WSOP 2026: Main Event Day 3 Drama as Mizrachi Makes Hay But Hellmuth Crashes Out
A high roller event with a format that encourages exciting poker action! Under the tutelage of five-time WSOP bracelet winner Kristen Foxen, Philip Chun won his first WSOP bracelet and turned his $550 buy-in into $400,000. There are many storylines to follow this summer, starting with Seiver, who won three bracelets last year. The 56th annual poker extravaganza kicked off with the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mystery Millions event. Winning a WSOP bracelet within two days, Myles Mullaly goes on a heater and pulls off a heads-up comeback against Pete Chen to win his first WSOP bracelet.
What started as a field of seven in 1970 has grown to an event that draws thousands of poker players from all over the world every year. Known for its rich history and vibrant poker culture, this casino laid the foundation for what would become the World Series of Poker, bringing together legendary players and setting the stage for decades of poker excellence. Daehyung Lee (Seoul, South Korea) – 34,900,000 ChipsDaehyung Lee, 46, is a Korean poker player with cashes across the globe, resulting in over $148 thousand in live tournament winnings. Adam Hendrix (Arlington, Virginia, United States) – 48,000,000 ChipsAdam Hendrix, 32, is a professional poker player from Anchorage, Alaska, who is a familiar face on the pro tournament circuit.
The following year, the tournament saw its first buy-in of $5,000 and this was increased to $10,000 in 1972. The first World Series took place in 1970 and featured no tournaments at all. Each year, a dedicated team of live reporters, editors, presenters, videographers and photographers help make PokerNews the place to be when it comes to staying up-to-date on the World Series. PokerNews has attended every World Series of Poker since 2007, and is proud to serve as the official live coverage partner of the WSOP, including Main Event coverage.
What did interviewing them face-to-face reveal that the public version of those players concealed? I can promise you, more often than not, the voice in the meetings speaking up for the players was Seth’s. No one ever said, \”well, you can’t interview players because you have to be hot to do that,\” but no one was really clamoring for me to interview players on camera. How did that affect the opportunities you received, the way players treated you, and how hard you had to work before people assumed you knew what you were talking about?
The 57th-annual running of this storied event attracted 9,208 entries by the time registration officially closed, making it the fourth-largest yet. Further adding to a historic summer, Japanese poker pro Shiina Okamoto made history by becoming the first woman to win the WSOP Ladies Event in back-to-back years. Winning the two toughest poker tournaments in a single year, an accomplishment many thought was impossible, the governing board of the Poker Hall of Fame held an emergency vote, and unanimously voted Mizrachi into the Hall of Fame. Moving to the Horseshoe and Paris in 2022, for the first time in the event’s history, the WSOP would be held on the Las Vegas Strip. Since Spinella’s lone WSOP bracelet victory in 2015, he has gone on to win five WSOP Circuit rings and accrue over $1.7 million in WSOP tournament winnings. From the momentum spurred by Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP Main Event in 2003 and the ensuing Poker Boom, the WSOP saw record attendance year after year, culminating in the largest tournaments in the event’s history.
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Here’s a look at the qualified players and their chip counts entering the WSOP Main Event Final Table. Only nine elite players remain in contention for a title, and each are already guaranteed a prize of at least $1 million. It’s been a summer of poker in Las Vegas, but now it’s time to crown a champion.
At last year’s WSOP, Antonio Galiana won his second WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed tournament, taking home $582,008. The $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed event begins today at 2 P.M. During the 2025 WSOP, Thomas Zanot and Tyler Montoya both pulled the $1,000,000 mystery bounties within one hour of each other, with Montoya even gifting each player at his table $10,000. With $200 of each buy-in going into the Mini Mystery Millions bounty pool, one lucky player will walk away with the $1,000,000 top bounty. At the 2025 WSOP, the $1,000 Mystery Millions drew an entry total of 19,654, the largest in the event’s history, with eventual winner Michael Wilklow claiming his first bracelet and the $1,000,000 top prize.
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- Tyler Gaston and Blake Barousse bagged the two biggest stacks at the end of Day 6, but neither made it to the final three tables.
- Its storied poker room and upgraded amenities make it the perfect setting for this year’s poker spectacle.
- “Down here in Florida, I don’t feel like I’ve ever done as well as I should have,” McKeehen told SHRPO live reporter BJ Nemeth.
There’s only one previous bracelet winner in the top 10, in Australia’s Malcolm Trayner. He’s followed closely by Canadian DJ Sharma, who has 9,840,000 after a wild stretch on one of the featured tables with bracelet winner and former chip leader Will Givens. Here’s a look at the broadcast schedule for the 2026 tournament. Here’s everything you need to know about the World Series of Poker Main Event, including TV channel and streaming options for the national tournament.
\”I caught some cards and pokernewsdaily.com I won some big pots. It seemed every time the pot got really big, especially three-handed, I had the best hand. That was helpful.” “It feels like every time I get into the situation, I just can’t. “Down here in Florida, I don’t feel like I’ve ever done as well as I should have,” McKeehen told SHRPO live reporter BJ Nemeth.
CardPlayer.com is the world’s oldest and most well-respected poker magazine and online gambling guide. He now sits in 10th place in the POY race standings presented by CoinPoker, having made 11 final tables and won three titles so far in 2026. In the final hand of the tournament, Martirosian three-bet shoved over Negreanu’s button pot with A♣9♦8♦8♥.
You entered a poker industry that was overwhelmingly male, both at the tables and in the media. What would someone entering the WSOP media room today struggle to understand about the atmosphere, workload, access, and personalities of the press corps you joined? By the end of Bellagio Cup, my boss Jeff Holsey offered me a full-time role, but only if I promised not to drop out of school to take it. It wasn’t I was an amazing writer or that I had some elite level of poker acumen. In the meantime, I was quietly developing a very unique skill set virtually no one else had. As a poker fan, I got behind the ropes access to everything and made money to boot, so it always felt like a blessing.
Last time on Venom, a trip of big stars were on the marquee for the two final tables. Nothing has been announced yet, but players have been locking in a seat with victories in WPT championships throughout the year, so it’s going to happen. Why should American players come to play APTs?
More famous players added their names to WSOP history, as Dan Harrington, Huck Seed and Scotty Nguyen all won Main Events. The full schedule released in February, showing 100 bracelet events with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $250,000. From your first Circuit event to a final table in Las Vegas, WSOP is still where you go to prove something. It’s the only platform in the US where you can win a poker tournament for official WSOP gold bracelets without leaving home!
During the 2003 WSOP in what may be the most famous Main Event in history, Chris Moneymaker defeated poker pro Sammy Farha heads-up to win $2.5 million and his lone career bracelet. Since 1989, The Poker Brat has gone on to win 17 WSOP bracelets, and stands as the decisive all-time leader in WSOP victories. Jostens Inc., the current manufacturer of WSOP trophies, creates hundreds of bracelets and rings for event winners at not only the WSOP, but also WSOP Paradise, WSOP Europe, and the WSOP Circuit.
Shaun Deeb is the reigning WSOP Player of the Year, having cashed in 18 live events, six online bracelet events, and reached five final tables in 2025. From the smallest fields to the largest, the $1,500 Monster Stack and $500 Colossus, will once again draw enormous crowds, as players of all levels embark on their annual poker pilgrimage to play two of the summer’s most popular events. With a $5,000 pricetag, the event is sure to draw some of poker’s best full-time professional players who look to secure a big score and add a shiny, new WSOP gold bracelet to their wrist. Elsewhere at the SHRPO series, statistical anomalies were on tap as three different players won four events in the series. The most prestigious mixed-game poker tournament of the year is down to its final six contenders, and the remaining half dozen players include some of the most decorated names in the game.
Lucas Jumalon increased his chip lead in the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship on the first day of the final table. We are the number one source for poker news, gambling industry updates, reviews and free educational content for players of all levels. Phil Ivey has 11 bracelet wins, with Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Erik Seidel (10) the only players with double-digit WSOP bracelet wins. In 2015, the WSOP awarded their first online poker gold bracelet, with Anthony ‘casedismised’ Spinella winning the inaugural event. The first WSOP took place in 1970, and it continues to attract some of the best poker players in the world. It doesn’t appear that Caesars is forcing players to comply with measures of that magnitude.
The world’s biggest poker festival returns to the Las Vegas Strip from May 26 through July 15, once again staged across Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Pacific Standard Time, the first of six day one flights for the Mini Mystery Millions will begin. Today, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, day one of the 57th annual World Series of Poker begins at the Horseshoe and Paris in Las Vegas, Nevada. Players should follow @WSOP on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or check WSOP.com for more news and updates on this year’s WSOP event. This agreement restores that historic collaboration, ensuring that the next generation of world champions is crowned in prime time. Bringing the WSOP back reflects our continued commitment to delivering premium competition and that connects with fans in new and exciting ways.”
While Mueller’s been a mixed game player for the bulk of his professional poker career, he’s afforded himself incredibly well thus far in the 2026 WSOP main event. Two other multi-time bracelet winners also advanced to day 8 of the 2026 WSOP main event. Speaking of Ensan, the 2019 WSOP main event champion is one day away from a return to the final table in 2026. The final 174 players will return for day 6 at noon on Saturday, July 11, with blinds of 30,000-60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante for level 25. Among the final 174 players, 24 have already won at least one WSOP bracelet. With the WSOP Main Event deep in the middle of its run and no championships events concluding until the start of the weekend, the PokerGO Tour Leaderboard remains as it was yesterday, with Sean Winter leading from the Finnish player Eelis Parssinen.
JackPoker Invites Cash Players to Lucky 8S Bombpot Fest
Stay tuned to PokerNews all summer long for exclusive coverage from inside the ropes at the 2025 World Series of Poker. The Poker Hall of Fame isn’t the only focus of the summer. There’s a new owner, but the prestige and thrill of chasing bracelets remains the same.
In 2024, more than 800 players took advantage of the extended registration period to start their journey with 75 and 60 big blinds, respectively. He topped a field of 10,043 players, the largest Main Event in WSOP history. In addition, mega satellites in 2024 will be played as “Landmark Mega Satellites”, where players will earn their seat when they reach a predetermined amount of chips. International players are required to bring an additional form of identification that shows residential address, such as a signed Las Vegas lease agreement, a utility bill or a mobile phone bill. Just log in to your free PokerNews account, star the players you care about, and they’ll always appear at the top of your chip count list.
Michael Mizrachi (Las Vegas, Nevada, United States) – 93,000,000 ChipsMichael Mizrachi, 44, is the most decorated poker player to reach the 2025 WSOP Main Event final table. John Wasnock (North Bend, Washington, United States) – 108,100,000 ChipsJohn Wasnock, 50, is a poker player from North Bend, Washington who will be proudly representing the Evergreen state at the WSOP Main Event final table as the overall chip leader. LAS VEGAS (July 15, 2025) – Out of 9,735 total entrants in the third-largest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in history, only nine players remain as the lineup is set for the 56th annual WSOP Main Event final table.
Yet, it took until late on day 5 of the 2026 WSOP main event for Mizrachi’s shot at another impossibility to come to an end. Ensan was one of four WSOP main event champions who started day 5 with hopes of repeating their former glory. Only one previous WSOP main event champion reached day 6, and that’s 2019 winner Hossein Ensan.
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A dedicated mixed game player, Canada’s Patrick Stacey wins his first WSOP bracelet after defeating high-stakes professional poker player Danny Tang heads-up. Professional poker player Caitlin Comeskey continued her successful summer at the World Series of Poker by making Day 5 of the Main Event. Las Vegas resident Ralph Perry held the unofficial chip lead in the World Series of Poker Main Event on Day 6 Saturday with 90 players still standing. When Day 7 of the WSOP Main Event started Sunday, all the remaining players were notified a “shot clock” would be implemented in an effort to speed up play. Malcolm Trayner of Australia had the chip lead in the World Series of Poker Main Event when action was paused on Day 7 late Sunday with 21 players left.
“Poker is filled with unexpected storylines, and nobody is better equipped to showcase the stories that unfold throughout a tournament more than ESPN. With our new ownership’s commitment to growth, this is the perfect time to bring the ‘World Championship’ back to the biggest stage in sports.” See the full 2025 WSOP schedule below and find the buy-in and date of every single official event at this year’s Series. This was the German pro’s second seven-figure score, with the earlier also coming in a $100,000 PLO event.
But when he said he won the cash in a poker tournament at Aria, they still wouldn’t take the money. However, Nevada regulators began levying heavy fines on Las Vegas casinos after they allowed several illegal bookmakers to play at their properties. Then she obtained a verified check from another casino, and the WSOP allowed her to play. A fixture in the high-stakes poker ecosystem was removed from a live-streamed cash game at the World Series of Poker. Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. For the first time in over a week, just a single winner will be crowned on Wednesday as the $10,000 Razz Championship crowns its winner.
The very first WSOP online bracelet tournament was in 2015, with the $1,000 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold ‘Em won by Anthony Spinella over a field of 905 for $197,743. In 2024, the WSOP Main Event saw a record 10,112 players. However, from 2017 entries in the Main Event increased year-on-year, with the 8,569 players in the 2019 WSOP Main Event the second-highest ever, just short of the record of 8,773 set in 2006. In 2008, the WSOP introduced the November Nine where the Main Event plays down to a final table of nine in July, before resuming in November. Barbara Enright became the only woman to make the Main Event final table with her fifth-place finish in 1995, until Leo Margets achieved the same feat in 2025 where she finished seventh.