button in SafariThe Journey Toward Poker Immortality Continues as Day 1b of Main Event Kicks Off at 11 a.m.
With the opening day in the books, the spotlight now changes to Day 1b of poker's most prestigious tournament. The road to poker immortality has begun, and another wave of hopefuls will take their seats in Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
Play kicks off at 11 a.m. inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, where poker legends, online qualifiers, professionals, and recreational dreamers will all take their seats in poker's biggest tournament. With Independence Day just around the corner, the tournament floor is expected to be even busier as another wave of hopefuls chase a place in Day 2abc.
Day 1a drew 772 entries, with 543 players surviving. Japan's Ryuta Nakai finished at the top of the leaderboard with 323,000 after spending much of the day around that area. American Igor Pansovoi bagged 300,300 to sit in second and is the only other player to have finished with more than five starting stacks. Australia's Gregory Sly rounds out the top three with 254,500, just a few hundred chips ahead of Arie Kliper in fourth.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryuta Nakai | Japan | 323,000 | 404 |
| 2 | Igor Pansovoi | United States | 300,300 | 379 |
| 3 | Gregory Sly | Australia | 254,500 | 318 |
| 4 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 254,100 | 318 |
| 5 | Go Kato | United States | 245,700 | 307 |
| 6 | Domenico Gala | Italy | 241,000 | 301 |
| 7 | Richard Rohr | United States | 229,100 | 286 |
| 8 | Masato Yokosawa | Japan | 221,800 | 277 |
| 9 | Earl Goodman | United States | 221,600 | 277 |
| 10 | Matthew Russell | United States | 217,300 | 272 |
Several of the game's biggest names advanced from Day 1a. Former Main Event champions Joe Cada (133,600), Daniel Weinman (79,300), Phil Hellmuth (60,000), and Damian Salas (54,800) all advanced, while Poker Hall of Famers Erik Seidel (86,400) and Billy Baxter (19,800) also punched their tickets to Day 2abc. Joining them are seven-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver (177,700), six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (109,300), and four-time bracelet winner Sam Soverel (112,600).
Plenty of other decorated players also made it through the first starting flight, including bracelet winners Dimitar Danchev (173,200), Qiang Xu (168,000), Andrew Lichtenberger (94,700), Stephen Chidwick (83,400), Jason Koon (18,700), Brian Yoon (79,200), Allan Le (69,000), and Jonathan Little (61,600). They are joined by international pros Adrian State (154,000), Leonard Maue (149,200), Uri Reichenstein (129,700), and Aliaksandr Shylko (129,300), all of whom remain in contention for poker's ultimate prize.
Day 1b will duplicate 1a and feature five two-hour levels, with each player starting with 60,000 chips. As this is a freezeout event, there are no reentries, meaning everyone has just one shot. A 20-minute break is scheduled after each level, with a 60-minute dinner break following Level 3. Those who survive will join the Day 1a qualifiers, along with the survivors from Day1c, on Day 2abc on Monday, July 6.
Day 1b Structure
| Level | Start | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 a.m. | 120 minutes | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 1:00 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 2 | 1:20 p.m. | 120 minutes | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 3:20 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 3 | 3:40 p.m. | 120 minutes | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 5:40 p.m. | 60-minute break | ||||
| 4 | 6:40 p.m. | 120 minutes | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 8:40 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 5 | 9 p.m. | 120 minutes | 300 | 600 | 600 |
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Stay tuned to PokerNews as the live reporting team brings you all the action from Day 1b, and every bracelet event of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.