Scott Clements has captured the fourth World Series of Poker bracelet of his career, winning the 2026 $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better World Championship for $450,176. In doing so, the veteran mixed-game specialist denied two Poker Hall of Famers at the same final table, sending Phil Hellmuth to the rail in seventh place and outlasting Todd Brunson to close out a 204-entry field. For Clements, the Omaha Hi-Lo Championship victory carried deep symbolic weight — it came almost exactly 20 years after he won his very first bracelet in the same demanding split-pot format.
The win is a triumph of specialization in an era increasingly dominated by No-Limit Hold'em generalists. Omaha Hi/Lo, also known as Omaha Eight-or-Better, is one of poker's most technically demanding games, and the $10,000 Championship version draws the deepest and toughest field in the format each summer. To win it, a player must defeat the best split-pot minds in the world, and Clements — long regarded as one of the finest Omaha players alive — proved once again that his mastery of the game has not dimmed with age.
The Toughest Split-Pot Test in Poker
Omaha Hi/Lo is a game of precision and patience. Each player receives four hole cards and must use exactly two of them, and the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand of eight-or-better. The format rewards players who understand the value of scooping — winning both halves of the pot — and who can navigate the treacherous math of drawing to both ends simultaneously. Marginal hands that look playable to the untrained eye are often traps, and discipline in hand selection is paramount. Players curious about the four-card game's mechanics can start with our guide to Omaha and how it differs from the two-card game most fans know.
The strategic depth of Omaha Hi/Lo makes the $10,000 Championship a true test of skill rather than variance. With a relatively small 204-entry field of specialists, there is nowhere to hide against opponents who understand nut-low draws, counterfeiting, and the delicate art of quartering an opponent. Clements navigated this minefield over several days, ultimately reaching a final table stacked with experience and pedigree. Understanding concepts like equity and pot odds is doubly important in split-pot games, where a hand's value can swing dramatically depending on which half of the pot it is contesting.
Sending Hellmuth and Brunson Home
The final table produced exactly the kind of drama the WSOP thrives on. Phil Hellmuth, the all-time bracelet leader and one of the most recognizable faces in poker, made a deep run before being eliminated in seventh place — the victim of a well-timed flush that cracked the aces he was holding. Hellmuth's exit denied him yet another shot at extending his record bracelet count, and it underscored how even the most decorated players in history are not immune to the swings of a split-pot championship.
Todd Brunson, son of the late poker legend Doyle Brunson and a Hall of Famer in his own right, lasted deeper still, surviving to the final three players. But Clements took a sizable chunk of Brunson's stack in a pivotal confrontation before administering the finishing blow, sending Brunson out in third place. Outlasting two Hall of Famers at a single final table is a rare feat, and it lent Clements's victory an added layer of prestige. Beating the game's living legends heads-up and three-handed is the kind of résumé line that few players ever get to write.
Two Decades of Omaha Mastery
The most compelling thread in Clements's win is the symmetry of it. He won his first WSOP bracelet in Omaha Hi/Lo two decades earlier, announcing himself as a mixed-game force during a period when the format was even more of a niche specialty. Two decades on, with the poker world transformed by solvers, training sites, and an explosion of No-Limit Hold'em study, Clements returned to the same game and proved that classic mixed-game expertise still reigns supreme when the format demands it.
That longevity is a story in itself. Poker is a brutally competitive profession, and few players sustain elite-level results across 20 years. The games have gotten tougher, the fields sharper, and the margins thinner. Yet Clements has continued to adapt while retaining the deep, intuitive understanding of Omaha Hi/Lo that made him a champion in the first place. His fourth bracelet is not merely a nostalgic bookend — it is proof that fundamentals, honed over a lifetime, remain the bedrock of poker success.
What This Means for Players
Clements's victory carries a clear lesson for aspiring players: specialization pays. While the poker world's attention gravitates toward giant No-Limit Hold'em fields, the mixed-game arena remains one of the most profitable and least crowded corners of the tournament calendar. Players willing to invest time in learning Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, and the other games that make up mixed rotations often find softer fields and better returns on their study. The path is harder, but the rewards — both financial and in bracelets — can be substantial.
There is also a broader takeaway about discipline. Split-pot games punish greed and reward patience more than almost any other format. Learning to fold marginal holdings, to draw only to the nuts, and to recognize when a pot is worth contesting are habits that translate across all of poker. Even players who never touch an Omaha Hi/Lo table can improve their overall game by internalizing the tight, value-oriented mindset the format demands. For those building a broader repertoire, our poker strategy hub covers the transferable principles that underpin every variant.
For fans following the summer's action, Clements's championship is a highlight of a 2026 World Series that has once again delivered record fields and unforgettable moments. Our full WSOP 2026 results coverage tracks every bracelet, and the Omaha Hi/Lo Championship stands out as one of the summer's most meaningful — a 20-year full circle for one of the game's true craftsmen, achieved by denying two of poker's most famous names along the way.
Scott Clements did not win the biggest prize of the 2026 WSOP, nor the largest field. But he won something arguably more difficult: a world championship in poker's most cerebral format, against a final table of legends, two decades after he first proved he could. That is a victory that will resonate with purists long after the summer ends.