2026 World Series of Poker
Mehdy El Fki opened to 24,000 in the hijack, and Timothy Bishop moved all in for 99,000 in the small blind. El Fki made the call, and the hands were turned up.
Timothy Bishop: A♠K♦
Mehdy El Fki: A♣7♦
Bishop's lead was never challenged on the 6♣3♥5♦J♠5♠ runout, confirming his early double through El Fki.
Banipal Babana in the cutoff jammed for 99,000. Manuel Safian on the button three-bet, Tom Talboom in the small blind moved all-in for approximately 200,000 and Safian called.
Banipal Babana: K♥6♥
Tom Talboom: A♦Q♠
Manuel Safian: A♣K♦
Safian kept the lead all the way through a board of Q♣3♦K♠4♦7♠ and sent both of his opponents to the rail.
Cards are in the air to begin Day 2, starting on Level 18.
Level: 18
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
While the highly anticipated $10,000 WSOP Main Event is getting underway, 226 players are still in contention for a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet before the Big One after qualifying for Day 2 of Event #79: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em.
From a field of 1,792 entrants, which generated a total prize pool of $4,784,640, those 226 players are already in the money and now have their eyes set on the $683,830 first-place prize.
While there is still a long way to go before reaching that first place, Asi Moshe is in the best position to do so after ending Day 1 atop the chip counts with 1,600,000. He is followed by Xiang Lian (1,200,000) and David Miscikowski (1,100,000), while Chris Moorman (1,000,000) is the fourth player to reach the seven-figure mark.
Event #79: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asi Moshe | Israel | 1,600,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Xiang Lian | China | 1,200,000 | 100 |
| 3 | David Miscikowski | United States | 1,100,000 | 92 |
| 4 | Chris Moorman | United Kingdom | 1,000,000 | 83 |
| 5 | Alexander Ivarsson | Sweden | 960,000 | 80 |
| 6 | Michael Kamran | United States | 902,000 | 75 |
| 7 | Andrew Moreno | United States | 832,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Zilong Zhang | United States | 804,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Brett Shaffer | United States | 775,000 | 65 |
| 10 | Gustavo Morales | Argentina | 770,000 | 64 |
WSOP bracelet winners Brett Shaffer (775,000), Max Steinberg (767,000), Greg Ostrander (585,000), Ohad Geiger (568,000), and Franco Spitale (554,000) are all still in contention, along with Leo Soma (509,000), Matthew Lambrecht (501,000), Axel Bayout (421,000), and $1,000 Mystery Millions champion Matthew Higgins (404,000).
Last year’s Main Event finalist Kenny Hallaert (635,000) also advanced, while Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda bagged 385,000 ahead of Tristan Wade (353,000), Gregory Jensen (340,000), Ian O’Hara (313,000), Anthony Zinno (308,000), Martin Jacobson (294,000), Jovan Kenjic (288,000), and Dan Sepiol (274,000).
Fahredin Mustafov (270,000) is also in the mix, alongside Nick Maimone (223,000), Dylan Weisman (216,000), Ian Matakis (209,000), Frederic Normand (163,000), Martin Kabrhel (137,000), Ryan Riess (116,000), Davidi Kitai (82,000), and Eoghan O’Dea (40,000).
Play resumes at noon local time with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante. Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled for Day 2, with the 226 remaining players already guaranteed at least $6,010.
Remaining payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $683,830 | 27 -35 | $20,610 |
| 2 | $454,800 | 36 -44 | $17,240 |
| 3 | $329,660 | 45 -53 | $14,610 |
| 4 | $241,640 | 54 -62 | $12,540 |
| 5 | $179,140 | 63 -71 | $10,910 |
| 6 | $134,330 | 72 -80 | $9,620 |
| 7 | $101,900 | 81 -89 | $8,600 |
| 8 | $78,210 | 90 -98 | $7,790 |
| 9 | $60,740 | 99 -125 | $7,160 |
| 10 -11 | $47,750 | 126 -152 | $6,670 |
| 12 -13 | $37,990 | 153 -179 | $6,310 |
| 14 -17 | $30,600 | 180 -226 | $6,010 |
| 18 -26 | $24,950 |
Be sure to stick with PokerNews for continuing coverage as the field narrows and the final table comes into view!
Event #79: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Started