Benny Sarnelli Takes First Ring in Record-Setting Mini Main Event

Sunday was a huge day at the 2026 WSOP-C Calgary. The Seniors game ran Day 1 in the morning with 539 entries for prizes of nearly $180k. Later in the afternoon, the $600 NLH game kicked off, and also drew a decent crowd of 413 entries for more than $210k in prizes.

But the big action on Sunday was Day 2 of the Mini Main Event, which was “mini” in name alone. The game drew an astonishing crowd of 2,269 entries across the four starting days, a new record field size for Alberta poker. Not only did this Mini Main set a new record, it obliterated the previous record, set in the Jan 2024 4-Flight, by more than 500 entries.

That Mini Main ended up with $735k in total prizes for a $400 buy in, with six figures up top for the win.

Benny Sarnelli Takes First Ring and $102k in Record Mini Main

• Entries: 2,269 (New Record for Alberta Poker)
• Prizes: $735,405
• Winner: Benny Sarnelli ($101,977)

They call it the Mini Main Event, but the field size in the 2026 edition in Calgary was anything but mini. With a previous record field size of 1,715, set in January of 2024, the early numbers made it look likely that record would fall by a few entries.

As the opening flights proceeded, however, it became increasingly clear that the record wouldn’t just fall, it would be utterly destroyed, and in the end, 2,269 entries were recorded for the game. That put the prizes well over $700k, with almost $102 up top for the winner.

114 players came back for Sunday’s Day 2, and while it was predicted to be a long day, they actually played through the huge Day 2 pretty quickly, with the action finishing up about 13.5 hours after they sat down for the first Day 2 hands. Mike Malm, who is the 2024 & 2025 API Player of the Year, brought the big stack into Day 2 by quite a margin and he held that position for much of the day, getting to the final table still stacked.

Things went south for him once they got to one table, eventually bowing out in 6th place after his luck changed at the FT. Michael Khan (3rd place, $46,616), and Samson Mesenegeeshik (2nd place, $62,983) were generally the big stacks through the final table, with the eventual winner, Benny Sarnelli, mostly just biding his time on a shorter stack, waiting for his spots.

Sarnelli turned up the heat once they got short-handed. After Skyler York ended his run in fourth, things started to get a bit more swingy. Khan was the big stack in the final three, but the blinds were getting big, and the stacks shifted a lot. After a few hands of 3-way play, Sarnelli was on top after cutting Khan down to 3rd-place size. Khan got another double to stay alive, but ultimately ended his run in 3rd place for just shy of $50k.

That left Sarnelli heads up against Mesenegeeshik with the lead, and that never changed. It only took a few hands to decide it when Mesenegeeshik woke up with king-jack of spades, and the money went in against the ace-three off for Sarnelli.

Sarnelli hit a trey on the flop and that was all he needed for his first Circuit ring, and a massive score that is nearly twice his previous lifetime earnings on Hendon Mob.

Final Table Results from Mini Main Event

Place	Player	Prize
1	Benny Sarnelli	$101,977
2	Samson Mesenegeeshik	$62,983
3	Michael Khan	$46,616
4	Skyler York	$34,880
5	Regan Duong	$26,388
6	Mike Malm	$20,187
7	Harpreet Padda	$15,618
8	Brian Bond	$12,222
9	Jimmy Lee	$9,675
10	Michael Grol	$7,749

Seniors Get More than 500 Entries

• Entries: 539
• Prizes: $177,870
• 81 Places Paid

The early-bird special on Sunday was the Seniors game, kicking off at 10 AM. In the past, with fields regularly over 500 entries for this game, it has been a very late night, going up to 18 hours before a winner is decided.

For Jan 2026, the decision was made to make it a two-day event, with the Day 1 action ending after 23 levels, or at the final table of 10, whichever came first. They played the full 23 levels on Day 1, with 11 players left when they bagged up, and Kevin Kemna in a big lead.

Final 11 Stacks after 1 Day of Play in Seniors

Ryan Teixeira Takes Down His First Ring in Event #7

• Entries: 413
• Prizes: $212,695
• Winner: Ryan Teixeira ($44,454)

The final game on Sunday was a new addition to the schedule this time around, a $600 NLH game. After registration closed, they ended up with 413 entries for prizes of more than $210k.

The action on the game played fairly quickly throughout the night, until they got to the endgame. The game stalled three-handed, taking around two hours to go from 3 to a winner. They played 3 ways for nearly an hour before Andrew Sabbagh was nearly forced all-in from the small blind.

He raised the small for just a bit more than a big blind, and Ryan Teixeira called from the big without looking at his cards. His suited jack was good over the suited 8 for Sabbagh, and he turned a flush, despite Sabbagh finding his 8 on the flop.

That left Teixeira heads up with Tyson Malo, and he started with a pretty big lead, but Malo doubled up quickly a few times to even it out. They then proceeded to battle heads up for more than an hour before the winner was decided.

It took two huge coolers to end it. In the first, Teixeira slow-played queens, and flopped a set against a pair for Malo. That ended up giving Teixeira a double back into a big lead, and in the very next hand, he got the cowboys against an ace for Malo, and the game was over.

This looks to not only be Teixeira’s first ring, but also his first live win. He had $172k in live earnings on Hendon coming into this series, but his best result prior to Sunday looks to be 3rd place

Final Table Results from Event #7

Place	Player	Prize
1	Ryan Teixeira	$44,454
2	Tyson Malo	$29,344
3	Andrew Sabbagh	$19,825
4	Curtis Singleton	$13,706
5	Chris Lahey	$9,702
6	Caleb Trenh	$7,035
7	Parth Mansukh	$5,229
8	Nicholas Andreas	$3,987
9	Richard Rex	$3,120
10	Sean Carpenter	$2,508