Greg Mueller Turns Hockey Career Into $3.75 Million WSOP Main Event Run
Greg Mueller walked away from the 2026 World Series of Poker main event with $3.75 million and, by his own account, the signature moment of his poker career. Card Player reports that the 55-year-old finished third at the final table held at the Horseshoe Casino, falling short of a fourth WSOP bracelet but capping a run he calls unmatched by anything else he has done at the tables.
Mueller entered the nine-handed final table fourth in chips, facing a steep climb against Lucas Jumalon, who held a commanding stack advantage over the rest of the field. Despite the deficit, the Vancouver native leaned on a rowdy rail that Card Player describes as more than 100 supporters, including family, hockey teammates, fellow poker players and friends who flew in on short notice.
“It was unreal, I’m still not even really over it,” Mueller told Card Player. “There were so many parts of it that were just amazing. My rail of support I would venture to say was the best, biggest, loudest rail in WSOP history.”
A rail 100 strong at the Horseshoe
The crowd chanted “FBT,” a nod to Mueller’s nickname “Full-Blown Tilt,” throughout the ESPN broadcast. Card Player reports the group wore matching hats and shirts printed with his picture, and that Mueller offloaded the logistics of booking rooms onto a friend rather than organizing the trip himself. What started small snowballed into a crowd of more than 100 by the time the final table played out on national television.
Mueller said the atmosphere set this result apart from everything else on his résumé, which includes three WSOP bracelets and appearances on Poker Night in America, Poker After Dark and the NBC Heads-Up Championship.
“I didn’t win,” he said. “But I still feel like the run dwarfed all my other poker accolades. I’ve had lots of final tables, but this is the Mount Rushmore of all those things and stands alone on top.”
From German pro hockey to the felt
Before poker, Mueller built a career as a professional hockey defenseman, moving to Germany at age 19 and spending eight years in the country’s pro league. He played in the 1992 Spengler Cup, one of the sport’s oldest invitational club tournaments, according to Card Player.
He picked up poker during long bus rides between games on the road, a habit that grew into a lifelong pursuit once his playing career ended. Mueller said trips to Los Angeles and Las Vegas often ended with his luggage still unpacked because he never left the poker table long enough to settle into his room.
The $10,000 buy-in main event field ultimately paid Mueller $3.75 million for his third-place finish, a result he says now sits above his three career bracelets on his personal list of poker milestones.