The 2026 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown ran from April 8 through April 29 with 73 trophy events, plenty of action with a variety of games and formats on the schedule, and a lot of great times over the three-week run.
This was the fifth time in our history that we’ve drawn more than 20,000 entries, and our players put more than $15 million in prize pools.
2026 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Champion Ian Cohen
The big tournament on the schedule was the 2026 WPT Poker Showdown Championship, with a $3,500 buy-in and a huge $3,000,000 guarantee. It drew 1,417 entries over two starting flights and created a prize pool worth more than $4.5 million.
It created an exciting six-handed final table that was live-streamed and also recorded for later broadcast on television. The lineup featured locals Johnny Bromberg, Michael Amato, Raj Vohra, and Ian Cohen, plus pro Frank Funaro and NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour.
Ian Cohen (left) versus Richard Seymour (right) (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
It came down to a long heads-up battle between Seymour and Cohen, with Cohen coming out on top to win and become our 15th Poker Showdown Champion. Cohen earned $656,200, a really nice return on his investment, since he was in the game on a satellite ticket.
This series was the 15th Poker Showdown, dating back to 2011. Since its inception, here’s a little look at the big numbers over the years:
More than 200,000 entries in those 15 years and over $200 million in prize money. That’s a lot of players through the doors and a lot of money going back to them.
Coming into the 2026 Poker Showdown, only six time in our history has a player won three tournaments in a single series. By the time we were done, we had added two more to that list
Ryan Hoenig was one of those six, winning three during the 2024 Showdown, and he did it again this year. He won the $1,100 5-Card PLO, the $600 Big O, and the $1,100 10-Game Mix. Hoenig might have won another, but a really deep run in the Championship was a higher priority.
During the final week of the series, it happened one more time. Willie Wiggins won the Larry Frank Memorial Charity Event on the last Thursday of the series, followed by a win in the $200 Deep Stack on Saturday, and he closed out his run by winning the $1,100 Purple Chip Bounty Turbo on Monday.
Three trophies in a week for the local favorite. Here’s a look at the eight times a player has won three tournaments in a single series:
2012 Showdown – Julio Fernandez 2012 RRPO – Atanael Thomas 2023 RRPO – Matt Bretzfield 2024 LHPO – Frederic Moss 2024 Showdown – Ryan Hoenig 2025 Showdown – Yuval Bronshtein 2026 Showdown – Ryan Hoenig 2026 Showdown – Willie Wiggins
Hoenig’s wins took him up to ten major SHRP titles in his career, and Wiggins now has six. They weren’t the only ones to add big numbers to their career totals; David Shmuel won his 13th, Matt Bretzfield won his 11th and 12th, and Gabe Ramos hit double digits with his tenth.
Updated all-time major SHRP wins:
Raminder Singh – 16 Yuval Bronshtein – 16 David Shmuel – 13 Matt Bretzfield – 12 Michael Newman – 12 Phil Hui – 12 Gabriel Ramos – 10 Ryan Hoenig – 10
Other notable wins during the series include Sebastian Toro Henao taking down the huge opening event for $201,030. Johnny Bromberg, in addition to making the Championship final table, also won the $800 Platinum Stack for $258,125. Hertsel Levy played two $1,100 Turbo No-Limit Hold’em tournaments on the schedule and won them both.
As always, we could not do any of this without the support of our players. Both locals and traveling players make every series a lot of fun with great results and plenty of memories.
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 1 of 1,417
2026 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Champion Ian Cohen (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Ian Cohen limped for 1,200,000, Richard Seymour raised from the big blind to 10,000,000, and Cohen moved all in for 35,400,000.
Seymour snap-called all in for 34,200,000 with , and Cohen turned over .
The board came , and Cohen won the pot — and the WPT title — with a flopped set of sevens.
NFL Hall of Famer Richard Seymour finishes as the runner-up, earning $430,000.
Ian Cohen, who earned his entry into this event in a satellite, wins the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship, earning $656,200 and the Showdown Championship trophy. Cohen’s prize money includes his $10,400 seat into the season-ending WPT World Championship, and his name will be engraved on the one-and-only Mike Sexton WPT Championship Cup.
Congratulations to Ian Cohen!
1st: Ian Cohen – $656,200 + Showdown Trophy 2nd: Richard Seymour – $430,000 3rd: Michael Amato – $320,000 4th: Frank Funaro – $240,000 5th: Johnny Bromberg – $181,000 6th: Raj Vohra – $138,000
2026 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Champion Ian Cohen with Tournament Floor David “Country” Roberts, Tournament Manager Jason Heidenthal, WPT CEO Adam Pliska, Commentator Tony Dunst, Commentator Vince Van Patten, WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage, and Runner-Up Richard Seymour (Photo: Alicia Skillman/WPT)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
Richard Seymour (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Richard Seymour limped for 1,200,000, Ian Cohen raised from the big blind to 3,500,000, and Seymour limp-reraised to 15,000,000. Cohen quickly folded, and Seymour took the pot.
Ian Cohen – 38,400,000 (32 bb) Richard Seymour – 32,400,000 (27 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
Richard Seymour limped for 1,200,000, and Ian Cohen checked his option in the big blind.
Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Cohen bet 1,200,000, and Seymour called.
The river card was the , Cohen moved all in for 39,700,000, and Seymour waited for an exact count before he showed one card — a — and folded.
Ian Cohen – 45,700,000 (38 bb) Richard Seymour – 25,100,000 (21 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
Ian Cohen (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Richard Seymour raised to 2,500,000, Ian Cohen reraised from the big blind to 6,000,000, and Seymour thought for a while before he called.
The flop came , Cohen checked, Seymour bet 4,500,000, and Cohen thought for a while before he called.
The turn card was the , Cohen checked, Seymour moved all in, and Cohen quickly called all in for 11,800,000 with for a pair of kings.
Seymour turned over for nine high with no draws, and he was drawing dead.
The meaningless river card was the and Cohen won the pot with his pair of aces to double up in chips.
Ian Cohen – 45,800,000 (38 bb) Richard Seymour – 25,000,000 (21 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
NFL Hall of Famer and Three-Time Super Bowl Champion Richard Seymour (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Richard Seymour raised to 2,500,000, and Ian Cohen called from the big blind.
The flop came , Cohen checked, Seymour bet 2,000,000, and Cohen called.
The turn card was the , Cohen checked, Seymour bet 4,500,000, and Cohen folded. Seymour took the pot.
Ian Cohen – 24,100,000 (20 bb) Richard Seymour – 46,700,000 (39 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 38: 600,000/1,200,000 with a 1,200,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
Ian Cohen (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Ian Cohen limped for 1,200,000, Richard Seymour raised from the big blind to 3,500,000, and Cohen limp-shoved all in for 25,700,000.
Seymour waited for an exact count before he folded, and Cohen took the pot.
Ian Cohen – 30,400,000 (25 bb) Richard Seymour – 40,400,000 (34 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 37: 500,000/1,000,000 with a 1,000,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
Ian Cohen (Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Richard Seymour raised to 4,500,000, and Ian Cohen called from the big blind.
The flop came , Cohen moved all in for 9,200,000, and Seymour folded. Cohen took the pot.
Ian Cohen – 19,200,000 (19 bb) Richard Seymour – 51,600,000 (52 bb)
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship Prizepool: $4,534,400 | Payouts | Results Level 37: 500,000/1,000,000 with a 1,000,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 1,417
(Photo: WPT/Alicia Skillman)
Ian Cohen limped for 1,000,000, and Richard Seymour checked his option in the big blind.
The flop came , Seymour checked, Cohen bet 1,000,000, and Seymour check-raised to 3,500,000. Cohen thought for a bit before he called.
The turn card was the , Seymour bet 7,000,000, and Cohen used a Time Chip to tank for a while before he folded. Seymour took the pot to increase his lead to 2.8-to-1.
Ian Cohen – 18,700,000 (19 bb) Richard Seymour – 52,100,000 (52 bb)
, and Cohen turned over 
.
, and Cohen won the pot — and the WPT title — with a flopped set of sevens.
, Cohen bet 1,200,000, and Seymour called.
, Cohen moved all in for 39,700,000, and Seymour waited for an exact count before he showed one card — a 
— and folded.
, Cohen checked, Seymour moved all in, and Cohen quickly called all in for 11,800,000 with 
for a pair of kings.
for nine high with no draws, and he was drawing dead.
and Cohen won the pot with his pair of aces to double up in chips.
, Cohen checked, Seymour bet 2,000,000, and Cohen called.
, Cohen checked, Seymour bet 4,500,000, and Cohen folded. Seymour took the pot.
, Cohen moved all in for 9,200,000, and Seymour folded. Cohen took the pot.
