Japan's Naoya Kihara Wins WSOP $10K 2-7 Razz for Second Bracelet in 14 Years

Japan's Naoya Kihara Wins WSOP $10K 2-7 Razz for Second Bracelet in 14 Years

Japan's Naoya Kihara captured his second gold bracelet 14 years after his first, winning the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #17, the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship. Kihara outlasted a field of 198 players to claim the $428,923 first-place prize (approximately 590 million KRW) at the Horseshoe & Paris Las Vegas on June 5. The nearly 14-hour final day concluded with cheers from the Japanese veteran after he defeated David Lin heads-up.

A Miraculous Comeback from a Single Chip

The highlight of this victory was a comeback that was nearly impossible. Late on Day 1, Kihara attempted a bluff with a pair of 5s in a crucial hand but was called, leaving him with just one chip. He was in a desperate situation with only a small blind's worth of chips remaining. However, he ended up with all the chips on the table approximately 50 hours later. In this event with a prize pool of $1,841,400 (approximately 2.5 billion KRW), his journey from a single chip to victory is considered the best comeback story of this series.

First Japanese Winner in 2012, Replicated 14 Years Later

For Kihara, this victory means more than just his second bracelet. He became the first Japanese WSOP bracelet winner in 2012 by winning the WSOP $5,000 PLO 6-Handed. At the time, he was a first-generation grinder who learned poker online in Japan, where live gambling was prohibited, and went on to the international stage. After his win, he received intense media attention in Japan, becoming a symbolic figure of the domestic poker boom. Fourteen years later, Kihara has once again reached the top in Las Vegas, reaffirming his status. The Tokyo resident, formerly sponsored by PokerStars, has been a representative player of the Japanese poker scene.

Heads-Up Concluded with Seven Card Draw

Event #17 could have easily extended into an unscheduled Day 4, but it concluded with a rapid pace towards the end. In heads-up play, Kihara sealed his victory by completing a seven-card draw against David Lin, breaking Lin's pat hand. Interestingly, Kihara was a player picked by 'Team Banana' for a mere $1 in this series' $25,000 Fantasy Draft. The most undervalued pick ended up winning the series' 17th bracelet, bringing unexpected returns to the draft participants. On the same day at the WSOP, Naseem Salem won the GGMillions$ High Roller for $1,089,964, and Antonio Vargas won the US Circuit Championship, with three bracelets awarded in one day.

The Enduring Strength of Japan's First Generation of Poker

Kihara's second bracelet demonstrates that the Japanese poker scene still stands on the strength of its first generation. In 2012, when he won his first bracelet, no Japanese player had ever won a WSOP event, but over the following decade, Japan has grown into a powerhouse, consistently producing champions, including Shiina Okamoto's back-to-back Ladies Championship wins. In an environment where live gambling is still restricted, Kihara was the archetype of the Japanese growth model, honing his skills online to reach the pinnacle of the world's biggest stage. His victory, overcoming a 14-year gap, serves as proof that the person who led the Japanese poker boom is still among the top active players."