final table.
D'Angelo pushed his chips in with pocket kings while King held pocket fours but managed to hit the one remaining four on the river and stay in the game.
In the final hand of the event, King shoved his pocket eights on a 
board.
Boas called with 
but failed to improve when the 
landed on the river.
King took home a WSOP ring and a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package.
David Coleman Wins Onyx High Roller Title
David Coleman Wins $15,300 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em Event (Image Courtesy of Merit Poker)
The Onyx Super High Roller Series in Cyprus had a few big winners, including David Coleman, who bagged $270,000 for first place in a $15,300 six-max no-limit hold’em event.
The event attracted 62 entries and generated a prize pool of $892,800.
Coleman beat Italo Modena heads-up after a lengthy single-day event.
The final table featured names like WSOP and WPT champion Nicholas Seward and Triton champion Artsiom Lasouski.
Coleman outflopped Seward's 
with , eliminating Seward in fifth place.
Later, Coleman paired his king on the river to beat Modena's 
with .
The win gave him another major trophy and pushed him to 36th in the 2026 Card Player Player of the Year race.
Boris Kolev Scoops $427,400 in Onyx Mystery Bounty Event
Boris Kolev wins the $10,400 buy-in no-limit hold'em event with a mystery bounty (image courtesy of Merit Poker)
Boris Kolev has also scored a major victory at Onyx by winning the $10,400 buy-in no-limit hold-em event with a mystery bounty.
Kolev took home $127,400 for winning the event, plus $300,000 in mystery bounty winnings.
He claimed eight bounties while eliminating the last five players blocking his path to victory.
The two-day tournament attracted 114 players and created a prize pool of $1,094,000 in regular and bounty prizes.
With this victory, Kolev has boosted his earnings to $7.6 million in his career.
He won 600 points towards being the Player of the Year for the year 2026, bringing his total to 915.
Poker World Mourns Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner Brent Carter
Poker pro Brent Carter (Image courtesy of Google)
People in the poker world are sad about the death of Brent Carter, a famous player who won the WSOP crown twice and died at the age of 77.
In the past few years, he has had several strokes and heart problems.
Between the 1980s and 2015, he participated in tournaments, earning a total of $3 million from live poker.
He won the most money at the WSOP Main Event in 1995, where he came in third place and won $302,750.
Carter was the first person to win a bracelet at the WSOP. He did so by winning a $1,500 no-limit hold'em event.
In 1994, he won his second one in a $1,500 limit Omaha event.
He won the WSOP Circuit again in 2012, this time getting a ring. People remember him as being kind and generous.
Carter's death is another tragedy in the world of poker, especially for the big names who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
