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Alex Foxing Looking to Vault into POY Lead as 12 Return for Final Day of $10,000 8-Game Championship
It's already been an amazing 2026 World Series of Poker for Alex Foxen. Five final tables, including one outright victory, have secured him a second spot on the annual Player of the Year leaderboard. Today, Foxen continues his stellar summer as he is one of 12 players returning to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas at 1 p.m. local time for Day 3 of Event #80: $10,000 8-Game Mixed Championship.
Having made it to the final two tables of the record-breaking 199-entry tournament, guaranteeing him a share of the $1,850,700 prize pool, Foxen has already virtually overtaken current POY frontrunner Shaun Deeb on the leaderboard. Were he to finish today with a victory and add a second bracelet and a monster score of $431,260 to his series tally, Foxen would leapfrog Deeb by nearly 700 points.
Foxen, who is making one of his first forays into the mixed-game streets, will face some stiff competition on the final day, however. While his stack of 1,955,000 nets him a comfortable second place on the leaderboard, the chipleader at the start of the day is none other than Hall of Famer and seven-time bracelet winner Brian Rast. Rast, whose WSOP trophies include three PPC titles, amassed 2,465,000 on Day 2, more than twice as much as Richard Bai, who rounds out the podium with 1,120,000.
Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Rast | United States | 2,465,000 | 123 | 31 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | United States | 1,955,000 | 98 | 24 |
| 3 | Richard Bai | United States | 1,120,000 | 56 | 14 |
| 4 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 1,030,000 | 52 | 13 |
| 5 | Matt Vengrin | United States | 835,000 | 42 | 10 |
| 6 | Taylor Atchison | United States | 810,000 | 41 | 10 |
| 7 | Nicholas Marchington | United Kingdom | 765,000 | 38 | 10 |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | United States | 745,000 | 37 | 9 |
| 9 | Derek Hanauer | United States | 735,000 | 37 | 9 |
| 10 | Maksim Pisarenko | Russian Federation | 610,000 | 31 | 8 |
| 11 | Ryan Miller | United States | 550,000 | 28 | 7 |
| 12 | David Baker | United States | 345,000 | 17 | 4 |
Dzmitry Urbanovich, whose online moniker "Colisea" strikes fear in the heart of mixed-game players around the globe, is the last player to unbag a seven-figure stack today, hunting his first WSOP bracelet after two previous runner-up finishes. Taylor Atchison continues his quest for his second bracelet of the summer in the middle of the pack, while all-time money leader Bryn Kenney is also still in contention. Meanwhile, mixed-game regulars Maksim Pisarenko, Ryan Miller, and David "ODB" Baker make up the rearguard of the field.
Day 3 will start with Level 21. The blinds for pot-limit Omaha and no-limit hold'em will be 10,000/20,000, while the limits for the fixed-limit games will be 40,000/80,000. A marathon day may be in the cards for those who run deep, as all levels will be 90 minutes long, with a break after each level, and play will not conclude until an 8-Game Champion has been crowned.
Each player has guaranteed themself a payout of $27,080 for making it this far, although a pay jump to $32,710 is right around the corner. Six-figure rewards await the top four, while the winner is set to walk away with $431,260.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $431,260 |
| 2 | $283,660 |
| 3 | $191,570 |
| 4 | $132,880 |
| 5 | $94,730 |
| 6 | $69,460 |
| 7 | $52,430 |
| 8-9 | $40,780 |
| 10-11 | $32,710 |
| 12 | $27,080 |
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Twelve remain, but only one can emerge victorious. Stick to PokerNews as we will bring you extensive live updates en route to the third-ever winner of the prestigious $10,000 8-Game Championship.