Poker Pros to Watch at 2026 WSOP: Part 2

Elton Tsang: #11 on List of Top Earners 2026

We find Hong Kong’s Elton Tsang at the top of our second list. Having racked up almost $3.5 million USD in winnings this year, Tsang played the Triton Series in Korea and hit big — multiple times. Two third place finishes and a sixth comprises all recorded winnings this year, pushing him over $30 million in lifetime winnings.

While Tsang hasn’t pushed his luck much in Vegas in the past, the high roller is more than capable of playing the highest stakes at the WSOP and walking away with his first bracelet. If you want to bet small with great odds, Tsang could be your guy. If he plays Vegas, he’s likely to win in Vegas.

Bernard Binder: #12 on List of Top Earners 2026

Not far behind we find Austria’s Bernard Binder with over $3 million in winnings this year.

His seven cashes in 2026 so far have come across three series — a single cash in February at the Casino Austria Poker Tour, winning the €25,750 High Roller for €175,000; four cashes at the South Korea Triton High Roller, placing eleventh, sixteenth, and twelfth along with winning Event #8, for a total of over $2.56 million, and wrapping up the year with two heads-up losses at the EPT Monte Carlo for over $645k USD.

Binder only had one cash at last year’s series – a 99th place finish in Event #72 – the $10K Super Turbo Bounty event, and he’ll be looking to build on his momentum this year, potentially with a bracelet at the 2026 WSOP.

Christopher Nam Nguyen: #13 on List of Top Earners 2026

Christopher Nam Nguyen has been making waves in 2026, earning over $3.4 million so far with only five tournaments played, two of which were seven figure cashes.

He won €1.1 million at the WSOP Europe in Event #11 – the €20,800 NLHE Super High Roller, and €1.443 million in Event #25 at the EPT Monte Carlo. His ability to run deep in the biggest tournament buy-ins makes Nguyen a favorite to cash & win in a 2026 WSOP events this summer.

Philip Sternheimer: #14 on List of Top Earners 2026

England’s Philip Sternheimer comes next, having won over $3 million this year. The Brit scored his biggest lifetime cash at the Triton Series in South Korea, placing second in Event #10, the $100,600 NLHE event for $2.535 million.

With three cashes at the South Korean Triton series, two at the February PGT Mixed Games, and antoher one in the PGT Last Chance event, Sternheimer is getting hot at the right time as he is sure to cash several times this summer at the World Series. The only question is — will he top $10 million in lifetime earnings this summer at the 2026 WSOP? He’s at $9.1 million right now, a big win would push him over that line.

Quan Zhou: #15 on List of Top Earners 2026

China has produced several bigtime poker pros, and Quan Zhou has added his name to that list. Sitting now with over $17 million in lifetime earnings, Zhou has added over $3 million to that total this year alone, but unlike others on these lists, Zhou has grinded to this total through volume of tournaments.

Here are just some of his cashes this year;

Zhou has put together an impressive list of results this year, topped with his win at the Triton High Roller Series with $1.3 million for winning Event #2. If Zhou isn’t on your radar for a big summer, expect him to try and better the 11 cashes he had last year in Las Vegas at the 2026 WSOP and a win he had last summer at The Wynn during their poker summer series.

Eelis Parssinen: #16 on List of Top Earners 2026

When we think of great Finnish poker players, one name comes to mind – Patrik Antonius. Number two on the all-time money list for Finland is Eelis Parssinen, who has a long way to go to catching Antonius, but given the 2026 he has had so far, it might just be a matter of time before he becomes number one.

He has 12 cashes in 2026 so far, topped with a very successful Triton High Roller Series Jeju Island where he has multiple final tables and 6 overall cashes, topped with winning $890k in Event #18, the $78k Pot Limit Omaha 6 handed event. His most recent result was a win at the EPT in Monte Carlo, capturing the €5,200 PLO Event #3 for just under €100k. Parssinen is as dangerous on the Hold’em tables as he is on the Omaha tables, making him a bigger threat to continue his winning ways, and going for a bracelet in a host of 2026 WSOP events next month.

Daniel Rezaei: #18 on List of Top Earners 2026

Another Austrian caught our eye, as Daniel Rezaei already earned over $2.8 million this year. Rezaei sits at #2 on Austria’s all time money list, boosted by his 12 cashes this year so far, highlighted by a win at the Triton High Roller series, winning Event #6 – the €63k NLHE 8 handed event for $1.939 million.

He earned significant money at multiple series and will look to improve on his two cashes at last year’s WSOP, and his third-place finish in the $10,400 NLHE Wynn Summer Championship where his third place earned him over $1 million.

Jon Vallinas: #20 on List of Top Earners 2026

Last, but not least is Jon Vallinas, a newer name to the game of poker with just under $5.6 million in lifetime earnings and almost half of that coming in 2026. Three cashes at the EPT series Paris got his year going on the right foot, but the Triton One series is where he struck it rich, winning over $1.3 million with a second-place finish in the $8K Main Event. He had a second at the Triton High Roller Series as well, being the runner up again in the $26,500 NLHE Jupiter Event for $863k. His five cashes at last year’s series included a cash in the main event, and one was a final table appearance in event #29, the $2,500 NLHE event so he’ll be looking to improve on all aspects of his game this summer in Las Vegas.

With the 2026 WSOP getting underway very soon, the excitement builds in Las Vegas as many wonder who is going to break out and become a star this series, and there’s a good chance one of the names above will do just that! We won’t need to wait long to find out who as the 2026 WSOP is just days away from starting!

In the meantime, check out the first ten poker pros to watch at 2026 WSOP.