We're nearly two weeks into the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and almost one-fifth of the bracelet events on the schedule have already crowned a winner.
As a result, the race for WSOP Player of the Year is beginning to take shape.
With the European leg of the three-series competition already completed, and the Las Vegas summer series well on its way, the top contenders for the accolade are emerging from the pack.
Shaun Deeb currently holds a tenuous grip on the top spot on the leaderboard with 1,647 points – but with dozens of events still to play over the summer (not to mention the WSOP Paradise series later this year) it's far from over.
Thanks to his performance at the WSOP Europe a few months ago, Deeb entered the second leg of the competition sitting second on the leaderboard – trailing only slightly behind Main Event winner Marius Kudzmanas. With a fifth-place finish in the $10K No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship just a few days ago, Deeb surged into the top spot.
Deeb's lead is far from secure, however, as Japan's Naoya Kihara is now hot on his tail with 1,564 points.
Japan's Naoya Kihara has won two bracelets already this summer. Kihara's historic back-to-back Championship event wins rocketed him up the leaderboard and with momentum firmly on his side, additional points could soon be on the way.
The WSOP changed up the POY scoring system and rules this year, shifting the competition from solely the summer series to a globe-spanning, three-legged battle split across WSOP Europe, Las Vegas, and Paradise. As part of the new system, each player's fifteen highest-scoring cashes will count towards the leaderboard.
Notably, Kihara's point tally comes from only four cashes while Deeb has already locked in seven scores.
Kihara: Fantasy MVP
Kihara's double dip on the bracelet train serves him well for the POY race, but it also helps the WSOP Fantasy owners who selected him. With 254 points, Kihara leads the scoring over the 192-strong pack of drafted players by a considerable amount.
In the big one, the $25K Fantasy, Team Banana – owned and operated by David 'ODB' Baker – are the beneficiaries of Kihara's haul.
At just $1, Kihara is shaping up to be the bargain pick of the summer.
Despite the boost from Kihara, Team Banana sits in second place, trailing Team Lang Gang by 45 points.
In the fantasy world, there are two events nearing conclusion in the coming days – both of which will award massive field bonuses for drafted players who finish within the eligible spots.
In the $1,500 Monster Stack, there are several Fantasy players still in the hunt, including Joao Simao, Gabriel Andrade, Malcolm Trayner, Brian Yoon, Jon Kyte, David Peters, Martin Kabrhel, Nicholas Seward, John Wasnock, Martin Zamani, and Stephen Song.
The massive 100-point field bonus kicks in when the field is down to 81 players.
Meanwhile, in the $500 Freezeout, Chris 'Big Huni' Hunichen was the only fantasy player to hit the field bonus – at the time of writing, he's 13th with 22 players left.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA is the snappily-named team at the top of the Fantasy Freeroll leaderboard.
They sit on 590 points, powered by Kihara's hot start and a bracelet win from Jeff Madsen.
If you're currently at the wrong end of the table, don't worry – it's a marathon, not a sprint.
