After the traditional entrance to the sound of The Ecstasy of Gold, the cards are in the air for what has already become the largest starting flight of the 2026 $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship with 2,450 entries at the beginning of the day.
UFC champion Sean O’Malley had the honor of kicking off the day with the traditional “Shuffle Up and Deal!”
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
The fourth and final Day 1 flight of the world’s premier poker tournament is now upon us, as anybody willing and able to put up the $10,000 buy-in is offered a chance to sit down from the get-go of Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship.
As players from all four corners of the globe make their way to Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas to participate in poker’s pinnacle, each with just one thing on their mind: this could be the day that started it all.
Statistically, it most likely will be for one hopeful, as Day 1d is renowned for filling the card room to the brim, having often accounted for more than half of the field in previous years. Following 4,100 hopefuls registering for the flight in 2023’s edition, 2024 broke the 5,000 mark, with 2025 just three players away from doing the same.
If history is anything to go by, any players who have not yet tried should certainly be thinking about picking today to start the journey, as a Day 2 registrant has never been crowned World Champion in Las Vegas.
So far, the first three flights have welcomed 3,383 runners, of which 2,468 have managed to live to fight another day. Anybody looking to begin Day 2 with the title of “chip leader” on their back will need to surpass the standard set by Ryuta Nakai during Day 1a, who managed to bag 323,000, good for over five full starting stacks.
During his flight, he was joined by many a notable name in bagging, including former Main Event Champions Joe Cada (133,600), Greg Merson (81,200), Daniel Weinman (79,300), and Phil Hellmuth (60,000), the latter of which made his customary grand entrance, this time in superhero attire. They outlasted the likes of Adrian Mateos, Seth Davies, and Dan Smith, all of whom hit the rail at the first hurdle in very uncharacteristic fashion.
Day 1b saw Osmar Rockenbach top the charts with 286,000, joined by Damarjai Davenport (263,00) Ali Eslami (256,200) and Cassandra Yong (224,300) in the top 10 of the 1,038 entries. Yet again, many weren’t so lucky; popular poker vlogger Brad Owen couldn’t catch the cards he needed, with both Jean-Robert Bellande and Kelly Lucas suffering the same fate.
Bringing the focus to yesterday, Day 1c saw the biggest turnout of the three by quite some way, with a massive 3,067 players taking their seats. The only non-Day 1a player to breach the 300,000 mark was Bulgaria's Yulian Bogdanov, whose 315,000 will be good for 394 big blinds when Day 2 begins.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryuta Nakai | Japan | 323,000 | 404 |
| 2 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | 315,000 | 393 |
| 3 | Igor Pansovoi | United States | 300,300 | 375 |
| 4 | Arturas Astrauskas | Lithuania | 296,700 | 371 |
| 5 | Lawrence Brandt | United States | 292,800 | 366 |
| 6 | Rahul Gangan | United States | 291,600 | 365 |
| 7 | Osmar Rockenbach | Brazil | 286,900 | 359 |
| 8 | Jourdan Baptiste | United States | 281,600 | 352 |
| 9 | Justin Arnwine | United States | 280,600 | 351 |
| 10 | Gaspar Fernandez | Argentina | 279,000 | 349 |
For the third day running, pocket rockets took the first casualty of the day, with Dewitt Newkirk calling all in for his tournament life with a straight, only to be shown the top full house of Stephen Graner.
To soften the blow for Newkirk, his pain is shared by three former number ones who couldn’t make the cut, with Martin Jacobson running his queens into top two pair, Qui Nguyen jamming into kings, and Jamie Gold, fresh off the back of announcing, “Shuffle up and deal,” also unable to make it through the day.
Surviving the gruelling five levels, however, was a feat accomplished by some massive names: most notably Annette Obrestad. The poker icon has finally returned to Nevada to replicate her European success in the States.
Fresh off the back of his long-awaited first bracelet win, Dylan Smith bagged a very solid 205,500, with Chino Rheem (171,300) shortly behind. The latter looks to earn his first bracelet in style and end his drought just like Smith did mere days ago. Hall of Famer Brian Rast is also well in the mix, having earned a stack of 119,100 at the end of play last night.
| Level | Start | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 a.m. | 120 minutes | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 1:00 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 2 | 1:20 p.m. | 120 minutes | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 3:20 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 3 | 3:40 p.m. | 120 minutes | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 5:40 p.m. | 60-minute break | ||||
| 4 | 6:40 p.m. | 120 minutes | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 8:40 p.m. | 20-minute break | ||||
| 5 | 9 p.m. | 120 minutes | 300 | 600 | 600 |
Day 1d will follow the same structure as the opening three flights. Each player will be given 60,000 chips in return for their entry fee, and five full 120-minute levels will be played out. A break of 20 minutes will follow each level, with the exception of a 60-minute dinner break after Level 3.
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Hence, the question remains: will Day 1d break even more entrant records? Stay tuned as PokerNews will answer that question, on top of bringing full live updates of the day’s action, and every day going forward.
Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event NLH World Championship
Day 1d Started
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