A former hockey player from B.C. is $3.75 million richer after finishing third place at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
Greg Mueller, who was born in Germany and raised in White Rock, B.C., outlasted 9,208 other players to finish third at the WSOP event, which also marked the furtherest run that any Canadian has completed in the tournament in the past 16 years, according to PokerOrg.
Mueller previously played hockey at the professional level in Germany before retiring and becoming an accomplished poker player.
Mueller told CHEK News that he’s happy with how he placed in the event and that he’s grateful for his fans who were at the tournament, along the “rail” as it’s called, which included the likes of former Canucks Cliff Ronning, Travis Green, and Rick Tocchet.
“They picked me up, they lifted me up. When I hit a hand it was like a hockey team – the camaraderie – it was like a team of us playing out there,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
“It was like something like I’ve never seen, and I would go on record to say it was the best rail in the history of the World Series of Poker,” he added. “It was that that made me realize, third, second, first, do I wanna win? Absolutely. But what really matters is that, wow, I am a lucky mofo.”
Greg Mueller is shown at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table. (Poker.org)
Mueller says he’d love to do another deep run at the World Series of Poker next year, but for now he’s going to enjoy the victory of a third place finish.
The top prize of $10 million at this year’s WSOP main event went to U.S. resident Lucas Jumalon, while second place went to Finland’s Laurai Saaskilahti.
Mueller has won nearly $7.25 million during his poker career, more than half of which came from this week’s $3.75 million prize, according to World Series of Poker.
— With files from CHEK’s Paul Haysom and Adam Chan
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