button in SafariJeff Madsen Gunning for Second WSOP PoY Title After Fifth Bracelet Win
With 21 games to choose from, a grand total of 656 entrants came out for a shot in Event #20: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice, to generate a prize pool of $870,840 to be split between the top 99 finishers. As the day began, just ten players had a chance to fulfill their dreams of becoming the latest champion at the 2026 World Series of Poker at Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Each of them locked up $10,430 by making it this far, but only one would walk away with the bracelet and $161,057.
It was 20 years ago when a young Jeff Madsen came to the WSOP to collect his first recorded tournament cash, finishing in third place in the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo for $97,522. He topped that feat by cashing for over $1.3 million that summer, final tabling three more events, winning two more bracelets, and becoming the youngest player ever to win Player of the Year. Now on the 20th anniversary of his arrival in Las Vegas, Madsen beat Philip Wess to take home his fifth WSOP bracelet to further cement his name in the annals of poker history.
Event #20: $1,500 Dealer Choice Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Madsen | United States | $161,057 |
| 2 | Philip Wess | United States | $107,341 |
| 3 | Luteng Li | Canada | $72,042 |
| 4 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | $49,383 |
| 5 | Clayton Mozdzen | Canada | $34,588 |
| 6 | Kelvin Zhao | United States | $24,766 |
“Obviously, the first ones were just sort of like the dream; I was a kid with a dream. I had a little gap of seven years, but this is the longest gap. I felt like this is the best I have played in the last ten years. It probably feels the same; it’s hard to really know how I felt for the other ones. It’s sort of a big weight off my shoulders again, because I have been putting a lot of work in. I’m just very excited and happy, on my 20th anniversary. It’s wild that it's been 20 years already.”
Since his poker debut, Madsen has amassed over $7.2 million in lifetime earnings, including cashes and tournament wins from around the globe. In WSOP bracelet events, he has cashed well over 100 times, and while this is his fifth bracelet, it is his first in 11 years.
“It’s really cool. Life isn’t just about bracelets, but it’s nice for this stuff to happen and things telling you you’re doing the right thing. I ran really well at the final table, I was super locked in, it wasn’t too tough at the end there and I just felt really good. It’s nice, it’s not everything and hopefully I’m going to win more in the summer, but it’s nice because I put a lot of work into poker. It’s an emotional moment and I’m still in a dreamlike state. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years in poker.”
Just a few days shy of his birthday, Madsen went further to talk about how important his own mindset was in the tournament and in his poker game in general.
“I know I’m very streaky, so I’m playing good right now. It’s not that you play totally different when you think you need to win, but once you get the win you’re taking more spots that you should take. You’re not like ‘I have to win this pot,’ you’re more like ‘I’m a winner already,’ which you should always tell yourself. It will help emotionally and make sure I’m playing my best game and not missing a spot because ‘I don’t want to lose this pot,’ or ‘I don’t want this not bluff to work.’ I’ve been better at lately, but there are periods where you question yourself.”
Of the many games in the mix, Madsen talked about which games he wanted to pick and the strategy surrounding it.
“I mean, I do like mix because I’m pretty well-rounded. But we’re not here for Hold’em, so I like Hold’em but I’m not trying to pick it in the mix. I stick to a lot of the stud games in this tourney, a lot of stud hi-lo regular because it’s like a weird game that a lot of people misplay. I’m good at the four-card games like PLO and PLO8 but I definitely didn’t choose a lot of big bet games this tournament. I did a lot of Stud games and mostly limit. A lot of other players were picking Badeucy and Badacey.
“My least favourite is I guess Hold’em, because we’re just here to play mixed and I kind of leaned on the Stud this tournament. The big bet and other stuff I like, I just wasn’t really choosing it as a strategy. Stud you just get a lot more reads and there’s a lot of chance for the hand to pan out. It’s not like some big no-limit hand where you get in ace-king to queens.”
A rail began to form as the field got smaller, and eventually the rail was surrounded by Madsen’s friends, all cheering for him, holding posters. As he won his bracelet, his friends would surround and cheer for him and his accomplishments.
“I know so many interesting people. Not everyone gets this cool rail. My friend printed all these AI posters of me, stuff like that is pretty special. It helped me stay locked in. It’s not like I’m doing it for them, but I’m just trying to play my best game and have something to celebrate. Not that second wouldn’t have been something to celebrate, but we want the win.”
With his face already on a banner in the Horseshoe holding his first WSOP bracelet, Madsen opened up about his drive to chase another POY title 20 years after the first one.
“I already was. I’ve got a win now, I've got an eleventh in the $5k PLO and one other cash. We’re definitely at least somewhere up there. I plan to try to win one or two more. Three in a summer would be good, that doesn’t happen very often. It’s good to win one early and to win player of the year twenty years after the first time would be very crazy and kind of special in a way. Why not? Let’s do it!”
That will conclude today’s coverage of the $1,500 Dealers Choice. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting updates on the ground.
