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If you have not heard much about Bernhard Binder before this week, you can be forgiven. But that is exactly why PokerNews talks to the players who know who is coming through next.
Long before Binder found himself deep in the record-breaking WSOP Super Main Event at WSOP Paradise, three-time Triton Poker champion Mario Mosböck was already sounding the alarm.
“I think the main one, I mean, Samuel Mullur is already on there,” Mosböck said when asked about who will be the breakout stars in 2026. “I think Bernhard Binder is probably one of the best players at the moment.”
That prediction is aging extremely well.
At the time of writing, Binder sits among the final five players in the WSOP Super Main Event, a tournament that smashed its record-breaking $60 million guarantee. A field of 2,891 entries built a massive $72,275,000 prize pool, with $10,000,000 and a WSOP Super Main Event bracelet awaiting the winner.
From Obscurity to Center Stage
Binder returned for the final day second in chips from the eight remaining players and has navigated his way into the final five, already locking up $2,350,000. That figure represents the biggest score of his career by a staggering margin.
Prior to this run, Binder’s largest recorded cash stood at $64,500, earned for a 24th-place finish in the $25,000 WPT Global Slam at Triton Jeju II. His total live tournament earnings before WSOP Paradise were just $328,636, making this breakout performance impossible to ignore.
Mosböck, however, was never surprised.
“Binder’s also playing live, and has only played poker for like two and a half, three years, which is insane,” he said. “Incredible, sharp guy, super fast learner and fantastic poker player. So I think he will absolutely crush, and it’s just a question of time until he wins a lot of tournaments.”
“He’s probably the one that nobody has on the fantasy football team, but he will be printing.”
A Final Table Packed With Storylines
Binder’s surge comes amid a final table that has already delivered several notable exits. Franco Spitale was eliminated in eighth place before Peter Chien bowed out in seventh. Natasha Mercier, wife of six-time bracelet winner Jason Mercier, saw her impressive run end in sixth place for $1.8 million.
Mercier’s deep finish marked the second straight year a woman has reached the WSOP Super Main Event final table. Last year, Liv Boeree finished fourth, earning $2.8 million, the largest cash ever recorded by a woman at the time.
The trend reflects what has been a monster year for women in poker. At the WSOP in Las Vegas, Leo Margets ended a 30-year drought by becoming the first woman to reach the WSOP Main Event final table since 1995.
Whether Binder goes on to capture the $10 million top prize or not, his WSOP Super Main Event performance has already validated Mosböck’s prediction. A player with just a few years of live tournament experience has announced himself on poker’s biggest stage, outlasting thousands in the most lucrative guaranteed event the game has ever seen.
WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 | ||
| 2 | $6,000,000 | ||
| 3 | $4,000,000 | ||
| 4 | $3,000,000 | ||
| 5 | $2,350,000 | ||
| 6 | Natasha Mercier | United States | $1,800,000 |
| 7 | Peter Chien | Canada | $1,400,000 |
| 8 | Franco Spitale | Argentina | $1,100,000 |
Senior Editor & Live Events Executive
Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
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