Greg Mueller raised to 60,000 from early position and called the three-bet to 180,000 from Kyosuke Nagami in the cutoff.
The flop rolled out K♥3♠3♣ and Mueller checked over to Nagami who bet 120,000 and Mueller called.
"600,000," said Mueller as he wrapped up two handfuls of 25ks and placed them forwards. Nagami thought for a couple of minutes before tossing his hand away, ceding the pot to the WSOP bracelet winner.
Vladimir Belekhov raised to 60,000 in middle position and was called by Callum Roque on the button and Miguel Riera in the big blind.
The flop came 10♠4♦J♠ and Belekhov continued for 75,000. Only Roque called. Both players then checked the K♦ turn.
Belekhov led out for another 230,000 on the K♣ river, and Roque took a minute before folding.
Alexander Yen opened to 60,000 on the button and Kurt Watkins defended his big blind.
The J♥6♥J♦ flop was bet to 60,000 by Watkins and Yen called. The K♣ was turned and both checked to see the 9♠ river.
Watkins and Yen both checked with Watkins showing his J♣8♦ for a set of jacks which was enough to take the pot.
Level: 22
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 30,000
Chip counts according to the WSOP LIVE app.
ESPN is ramping up its WSOP Main Event coverage this year, the first year the Bristol, CT-based sports network has aired poker's premier tournament since COVID.
The $10,000 buy-in World Championship event is underway at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and runs through Aug. 5, with a three-week break when the final table is reached. Poker fans who watched the WSOP on ESPN before it moved to CBS Sports Network from 2021-2025 will notice some similarities to the broadcasts of old, and a new, enhanced Main Event television and livestream schedule.
The 343 remaining players have gone on a 70-minute extended break. Play will resume at 4:32 p.m.
Play will resume at Level 22 with blinds at 15,000/30,000, with a 30,000 big blind ante.
Here's a look at some of the highlights in the past two hours of play.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting updates on the ground of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
With the clock already ticking into the extended break, Shaun Deeb was all-in from the cutoff for around 625,000 on the river of a board showing 9♦A♥3♦A♠5♠, where there were about 510,000 chips in the pot.
John Hardie was Deeb's opponent in the hand, and with no one else in the tournament area, Hardie made the call.
Deeb revealed A♦2♦ for trips to earn the double-up, as Hardie had 10♠9♠ for a pair of nines.
Itai Levy opened to 50,000 from middle position and was called by Akihiro Konishi in the cutoff. Tobias Matuschek then shoved for 645,000 from the big blind, which got a tank-fold from Levy, but a snap-call from Konishi to be put at risk.
Tobias Matuschek: 10♦10♠
Akihiro Konishi: Q♠Q♥
Matuschek had run into Konishi's slowplayed queens, and the 6♠K♠4♠4♦2♦ runout kept Konishi ahead to eliminate Matuschek just before break.
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