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Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day 3 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day: 3
Event Info
2026 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$3,008,000
Total Entries
128
Level
64
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
0
Entries
4
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 128
Filter
Level 64
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 0 ante
It may not be a cure for jet lag, but winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet certainly wouldn't have made it any worse.
Dimitar Danchev only landed in Las Vegas 48 hours ago, and, in the name of sleep, decided to hold off on playing any poker until Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship was open for registration. The Bulgarian pro had the event highlighted on his calendar and had no intention of missing it.
He will be thankful he found the energy to get out of bed. With three days of play inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas complete, and seven conquered opponents in his wake, Danchev has claimed his second WSOP gold bracelet, as well as walking away $800,000 better off, taking the lion's share of the $3,008,000 prizepool.
$25,000 Heads-Up Championship Results
It wouldn't be unfair to think of Danchev as a heads-up end boss. After all, his first and only other bracelet also came in a heads-up format, when he won the 2022 WSOP Online Heads-Up Championship after overcoming a star-studded field of 97 entrants.
This year’s edition of the Heads-Up Championship was the first to feature an additional starting flight, meaning the eventual champion had to win seven consecutive matches to take the title.
Danchev referenced his second-round match as one of his toughest, but by no means the only challenge he faced.
"They were all equally tough, but I would say I had a very tough second round against Christopher Nguyen, when I had to hero call for my tournament [life], that was a really tough spot. Also, Florian Pesce was a very tough opponent"
Following his victory over Pesce, Danchev was drawn against Biao Ding, who had previously eliminated Daniel Negreanu. The quarter-final had it all, from a river bluffing standoff in which Danchev refused to blink, to a decisive cooler, as he rivered a flush to leave Ding on the brink of elimination.
That victory booked Danchev a semifinal clash with Ryuta Nakai, and he was well aware that the deck had done its share of the work in getting him through it.
"Against Nakai, I was really in a tough spot, because he was really grinding me down; I couldn't win many hands. I was very lucky to win two of the biggest hands".
It was a humble nod to his opponent's quality, but also a fair assessment. Nakai began on the front foot and quickly put daylight between the two stacks. However, when Danchev flopped a set, and Nakai turned top two pair, the chips were destined to find their way into the middle, seeing Danchev claim the chip lead.
The match came to a head shortly after, a five-bet shove from Nakai was snap-called by Danchev, whose pocket queens then guided him through to the final.
The stage was set for the final showdown: Danchev versus Nikita Kuznetsov, who had already put together a stellar run of his own. He notably dispatched Adrian Mateos in the opening round before eliminating Thomas Eychenne and Justin Saliba en route to a semifinal victory over Alex Foxen.
The final match was no quick sprint, lasting just under three-and-a-half hours. Kuznetsov took an early lead, building a 2-to-1 advantage through a series of small pots in the opening levels. The momentum then shifted in a decisive hand where both players flopped big. Kuznetsov made trips but ran into Danchev’s flopped full house, flipping the chip lead.
From there, Kuznetsov never fully recovered. The two traded blows, but with no major swings, and Danchev consistently maintained control of the chip lead.
The final blow came in a second cooler, which once again fell in favor of Danchev. Kuznetsov rivered trips and called off a shove, only to discover Danchev had rivered a full house to secure the title, the bracelet, and the $800,000 first-place prize.
Heading into the night, Danchev's plan is to celebrate with a good night’s rest before enjoying dinner with friends.
“We will go for a nice dinner, I guess, maybe tomorrow. I'm still jet lagged, I just really wanted to play this event, so it feels amazing to actually win it.”
That concludes the coverage of this event. Check out the PokerNews home page to find more live coverage from the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Level 64
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 0 ante
Dimitar Danchev limped in the big blind with Q♦7♥, and Nikita Kuznetsov checked behind with Q♥8♣.
Kuznetsov check-called a bet of 400,000 on the 7♠J♥Q♠ flop, and check-called a more substantial 1,600,000 on the 3♣ turn.
The Q♣ river brought inevitable fireworks, as it improved Kuznetsov to trips but gave Danchev a full house.
Kuznetsov checked in the flow but wasted no time calling when Danchev moved all in with the covering stack.
Kuznetsov was shown the bad news, as his run came to an end in second place for $528,000, agonisingly short of the gold bracelet.
Level: 64
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 0
Level 63
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 0 ante
Dimitar Danchev limped in on the button with K♣10♦, and quickly faced a shove as Nikita Kuznetsov moved all in for 5,035,000 with A♥8♠.
Danchev toiled over a decision, utilising a time extension before folding.
Level 63
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 0 ante
After being dealt A♣9♣, Dimitar Danchev raised to 600,000 on the button, and Nikita Kuznetsov defended with 10♣9♦.
It was Danchev's turn to flop a club flush, as the dealer spread a 5♣7♣K♣ flop.
The action checked through, tempting Kuznetsov to place an ill-timed bet of 300,000 on the 7♠ turn, which Danchev called.
The J♠ completed the board, and Kuznetsov hit the brakes, checking over to Danchev. Danchev went with a size of 1,300,000, but it was of no interest to Kuznetsov, who folded.
Level 63
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 0 ante
Nikita Kuznetsov opened to 600,000 on the button with K♠Q♠, and Dimitar Danchev defended with 10♣7♥.
The 8♥K♦10♦ flop saw Danchev check-call a bet of 300,000 before he check-folded to a 1,200,000 barrel from Kuznetsov.
Level: 63
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 0
Level 62
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 0 ante
True to form, Dimitar Danchev limped in on the button with A♠6♦, and Nikita Kuznetsov chose to check behind holding J♠9♣.
Kuznetsov check-called a bet of 250,000 on the Q♣4♥10♠ flop, but when the 4♠ joined the board, he went on the offensive, leading into Danchev with a bet of 1,250,000. Danchev gave it good thought, but elected to return his cards to the dealer, seeing Kuznetsov succeed with his bluff attempt.
Level 62
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 0 ante
Nikita Kuznetsov opened to 500,000 on the button with K♥J♥, and Dimitar Danchev called with 10♥7♣.
The 8♠10♦4♣ flop saw Danchev take the lead, as the action checked through on both the flop as well as the 9♦ river.
Danchev tried to squeeze some value with a pot-sized bet of 1,000,000, but Kuznetsov was wise to it, and folded.
