The Top 5 Breakout Performers at the 2026 WSOP

Posted February 10, 2026 by TitanPokerBonusCodes in News.

The 2026 World Series of Poker is coming to a close and in between the Phil Hellmuth's, Phil Ivey's, One Drop, and other big news, there were a few players who really came into their own during the summer tournament series, becoming prominent names in the poker community. In this column I'll take a look at the five players who came out of nowhere, or were able to breakthrough on the biggest stage in poker, the WSOP.

David "Bakes" Baker

Anybody who follows the tournament poker scene knows the name David Baker (especially since there are two of them!) but Baker is a fairly unknown quantity to the casual poker fan. However, after a scintillating 2026 WSOP performance "Bakes" will no longer have to worry about living in anonymity in the poker world, especially after defeating one of the toughest final tables in WSOP history on his way to his second career bracelet.

2026WSOP results:

• 31^st place in the $ 3,000 No Limit Hold’em – Shootout (Event #36) for $9,086
• 1^st place in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #32) for $451,779
• 63^rd place in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo (Event #8) for $4,164

David "ODB" Baker

David "ODB" Baker (AKA "The other one") has a pretty good tournament track record in his own right, and after winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2026 he can now move out from the shadow of "Bakes" Baker. "ODB" cashed in four tournaments at the 2026 WSOP, including three Top 10 finishes.

2026WSOP results:

• 10^th place in the $50,000 The Poker Players Championship (Event #45) for $142,197
• 1^st place in the $2,500 8 Game (Event #37) for $271,312
• 33^rd place in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em (Event #35) for $5,195
• 3^rd place in the $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Event #22) for $59,925

Cherish Andrews

Andrew is a 23 year-old professional poker player who made a very deep run in one event, ending up at the final table, as well as cashing in several other tournaments during the 2026 WSOP – all of which were $1,500 NLHE events. Andrews combination of poker skill and good looks should make her a very hot commodity to potential sponsors.

2026WSOP results:

• 187^th place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event #53) for $3,932
• 207^th place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event #43) for $3,291
• 4^th place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event #31) for $210,083
• 35^th place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em – Six Handed (Event #16) for $8,878

Konstantin Puchkov

Puchkov was on fire during the 2026 WSOP, tying the single year cash record set by fellow Russian Nikolay Edvakov, and he still has a few more WSOP tournaments and the WSOP Europe tournament series to set the record.

2026WSOP Results:

• 14^th place in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em (Event #50) for $43,095
• 9^th place in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event #46) for $49,245
• 214^th place in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em (Event #44) for $2,123
• 6^th place in the $2,500 8 Game (Event #37) for $41,844
• 20^th place in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em (Event #35) for $6,437
• 199^th place in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em (Event #33) for $2,214
• 11^th place in the $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball (Event #30) for $5,955
• 56^th place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em – Shootout (Event #14) for $5,295
• 26^th place in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em – Mixed Max (Event #6) for $14,328
• 56^th place in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em (Event #5) for $2,846

Tom "LearnedFromTV" Chambers

Chambers was a final table demon at the 2026 WSOP, making three final tables, and finishing 3^rd, 5^th, and 6^th respectively. Chambers is mainly known as an online player (and a PLO player at that), but he did have two final tables at the WSOP back in 2026. Since then he has been fairly quiet in live tournaments before his excellent 2026 performance.

2026WSOP results:

• 5^th place in the $2,500 10 Game – Six Handed (Event #52) for $43,099
• 3^rd place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event #31) for $290,875
• 6^th place in the $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha (Event #26) for $61,521

 

I'd like to give a special thanks to thehendonmob and their fantastic tournament database for these results.