button in Safari2026 WSOP Day 36: Martirosian Leads $100k PLO; Gonsalves Eyes $5k 6-Max Title
Welcome back to PokerNews and our coverage of the 2026 World Series of Poker from Las Vegas.
The WSOP Main Event is fast approaching, but there's still plenty of action and bracelets set to be awarded before it kicks off, including Shaun Deeb's ninth WSOP bracelet which he won today in the $1,500 8-Game.
Meanwhile, the $100k PLO kicked off with plenty of big names, the $5,000 6-Max stands on the verge of crowning its champion, and the final Mini Main Event flight is in the books. Here's everything you need to know from Day 36 of the 2026 WSOP.
Martirosian Leads $100k PLO; Reg Still Open
Upon completion of ten levels in Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, only 19 players remained, and a familiar name appeared at the top of the leaderboard. Four time gold bracelet winner Artur Martirosian bagged up 5,815,000 and has already established a gap ahead of second-placed Sean Winter (3,695,000).
"If I have the same luck like today, I will finish it tomorrow," Martirosian joked to the dealer when he bagged up his chips for the night, though he needed to fire a second bullet to earn the top spot.
Plenty of well-known poker pros can be found in the overnight top ten and that also includes GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu (1,990,000).
Event #76: $100,000 High Roller PLO Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | 5,815,000 | 233 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | United States | 3,695,000 | 148 |
| 3 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 2,160,000 | 86 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,040,000 | 82 |
| 5 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1,990,000 | 80 |
| 6 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | 1,820,000 | 73 |
| 7 | Lautaro Guerra | Spain | 1,510,000 | 60 |
| 8 | Sergio Martinez Gonzalez | Spain | 1,485,000 | 59 |
| 9 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | 1,390,000 | 56 |
| 10 | Robert Cowen | United Kingdom | 1,300,000 | 52 |
Fewer than half of the field remains heading into the penultimate tournament day, but the field size will likely increase further. Day 2 is scheduled to get back underway at noon local time on Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Gonsalves Leads Final Seven in $5,000 6-Max
Of the 60 players who returned to the felt in Event #78: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, only seven survived the day's gruelling action to earn a spot at the official final table.
Markus Gonsalves ended the day atop the chip counts with a commanding stack of 17,150,000. One of the pivotal moments of his run came when his pocket kings held against the pocket jacks of Daniel Smiljkovic.
The remaining seven have all locked up $130,287, with the winner taking home $979,655. In contention for the near-million-dollar prize are bracelet winners Daniel Rezaei, Oliver Weis, and Joshua Boulton.
Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed NLHE Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Izquierdo | France | 7,750,000 | 31 |
| 2 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 5,775,000 | 23 |
| 3 | Markus Gonsalves | United States | 17,150,000 | 69 |
| 4 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 13,400,000 | 54 |
| 5 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | 6,675,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | 11,200,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 8,150,000 | 33 |
The remaining seven players will return at 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 1st. The stream will start at 3:30 p.m., and PokerNews will report on a delay.
Coleman Leads Big Names in 10k Stud-8
Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better attracted a total of 190 entrants, and after Day 2 just 13 remained in contention for the WSOP bracelet and the $415,648 yet to be awarded to first place.
With nearly two times the next closest stack, Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Maxx Coleman (2,430,000) takes a commanding lead of the final 13 players. This is Coleman’s ninth cash of the 2026 WSOP, having final tabled two bracelet events this summer, including Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Rounding out the podium are Jack Germaine (1,490,000) and Walter Chambers (1,050,000), each one of them looking to add a first WSOP bracelet to their resume
Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 2 TOp 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxx Coleman | United States | 2,430,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Jack Germaine | United Kingdom | 1,490,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Walter Chambers | United States | 1,050,000 | 13 |
| 4 | Nicolas Milgrom | France | 1,030,000 | 12 |
| 5 | Mark Rubbathan | United Kingdom | 955,000 | 11 |
| 6 | Matt Grapenthien | United States | 890,000 | 11 |
| 7 | Paul Volpe | United States | 715,000 | 8 |
| 8 | Chris Brewer | United States | 680,000 | 8 |
| 9 | Koji Fujimoto | Japan | 640,000 | 8 |
| 10 | Caitlin Comeskey | United States | 505,000 | 6 |
At 1:00 pm tomorrow, the 13 remaining players will return and compete for the WSOP bracelet
446 Advance From Final Flight in Mini Main Event
It was the largest flight in Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event, with Day 1c attracting 5,908 entries.
At the end of 22 levels, it's Tor Skardi who leads the way with close to 100 big blinds, ahead of Soojo Kim. The pair are the only players over 3,000,000 in chips.
Just 446 players have advanced to Day 2, with a total of 934 players returning from a total field of 12,560.
Event #72:$ 1,000 Mini Main Event Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tor Skardi | Faroe Islands | 3,740,000 | 94 |
| 2 | Soojo Kim | South Korea | 3,585,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Ross Atkinson | United Kingdom | 2,965,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Amadeusz Roslik | Poland | 2,925,000 | 73 |
| 5 | Matas Kacinskas | Lithuania | 2,895,000 | 72 |
| 6 | Sebastien Grax | France | 2,800,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Kunal Patni | India | 2,645,000 | 66 |
| 8 | Badr Imejjane | United States | 2,600,000 | 65 |
| 9 | Truong Nguyen | United States | 2,485,000 | 62 |
| 10 | Christopher Audrain | United States | 2,365,000 | 59 |
The Day 2 schedule is to play down to five players, with cards in the air at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1.
James Woods Bags Big in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
Just 151 remain in Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball, and they are led by China's Dong Chen. He picked up his second WSOP bracelet earlier in the year in Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship.
He's the only former bracelet-winner inside the top 10, but it also features American actor and producer James Woods, who has enjoyed a fruitful WSOP this year, with four cashes so far — all in mixed games.
Woods' best run in a WSOP event came in 2018, when he final tabled Event #12: $1,500 Dealer's Choice, finishing fifth.
Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong Chen | China | 352,000 |
| 2 | Hiroyuki Noda | Japan | 300,500 |
| 3 | Alon Huberman | Israel | 298,000 |
| 4 | James Woods | United States | 263,000 |
| 5 | Ted Jackson-Spivack | United Kingdom | 243,500 |
| 6 | Akira Morikawa | Japan | 241,500 |
| 7 | Jonathan Park | United States | 239,500 |
| 8 | Karl Tretter | United States | 234,500 |
| 9 | Gustavo Silva Campos | Brazil | 230,000 |
| 10 | Frederic Moss | Canada | 226,500 |
WSOP Schedule: Wednesday, July 1
Like today, just one winner will be crowned on Wednesday, July 1 with seven players remaining in the $5,000 6-Max NLHE.
Meanwhile, after three starting flights, Day 2 of the Mini Main Event sees the fields combine at 11 a.m., with Day 2 also scheduled in the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship, $100,000 PLO High Roller and $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw.
Three new events also get underway, with the $10,000 8-Game, $3,000 Freezeout and $600 Deepstack Championship offering a mix of No-Limit Hold'em and mixed game action.
