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The 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event returned to ESPN this week, and a relatively unknown player quickly became a fan favorite. Jourdan Baptiste, who had just one previous live cash on record according to The Hendon Mob, showed off a talkative, engaging style at the same feature table as 2006 champion Jamie Gold.

Gold, now 56, famously used speech play to win the Main Event two decades ago for $12 million. During the broadcast, he brought some of that same tactic back, though it may have cost him chips when he talked Baptiste out of calling a hand with pocket aces against Baptiste’s pocket queens.

Baptiste showed similar skills, coaxing an opponent into calling off a big stack with a weaker holding. He built a substantial chip lead on Day 1, mirroring Gold’s own deep run in 2006, before eventually eliminating Gold with aces over ace-queen.

The episode drew praise from poker figures including Daniel Negreanu, who called the new ESPN coverage “exceptionally good.” Longtime commentators Lon McEachern and Norman Chad returned to the booth, joined at times by Ali Nejad and Nick Schulman.

Alongside Poker Boom-era stars like Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, Chris Moneymaker, and Erick Lindgren, the broadcast also featured modern personalities such as Martin Kabrhel and Jimmy D’Ambrosio.

Baptiste’s run ended in the second episode covering Day 2, when his flopped straight fell to James Burns’ set of kings after the board paired. Episodes 3 and 4 air July 28 on ESPN2, with the final table streaming Aug. 3-4 and the winner crowned Aug. 5.