Marius Kudzmanas Wins Record-Breaking ME WSOPE

Author

Juan David Vargas Quiceno, aka Vargoso

Published

4/13/2026

Updated

4/13/2026

The 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event set new benchmarks for both the series and the European poker scene. Lowering the buy-in by half while introducing a €10 million guarantee proved to be a highly successful move. The tournament drew a record-breaking number of participants and generated the largest prize pool in its history, with Lithuania’s Marius Kudzmanas winning €2,000,000 for first place.

Marius Kudzmanas Wins Main Event Wsop Europe

The largest tournament in the history of European poker

This year, the organizers of the European stage of the World Series of Poker took a risky approach to the Main Event: the buy-in was halved to €5,300, and the guarantee was increased from €6 million to €10 million. As a result, the tournament's popularity exceeded all expectations.

Marius Kudzmanas took first place in the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event, earning €2,000,000.

The event broke several records at once:

The total prize pool reached €13,085,000, the largest ever recorded in European poker. The previous benchmark of €11,125,900 was set at the EPT Barcelona Main Event in 2022.
The tournament also drew a record-breaking number of 2,617 entries, far surpassing the previous high of 817 entries established three years earlier.
In addition, it awarded the biggest first-place prize in the event’s history. The previous record (€1,500,000) was set in 2023 by Max Neugebauer.

Interestingly, Annette Obrestad earned a nearly identical sum, around €1,450,000, back in 2007, when the prize was awarded as £1,000,000. This year, she returned to the series after a long hiatus and finished 35th in the Main Event, collecting €40,000.

Marius Kudzmanas and the final table

Highlights of the final table.

Kudzmanas is listed as an "Unknown Player" on The Hendon Mob, but he's well-known in the high roller community. The Lithuanian regularly plays Triton Poker and has won two bracelets online.

Previously, Marius's biggest score (€339,830) came in Prague at the EPT High Roller in 2022.

After his ME WSOPE victory, he didn't hold back:

"I felt that I was the strongest player at the table. I just had to avoid the major coolers and stay true to my game plan. It also helped that Brandon Shiels and Thomas Ashen were eliminated early, leaving me with the maximum number of amateur opponents."

Chris Hunichen, who won $8.5 million in high-stakes WSOP tournaments between 2020 and 2024, also played in the top three.

The title was ultimately decided in heads-up, when Kudzmanas flopped 7-5-4 holding 6-7. However, one cooler almost left the Lithuanian in fourth place. His resteal with AJo fell to Nikolai Bibov's AQo (technically, the all-in wasn't stack-first, effectively leaving Kudzmanas with 0.5 bb), but the decisive jack appeared on the flop.

He moved all-in against pocket kings and improved to trips on the turn.

Main Event Wsop Europe 2026 Braslet