Brock Wilson Beats Jeremy Ausmus After Insane U.S. Poker Open Comeback

A stacked final table full of talent took part in the race to become the first U.S. Poker Open event winner of 2026. Las Vegas was the place to be as American players filled the seats in the first final table of the series. With strong placings for Chino Rheem, Natalie Ferguson and Kent Stephens, it was Brock Wilson who won the day after an epic comeback against his fellow high stakes crusher Jeremy Ausmus at the PokerGO Studio.

Opening Event Draws the Crowds

The first event of many poker tournaments is still a slow burn, with some players unable to attend. In the case of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open, it could easily have been expected that a few dozen players were still coming back from the fortnight-long sojourn to Prague, Czech Republic, taking on the WSOP Europe series where 15 bracelets were awarded along with millions of dollars. Instead, the PokerGO Studio was packed with players as 93 entries put up the $5,000 buy-in and battled for part of a $465,000 prize pool.

With just 14 players making profit, someone had to burst the bubble and it turned out to be the American player Thomas Winters who was frozen out in 15^th place. All-in with pocket sevens, he couldn’t hold against the ace-king of Justin Zaki when a painful ace on the river sent Winters home and everyone still at the poker felt into profit.

Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were some bona fide poker legends. WSOP bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz (11^th), Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (10^th) and the best female poker player in the world right now Kristen Foxen (9^th) all finished with a cash of $13,950 despite not making the final table of seven players.

Chino Chased Out Early

When the seven-handed final table began, it was redrawn with the chip leader, Justin Zaki on 2.7 million chips. The short stack was Natalie Ferguson, but she wasn’t the first to depart. That fate befell Kent Stephens, who won big the last time he was in the PokerGO Studio, but this time could only cash for $18,600 when he lost a coinflip with pocket tens to Jeremy Ausmus’ ace-king.

Chino Rheem was the next to go. One of the most successful players in PGT history and the only man to win four separate PGT tournament series was five places short of a USPO title this time around. All-in with queen-deuce when short, he ran into Jeremy Ausmus’ pocket aces and Rheem couldn’t improve, cashing for $23,250 in sixth place.

The remaining five players broke overnight, returning the next day to play down to a winner. No sooner had they sat down, they’d lost one of their number. Roger Johnson busted in fifth place for $32,550 when his ace-four fell to Ausmus’ ace-six and soon, only three remained in their seats. Natalie Ferguson, whose queen-jack fell to Brock Wilson’s king-queen. Ferguson cashed for $41,850 in fourth place, as Wilson, who was also short, bounced back into contention.

Back from the Dead

“It feels really good when you do what your gut wants you to do rather than just what you’re supposed to do.”

With three players left, Wilson was still shorter than his rivals in terms of chips but it was Justin Zaki who busted in third place for $55,800. All-in with ace-queen, he looked to have managed a double-up against Jeremy Ausmus’ pocket sevens when a flop of A-8-6 landed, but a seven on the turn was a sickener for the at-risk Zaki.

Heads-up, Ausmus went into the action with a lead of 10.3 million chips to Brock Wilson’s 1.3m, and that gap widened after the first few hands between the two men. When Wilson was all-in with ace-jack, he was one card from the door after Ausmus’ ten-eight turned two-pair on a board showing A-Q-8-T. A jack on the river saved Wilson’s tournament life, however, and he used that double-up as a springboard for success.

In a hand that took place soon after, a board of A-K-J-Q-5 saw Ausmus move all-in on the river with just seven-three. Brock Wilson tossed in three time bank cards, before making a brilliant hero-call with jack-six for just fourth pair.

“If I call and lose this is winner’s tilt!” said Wilson just before the cards were revealed and he realised that he had instead made exactly the right play.

“I’m definitely running good,” said Wilson after his win. “I feel like when you’re winning it’s also easier to go with your reads, so I’m definitely going with a little more of my gut. It’s been working out. It feels really good when you do what your gut wants you to do rather than just what you’re supposed to do.”

There are 10 events in this 2026 U.S. Poker Open series, and Brock Wilson just made the best possible start.