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2026 World Series Of Poker Kicks Off Today Poker News

There are some tables that play tighter on the feature. Like most other tournaments, Deeb feels like his people-reading skills will be crucial in determining how to handle each lineup he faces. Despite losing a big pot on the second-to-last hand of the night, he has a healthy 4,300,000 going into day 6. Shaun Deeb spent much of the later stages of day 5 as one of the chip leaders. He navigated through another massive field in 2024, winning that year’s Mystery Millions event for a $1 million first-place prize.

The second woman of the series to nab a World Series of Poker bracelet, Michelle Chin, defeats Daniel Strelitz heads-up to claim victory in the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw for his maiden bracelet. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the latest news on the final nine before they battle for poker’s most prestigious title! After hanging on for quite some time, Cynthia Vencebi eventually bowed out in fifth place.

CARD PLAYER: THE ONLINE POKER GUIDE AND GAMBLING AUTHORITY

The day belonged to Sasha Liu, however, who bagged a big chip lead when she ended Day 3 on 2,364,000 chips, some way clear of second-placed Martin Zamani (1,963,000), with Levon Khachatryan (1,745,000), Robert Gill (1,604,000) and Zdenek Zizka (1,576,000) rounding out the top five. Day 3 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event was the most dramatic yet as former champions either thrived or saw their tournament chances die in thrilling fashion. Though 2026 payment methods haven’t been confirmed yet, it’s expected to include cash, credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, wire transfers, and tournament buy-in chips or credits, similar to previous years. Among them will be Jeff Platt, who last month announced a new role with the WSOP after a near decade-long association with previous series broadcaster PokerGO. Or, even better, there’s a chance you could capture both pieces of sought-after poker jewelry.

He sits inside the top 10, with the second flight drawing more than twice as many entries as Day 1a, with 224 entries recorded after ten levels of play, bringing the total field to 329 entries. Let’s take a look at some of the other action taking place at the WSOP today. Three bracelet winners were crowned, but plenty more action was going on elsewhere on Day 22 of the 2026 World Series of Poker.

In February 2025, the official 2025 WSOP schedule was released, featuring 100 bracelet events for the very first time. The best Seven Card Stud players in the world are set to battle in one of the most prestigious seven-card tournaments. But there are many other players who could bolster their PHOF credentials with strong performances this summer, potentially taking the induction away from Schulman or Seiver. PokerNews is back again providing unrivaled live reporting coverage of the greatest spectacle in poker for each bracelet event. Coming into the final day of play with a substantial chip lead, Adriaan Jacobs was able to leverage his momentum to win his first WSOP bracelet.

Three-time bracelet winner Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller, one of two remaining Canadians, still has high hopes as he enjoys the deepest main event run of his career. Two-time WSOP winner Antonio Galiana of Spain is one of eight European players still in the field. Ensan, and Trayner for that matter, still have a lot of work left to do before the 2026 WSOP main event final table is set.

The overall chip leader heading into day 8 is Australia’s Malcolm Trayner, with 63,200,000 (105 big blinds). The average stack of 3,176,206 represents 39 big blinds when play resumes. @TheGrinder44 puts his Main Event life on the line as he looks to keep his title defense alive on Day 5 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event. I had my A-game on day 5, I controlled a lot of pots, and I’m still in.”

Everyone who made day 8 is guaranteed at least $325,000, but the prospect of the bracelet and a first-place prize of $10,000,000 is tantalizingly close. Won the main event, won the PPC, got to  make a deep run in the main event again.” He followed all of that up with a ninth career WSOP bracelet earlier this summer. A fourth career WSOP Poker Players Championship victory, leading straight into Mizrachi’s 2025 WSOP main event win and instant Hall of Fame induction, is the stuff of legend. It wasn’t long before a third main event winner would fall.

Just 83 players secured a spot for Day 2, with Youness Barakat leading the way. “Building on last year’s triumphs and familiar faces winning WSOP bracelets, we are excited to see who will expand their legacy or become a new legend by passing poker’s ultimate test in the game’s most iconic arena.” The full daily event schedule for the 56th annual WSOP will be announced in early 2025. Our team is made up of a group of dedicated players, including our own Player Advisory Board and well-known journalists. A big part of our mission is to give back to the game and you, the players that make it so popular. Carrying the biggest stack forward into Thursday’s play is Yuxuan Deng, the only player to bag a seven-figure stack with 1,052,000. By night’s end here at Paradise City Casino, 207 players had secured at least $2,700 from the $2,148,960 prize pool – more than double the $1 million guarantee.

But when he said he won the cash in a poker tournament at Aria, they still wouldn’t take the money. However, Nevada regulators began levying heavy fines on Las Vegas casinos after they allowed several illegal bookmakers to play at their properties. Then she obtained a verified check from another casino, and the WSOP allowed her to play. A fixture in the high-stakes poker ecosystem was removed from a live-streamed cash game at the World Series of Poker. Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. For the first time in over a week, just a single winner will be crowned on Wednesday as the $10,000 Razz Championship crowns its winner.

But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare as Savas spiked a queen on the turn and send the Japanese player out in 23rd place. Holding pocket jacks against Daniel Savas’ pocket queens, Nagami looked destined for the final day when he flopped a set. “I just love poker, and I’ve gone a week without registering a different event at the World Series. That’s the longest of my career.”

The nine players who make it to the end of the night on Monday guarantee themselves at least $1 million. Zhao Liu went out in 22nd place, on the final hand of day 7 of the 2026 WSOP main event. A total of 431 women played in this year’s main event, a new record for the tournament. That includes Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson, who pushed through a tough final level on day 7 as he goes for his best WSOP main event run yet. Almost half of the remaining field, 10 out of the 21 players, have at least one WSOP bracelet to their name.

So apart from the summer WSOP series in Las Vegas, I spend most of my time in Asia. After winning two APT events earlier this year, did you decide to play more APTs? How is the competition different from American players? We experimented with short-form videos, guest blogs from players, including how many blinds a player had, and even just invented a recap show no one at WPT ever asked for called Jess & BJ.

Like his victory in the 2024 WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Negreanu won this title while filming his popular WSOP vlog, which features daily coverage of his ups and downs from the series. This was the fourth-largest payday of the Poker Hall of Famer’s career. Hot on the heels of Benny Glaser, Michael Mizrachi, and Shaun Deeb all securing their ninth career bracelets, Daniel Negreanu managed one of the biggest titles of his career to keep pace. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. offers diversified gaming, entertainment and hospitality amenities, one-of-a-kind destinations, and a full suite of mobile and online gaming and sports betting experiences. Reduced room rates are available across Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas resorts for the series.

More famous players added their names to WSOP history, as Dan Harrington, Huck Seed and Scotty Nguyen all won Main Events. The full schedule released in February, showing 100 bracelet events with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $250,000. From your first Circuit event to a final table in Las Vegas, WSOP is still where you go to prove something. It’s the only platform in the US where you can win a poker tournament for official WSOP gold bracelets without leaving home!

THE FACES OF THE WSOP: MEET THE 2026 WSOP TALENT TEAM

However, if you are asking about my academic research, the paper I had written was about non-verbal communication among poker cohorts, so that really didn’t address the scope of the WSOP. These were the days when multiple outlets still showed up to report on these things so I got a tiny glimpse of how media row worked. I had a glimpse of what tournaments looked like because the WSOP Circuit had come through Caesars Southern Indiana. Along the way, she found a place for herself in an industry that often had a very narrow idea of what a woman in poker media was supposed to look like and do. Jessica Welman arrived at the WSOP pretending a summer in Las Vegas counted as academic research.

Leaving the world of professional poker, Asi Moshe has returned in spectacular fashion, winning his fifth WSOP bracelet after outlasting 1,792 total entrants in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout. Stud specialist Matt Grapenthien wins his second WSOP bracelet in his favorite poker format. Harrah’s Atlantic City hosts the WSOP Circuit August 13-24, 2026, offering 18 WSOP Circuit ring events with a $600,000 guaranteed No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.

Here’s a look at the qualified players and their chip counts entering the WSOP Main Event Final Table. Only nine elite players remain in contention for a title, and each are already guaranteed a prize of at least $1 million. It’s been a summer of poker in Las Vegas, but now it’s time to crown a champion.

A sincere thank you to every player and staffer who came to Las Vegas and made this a summer to remember.” International players may also need additional proof of address, such as a utility bill or signed lease. Buy-ins for WSOP events range from affordable entry-level tournaments to the prestigious $10,000 Main Event. He topped a field of 10,112 players, the largest Main Event in WSOP history.

WSOP By the Numbers – A Historic Summer

There’s only one previous bracelet winner in the top 10, in Australia’s Malcolm Trayner. He’s followed closely by Canadian DJ Sharma, who has 9,840,000 after a wild stretch on one of the featured tables with bracelet winner and former chip leader Will Givens. Here’s a look at the broadcast schedule for the 2026 tournament. Here’s everything you need to know about the World Series of Poker Main Event, including TV channel and streaming options for the national tournament.

Starting the day with over three-quarters of the chips in play, Mizrachi made quick work of the competition, eliminating fourth-place finisher Kenny Hallaert ($3,000,000) and third-place finisher Braxton Dunaway ($4,000,000) during the first two hands of the day. Here’s a look at the broadcast schedule for the 2026 final table. The WSOP portfolio of events includes approximately 40 WSOP Circuit Events annually across five continents, WSOP Europe (since 2007), WSOP Paradise (since 2023) and the record-breaking WSOP Online festival. In 2025, the flagship event in Las Vegas attracted 246,960 entrants and awarded more than $481 million in prize money – setting all-time records for the second consecutive year. More information on individual WSOP events, including schedules and structure sheets, can be found at

Negreanu is just the 11th player in poker history to have won eight or more bracelets. The two-time World Poker Tour main event winner’s lifetime earnings now sit at $59,697,774, putting him back inside the top ten on poker’s all-time money list. “This summer’s World Series of Poker promises more pokernewsdaily.com action and more opportunities to play your favorite events than ever before, from the first ‘Shuffle Up and Deal!

• The surviving finalists will reconvene 20 days later for a live, three-day televised finale airing August 3-5 from 9pm-12am EST.
• Las Vegas, Nevada (July 6, 2026) – Now well within the initial days of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, the excitement and pressure have kicked up a notch here at the Las Vegas Paris and Horseshoe.
• The start of the 1980s was heralded by back-to-back wins for Stu Ungar and the following year, the field surpassed 100 for the first time.
• When people remember the boom-era WSOP, they tend to focus on famous players and televised hands.

If you miss out on a WSOP bracelet, you could return home with a WSOPC ring. One would imagine those numbers will be much larger this summer. A WSOP Circuit runs during the 2026 WSOP for the first time in the festival’s history. As mentioned, the $550 Mini Mystery Millions opens the series on May 26 and it could be one of the best curtain raisers for the series.

Stay connected with PokerNews for the latest updates and event information as it becomes available. You’ll also be able to track daily results and navigate the series with ease, with access to structure sheets, schedules, chip counts, payouts, and more. With nearly 100,000 square feet of gaming space, over 2,900 rooms, and iconic replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, Paris Las Vegas delivers both grandeur and excitement. Also operated by Caesars Entertainment, this French-themed casino has been a standout venue since it opened in 1999.

Stay tuned to PokerNews all summer long for exclusive coverage from inside the ropes at the 2025 World Series of Poker. The Poker Hall of Fame isn’t the only focus of the summer. There’s a new owner, but the prestige and thrill of chasing bracelets remains the same.

Ensan bagged a healthy 3,450,000 at the end of day 5, and he feels that his 2019 run should prove incredibly valuable as he continues to run deeper. The German pro, who is also an European Poker Tour champion, would love to add a second career $10 million payday to his ledger. I’ve been willing to play big pots, and most people aren’t.”

Winning the largest piece of the $90,535,500 total prize pool, Mizrachi takes home $10 million along with a Main Event bracelet valued at half a million dollars. In her free time, she enjoys baking, getting outdoors and discovering new music. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable.

Shawn Buchanan (73rd), Dominick Sarle (70th), Samuel Ju (41st), and 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (29th) also bowed out after the dinner break as the field shrank to the final three tables. That’s why I played this one feeling better,” he said. “Oh my God, oh my God,” Wong kept repeating in disbelief after winning his bracelet. Nakai earned $144,101 for his runner-up finish, while Dzmitry Urbanovich, winner of the $10,000 8-Game Mixed Championship earlier this summer, rounded out the podium with a third-place finish worth $104,032. A total of 1,699 entries were recorded in this tournament, creating a $1,495,120 prize pool. Is there a better way to end the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) than by winning a bracelet?

“It’s part of the thing that makes me play so well. I’m not super excited and my adrenaline’s not pumping. It’s just another day at the office for me.” “Hopefully I’ll be the first player to bink the Aussie Millions and the Main Event in the same year.” Returning with 7,800,000 chips, Brunson remains in contention to win poker’s biggest tournament exactly 50 years after his late father Doyle Brunson captured his second Main Event title. Ensan believes he’s an even better player than he was during that championship run. A victory for Ensan would make him the first player since Johnny Chan (1987, 1988) to win the WSOP Main Event twice. Three ways to the 10♥8♦6♥ flop, Philippe Souki in the big blind checked and so did the third player in the hand before Robert Zarzycki on the button bet 1,500.

The richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series returns to the Las Vegas Strip in 2025. After just over eight hours of play, with the field three eliminations away from the money, it was time for what would be a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour session of hand-for-hand play to burst the bubble. The 2026 APT Incheon Main Event has become the largest international poker tournament ever held in the city, and the second-largest APT Main Event ever held in South Korea. Regardless of the WPT’s game plan, Las Vegas will be here, and we will be playing poker either way. Three different $26,000 NLH events will scatter themselves in between to make up a complete Super High Roller Series.