Naoya Kihara Reaches WSOP $10K Stud Championship Final Table, Aims for Second Bracelet in a Week
Japan's Naoya Kihara has made it to the final table of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #23, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. This comes just two days after he won Event #17, the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship, on June 5th. If Kihara wins this event, which concludes today (June 7th), he will become the first player to win two bracelets at the 2026 WSOP.
Chasing the First Double Bracelet of 2026 WSOP
This Stud Championship surpassed last year's field with 130 participants, creating a prize pool of $1,209,000 (approximately 1.66 billion KRW). The 11 players who reached the final table are an elite group, boasting a combined total of 28 gold bracelets. The chip leader is Michael Mizrachi, the defending Main Event champion, who is aiming for his ninth career bracelet. He is followed by Chris Brewer and last year's $1,500 Stud winner, James Cheung (UK). Kihara finished Day 1 as the overall chip leader with 319,500 chips but dropped in the rankings by the start of Day 2, entering the final table in a less advantageous position. Only Allen Kessler and Jason Kluska are in the final without any bracelets; the remaining nine players are all previous champions.
A Legendary Week for the 44-Year-Old Kihara
Kihara has been the talk of this WSOP. In the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw, he miraculously came back from just one chip on Day 1 to win the entire stack after 50 hours, securing his second bracelet ($428,923). The very next day, he entered the Stud Championship, led on Day 1, and made it to the final table. The 44-year-old Kihara, who had previously considered retirement, has proven with this week's performance that he remains a world-class mixed-game player. The results of today's final table are expected to be announced early on the morning of June 8th, Korean time.
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