The Russian poker pro has now surpassed $40 million in live tournament cashes
Russian high roller standout Artur Martirosian secured his fourth career World Series of Poker bracelet by emerging victorious in the elite $25,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em high roller event. The 28-year-old poker professional earned a massive top prize of $1,286,285 for outlasting a competitive field of 242 entries.
This latest triumph marks his second seven-figure live tournament score in 2026 and effectively pushes his lifetime live tournament earnings past the milestone of $40 million. The victory firmly places him as the highest-earning Russian tournament poker player in the history of the game.
The final day of the high-stakes tournament kicked off with seven players remaining who fought for the largest share of the substantial $5,687,000 total prize pool. Martirosian built momentum early at the final table by knocking out Austrian player Klemens Roiter in seventh place.
He later extended his dominance by eliminating another Austrian contender named Marius Gierse, who exited in fifth place. Martirosian kept his foot on the gas pedal to eliminate Yosuke Miki of Japan in fourth place, ensuring he held an immense chip advantage during a large portion of the final table action.
A grueling heads-up battle emerged after Czech poker professional Pavel Plesuv eliminated American high roller Sean Winter in third place. Plesuv entered the final match holding a narrow chip lead over Martirosian, which sparked an intense back-and-forth battle where the chip lead changed hands multiple times.
Martirosian eventually gained a significant advantage before the final hand culminated in a classic pre-flop coin flip. Plesuv risked the remainder of his chips with ace-nine but could not connect against the pocket fours of Martirosian on the final board. Plesuv walked away with a runner-up payout of $857,510, which stands as the third-largest live cash of his career.
