The $25K High Roller H.O.R.S.E. Could Decide Who’s Leading the WSOP Player of the Year Race Into December

Last Updated on July 15, 2026 by Bala Kumar

With Event #97 of 100 underway at the 2026 World Series of Poker, the $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. has turned into the most important stop left on the summer calendar for one specific reason: it’s the last real chance this side of December for the three players fighting for Player of the Year to separate themselves from each other.

Where the Race Stands Right Now

As of this week, the top of the Player of the Year leaderboard looks like this:

Only 103 points separate Foxen at the top from Kihara in third, which is why a single deep run in a $25,000 buy-in event carries so much weight this late in the summer.

Why This Particular Event Matters So Much

With just 20 players left as of the latest count, all three of the top contenders are still alive. Foxen currently sits second in chips, Kihara is fifth, and Deeb, despite bouncing back from a rough week, is well-placed in ninth.

The points on offer are steep enough to reshuffle the entire leaderboard. A win is worth 877.62 points, more than either Foxen or Deeb has accumulated in some individual months of the series. Second place still nets 453.91, and the points stay meaningful all the way down to ninth (218.55). If either Foxen or Deeb goes on to take the title, they’d become the first player this year to break 4,000 points. Kihara, meanwhile, has a real shot at leapfrogging both of them if he goes deep while Foxen and Deeb bust earlier.

Shaun Deeb’s Whirlwind 48 Hours

The most compelling storyline heading into this event belongs to Deeb. The defending Player of the Year admitted that busting the WSOP Main Event in 15th, a finish worth $410,475, stung more for what it cost him in the standings than for the money left on the table. Rather than take a breather, Deeb registered for the $500 Summer Saver and the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller within minutes of his Main Event elimination, and he’s since climbed back into contention, overtaking Kihara in the process.

It fits the pattern of Deeb’s summer. He’s chasing something no player has ever done: winning WSOP Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons, and becoming the first three-time winner in the award’s history. Only two players, Daniel Negreanu and Deeb himself,  have ever won it twice.

Foxen’s case is just as strong. His summer has included six final tables across buy-ins ranging from $600 all the way to $100,000, a spread that speaks to genuine all-around consistency rather than one big score carrying his season. He also had a personal milestone earlier in the series when his wife, Kristen Foxen, won her sixth career WSOP bracelet in the $25,000 High Roller NLHE for $1.77 million, with Alex presenting her the bracelet himself. Together, the Foxens became the first married couple to both win bracelets in the same WSOP summer, combining for more than $3.3 million in cashes this series alone.

Kihara’s rise has been one of the quieter but more remarkable stories of the summer. He won back-to-back $10,000 championships in the same week, the 2-7 Lowball Draw for $428,923 and the Seven Card Stud Championship for $301,970, a feat only five players in WSOP history had managed before him, a list that includes Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Jason Mercier.

The Race Doesn’t End in Vegas This Year

For the first time, the WSOP Player of the Year title won’t be decided when the Las Vegas summer series wraps. The 2026 race carries a $1,000,000 total prize structure and now spans three festivals worldwide, with the final standings only locking in once WSOP Paradise concludes in the Bahamas this December. The top three finishers in the overall standings each lock up a $100,000 WSOP Paradise package regardless of how the rest of the year plays out.

That means however the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller finishes, none of Foxen, Deeb, or Kihara are eliminated from contention, but whoever comes out of it with the largest points cushion will carry real momentum into the fall. A handful of others, including Justin Liberto, Josh Arieh, Jesse Lonis, and Daniel Negreanu, remain within range, though they’ll need a big finish of their own to close the gap on the leading trio.

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Bala Kumar

Founder of PokerClubGames.com and a Poker Researcher with 10+ years of experience in SEO, WordPress development, and gaming content strategy. Specializes in researching online poker sites, poker apps, tournaments, bonuses, and poker strategies. Experienced in poker platform reviews, affiliate marketing, and creating SEO-focused poker content for global audiences.

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