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Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Day 4 Completed
Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em has come to an end at the 2026 World Series of Poker. A total of 1,402 hopefuls tried their luck in Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, but that number now stands at just one, as Markus Gonsalves has taken down the competition to be crowned the 6-max champ.
It was by no means a walk in the park, with four full days of fast-paced poker having to be carried out before a champion was crowned. In a tournament full of super-pros, max late registrants, and brutal spots, Gonsalves overcame them all to be the final player left with chips.
The prize pool stood at a whopping $6,449,200, with a near seven-figure score of $979,655 reserved for the eventual winner. Not only that, but Gonsalves will be taking home the highest award in poker: a coveted gold WSOP bracelet. As if it weren’t special enough, the win represents his maiden piece of WSOP hardware, adding him to the most exclusive club in the game.
This score absolutely skyrockets Gonsalves’ live earnings past the $3,000,000 mark, as well as almost doubling his previous career high score of $554,495, per The Hendon Mob.
The loser of the heads-up battle, Xiaoyao Ma, faced some brutal runouts on the final day, and will be undoubtedly disappointed by falling short at the final hurdle. That being said, the $653,037 reward for second place has essentially doubled his live earnings per The Hendon Mob, and there’s no doubt he’ll be back on the felt very soon.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Markus Gonsalves | United States | $979,655 |
| 2 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | $653,037 |
| 3 | Jeremy Izquierdo | France | $460,256 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | $328,810 |
| 5 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | $238,152 |
| 6 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | $174,909 |
| 7 | Oliver Weis | Germany | $130,287 |
“It’s something every player dreams of,” were the choice words from Gonsalves when speaking to PokerNews about how it feels to finally get his hands on a bracelet. “I’ve been playing poker for 21 years,” he noted, and there’s no feeling quite like winning the ultimate trophy in the game.
Not that it would be at all evident, but Gonsalves is actually more of a cash player than tournament. This preference is also reflected in the nature of tournaments he chooses to play when he makes the switch.
Gonsalves started off his poker career playing online cash sessions at a 6-max table, and his prowess in that translates to the tournament streets incredibly well. “It’s more fun," he said. "[It's] more creative, and more aggressive,” he said, as well as joking about the, "extra space at the table."
Despite preferring cash, Gonsalves, “really enjoys when he plays tournaments,” and for this one he was, “really excited to play: I was pumped.” Despite having gotten somewhat used to cash sessions, where he can, “play for eight hours then be done,” the four days he grinded came easy to him.
It was an extremely swingy final day for the San Diego local, who held a massive chip lead for a very large portion of it, before losing a huge hand against the pocket threes of tablemate Jeremy Izquierdo to balance the final three’s stacks out.
That being said, Gonsalves thanked his longevity in the game, as well as his incredible rail, for stopping him from being put off, and it was pocket threes to both giveth and taketh away as he rivered a set against the same opponent when it seemed like all hope was lost.
Moving forward, despite his clear skill when it comes to tournament poker, Gonsalves has no intentions to move away from his beloved cash. “I’ll play the Main [Event],” he acknowledged, but apart from that his only plans are to take his rail out for a meal, and get some relaxation in.
Nevertheless, it’s a sure thing that Gonsalves will be seen in future 6-maxes, now that he’s truly got the WSOP ball rolling.
Gonsalves came into the final day as an overwhelming chip leader, and wasted no time in putting his stack to use, increasing his dominance over the table during the first few orbits.
It would be Izquierdo, however, to benefit from the first key pot of the day, as he got it in with an overpair against Oliver Weis, and saw a very clean runout to earn a huge double.
Weis then went on what can only be described as a nightmare-inspiring run, losing two more huge pots to send him to the rail.
The first saw him call down a Gonsalves triple barrel with top pair, only to be shown aces to leave him with dust. Shortly after, he found an ace and shoved it, but was outkicked by Xiaoyao Ma to end his tournament surprisingly early.
Joshua Boulton was next to go, getting it all in whilst ahead against Gonsalves blind on blind. He flopped safe enough, but the chip lead would only increase for the latter, as he spiked the turn to eliminate the Brit.
Gonsalves was still bloodthirsty, with Lithuanian Dominykas Mikolaitis his next victim. The two got all in with Gonsalves dominating, and he flopped trips just to be safe as Mikolaitis was consoled by his rail. Four then became three relatively quickly, with Daniel Rezaei losing a preflop flip to Ma to confirm the podium players.
Three-handed was quite the rollercoaster, with Izquierdo going from zero to hero to zero all in the space of 25 minutes. The Frenchman doubled through Ma, binked a two-outer against Gonsalves, all before double barrelling his way to the chip lead. Almost instantly after, Gonsalves went on to hit the exact same two-outer, before Izquierdo’s kicker problems sent him home at the hands of Gonsalves.
Heads-up began with Ma a 3:1 dog, but that dog never stopped fighting, as he rallied back to gain the chip lead. With it, he got it all in for the bracelet with a commanding lead, only for his opponent to hit a three-outer brutally, and leave him with next to nothing.
Ma carried on fighting, and managed to secure a double, but Gonsalves would have the last laugh, hitting yet another three-outer to leave him walking away with the bracelet.
That’s all from PokerNews for this event, but make sure to stay tuned as there is still plenty more action coming your way, including the most important tournament in world poker: The Main.
Markus Gonsalves has outlasted a field of 1,402 entries in Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, banking $979,655, and claiming a maiden WSOP gold bracelet.
Stay tuned for the winner's reaction and a recap of the final day of action.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Markus Gonsalves | United States | $979,655 |
| 2 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | $653,037 |
| 3 | Jeremy Izquierdo | France | $460,256 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | $328,810 |
| 5 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | $238,152 |
| 6 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | $174,909 |
| 7 | Oliver Weis | Germany | $130,287 |
It took just two more hands after the previous titanic collision to end the match.
In the first, with Xiaoyao Ma left with just 2,800,000 in his stack, Markus Gonsalves moved all in on the button, and Ma called.
Xiaoyao Ma: Q♥4♥ 
Markus Gonsalves: K♣7♥
The J♣4♣10♦9♠K♥ board saw Ma river a straight to survive, but the very next hand, he got his stack all in again.
Xiaoyao Ma: A♠K♠
Markus Gonsalves: K♣5♣
This time, the deck favored Gonsalves, as the 5♦K♦2♠8♣4♥ board improved him to two pair, seeing Ma eliminated in 2nd place, and Gonsalves winning the bracelet.
Xiaoyao Ma limped in, and Markus Gonsalves made it 2,500,000 to go. Ma then three-bet to 7,500,000, and snap-called a shove from Gonsalves.
Markus Gonsalves: A♣9♦
Xiaoyao Ma: K♥K♦
It was a brutal flop for Ma, as the 2♥A♥2♦ fanned out by the dealer sent Gonsalves into an immediate lead, with Ma drawing slim. The 3♥ turn brought a massive sweat, but the 5♣ river ensured the double for Gonsalves , with Ma left extremely short-stacked.
Markus Gonsalves raised to 1,250,000 holding Q♥Q♣ on the button, and Xiaoyao Ma called with 9♣6♣
Ma check-called a bet of 1,500,000 on a 10♥2♥6♠ flop, but then switched gears on the 7♠ turn, leading out for 1,100,000, which Gonsalves called.
Ma reverted to checking on the 2♣ river, but Gonsalves wasn't done with the hand yet, as he put 10,000,0000 into the pot.
Ma took his sunglasses off and gave Gonsalves a good look up and down. After a minute had passed, he flicked his cards into the muck pile, surrendering the pot to Gonsalves.
Markus Gonsalves raised to 1,250,000 on the button, and Xiaoyao Ma called in the big blind.
Ma check-called a continuation bet of 1,500,000 on a 7♣3♥J♦ flop, and check-called again on the A♠ turn, this time for 2,000,000.
When Ma checked for a third time on the 6♠ river, Gonsalves checked back, mucking when Ma tabled 5♦3♠.
Following a series of raise-and-takes, a hand occurred in which Markus Gonsalves limped in, and Xiaoyao Ma checked his option in the big.
Action checked all the way to the river, leaving the board to read 6♣8♥Q♥Q♦4♥. Here, Ma bet out for 600,000. Gonsalves responded with a raise to 4,000,000, only for Ma to three-bet to 10,000,000. Gonsalves quickly folded, leaving the two with almost identical stacks.
Ma tabled the 3♣.
Markus Gonsalves raised to 1,200,000 on the button, and Xiaoyao Ma called in the big blind.
The J♠4♦J♣ flop saw Ma check, and Gonsalves continue with an 800,000 bet. Ma then check-raised to 1,800,000, which Gonsalves called.
Ma continued with a bet of 5,000,000 on the 10♠ turn, which Gonsalves called.
The Q♦ completed the board, and Ma went for it all, moving all in for 10,200,000. Gonsalves gave it some thought, but ultimately chose to fold.
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