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Naoya Kihara Leads the Way as 13 Big Bettors Return for Final Day
Day 3 of Event #71: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event at the 2026 World Series of Poker sees just 13 returning to Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas to battle it out for victory. The Mixed Big Bet, offering no fixed limits, is left with just the final two tables from a 386 strong field.
Topping the charts of those remaining is none other than Naoya Kihara, eyeing up a third bracelet of the summer, as well as those all-important Player of the Year points. He ended the day with 2,560,000 in chips, nearing double that of second place.
His nearest competitor is Matt Vengrin, who will make it two bracelet-winning summers in a row should he take down the event. His stack of 1,331,000 is still incredibly impressive, but he has a lot of catching up to do if he wants to stop the force that is Kihara. Dylan Smith comes into the final day hot on Vengrin’s heels, as his stack of 1,314,000 is good for third on the leaderboard.
Final Day Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 2,560,000 |
| 2 | Matt Vengrin | United States | 1,331,000 |
| 3 | Dylan Smith | United States | 1,314,000 |
| 4 | Nicholas Marchington | United Kingdom | 1,287,000 |
| 5 | Renan Bruschi | Brazil | 1,152,000 |
| 6 | Steve Billirakis | United States | 1,097,000 |
| 7 | Hiroyuki Noda | Japan | 937,000 |
| 8 | Danny Chang | United States | 892,000 |
| 9 | Brad Owen | United States | 800,000 |
| 10 | Woody Deck | United States | 703,000 |
| 11 | Scott Abrams | United States | 619,000 |
| 12 | Ryuta Nakai | Japan | 592,000 |
| 13 | Steve Chanthabouasy | United States | 230,000 |
Kihara’s countrymen make for a Japanese trio still in the hunt, with Hiroyuki Noda (937,000) and Ryuta Nakai (592,000) sit in 7th and 12th, respectively, both looking to earn their maiden piece of WSOP silverware. Nakai lost a sizeable chunk of his stack during the last level of play, but that certainly won’t dent his hopes of victory.
There is further worldwide representation in the mixed game streets, with Nicholas Marchington (1,287,000) of the United Kingdom just missing out on the Day 2 podium. Doing it for Brazil is renowned pro Renan Bruschi, who bagged up 1,152,000 and sits just one place behind the Brit.
The rest of the field hails from the USA and includes poker-vlogger turned mixed-game aficionado Brad Owen. Having bagged 800,000, he looks to get another notch on his belt of mixed game tournament wins, but this time for the most prestigious prize of all. Steve Billirakis (1,097,000) and Danny Chang (892,000) will be joining him on the felt
Those left battling have already locked up, at the very least, a respectable score of $9,456. That being said, the total prize pool of $858,850 offers a huge $182,591 payout for the eventual champion, which is undoubtedly equally as important as the gold bracelet on offer.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $182,591 |
| 2 | $118,647 |
| 3 | $78,984 |
| 4 | $53,889 |
| 5 | $37,706 |
| 6 | $27,075 |
| 7 | $19,964 |
| 8-9 | $15,789 |
| 10-11 | $11,789 |
| 12-13 | $9,456 |
Action will resume at 1 p.m. local time at Level 23, with blinds at 15,000/30,000 alongside an ante of 45,000 posted by the big blind for the two no-limit games (Hold’em and 2-7 Single Draw). In the Omaha variants (PLO, PLO Hi-Lo, Big O), the blinds are 12,000/24,000 with an ante of 24,000. For the non-Omaha pot-limit games (5-Card Double Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw), the split is 12,000/24,000 (36,000).
Level duration remains at 60 minutes throughout, and play will go on until a champion has been crowned. Stay tuned as PokerNews brings you full live updates during the final day of Big Bet action.