Chino Rheem Misses Triple Crown as Marco Johnson Snatches Freezeout Victory

Chino Rheem couldn’t get any closer to finally ending his long wait for a WSOP bracelet. In the boiling heat of Las Vegas, Rheem looked the coolest player in town as he bid to finally add a WSOP title to his crowns on the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour. In doing so, he would have claimed the fabled ‘Triple Crown’ of wins in those formats, an achievement only attained by ten players in poker history.

Frantic Start to Finale

There were 1,561 total entries in the event, with a prize pool of $3,473,225 offering a top prize of $513,885 to the winner. The final day saw nine finalists gather to play down to a winner and at that stage it was fairly even in chips. Johnson was well-placed among the top four including Kenzo Ishida and Sebastian Schulze along with the eventual runner-up Chino Rheem.

The first player to bust was a surprise as Sebastian Schulze lost two hands to Marco Johnson to prove the old adage that no matter how far ahead you are in No Limit Hold’em, you’re only ever a couple of bad hands away from the door. Losing most of his stack with ace-king to Johnson’s aces, Schulze departed soon after for $44,840 in ninth place after his king-jack couldn’t overcome Johnson’s ace-queen, a queen-high board dooming the at-risk German.

South Korean Pyeongkang Kim was the next to leave, exiting in eighth place for $57,780. All-in with pocket fives, he couldn’t hold against Johnson’s ace-queen as the hand that Doyle Brunson said cost him more than any other hit again. All the money was in the middle pre-flop but a runout of A-A-T-Q-Q saw Kim slain with ease by the now runaway leader.

Jaka Junked as Podium Beckons

Canadian player Elliot Smith was the next player to leave the final table, busting for $75,390 in seventh place. Smith’s king-ten was no match for Ishida’s ace-jack and the Canadian headed to the rail. He was joined soon after by Philippines player Vamerdino Magsakay, whose call with king-queen on a board of 7-5-3-K was correct, Marco Johnson having shoved with ace-nine that represented the nut flush draw in clubs. The three in that suit landed on the river to reduce the field to five as Magsakay took home $99,590.

Srivinay Irrinki was the next player to bow out, with the American cashing for $133,170, the first six-figure score of the event. Calling all-in with ace-four when down to just a couple of big blinds, he lost to Ishida’s suited jack-seven shove from the cutoff when a board brought two more jacks and two queens to fill up the Japanese player’s hand with it.

In fourth place, the legendary poker pro and coach Faraz Jaka busted for $180,210. All-in with queen-jack on a board of J-9-7-7, Ishida saw Jaka go into the tank and must have feared the worst, but the American incorrectly hero-called with ace-king and couldn’t hit on the ten river, bowing out for $180,210 before three-handed poker.

Johnson Gets the Gold

“I’ve had a lot of final tables without winning a bracelet in the last five years.”

Three players remained for some time, but eventually, Kenzo Ishida dropped short and called all-in for over 30 big blinds with pocket sevens. Johnson made the shove with ace-jack and was losing all the way to the river until hitting his jack to end Ishida’s chances for $246,800. Going into the heads-up battle for the bracelet, Johnson had 41 million chips while Rheem had 13.65 million.

The long wait for a bracelet for Chino Rheem went on, who missed out by one spot when he failed to make the moment his through no fault of his own. Doubling up with aces against jacks, Rheem got closer to his opponent, but all-in with ace-four, was beaten by Johnson’s ace-five. The devastating flop of 4-3-2 not only paired Rheem’s four but gave Johnson a wheel straight which held to give Marco Johnson his third WSOP crown $513,885. Rheem claimed $341,970 in second spot.

“It’s been a long day battling,” Johnson said after the event. “Chino played an amazing tournament. I was super fortunate to get ace-five versus ace-four all in and flop a wheel. So yeah, it was more just relief. I’ve had a lot of final tables without winning a bracelet in the last five years, so it felt really good to finally win one.”

Johnson, who had reached 22 final tables since his last bracelet without taking home number three, toasted his success in No Limit Hold’em at long last.

“I started playing no limit twenty, twenty-five years ago. I’ve been playing for a living and I stopped playing no limit for a while. After COVID, so for the last five years, I’ve played a lot of no limit, and I really enjoy it. It actually might be one of my favorite games. So it feels really good to win a bracelet in a no limit event.”

Photography by Eloy Cabascas and Jess Beck for the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.