Andrii Novak Crowned 2026 WSOP Online Main Event Champion

Andrii Novak has won the 2026 WSOP Online Main Event, converting a final-table chip lead into the biggest result of his career. The tournament drew 6,008 entries and created a $28,538,000 prize pool. Novak’s victory was worth $3,931,259, his first WSOP bracelet and a $30,000 Super Pass to the 2026 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event provided by GGPoker.

The scale of the event made the win significant before the final table even began. Hundreds of players returned for Day 2, but only nine reached the last table. Novak entered that stage ahead of Simon Beckmann and remained a central figure throughout the finish. By the end, the two players who began the final table near the top were also the final two left competing for the title.

The result gives Novak an online world championship title and a career-defining payday. It also came through a final table where several eliminations were decided by dominant aces, pocket-pair confrontations and late board changes. Novak did not simply coast from start to finish. Beckmann built a major heads-up lead before Novak doubled, reversed the momentum and eventually closed the tournament with a ten-to-one chip advantage.

Silva becomes the first finalist eliminated

Brazilian Pablo Silva was the first player out at the nine-handed final table. He opened from middle position with ace-queen and then moved all-in over Beckmann’s three-bet. Beckmann called with ace-king, leaving Silva dominated before the flop. Both players paired their kickers, but the turn and river did not change the order of the hands. Silva finished ninth for $491,676.

The hand immediately strengthened Beckmann’s position and showed how quickly the final table could move. In a tournament with payouts already approaching half a million dollars for ninth place, every all-in had a major financial consequence. Silva’s decision created the first elimination, but it also gave Beckmann an early stack increase that would matter later when he reached heads-up play.

Ace-king then appeared again in the next elimination sequence. Charles La Boissonniere raised the button with Big Slick and called when Yury Nadinsky moved all-in for seven big blinds with ace-four. The stronger ace held, reducing the field again. Nadinsky collected $637,476 for eighth place.

Hassankashani and Yakovliev fall as Chen builds momentum

Arian Hassankashani exited in seventh after putting his short stack in with pocket tens and running into Moyan Chen’s pocket jacks. No ten arrived on the board, so the higher pair remained ahead. Hassankashani’s deep run ended with an $826,555 prize.

Pavlo Yakovliev was next. The Ukrainian had shown a willingness to make ambitious plays during the final table, but his elimination came from a more standard race. Yakovliev held ace-queen of clubs against Chen’s black pocket sevens. A queen on the river appeared to improve Yakovliev to the stronger pair, but the same card put a fourth spade on the board and completed a flush for Chen. Yakovliev finished sixth for $1,071,761.

That river is a good example of how quickly a final-table hand can change. One card improved Yakovliev’s visible pair while simultaneously giving his opponent a stronger five-card hand. Chen benefited from the swing and continued toward the final three, where he would eventually play a major role in determining who entered heads-up with the chip lead.

Novak wins a crucial race against La Boissonniere

La Boissonniere’s run ended in fifth place for $1,389,754. Around the three-hour mark, he opened with ace-jack of clubs and then called all-in when Novak three-bet almost his entire stack with pocket threes. The flop initially looked encouraging for La Boissonniere because the door card was a jack, pairing his ace-jack. The next card, however, was a three, giving Novak a set.

La Boissonniere needed running cards after that reversal and was drawing dead by the turn. The pot gave Novak a major boost at an important point in the final table. It also showed why small pocket pairs can create dramatic swings in all-in confrontations. Novak began the hand behind once the jack appeared, but the set changed the entire situation immediately.

Fernando Liano then finished fourth for $1,802,141 after running ace-ten into Beckmann’s ace-queen of clubs. The dominated ace was in poor shape from the start, and a queen on the turn removed the remaining uncertainty. Beckmann’s win set up a three-handed battle with Novak and Chen.

Chen exits third after Beckmann completes a straight

Chen’s tournament ended in third place for $2,336,938. The decisive hand began when Beckmann opened the button with queen-jack of diamonds and Chen defended the big blind with nine-eight. Chen check-called on an ace-ten-nine flop, having paired his nine, and then check-raised all-in after a four appeared on the next street.

Beckmann called with a strong draw and completed his straight when a king arrived on the river. The pot eliminated Chen and sent Beckmann into heads-up with a substantial chip lead. At that stage, the tournament appeared to be leaning strongly in Beckmann’s direction. He had just won the pot that removed the third-place finisher and carried the larger stack into the final duel.

For Chen, third place still represented a multi-million-dollar finish. For the tournament, his elimination created the expected final pairing based on the start of the final table: Novak and Beckmann, the two players who had been among the leading stacks when the last nine began.

Novak overturns the heads-up deficit

The heads-up battle did not follow the direction of the opening stacks. Beckmann started with a clear advantage, but an ill-timed move allowed Novak to double in full. That hand changed the balance and gave Novak room to rebuild. From there, he moved ahead and continued increasing the gap.

By the time the final hand arrived, Novak held roughly a ten-to-one chip advantage. He raised enough with ace-jack to put Beckmann all-in, and Beckmann called with queen-seven of hearts. An ace on the flop improved Novak further and left the Austrian runner-up needing help. A ten on the turn gave Beckmann three outs to the remaining jacks, but the river was a five.

The final board confirmed Novak as champion. Beckmann received $3,030,486 for second place, while Novak claimed $3,931,259. The difference between the final two payouts was substantial, but both players left with seven-figure results from a tournament that had generated more than $28.5 million in prize money.

First bracelet and a Super Pass for the champion

Novak’s victory delivered more than the cash prize. It was his first WSOP bracelet, giving the result a permanent place in his poker record. He also received a free $30,000 Super Pass to the 2026 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event through GGPoker, extending the value of the win into another major event.

Those additions matter because the Main Event title is not simply the largest payout from one online tournament. A bracelet carries its own status, and the Super Pass creates another opportunity at a later stage of the WSOP calendar. The source does not describe Novak’s plans for that event, so the confirmed point is only that the package was part of the champion’s reward.

The final table also produced a broad international payout list, with players shown in the GGPoker lobby as representing Ukraine, Austria, China, Canada, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Brazil. Novak’s win gave Ukraine the top prize, while Beckmann’s runner-up finish placed Austria second.

A final table defined by pressure and reversals

Across the final table, several eliminations followed a common pattern: a short or medium stack found a hand strong enough to commit, only to run into a better holding or a board that changed the outcome. Silva’s ace-queen met ace-king. Hassankashani’s tens met jacks. Liano’s ace-ten met ace-queen. Yakovliev paired his queen on the river only to lose to a flush. La Boissonniere paired his jack on the flop only for Novak to hit a set moments later.

Those hands created a final table where momentum changed repeatedly even though Novak began with the lead. Beckmann’s run to a large heads-up advantage proved that the starting order was not fixed. Novak’s recovery proved the same point again in the opposite direction. The champion had to win a critical double before he could regain control.

When the tournament finally ended, the early chip leader had become the champion, but the route was anything but automatic. Novak survived the final table, won a major all-in against La Boissonniere, recovered from a heads-up deficit and closed the event with a dominant final stack. The reward was nearly $4 million, a first bracelet and the title of 2026 WSOP Online Main Event champion.

What the payout structure says about the scale of the event

The final table payouts underline how large the online Main Event had become before the last hand was dealt. Ninth place was worth $491,676, sixth place crossed the $1 million mark and every member of the final five received at least $1.38 million. Novak and Beckmann then played for a difference of more than $900,000 between first and second. Those numbers came from a $28.538 million prize pool generated by 6,008 entries, so the final table carried financial pressure from the first elimination onward.

Novak’s $3.93 million win should therefore be viewed in the context of both field size and payout depth. He had to outlast thousands of entries before reaching a nine-handed table where even the shortest remaining decisions could move seven-figure sums. The final result combined tournament scale, bracelet prestige and a separate $30,000 Super Pass. That package is why the victory stands out as more than a large online cash: it gave Novak money, a first WSOP title and immediate entry value connected to another major event.