Glenn Schaefers wins Royal Court’s $12K WSOP Main Event package

From small Harrah’s tables to a WSOP dream: Schaefers’ decade-long grind paid off. Now, he and Steve Belland are Vegas-bound with $12K seats in hand.

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2026 January 11 . 7:20 PM

1 min read

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Glenn Schaefers wins Royal Court’s $12K WSOP Main Event package

Glenn Schaefers has won the Royal Court National Championship Main Event, securing a $12,000 package to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. The tournament drew 333 qualifiers and featured a $50,700 prize pool, along with $10,000 in mystery bounties. Schaefers, a long-time player on the Free Poker Network (FPN), first competed in small tournaments over a decade ago at Harrah’s in 2009.

The event moved quickly, with a fast structure that kept the money bubble bursting late. Once the final table began, nearly an hour passed before the first player was eliminated. Schaefers, who has played on FPN since its launch 20 years ago, outlasted the competition to claim victory.

Steve Belland, another final table contender, also earned a $12,000 WSOP Main Event package. Belland regularly plays FPN at bars in Fargo. Meanwhile, Larry Sundberg took third place, winning $2,500, and Wendy Adamczyk D'Andrea finished fourth, earning $1,200. Joel Smith, a two-time FPN winner, placed seventh and collected $800. The 2026 FPN Vegas National Championship Main Event winner, however, remains undecided and has not yet been announced.

Schaefers and Belland now prepare for the WSOP Main Event with their $12,000 packages. The Royal Court National Championship Main Event concluded with a competitive field and a substantial prize pool. The next major FPN tournament will likely draw similar interest from long-standing players.