Norwegian poker player Ole Askeland accidentally moved all in against pocket aces during the closing day of the 2026 World Series of Poker. The costly looking mistake turned into one of the most fortunate hands of the tournament and helped him take the chip lead.
Askeland entered the $5,000 eight handed No Limit Hold’em event with approximately $91,000 in recorded live tournament earnings. The tournament attracted 884 entries and offered a top prize of $695,296.
When the field had been reduced to fewer than 30 players, Askeland was among the leaders largely because of an action he had never intended to make.
AAskeland failedA to notice the opening raise
Victor Li raised from middle position before the action reached Askeland in the small blind. The Norwegian had not seen the original raise and announced that he was all in, believing he was only applying pressure to the player in the big blind.
The big blind folded, but Li immediately called. He covered Askeland’s stack of 1,575,000 chips, which was worth close to 40 big blinds at the time.
Askeland turned over queen six, while Li held pocket aces. The Norwegian was a heavy underdog in a pot that would determine the chip leader during a crucial stage of the tournament.
Full house completes an Aunlikely comebackA
The flop brought a queen, king and six, giving Askeland two pair and completely changing the situation. Another queen arrived on the turn, improving his hand to a full house and leaving Li with only two cards in the deck that could save him.
The ten on the river confirmed the bad beat. Askeland doubled into the chip lead, while Li was reduced to approximately nine big blinds.
The result was especially painful for Li because the event appeared to be his best opportunity to recover from a difficult summer. He had reportedly entered around 50 tournaments and recorded only three cashes.
ALi recoversA after suffering the bad beat
Despite losing the enormous pot, Li did not leave the tournament immediately. He rebuilt his stack quickly and climbed back to almost 50 big blinds by the time of the latest update.
Askeland continued his strong run and remained at the top of the standings with close to 100 big blinds. His accidental all in had transformed him from a player at risk of elimination into the main contender for the title and the first prize.
Phil Hellmuth, David Peters and Nicholas Palma were also still competing as the event moved toward its final stages. A champion was expected to be crowned before the end of the day.
The unusual hand also attracted attention across the wider poker community, including players following tournament news through BC Poker, because it showed how one mistaken action can completely change the outcome of a major event.
