Hellmuth, Mizrachi, Deeb, Kabrhel and Lonis Among the First to Confirm
Prague is about to get a lot more interesting.
Five of the biggest names in poker have announced they'll be making the trip to the Czech capital for WSOP Europe 2026, set to take place at the Hilton Atrium and King's Casino. Jesse Lonis, Martin Kabrhel, Shaun Deeb, Phil Hellmuth and Michael Mizrachi have all confirmed their attendance — and with promotions like the Rise In Prague Golden Egg Hunt already generating buzz, the series is shaping up to be one of Europe's biggest poker events of the year.
Here's a closer look at the five players already locked in.
Jesse Lonis
There's a short list of players who've made a bigger leap in the last few years than Jesse Lonis — and it might actually be an empty list.
The New York native is just 30 years old and already holds 3 WSOP Circuit victories, 2 WSOP bracelets, and over $6 million in WSOP tournament earnings. The only reason he isn't sitting at the top of New York's all-time money list is that the list happens to include Bryn Kenney, Isaac Haxton, Alex Foxen and Erik Seidel. For now.
His defining moment came in 2023 at the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, where he won $2,303,017 and his second bracelet — one of the biggest scores in recent WSOP memory. Prague figures to see more of the same.
Martin Kabrhel
Home-field advantage means something, and Kabrhel will be playing on home soil in Prague.
The Czech Republic's all-time leader in tournament earnings, Kabrhel has built a résumé that's hard to argue with: five WSOP bracelets, four of which came at WSOP Europe events, plus a Circuit ring at King's Casino Rozvadov. Playing in his home country has consistently proved successful.
His most recent bracelet came at WSOP Europe 2025, where he took down the €10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for €188,500. Whether you love him or can't stand him at the table, Kabrhel in front of a Prague crowd is a spectacle worth showing up for.
Shaun Deeb
Deeb won his seventh WSOP bracelet at the 2025 WSOP, taking down the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for $2,957,229. He then added bracelet number eight at WSOP Europe 2025 by winning the €50,000 GGMillion€ for €329,000. Along the way, he joined Daniel Negreanu as the only players in history to win WSOP Player of the Year twice.
Deeb also arrives in Prague having crossed the age threshold for Poker Hall of Fame eligibility — a milestone that puts his broader WSOP legacy firmly in focus.
Phil Hellmuth
Seventeen bracelets. One target.
Phil Hellmuth needs no preamble — the career speaks for itself. In 2012, Hellmuth won the WSOP Europe Main Event in Cannes, making him the only player in WSOP history to have won both the WSOP Main Event (1989) and the WSOP Europe Main Event. It's a double that no one else has ever pulled off.
He arrives in Prague chasing bracelet number 18, looking to extend a record that has stood for decades.
Michael Mizrachi
In 2025, Mizrachi won the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for the fourth time — a title widely regarded as the toughest in poker to win even once. Days later, he won the 2025 WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000 and his eighth bracelet. Claiming both titles in the same series had simply never been done before. The Poker Hall of Fame induction that followed was unanimous.
His connection to WSOP Europe runs deep. Fifteen years ago in Cannes, Mizrachi won the €10,400 Split-Format No-Limit Hold'em for €336,008 — his second bracelet. Prague now offers another stage for The Grinder to add to an already remarkable record.
