WSOP Player of the Year Race Comes Down to 29 Points — And American Grinders Fill the Leaderboard

A Three-Way Dogfight Heads to the Bahamas

The 2026 World Series of Poker Player of the Year race is as tight as it's ever been. With the Las Vegas summer series long since wrapped, the WSOP confirmed that the title won't be decided until December's WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. Heading into that finale, defending champion Shaun Deeb holds a narrow lead over Naoya Kihara and Alex Foxen, with the WSOP confirming that The Bahamas festival will decide this year's winner, with Deeb looking to become just the second player to claim the award three times, sitting on 3,410 points, with Kihara just 22 behind and Foxen a further seven back.

For US grinders who follow the circuit closely, this isn't just a leaderboard curiosity — it's a snapshot of how deep American talent runs through live tournament poker right now.

Deeb Chasing a Historic Third Title

Shaun Deeb already owns POY hardware from 2018 and 2025, and a win in the Bahamas would make him the first-ever three-time champion. The American eventually got his hands on a ninth bracelet in Las Vegas, adding another title to a collection that already puts him among the most successful players in WSOP history. A third POY would also settle a tie — his win would break his current tie with Daniel Negreanu for the most POY titles in WSOP history.

Kihara and Foxen Keep the Pressure On

Naoya Kihara's late-summer heater kept him within striking distance all season, while Alex Foxen has been the model of consistency: the American recorded 14 cashes at the 2026 WSOP, including a bracelet victory in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $594,246. With only 29 points separating first from third, a single deep run at Paradise could flip the standings entirely.

Eight-time bracelet winner and former two-time POY champion Daniel Negreanu, who currently sits sixth in the standings, summed up the stakes bluntly, noting that "WSOP Paradise is the perfect setting for a dramatic finish to the year."

The Field Behind Them Is Almost All-American

Scroll past the top three and the leaderboard reads like a who's-who of the US tournament grind: Justin Liberto, Joshua Arieh, Jesse Lonis, Michael Moncek, Joshua Reichard, Nick Schulman, Martin Zamani, and 2026 Main Event champion Lucas Jumalon all sit inside the top 15. WSOP also lists Daniel Negreanu (2,698) at #6 and Nicholas Schulman (2,552) at #12, among others in the top 15. Outside of Kihara (Japan), Eelis Parssinen (Finland), Benny Glaser (UK), and Calvin Anderson (Mexico), it's an almost entirely American cast chasing the title.

The Rules Changed the Math This Year

Two structural shifts make 2026 different from past seasons. First, for the first time, the POY race includes results from WSOP Europe, the summer WSOP in Las Vegas, and WSOPP, forcing contenders to commit to three separate festivals instead of just Vegas. Second, only open live bracelet events count toward the standings, with online bracelet events and restricted-entry tournaments, such as Seniors and Ladies events, excluded — the first year online results haven't counted at all.

Takeaway for US Grinders

You don't need a six-figure Paradise package to take something useful from this race. The names filling out that top 15 built their reputations on volume and consistency long before their first final table — many of them still play extensive online volume to stay sharp between live series, often through club-based apps like ClubGG as they build bankroll and reps toward bigger events. If that's your path too, knowing your actual numbers matters more than your gut feeling about a session. A ClubGG tracker that logs every hand into DriveHUD gives you the same kind of honest, data-backed view of your win rate and leaks that separates the players who climb leaderboards from the ones who just think they're running good. If you're setting up tracking for the first time, the setup guide walks through the process in a few minutes.