Benny Glaser Wins $50K PPC for 9th Bracelet: 11 Years, 9 Titles, and Phil Ivey Still Can’t Win This One

Benny Glaser won the WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship, defeating Josh Arieh heads-up for $1,343,764 and his 9th career bracelet. Phil Ivey made his 5th PPC final table and still went home without the title.

What Happened

Event #60 at the 2026 World Series of Poker — the $50,000 Poker Players Championship — crowned a new champion on June 26, and it was the man most people expected to be in the mix: Benny Glaser. The British mixed-game specialist defeated a stacked final table that included Phil Ivey (11 bracelets), Josh Arieh (7 bracelets), Jason Mercier (6 bracelets), and Paul Volpe (4 bracelets) to claim the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and $1,343,764 in prize money (PokerNews).

The event drew 108 entries and generated a $5,130,000 prize pool. Here’s how the final table shook out:

The final hand came during an Omaha 8 or Better round. Glaser and Arieh held nearly identical four-card holdings, but a queen on the turn gave Glaser the better two pair, ending one of the most talent-dense PPC final tables in recent memory.

Why This Bracelet Matters More Than Most

I wrote a PPC preview before this event started, and the point I kept hammering was that this is the single hardest bracelet to win at the entire WSOP. Nine different poker variants, each demanding a completely different skill set, rotating every few orbits. You can’t Hide’em your way through it — you need to be genuinely good at Stud, Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, Omaha Hi-Lo, and everything in between.

That’s what makes Glaser’s career so remarkable. Since his first bracelet in 2015, he’s won nine in just eleven years — and the titles span Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Dealer’s Choice, Mixed Omaha, H.O.R.S.E., and now the PPC. That’s not a player who found one format and grinded it. That’s a player who’s elite across the entire spectrum of poker.

Nine bracelets ties him with Johnny Moss for sixth-most in WSOP history. He’s one behind Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, and Johnny Chan (10 each), two behind Ivey (11), and still has what looks like another decade of prime poker ahead of him. The idea that he could eventually challenge Phil Hellmuth’s record of 17 bracelets is no longer absurd — it’s a legitimate possibility.

The Ivey PPC Curse Continues

And then there’s Phil Ivey. This was his fifth PPC final table appearance. Five. And he still hasn’t won this event.

Ivey has 11 bracelets — the most of any living player not named Hellmuth — and he’s arguably the most naturally talented all-around poker player in history. But the PPC remains this weird blind spot in his resume. He keeps making the final table, which proves his mixed-game chops are real, but the trophy keeps slipping away.

I know how that feels in a small way. We’ve all had that one tournament format or one specific game type where we keep running deep but can never close. Ivey’s version of that problem just happens to be the most prestigious mixed-game event on the planet. Third place for $600K is nothing to complain about, but for a player of Ivey’s caliber, you know he’s only thinking about the bracelet.

My gut says he’ll be back next year. And honestly, if he makes a sixth final table, I’m putting money on him — some debts to poker gods get paid eventually.

What Regular Players Can Learn From This

You might think a $50K buy-in event has nothing to do with your game. But the PPC teaches a lesson that applies at every stake: versatility wins.

Glaser doesn’t win because he’s the best Hold’em player in the world. Plenty of Hold’em specialists would probably beat him at a NLH final table. He wins because he’s at least “very good” at every single poker variant. That breadth — being dangerous everywhere instead of dominant in one spot — is what makes him lethal in mixed events.

For the rest of us, the takeaway is simple: don’t just play one game. Even if No-Limit Hold’em is your bread and butter, spending time with PLO, Stud, or even Razz will expand your poker thinking in ways you don’t expect. I started dabbling in PLO last year and it completely changed how I think about pot odds and position play in Hold’em.

The other lesson is about longevity. Glaser didn’t collect 9 bracelets in one hot summer. He built his legacy over 11 years of consistent, high-level play. If you’re grinding poker seriously, think in years, not sessions. The goal isn’t one big score — it’s sustained excellence over time.

My Take

Benny Glaser is the most underrated player in poker right now, and it’s not particularly close.

He doesn’t have Ivey’s fame, Negreanu’s social media presence, or Hellmuth’s personality. But on pure results — nine bracelets across nearly every mixed format, earned in just eleven years — he might be the greatest mixed-game player in poker history. Not “one of the greatest.” The greatest.

My prediction: if Glaser stays healthy and motivated, he finishes his career with at least 12 bracelets, putting him in the top five all-time. As for the Poker Hall of Fame? It’s not a question of “if” — it’s a question of “when.” And based on the pace he’s setting, it won’t be long.

As for Ivey and the PPC curse — honestly, I think he’ll be back next year, and I’ll be watching. Because watching the best player in the world chase the one title that keeps eluding him is one of the best stories in poker right now.

Sources: PokerNews, CardPlayer, PokerTube