Nick Schulman’s name is already etched into the Poker Hall of Fame, but his summer at the 2026 World Series of Poker is making the case that he isn’t done collecting hardware. The eight-time bracelet winner notched his fourth final table appearance in just over two weeks on Monday, finishing fifth in Event #42: $10,000 Big O Championship for $197,362.
WSOP 2026: Schulman’s Big O Championship Run
Schulman entered the final table of the Big O Championship near the bottom of the chip counts but battled past a tough lineup that included four-time bracelet winner Sam Soverel and overnight chip leader Doug Lorgeree. The 456-entrant field whittled down to a final five before Schulman’s tournament ended in painful fashion: all in with pocket aces, he ran into two-time bracelet winner Bruno Furth, who flopped a set to send Schulman to the rail.
It was the same fifth-place finish Schulman recorded earlier in the series in the $10,000 Mixed Games: Dealers Choice Championship, making this his second top-five min-cash in a championship-tier event this summer.
Key Moments and Results Breakdown
Schulman’s run through Event #42 included eliminations of eighth-place finisher Scott Clements and sixth-place finisher Sean Troha before his aces met Furth’s flopped set in a five-handed all-in. The hand ended any hope of a ninth career bracelet, at least for this event, but it capped a stretch of WSOP 2026 results that few players in the field can match.
Nick Schulman’s 2026 WSOP Final Tables
| Event | Entrants | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #42: $10,000 Big O Championship | 456 | 5th | $197,362 |
| Event #37: $1,500 Limit H.O.R.S.E. | 780 | 1st | $183,366 |
| Event #27: $10,000 Mixed Games: Dealers Choice Championship | 163 | 5th | $79,331 |
| Event #8: $1,500 Limit Badugi (6-Handed) | 554 | 2nd | $94,607 |
Across these five events and four final tables, Schulman has banked $431,690 this summer. His run began modestly with a min-cash in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, followed by a runner-up finish to Michael Casella in the $1,500 Limit Badugi for $94,607. He broke through for bracelet number eight shortly after in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., good for $183,366.
Player Background: A Hall of Famer Still Hunting Bracelet Number Nine
Inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2024, Schulman has built a reputation as one of the sharpest mixed-game specialists of his generation. Should he add a ninth bracelet to his résumé, he would join a short list of legends with nine or more WSOP bracelets, a group that currently includes Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Johnny Chan, and Johnny Moss.
For fans tracking the 2026 WSOP daily, NYC Poker Clubs continues to deliver fast, accurate coverage of every bracelet race, final table, and breakout story from the summer series, including deep dives on mixed-game specialists like Schulman who thrive outside the standard No-Limit Hold’em grind.
Subplots: A Stacked Summer at the Felt
Schulman’s run isn’t happening in a vacuum. Japan’s Naoya Kihara has put together arguably the standout performance of the summer, capturing back-to-back bracelets in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship and $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship. Meanwhile, the husband-and-wife duo of Kristen and Alex Foxen each added to their bracelet totals, with Kristen securing her sixth and Alex his fourth.
Trends to Watch: Mixed-Game Specialists Dominating 2026
This summer’s headlines reinforce a clear trend: mixed-game and high-roller specialists are having an outsized impact on the 2026 WSOP storyline. Veteran grinders like Schulman, Kihara, and the Foxens are consistently outlasting larger, younger fields in championship-format events, suggesting experience and game versatility remain decisive edges in soft-deadline tournament poker.
Quick Facts
- Schulman has cashed five times and made four final tables in roughly two weeks at the 2026 WSOP
- Total 2026 WSOP earnings so far: $431,690
- Career bracelet count: 8, with his most recent coming in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- Eliminated by Bruno Furth’s flopped set after going all in with pocket aces in Big O
- A ninth bracelet would place him among an elite six-man club of nine-plus winners
Nick Schulman’s 2026 WSOP campaign has already cemented itself as one of the standout individual runs of the summer, blending a bracelet win, a runner-up finish, and now back-to-back fifth-place results in championship events. With weeks of the series still to play out, the Hall of Famer remains squarely in the conversation for bracelet number nine.
